Week 3 : Matt. 6:1 - 8:17

You then pray in this way: Our Father who is in the heavens, Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on the earth. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
(Matt. 6:9-13)

Probably the most recognisable verses from the Bible are those that make up the so-called Lord's Prayer. Yet these verses aren't prescriptive; Jesus said, "pray in this way", which means that we can take this prayer as a pattern for our prayers, but that we shouldn't simply repeat His words. Most Christians in denominations will recite this prayer at every Sunday morning service, and they may be perfectly sincere in doing so, which is very good; however, there is far more to this pattern of prayer than just the recitation.

Firstly, in verses 9 and 10, we can see the Trinity of the Godhead implied: “Let Your name be sanctified” is mainly related to the Father, “let Your kingdom come” to the Son, and “let Your will be done” to the Spirit. This is being fulfilled in this age, and it will be fulfilled in the coming kingdom age, when the name of God will be excellent in all the earth (Psa. 8:1), the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of Christ (Rev. 11:15), and the will of God will be accomplished.

Verse 9 says, “Our Father Who is in the heavens, let Your name be sanctified.” Today God’s name is not sanctified; rather, it is profaned and made common. Unbelievers may ask, “What is God? Who is God?” People speak about Jesus Christ in the same way that they speak about Plato or Hitler. They make the name of the Lord Jesus common. But we know that the day will come, in the millennium, when the name of God will be sanctified. But, prior to that time, our Father’s name is wholly sanctified in the church life today. We do not call upon the Father or speak the name of the Lord in a common way. Rather, when we say “Father” or “Lord,” we sanctify these holy names. Thus, we need to pray, “O Father, let Your name be sanctified.”

Verse 10 says, “Let Your kingdom come.” Although the kingdom is here in the church life today, the manifestation of the kingdom is yet to come. Thus, we must pray for the coming of the kingdom. This matter of the kingdom is clearly related to God the Son. It then continues, "Let Your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.” Following the rebellion of Satan (Ezek. 28:17; Isa. 14:13-15), the earth fell into the usurping hand of Satan. Thus, the will of God could not be done on earth as in heaven. Hence, God created man with the intention of recovering the earth for Himself (Gen. 1:26-28). After the fall of man, Christ came to bring the heavenly rule to earth so that the earth might be recovered for God’s right, that the will of God might be done on earth as in heaven. This is the purpose of the new King establishing the kingdom of the heavens with His followers. The kingdom people must pray for this until the earth is fully recovered for God’s will in the coming kingdom age.

When the Father’s name is sanctified, the Son’s kingdom has come, and the Spirit’s will is done on earth as in heaven, that will be the time of the manifestation of the kingdom. But we who are in the reality of the kingdom today must pray for these things.

So far, we should pray firstly for God's need; now in verse 11, we may then pray according to our need. When God's need is met, He can then meet our needs. According to verse 11 we are to ask “today” for our “daily bread.” The King does not want His people to worry about tomorrow (v. 34); He only wants us to pray for our needs today. The term “daily bread” indicates living by faith. The kingdom people should not live on what they have stored; rather, by faith they should live on the Father’s daily supply.

We should then also consider our failures before God and our relationships with others. Verse 12 indicates that we must admit and confess that we have shortcomings, mistakes, and wrongdoings. We are in debt to others. Hence, we must ask the Father to forgive us as we forgive others for the Father’s sake.

Verse 13 is interesting. Its purpose is to show us that we are weak, and more particularly, to make us admit that we are weak. If we think that we are strong, we are likely to act independently from the Lord, and do a work not according to His will. Matt. 7:22-23 shows us clearly what the result of that is:

Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, was it not in Your name that we prophesied, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name did many works of power? And then I will declare to them: I never knew you. Depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.

Anything which is done independently from the Lord, even many good things done in His name, is ultimately a work of wood, grass and stubble (1 Cor. 3:12-15), and will eventually be consumed by fire, depriving the owner of their kingdom reward (although not their eternal salvation). Rather, we should say, “Father, I fully realize that I am weak. Please do not bring me into trial. There is no need for You to do that, Father, for I recognize my weakness.” Never say to yourself, “Whatever happens, I am confident I can stand.” If that is your attitude, be prepared to face many trials and temptations, where you will surely fail. Instead, pray that the Father would not bring you into trial, but that He would deliver you from the evil one.

Week 2 : Matt. 4:1 - 5:48

After His baptism by John, His being tempted in the wilderness by the devil, and His beginning of His ministry by calling His disciples and preaching the gospel of the kingdom in Galilee, Jesus took His disciples up a mountain to tell them about the kingdom of the heavens. Although "great crowds followed Him from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan" (Matt. 4:25), only His disciples came up to Him on the mountain (Matt. 5:1).

This means that the "Sermon on the Mount" was only given to His disciples, His believers. It was not given to the Jews of the Old Testament. The Lord described the kingdom of the heavens, a very particular term used only in the gospel of Matthew - the other three gospels refer to the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is God's general reign, from eternity past to eternity future. It includes the patriarchs, the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, the church in the New Testament, the coming millennial kingdom, and the new heaven and new earth with the New Jerusalem in eternity. The kingdom of the heavens, on the other hand, is a section of the kingdom of God, composed of only the church today and the heavenly part of the coming millennial kingdom, just as New South Wales is only a part of the nation of Australia. In the Old Testament times, the kingdom of God was already there, existing with the nation of Israel. However, the New Testament begins with John the Baptist's proclamation:

"Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near" (Matt. 3:2),

revealing that the kingdom of the heavens was actually a person, the very Jesus Christ. (Although note that John only said that the kingdom had drawn near - the kingdom of the heavens did not properly come into existence until the day of Pentecost, when the economical Spirit of God was poured out on the 120 believers (Acts 2:1-4)). Jesus confirmed this when He was questioned by the Pharisees concerning the kingdom:

"...The kingdom of God does not come with observation; Nor will they say, Behold, here it is! or, There! For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." (Luke 17:20-21)

How blind the Pharisees were, to not see that the kingdom of the heavens was standing in the midst of them. This is why the first blessing that the Lord mentions in the so-called Beatitudes is:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens" (Matt. 5:3)

To be poor in spirit means not only to be humble, but also to be emptied in our spirit, not holding on to anything of the old dispensation, being ready to receive the new things, the things of the kingdom of the heavens. Spirit here refers not to the Spirit of God, but the human spirit, the deepest part of our being, the part by which we may contact and receive God. The Pharisees were definitely not poor in spirit; instead they were weighed down and laden with old thoughts and concepts and dead knowledge concerning the Lord and the coming of His kingdom. Oh Lord, make us poor in spirit, so that we can receive the kingdom of the heavens!

Week 1 : Matt. 1:1 - 3:17 (Part 2)

In my previous post, I looked at the genealogy of Jesus Christ. However, I also wanted to touch upon chapter 2, the very familiar Christmas tale of the magi coming to find Jesus. My local shopping centre has had their Christmas decorations up for some weeks now, and there is a very large and prominent nativity scene portrayed. Unfortunately, Christian tradition sometimes uses a little too much creative license in its narrative, and glosses over the intrinsic significance.

The magi received a vision, a star, concerning the birth of the King of the Jews. However, instead of following the vision, they followed their natural thought and concepts, and went to Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish nation - after all, where else would a reasonable person expect to find the King other than the capital city? When they got there, they consulted Herod the king, who asked the priests and scribes. The priests and scribes knew the scriptures, and were able to tell him that the place was Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). This pointed the magi back in the right direction, and they found the star again which led them to the place where Jesus was. I should point out here that the magi did not find Him in a manger in a stable because there was no room at the inn - although the shepherds in Luke found Him there, it would not do to find a King in those circumstances! Instead, Matthew records that they found Him in a house. After this, the magi returned by another route, Joseph fled with Jesus and Mary in fulfillment of the prophecy in Hosea 11:1, and Herod embarked on a campaign of infanticide, in fulfillment of the prophecy in Jer. 31:15.

So far, so familiar to most Christians and even to unbelievers in Western civilizations who get exposed to this on a yearly basis. But what of the intrinsic significance that I alluded to? We may have a vision or a revelation of Christ, but if we follow our natural thought, we will often go in the wrong direction. This wrong direction can have strong negative consequences. To correct ourselves, we need to come to God's Word - the Bible clearly shows us who Jesus is. Living vision always accompanies our reading of the scriptures, and it is the vision that leads us to the very Christ - remember that the prophecy in Micah only named Bethlehem as the place where He was born, but it was the star, the vision, that led the magi to the street and the house where He was. Once we have seen this Christ, our lives are different, and we can no longer travel on the same paths that we travelled before.

It's also interesting to note that although Herod and the priests and the scribes were all made aware by the magi that the King of the Jews had been born, none of them went with the magi to Bethlehem. They had had the scriptures in their possession, they probably knew them by heart, but it was pagans coming from another land who worshipped Him. The Jewish religionists had no heart nor interest for Christ.

Week 1 : Matt. 1:1 - 3:17 (Part 1)

The four Gospels can each be considered a biography of the man Jesus. Each gospel emphasises a particular aspect of His person - Matthew presents Him as the King, the Christ of God prophesied in the Old Testament, who brings the heavens to earth; Mark presents Him as a slave, the Servant of God, labouring faithfully for Him; Luke presents Him as a genuine man, the only proper and normal man who has ever lived - as such a man, He is the Saviour of mankind; and John presents Him as the Son of God, the very God Himself becoming flesh, coming to be life to His people.

The opening of each of the gospels differs according to the aspect that the writer was portraying. A king needs to have his genealogy established, to prove that he is the rightful heir of the throne; so Matthew lists the genealogy of Jesus, starting with Abraham, through David, and ending with Mary. Mark, on the other hand, offers no genealogy - no-one has any interest in the background of a slave. To establish that Jesus was a genuine man, Luke also needed to establish His genealogy, this time starting with Adam and down to Joseph, the husband of Mary. Since John is showing us that Jesus is the eternal God manifested in the flesh, he too has no need to establish a genealogy.

So many believers are uninterested in the genealogies, skipping over chapters full of "so-and-so begat so-and-so, who begat so-and-so", yet even these simple verses are full of significance. For instance, in Matthew's record, of all the antecedents listed, only five are women. Mary, of course was a chaste virgin, but the other four were not so pure - Tamar committed incest, Rahab was a prostitute, Ruth's tribe was the product of incest, and Bathsheba committed adultery - yet each one is specifically mentioned in the genealogy of the King. This shows us that no matter what our original condition, God can still work something marvellous through us, and we can participate in the enjoyment of the birthright of Christ.

Consider the example of Bathsheba. Matthew 1:6 says, "...And David begat Solomon of her who had been the wife of Uriah". Matthew specifically mentions Bathsheba as being another man's wife to emphasise the greatness of David's sin. 2 Samuel 11:2-27 records how King David committed adultery with her, causing her to become pregnant, and then arranged for Uriah to be in the front line of battle. Uriah was killed in action, and David took Bathsheba as his wife. This greatly displeased God, who sent the prophet Nathan to rebuke David. Psalm 51 records David's repentance in reaction to this rebuke:

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from Your presence,
And do not take the Spirit of Your holiness away from me.
Restore to me the gladness of Your salvation,
And sustain me with a willing spirit.

David's repentance issued in God's forgiveness, and as a result, Solomon was born, the one who would build the temple of God in Jerusalem. So this passing reference in Matthew's genealogy to Bathsheba shows us how how our transgressions, followed by our repentance and turning back to God, issue in forgiveness, through which God can continue to bless us.

In the beginning...

"God desires all men to be saved, and to come to the full knowledge of the truth" - 1 Tim. 2:4

Recently, the church in Sydney finished its year-long program of reading through the entire New Testament, including all the footnotes from the Recovery Version. So now we are going to repeat the exercise, except this time taking two years to read through the New Testament.

By taking twice as long, we should have more time to get into the study of the Word, particularly using the Life-Study of the Bible to unlock the riches of God's revelation. I found that it was sometimes quite hard to keep up with the one-year schedule, but so far (less than a week!) it's been much easier.

So for the next two years, I am going to endeavour to be faithful and diligent to study the New Testament, each week blogging about what I enjoyed. Please pray for all the brothers and sisters, that through their labour they would gain not just knowledge of the Lord, but also richer experiences of Him through His Word.