The Parable of:
“Seeking First The Kingdom Of God”
(Matt. 6:24-34)
Matt. 6:24-34 Think About The Physical
24 No man can serve
two masters: for either
he will hate the one, No one can divide their. And love the other, or service. A choice of else he will hold to the Masters must be
one, and despise the other. made.
Ye cannot serve
God and Mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto
you, take no thought for
your life, what ye shall Life is more than eating
eat, or what ye shall and drinking and
drink; nor yet for your wearing clothes.
body, what ye shall put
on. Is not the life more
than meat, and the body
than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls
of the air: for they sow Look at the
birds, they
not, neither do they don’t plant or harvest
reap, nor gather into and yet God feeds them.
barns; yet your heavenly
Father feedeth them.
Are ye not much better
than they?
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Think About The Physical
27 Which of you by
taking thought can add By thinking can you
one cubit unto his make yourself grow?
stature?
28 And why take ye Why do you worry
thought for raiment? about your clothing?
Consider the lilies of Look at the
lilies
the field, how they and how they grow. grow; they toil not, They don’t work nor
neither do they spin. make their clothing.
29 And yet I say unto
you, that even Solomon Yet even Solomon’s
in all his glory was clothing is not as
not arrayed like one beautiful as theirs.
of these.
30 Wherefore, if God If God gives clothing to
so clothe the grass of the
grass, he is much
the field, which today more willing to clothe
is, and tomorrow is you but you need to
cast into the oven, shall have faith. So, don’t
he not much more worry about eating, and
clothe you, O ye of little drinking and being
faith? clothed because God
31 Therefore take no knows you need these thought, saying, What things.
shall we eat? Or, What
shall we drink? Or,
Wherewithall shall we
be clothed?
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Think About The Physical
32 (For after all these
things do the Gentiles
seek:) for your heavenly
Father knoweth that ye
have need of all these
things.
33 But seek ye first the Instead, put God first
kingdom of God, and and seek His
His righteousness; and righteousness and He
all these things shall will give you everything
be added unto you. you need.
34 Take therefore no
thought for the morrow:
for the morrow shall take
thought for the things
of itself. Sufficient unto
the day is the evil thereof.
Conclusions: (on the surface, the “Physical” meaning)
1. We must choose to serve either God or riches.
(mammon)
2. Life is more than eating, drinking and wearing clothing.
3. The birds are fed by God and they don’t work.
4. You can’t make yourself grow.
5. The lilies grow and they don’t work nor make their clothing.
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6. The clothing given to the lilies by God is more beautiful than any Solomon could make.
7. God gives clothing to the grass and He is even more willing to give you clothing but you need to have faith.
8. So, don’t worry about the things that people usually worry about like eating and drinking and being clothed.
9. Put God first and seek His righteousness and He will give you everything you need.
Summary:
There are two main themes in this parable:
1. Put God first and have faith in Him to provide all your needs.
2. God wants to provide us with a type of clothing that we can’t work for which is more beautiful than anything even Solomon could make.
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Think about the Spiritual:
Let’s see if we can discover more about this clothing that God wants to give us.
Isaiah 61:10
10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the
robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Zec. 3: 3,4
3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.
Jesus will “take away” our “filthy garments” (our sins) and will cloth us with “change of raiment” or “New Garments” (His Righteousness).
Isaiah 64:6
6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
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Isaiah 59:6
6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.
Now we see the Spiritual meaning of the Parable:
God wants to give us His Robe of Righteousness, or the “Garment of Salvation”.
We can’t “work for it” because it is a gift. Our righteousness or “works” are as “filthy rags” compared to God’s righteousness! If we put God first in our lives He will give us the Garment of Salvation.
Doctrinal Truth (Taught by Jesus in the Parable of
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God”)
1. We cannot serve two masters or be double minded.
2. We must choose to put God first in everything.
3. The things of this world like eating, drinking and wearing clothing should not be our primary interest, God knows we have physical needs and He will supply those needs if we have faith in Him and put Him first.
4. Besides our physical needs we have Spiritual needs, but we can’t “work our way to heaven”!
Our righteousness compared to God’s Righteousness is like “filthy rags” compared to the “Robe of a King” or Bridegroom.
5. If we will put God first in everything and seek His Righteousness, He will cloth us with the Garment of Salvation, with His Robe of Righteousness as a free gift.
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The Parable of:
The
“Garment With The Hole In It”
(Howto Obtain theGarmentofRighteousness)
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