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DAY FOUR: What Does it Mean to Seek First the Kingdom of God?

Embracing the kingdom of God means that we put into practice what Jesus preached. Doing this results in an acute awareness of sin and the need to exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees. The Pharisees had no awareness of sin. They thought they kept the Law because they did not kill anybody and because they did not physically sleep with another man’s wife.

The way one surpasses the righteousness of the Pharisees, then, is by understanding Jesus’ interpretation of the Mosaic Law. In short it meant not hating in your heart, not lusting in your heart, and not misusing the name of the Lord (Matt. 5:21–37).

This is why the Sermon on the Mount cannot be truly understood until you see that it is our Lord’s doctrine of the Holy Spirit. It means we must embrace His interpretation of the Law and how it is fulfilled in us. It means having a bent of life toward not grieving the Holy Spirit. To seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness means that we prioritize our relationship with God and His Spirit vis-à-vis seeking to get our needs and wants supplied.