SM #38: The Quest for the Kingdom

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ~ JESUS (Matthew 6:33)

Prefer to learn by listening? Click the picture link for an AI audio overview.

CORE

(The heart of the message)

Jesus invites us all on a quest to seek God's kingdom and his righteousness. Our lives can become an epic adventure that surpass all stories, myths, legends, and tall tales which are mere echoes of eternity.

"The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact." ~ C.S. Lewis (Myth Became Fact)

Every myth, legend, and epic tale is an echo of our true calling: the quest for the kingdom.

CONTEXT

(What’s going on before and after this passage)

This verse is embedded in the middle of an extended discussion about worry, anxiety, and the false hope given by money, wealth, and possessions. Jesus is now offering an alternative to the security of wealth and at the same time, offering a theme verse for the entire sermon (alongside 5:20 and 5:48).

Perhaps the key to worry is found in three simple words: first things first.

"In the midst of a consumerist society, disciples are to be distinguished by a countercultural stubbornness: their 'first priority' in life is the quiet, steady seeking of God's 'kingdom and righteousness'." ~ Frederick Dale Bruner (The Christbook)

Jesus knows that it is nearly impossible for us humans to stop thinking about something without displacing it with a more compelling focus. To simply tell ourselves "Stop worrying about the elephant in the room" will only increase our focus on the big grey cutie. But when we turn our attentions to other things, specifically the things of God - his kingdom and his righteousness - even elephants seem small.

And so we come to the centrepiece of the Christian life: the pursuit of God's kingdom and righteousness.

About this single verse, one theologian writes:

"This verse is a thermographic hot spot in the Sermon with its reference to both kingdom and righteousness, two key ideas throughout Matt. 5-7." ~ Jonathan T. Pennington (The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing)

"A thermographic hot spot" - what a great phrase. (Also, if you know what movie this is from, then we are friends.)

CONSIDER

(Observations about the passage)

But seek first. The "But" or "However" notes a contrast. Instead of worrying, Jesus tells us to pour ourselves into an active search. We are not just to refrain from worry, but to replace worry with quest. The word for "seek" (Greek, zéteó) here means to look for what we truly desire, to investigate, to pursue. Sometimes Christians refer to spiritually interested non-believers as "seekers", but Jesus says all his disciples should be seekers. The verb tense is continual present imperative, meaning Christ-followers should continually seek. The kingdom of God is our ongoing life quest. (This will come up again in 7:7-11, where Jesus tells us to keep on asking, seeking, and knocking.) The word "first" (Greek, próton) can mean first in time or first in priority and importance, or both. So one translation could be, "But above and before all else, keep on seeking as first importance the kingdom of God and his righteousness...".

The Kingdom of God. The Greek word for kingdom (basileía) means a realm ruled by a king – a monarchy. The emphasis is more on the rule and reign of the king than on a place or plot of land, since basileía is just an altered form of the Greek word for king (basileús). Our English word "kingdom" captures this emphasis well since a kingdom is a king's domain - a king-dom. The character of the king determines the quality of the kingdom. A kingdom is a realm in which the king’s will and the king's way hold sway. So, the kingdom of God is that realm of relationships where God's will and God's way hold sway. Jesus often pronounced the Gospel - God's Good News for us - as the message of God's kingdom coming to us. Now Jesus says, even though God's kingdom has come and is among us and within us (Luke 17:20-21), we still need to strive to put it first and to fully enter in. It should be noted that the kingdom of God moves through and is expressed by the Church, but cannot be limited to any one church or a particular systematic theology or religious liturgy or tradition that so often separate and divide Christians. In the words of the radical and insightful Swiss theologian Leonhard Ragaz:

"The kingdom of God is no religion but rather the abolishment of all religion. One cannot make this fact clear enough. Jesus does not want a religion, but rather a kingdom, a new creation, a new world. One doesn't need a religion to serve this God. One serves him by serving people." ~ Leonhard Ragaz (Signs of the Kingdom)

Leonhard Ragaz (1868 – 1945). The dude was as radical as his moustache.

The time has been fulfilled! The kingdom of God has come near! Repent and believe the Gospel! ~ JESUS (Mark 1:15; also Matt 4:17)

His righteousness. Righteousness (Greek, dikaiosuné; pronounced dee-kah-yos-oo'-nay, or, once more with flair, dee-kai-oh-SOO-nay) is a central theme in the Sermon on the Mount and all the New Testament scriptures. Righteousness means "rightness", that is, to be aligned with what is right, especially in our relationships. Righteousness refers to all that is loving, good, and godly. In short, righteousness is right-relatedness. Jesus doesn't just say we should seek righteousness, but God's righteousness. According to the Sermon on the Mount, the righteousness of God begins in grace expressed through kindness, leads to mercy expressed through forgiveness, and moves toward peace/peacemaking that results in reconciliation and restoration. No wonder "Grace, mercy, and peace" was a common greeting for early Christians (1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2; 2 John 1:3). If we don't draw our understanding of righteousness from the God that Jesus introduces us to in the Sermon on the Mount as our Father, we may become religious legalists who view righteousness only as law-abiding, rule-keeping morality. Religion says righteousness is uprightness (being morally pure). Jesus says righteousness is right-relatedness (living lives of agapé love). For a Geeky Greeky exploration of righteousness and how it is similar to yet different from justice, see these words in our Glossary of Terms.

EXCURSUS:

RIGHTEOUSNESS > JUSTICE

Sometimes Christians equate righteousness with justice. When we do that we miss out on the expansive beauty of what righteousness really is.

Justice has to do with what is fair and equitable (e.g., "an eye for an eye"). Whereas righteousness is rooted in the unfairness of grace. Justice is often enacted through laws and law enforcement, including penalties and punishments to discourage bad behaviour. Righteousness is always restorative - closer to what we might call "restorative justice", but it is even bigger and better than that. Righteousness uses the relational tools of grace, mercy, peacemaking, forgiveness, and reconciliation to mend what is broken. Justice may be a good thing, but the life-changing, relationship-rescuing, sinner-restoring power of righteousness is something more, something better.

In the New Testament writings, Christians are never encouraged to pursue justice the way we are taught to pursue righteousness. Justice is described as primarily God's business. Righteousness - including gobs of grace, mountains of mercy, and plenty of peacemaking - is our calling.

We can summarize the differences this way:

RIGHTEOUSNESS	JUSTICE
Grace	Fairness
Mercy	Judgement
Peace / Peacemaking	Vengeance
Forgiveness	Punishment
Reconciliation	Correction
Our Calling	God's Business

Remember: Justice isn't bad for us; it just isn't good enough for us. Justice is good for earthly kingdoms. They would crumble without it. But God wants something more for his kingdom of heaven on earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. ~ JESUS (Matthew 5:6)

For I tell you that unless your righteousness goes above and beyond that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of the heavens. ~ JESUS (Matthew 5:20)

All these things will be given to you. The food and clothing and necessities of life are more readily available to kingdom citizens because we are plugged into a relational society that cares for one another. Jesus is not promising personal financial success, but the compassion of the Christ community made available to us. More than this, Jesus has been talking about the worry and anxiety that comes upon us when we lack faith in God's care and provision. The things that Jesus says will be given to us when we prioritize God's kingdom are probably not all the food, clothing, and shelter we want, but more the calm that conquers our worry and the peace that overcomes our panic, no matter what our situation.

"God will often meet the needs of his disciples by blessing other disciples and urging them to share generously with those in need. The righteousness that should be the top priority of the disciples' life includes generosity (5:42) and gifts for the poor (6:2-4)." ~ Charles Quarles (Sermon on the Mount)

COMMENTARY

(Thoughts about meaning and application)

What does it mean to seek God's kingdom and righteousness? What does that search look like? How do we do it? Here are five suggestions...

The person who wants to seek God's kingdom and righteousness will:

1. Learn and live the way of Jesus laid out in Scripture.

2. Join in fellowship with others who are walking the same path.

3. Pray regularly for God's will and God's way to hold sway in our lives.

4. Invest material wealth into kingdom priorities.

5. Trust, submit, and follow the leading of Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

Let's break this down....

1. Learn and live the way of Jesus laid out in Scripture.

How can we seek first God's kingdom and righteousness? The good news is, we are already doing it right now. Certainly, a starting point for entering and experiencing the kingdom of God and his righteousness is learning what Jesus has to say about it. A person who learns and then lives the Sermon on the Mount will be smack dab in the middle of righteous kingdom living.

So congratulations! You're already off to a great start.

This will need to be more than a mere academic study of the red-lettered words in our Bibles. It will mean an active commitment to turn all information into application, eagerly living out the will and way of Jesus because we have become convinced that his way is the best way to be human.

2. Join in fellowship with others who are walking the same path.

   
   

And as Jesus makes clear, we can only experience this epic and energizing human flourishing if we are part of ongoing committed relationships with other kingdom citizens. Jesus called this the "Church" - a gathering of people with a purpose. It can be a large or small group, meeting in a religious building or a local pub, with many meaningful traditions or mostly free flowing engagement. But the Church, the community of faith built around Jesus' will and way, is indispensable for entering, experiencing, and extending the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

Jesus is inviting us on an epic quest in fellowship with friends, new and old.

There is a passion and priority about the idea of making our lives about "seeking" - that is actively striving, brainstorming in thought, rallying our emotions, and linking arms with fellow seekers - the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Jesus is pointing toward something epic; an all consuming quest that dominates our entire lives.

Yes, a life of seeking the kingdom first and foremost is a gamble that God is real and Jesus is the answer the whole world needs. It is a leap of faith, even if we have run the ramp of reason to take that leap of faith. (True faith is not unreasonable; it is simply a way of knowing and relating that goes beyond mere reason, like all love relationships do.)

Seeking first God's kingdom and righteousness means throwing ourselves fully into the great God gamble, and watching our lives and our world become better off for it. We will not experience the maximum human flourishing that Jesus promises if we merely tip our hat to the kingdom, as though it can exist as a poetic nicety in our lives on the side. In the words of the always insightful Christian novelist, Flannery O'Connor (ya, someone named their kid Flannery!):

“One of the effects of modern liberal Protestantism has been gradually to turn religion into poetry and therapy, to make truth vaguer and vaguer and more and more relative, to banish intellectual distinctions, to depend on feeling instead of thought, and gradually to come to believe that God has no power, that he cannot communicate with us, cannot reveal himself to us, indeed has not done so, and that religion is our own sweet invention.”

~ Flannery O'Connor, 1956, in Sally Fitzgerald, ed., The Habit of Being (1979)

[As an aside: When I first read this quote, I misread Flannery as saying liberalism makes truth vulgar (rather than vaguer) - but that works too. When we seek the kingdom of God first, we declare that Jesus is THE way, THE truth, and THE life, not just one option among many. And this is unfashionable for many who want merely to add Jesus to their list of life coaches, but not bow to him as Lord.

I think I have fairly "progressive" views on politics, religion, Scripture, and ethics - always with love at the centre of my approach and conclusions. But I get there by being doggedly "conservative" on the person of Jesus. The more I study Jesus and learn from his teachings, the more I am convinced that there is no one in all of human history or human present who can offer humankind a way forward as bright and beautiful as the Way of Christ.]

Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964)

Okay, back to the commentary...

3. Pray regularly for God's will and God's way to hold sway in our lives.

One way we seek the kingdom is by following Jesus' instruction to pray the Lord's Prayer daily, including "thy kingdom come, thy will be done". In this way we are making sure that our social spirituality (loving engagement with the church, the Fellowship of the King) is reinforced by our own secretive, private, personal spiritual life (the theme of the first half of Matthew 6).

4. Invest material wealth into kingdom priorities.

We should not ignore the implications of the context of this kingdom teaching of Jesus. He tells us to seek God's kingdom and righteousness in the middle of a discussion about money and possessions. This was not lost on his disciples, and they came to believe money was a tool to serve the kingdom.

In the New Testament writings, we find three primary purposes for money, wealth, and possessions:

1. To help people in need. (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-25; 6:1-4; 11:27-30; Romans 15:25-27; 2 Corinthians 8:1-15; Galatians 6:7-10; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 5:3-7)

2. To care for our families. (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15; 1 Timothy 5:8)

3. To support the work of spreading the Gospel. (1 Corinthians 9:3-14; Philippians 4:14-19; 1 Timothy 5:17-18)

Beyond these three reasons, we can only assume that spending some money for our own sense of security, esteem, and just plain fun must be okay. But spending or owning things for ourselves alone should not get in the way of seeking the kingdom first with all we are and all we have.

This vision for our finances as a tool to serve the kingdom is a powerful corrective to the popular prosperity teaching that makes the kingdom a tool to serve our finances.

5. Trust, submit, and follow the leading of Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

   
   

Lastly, if we are seeking of first importance God's kingdom and righteousness, we will not only learn and live the way of Jesus, be active in some expression of "church", pray for God's kingdom to come, and invest our money and possessions in kingdom purposes, but we will also, personally, invite Jesus by his Holy Spirit to guide us in the decisions of our day. (That was one long sentence. Hopefully you got through it okay.)

There are times in our days that we have to make a choice and the teachings of Jesus and advice of friends still leave multiple options open. These are times we can pray and pause and listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Emissary of our King. Learning to listen for and recognize the gentle voice of the Spirit in our lives helps our moment-by-moment living become a relational engagement with the God who is all around us, in us, and who wants to change the world through us. What a way to live!

Sometimes we are Frodo. Sometimes we are Sam. Together we can make the journey.

CONFESSION

(Personal reflection)

I confess that I am depressed. That is, clinically depressed or having Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). My doctor tells me so. And here's the interesting thing: writing helps me like almost nothing else.

For a while now, I have been asking God for two things:

1. to help me find more joy, and if not, then

2. to help me live out what it means to seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness as a depressed person.

One of my challenges is that when I read, meditate, and pray, my focus lasts a few minutes, sometimes only a few moments, before my mind wanders. And when it wanders, it goes to dark places.

But something different happens when I write. When I write (which includes reading for research, jotting notes, praying for guidance, and meditating on specific passages), my brain is able to sustain not only attention but an almost joyful absorption. I have a sense of discovery and adventure. It feels like I really have joined the Quest for the Kingdom. Writing (and the research that goes along with it) demands my full attention and my consciousness simply doesn't have room for negative distractions. Eventually, I realize that I've gone most of a day with very little doom and gloom stinking thinking.

And this reminds me that the best way to remove something negative is displacement. You know, rather than curse the darkness, light a candle. That's partly what I see Jesus is doing with this passage. In the middle of telling us what not to do - worry - Jesus tells us what to fill our attention with: seeking God's kingdom and righteousness.

For me, writing about Jesus as I'm doing here on 1820.Life is not me in denial or me trying to divert attention or me pretending like nothing is wrong. Writing about Jesus is me refusing to give up and give in to the condemnation of the enemy. It is me choosing to stay alive another day, and hopefully to make a little difference for the better while I'm still here. For me, this is both spiritual and psychological warfare. For me, this is life or death.

I remember reading a quote from the aforementioned Christian novelist Flannery O'Connor that rang so true to my experience. This is actually the quote that started me down the path of wanting to get to know her better:

"Writing is a good example of self-abandonment. I never completely forget myself except when I am writing and I am never more completely myself than when I am writing.” ~ Flannery O'Connor (Correspondence with T.R. Spivey, 1961)

Yes and amen.

Writing is one of the ways I am doing what Jesus talks about in Matthew 6 - refusing to succumb to anxiety and choosing to seek first God's kingdom. What about you? When you struggle with darkness, what helps you rise up? I'd love to learn. We'll talk about this in our 1820 Life Groups, but for those of you who are willing, the comments on this post are open.

Me in my happy place.

CONCLUSION

(One last thought)

One final thought. In the New Covenant, righteousness is both something to be pursued and something to be received. We are made righteous first as a gift, then we work out in our lives what God has already worked into our hearts. There is no striving to obtain salvation, but a desire to express what we have already been given as a gift.

This idea of righteousness as a gift of grace received by simple faith is a decidedly irreligious idea.

The apostle Paul is the most vocal about this understanding of God's righteousness, especially in the book of Romans. But he didn't invent the idea out of thin air. He was steeped in the radical, irreligious, grace-before-race teaching of Jesus. What Jesus taught implicitly, Paul proclaimed explicitly. What Jesus taught through stories, Paul expanded and systematized into full-fledged Christian doctrines of justification (imputed righteousness) and sanctification (imparted righteousness).

Jesus handed Paul the seed packet, and Paul cultivated a rich theological garden.

For instance, from Jesus we learn:

• The Beatitudes as Grace for the Poor in Spirit (Matthew 5:3–10)

• The Emphasis on seeking God's righteousness, not our own (Matthew 6:33)

• The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14)

• The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)

• The Imagery of the Vine and the Branches (John 15:1-17)

• The many examples of Jesus embracing sinners as friends and family

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14). It was the humble sinner and not the boastful religious man whom God declared righteous.

And from Paul we get these explanatory gems:

For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” ~ The apostle Paul (Romans 1:17)

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. ~ The apostle Paul (Romans 3:20-22)

What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. ~ The apostle Paul (Romans 4:3-5)

Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. ~ The apostle Paul (Romans 10:4)

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking [i.e., religious rules], but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit! ~ The apostle Paul (Romans 14:17)

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. ~ The apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 5:21)

I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ~ The apostle Paul (Philippians 3:8-10)

While we seek God's kingdom and righteousness (that is, strive to see God's will and way manifest more and more in our lives), let's do so with gratitude for the gift of righteousness that is already ours.

There is no pressure in Christ. Just the pleasure and purpose of knowing him and working with his people to help change the world.

CONTEMPLATE

(Scripture passages that relate to and deepen our understanding of this topic)

Romans 3-5

CONVERSATION

(Talk together, learn together, grow together)

1. What is God revealing to you about himself through this passage?

2. What is God showing you about yourself through this passage?

3. What is your current experience of "church"? How is it helping you seek God's kingdom and his righteousness?

4. What is one thing you can think, believe, or do differently in light of what you are learning?

5. What questions are you still processing about this topic?

CALL TO ACTION

(Ideas for turning talk into walk)

Let's structure our call to action around our five action points in this article:

1. Learn and live the way of Jesus laid out in Scripture. The good news is, if you're reading this, you can already cross one call to action off your list! Just stick with it and apply what you're learning.

2. Join in fellowship with others who are walking the same path. Are you part of a church in some form or fashion? Not just a place you go for Sunday services, but an engaged group where you get to know and be known by others. If you need help getting connected, please get in touch. You could join or start an 1820.Life group near you or join us online.

3. Pray regularly for God's will and God's way to hold sway in our lives. Daily prayer, even if brief, is a meaningful recentring practice. You may be surprised how God meets with you in these times. (If you need help with daily prayer, go back and read, or reread our article on this topic here.)

4. Invest material wealth into kingdom priorities. Make a regular habit of giving something, even a small amount, to a local church, charity, or person in need. Review the New Testament uses of money listed above, and see if you sense God directing you regarding your finances. (And by the way, there is a "Donate" button on this page here.)

5. Trust, submit, and follow the leading of Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Next time you have a decision to make, pause and make space to listen to the quiet voice of God. (Hint: God's leading will always align with love.)