Questions and Answers | See First God's Kingdom
Matthew 6:33 tells us to "seek first [God's] kingdom and his righteousness." Please explain the meaning of kingdom in this context.
In the context of Matthew 6, the kingdom is God’s royal and heavenly rule which broke into our fallen world at the first coming of Messiah Jesus (Matt. 3:2; 4:17). While the kingdom will be consummated at the Lord’s Second Coming (Isa. 11:1– 10; 32:1–4; Luke 1:31–33; Rev. 20:4–6), today believers are able to experience the redemptive and saving rule of God through faith in Christ (John 3:1–8; Rom. 14:17; Col. 1:13). To seek God’s kingdom means to submit to the reign of God and serve as His agents to advance Christ’s kingdom in our immediate spheres of influence and in our world today. Instead of anxious pursuits of earthly things, we seek first God’s kingdom. The verb seek is an imperative. The Lord commands us to seek His kingdom. The verb is in the present tense, meaning it’s something we are to do now in the power of the Spirit—habitually and constantly. We are to seek the kingdom first. Seeking God and His kingdom should be the number one and supreme priority in the life of every follower of Christ.
BY Dr. Winfred O. Neely
Dr. Winfred Neely is Vice President and Dean of Moody Theological Seminary and Graduate School. An ordained minister, Winfred has served churches across the city of Chicago, the near west suburbs, and Senegal, West Africa. He is the author of How to Overcome Worry (Moody Publishers) and a contributor to the Moody Bible Commentary and Moody Handbook of Preaching. Winfred and his wife Stephne have been married for forty years and have four adult children and nine grandchildren.