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Matthew Chapter
Six
I.
Content of the Chapter
The State Citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven
should Have before God
A.
They should have secret righteousness:
1. Principle ------do not do charitable deeds
before men (v.1)
2. Concerning charity (v.2-4)
3. Concerning prayer:
a.
What we should pay attention to about prayer (v.5-8)
b.
Example of prayer (v.9-15)
4. Concerning fasting (v.16-18)
B. They should live a life by faith:
1. Do not lay up for
yourselves treasures (v.19-24).
2. Do not worry about
clothing or food (v.25-32).
3. Seek first His
4. Sufficient for the
day is its own trouble (v.34).
II.
Verse by Verse commentary
Matt. 6:1 “‘Take
heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.
Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.”
YLT:
“‘Take
heed your kindness not to do before men, to be seen by them, and if not --
reward ye have not from your Father who in the heavens;”
Meaning of Words: “take heed”: beware, heed, and be cautious to;
“charitable deeds”: benefaction, righteousness deeds; “reward”: wage.
Literal
Meaning: “take
heed that” this verse is a general warning. It is a topic from v.1 to v.18.
“Do not do your charitable deeds before men”
“Charitable” generally refers to benefaction, prayer, fasting and other
righteous deeds (good deeds). “Before men”: it is visible. The righteous deeds
of citizens of the kingdom of heaven are both before men and before God. The
former emphasized on the open testimony and it would be seen by men (Matt.
5:16); the latter emphasized on deeds in secret and it would be seen by God
(v.4, v.6, v.18). These two sides should be moderate and balanced.
“To be seen by them” “To be seen” shows the
problem is the intention of those who do righteous deeds.
“Otherwise you have no reward from your
Father in heaven” There is no reward at all. Because doing one thing only
deserves one wage, if one has received the reward from men, he will have no
reward from God. Moreover, he did not do it for God and so that God does not
owe the wage to him. What the Lord rebuked here is not the charitable deeds but
the intention to do charitable deeds. If we do charitable deeds to show off
ourselves and gain others’ praise, we are the hypocrites (Matt. 23:5) and
therefore have no reward from God.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) There are
temptations of two kinds of extremities when Christians do righteous deeds: one
is that Christians do righteous deeds completely before men, being affected by
men; the other is that they walk according to their own pleasure, not being
affected by men at all and consequently they are rejected and criticized by
men, not edifying others. Both of these two are of no good.
2) Christians should acquire a habit of doing
charitable deeds in secret. Those who only live before men will never please
God.
3) The world evaluates by the nature of things and
believers evaluate by motivations behind things. Believers should never do evil
things or even good things with adulterated motives.
4) One should not do a good thing with the purpose
to be seen by others. What indeed pleases God is that one does a good thing
lest he is seen and praised by others.
5) Those who seek to be in public are of flesh. Men
of flesh like to be exalted, noticed and praised by others.
Matt. 6:2 “Therefore, when you do a
charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I
say to you, they have their reward.”
YLT:
“whenever,
therefore, thou mayest do kindness, thou mayest not sound a trumpet before thee
as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues, and in the streets, that they may have
glory from men; verily I say to you -- they have their reward!”
Meaning of Words: “do a charitable deed”: help out, have compassion,
and sympathize; “the hypocrites”: performance, act; “have”: receive, receive in
full, pay up a bill (used in accountant).
The Background:
“the hypocrites” This word originated with
the actors on stage who spoke with masks to cover their original appearance so
as to play the role vividly.
Literal
Meaning: “do a charitable
deed”: help done by one’s compassion;
“They may have”: they have received what they deserve;
“They have their reward”: glory from men. It means to gain fame and
praise from men.
Spiritual Meaning: “in the synagogues
and in the streets” “In the synagogues” symbolizes in the assembly. “In the
streets” symbolizes before the world.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The aim of
charitable deeds is to help the poor rather than one’s own complacence and
glory. It should be done in secret to help others with money, otherwise it
would make one proud and also corrupt others.
2) The aim of charitable deeds is to lay up treasures
in heaven (see v.20) and settle accounts before God in future. However, if
someone does charitable deeds purposely before men, the account has been
settled at that time.
3) One could not receive both the “glory from men”
and the “reward” from Father in heaven. If one has the glory from men, he won’t
have the reward from Father in heaven. If one rejects the glory from men, he
will receive favor in secret from Father in heaven.
4) Believers should do their utmost to avoid glory
from men and praise from brothers and sisters.
5) What the hypocrites behave does not accord with
what they think. They behave in one way and think in another. Their behavior is
for others (doing charitable deeds) and their motives are for themselves
(coveting fame).
6) Those who do charitable deeds to be seen by
others only seek for glory from men and they have never considered seeking for
the reward from Father in heaven. It’s no wander that they have no reward from
Father in heaven.
Matt. 6:3 “But when you do a
charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,”
YLT:
“`But thou, doing
kindness, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth,”
Literal
Meaning: “do not let your
left hand know what your right hand is doing” It shows that one tries his
utmost not to be noticed by others. He even does not allow himself to have the
awareness that he is doing charitable deeds. Here it does not mean that we do
not let anyone else know our charitable deed for it is impossible. It means
that we should not hold the showing-off attitude.
Spiritual Meaning: “right hand”
symbolizes the good aspect which is of God.
“Left hand” symbolizes the usual aspect
which is of man.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) When a truly
broken man does a charitable deed, he won’t purposely let others know, and he
even does not regard it amazing.
2) When we do charitable deeds by God (the right
hand), we should not let our left hand know------not allow our flesh to have a
chance to partake in (Rom. 8: 8).
Matt. 6:4 “that your charitable deed
may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you
openly.”
YLT:
“that thy kindness
may be in secret, and thy Father who is seeing in secret Himself shall reward
thee manifestly.”
Literal
Meaning: the eyes of Jehovah
run to and fro through the whole earth (2Chr. 16:9) and therefore “your
charitable deed may be in secret” means that doing charitable deeds only before
God.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) God carefully
sees everything we do and He will remember us if we give to drink to one of
these little ones a cup of cold only (Matt. 10:42).
2) What God sees is not our behavior before men but
our life in secret.
3) Natural life loves to hide his disadvantages and
show off his advantages (“sounding a trumpet”). However, the heavenly
disposition loves to hide his advantage (“your charitable deed may be in
secret”) and does not love to purposely hide his disvantages.
4) Shall we seek for reward from men or reward from
God? If we do not have spiritual sight, we could not live in the principle that
“your charitable deed may be in secret”
Matt. 6:5 “‘And
when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray
standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be
seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.”
YLT:
“`And when thou
mayest pray, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites, because they love in the
synagogues, and in the corners of the broad places -- standing -- to pray, that
they may be seen of men; verily I say to you, that they have their reward.”
Meaning of Words: “love”: be found of (it has personnel attachment);
“on the corners”: broad corners formed by two walls; “be seen”: appear to.
Literal
Meaning: the
Lord Jesus did not mean that praying in public was wrong. He meant that one
should not pray for the purpose of being seen by others.
This verse implies that their prayer had
received the reward that they had hoped for from men and their prayer would not
be heard or answered by God.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Though believers
pray in every place (1Tim. 2:8), we should not put on a show to be seen by
others. If one prays with the aim of being seen and praised by others, he only
talks and prays to himself.
2) Prayer is a matter of communication between men
and God. What we should care about is God’s feeling to our prayers instead of
men’s feeling to us.
Matt. 6:6 “But you, when you pray,
go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is
in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
YLT:
“`But thou, when
thou mayest pray, go into thy chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy
Father who in secret, and thy Father who is seeing in secret, shall reward thee
manifestly.”
Literal
Meaning: “your room” “room”:
bedroom, the quietest room in the house.
“In the secret place” It is not in dark place, but
in concealed place.
“Will reward you openly” It does not refer to the
common answer to pray, but the reward in future. The content of believers’
prayers may be answered in this time and the behavior of believers’ prayers
will be rewarded in the coming age.
Spiritual Meaning: “going into your
room” symbolizes entering into the depth of spirit.
“Shutting your door” symbolizes not letting
things of the outside world in for distraction.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Praying is the
innermost secret life of believers. If we only pray before men, it is shown
that we are very shallow.
2) When we pray, we should return to the depth of
our heart (“go into your room”), lay aside all the things besides God (“shut
your door”) and meet God in spirit (“Father who is in the secret place”).
3) Praying in the Holy Spirit (Jude. 20) is the key
to touch the Lord.
4) If the motive of our prayer is to communicate
with God, He will assuredly hear and answer our prayer.
5) Prayer will not only be “heard” but also be
“seen” by God. Usually, though we may not have many words before God, our
attitude and intention will express what we could not utter (Rom. 8:26) to God.
6) All our prayers in secret may not be answered by
God today, but these prayers are counted as charitable deeds (v.1) and
therefore there will be reward in future.
7) Prayer is the representation of believers’
spiritual life. It is the most dangerous to believers that they only have
public spiritual life before men and lack secret spiritual life before God.
Matt. 6:7 “And when you pray, do not
use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard
for their many words.”
YLT:
“`And -- praying --
ye may not use vain repetitions like the nations, for they think that in their
much speaking they shall be heard,”
Meaning of Words: “repetitions”: superfluous words, empty words,
monotonous words (the sound of a stream flowing through stones); “many words”:
meaningless words (the sound of vehicles rolling over pebbles)
Literal
Meaning: “the heathen”: those
who believe in other gods. They speak repeatedly and called the names of their
gods unceasingly, afraid lest their false gods could not hear them.
“Many words” Here it does not mean that
we should not pray for one thing again and again (Mark. 14:36, 39, 41). It
means that we should not pray with superfluous phases, many meaningless and
empty words or long and ritual sentences.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) We should not
pray emptily (“repetitions”) or long-windedly (“many words”). We should pray
concisely and comprehensively. Moreover there should be substance in prayer to
express inner burdens.
2) In our prayers, there’re probably many words
said towards men instead of towards God.
3) Though the words of prayer are important, the
person who prays is more important. What is important in prayer is not decency
of words, but spirit and truth and the inner urgent burden and need.
4) There is a crisis we may have when praying in
meetings: we may be affected by others. Many words are prayed according to
people’s reaction rather than burden.
Matt. 6:8 “‘Therefore
do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before
you ask Him.”
YLT:
“be ye not therefore
like to them, for your Father doth know those things that ye have need of
before your asking him;”
Literal
Meaning: Since God has
already known, do we have to pray to Him? That’s because when we pray to God,
we admit our needs before God and rely on Him.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Though God has
already known the things we have need of, we should still, in everything, let
our requests be made known to God by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
(Pill. 4:6)
2) Saints pray not
only to seek something for themselves, but also to have communication with God
and to dedicate their hearts to God.
Matt. 6:9 “In this manner,
therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”
YLT:
“thus therefore pray
ye: `Our Father who in the heavens! hallowed be Thy name.”
Literal
Meaning: the Lord did not
want us to recite exactly according to the prayer. What He did was to give us
an example of prayer and to teach us the principle of prayer.
“Our Father in heaven” Only the children of
God who are born from above could pray in this manner.
“Hallowed be Your name” To Jewish people,
“name” stands for one’s uniqueness. Here it denotes God’s character and nature.
This sentence means that God should be exalted
above all in the hearts of all men.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Usually we do not
know what we should pray (Rom. 8:26) and therefore we should ask the Lord to
teach us to pray with a heart willing to be instructed (Luke. 11:1).
2) We should start our prayer with worship, praise
and honor for that are what He deserves.
3) Today, many people on earth ignore, despise and
insult God’s name and even among believers, many call God’s name rashly and
casually.
Matt. 6:10 “Your kingdom come. Your
will be done On earth as it is in heaven.”
YLT:
“`Thy reign come:
Thy will come to pass, as in heaven also on the earth.”
Literal
Meaning: “Your kingdom come”:
may God reign among people on the earth.
“Your will be done on earth as it is in
heaven”: people on earth all do the will of God.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Today not merely
the world rebel against God and gainsay Him. God’s people honor Him with the
lips, but their heart is far away from Him (Matt. 15:8). They do not live in
the reality of the
2) Today God’s will
is done in heaven without any hindrance and it is hindered by men’s will on
earth. Therefore we need to pray to make paths straight for God.
3) God’s will is
like river and our prayer is like small pipe. God’s will is usually retrained
by prayer of His citizens.
4) Today many believers, standing on their own
sides, pray for their own needs. Few believers, standing on the side of God,
pray for the
5) The highest prayer of believers is that they work
with God through prayer. It is to pray with the single-minded aim of exalting
God’s name, bringing in the
6) If the
7) The working principle of God is: God has a will
and He would let those who are of God know it at first and ask them to pray to
God for this will. Then God will answer their prayer to fulfill His own will.
8) The true and effective prayer is to know the
will of God at first and let the will of prayers accord with the will of God to
move the mighty hand of God so as to fulfill the contents of prayer.
Matt. 6:11 “Give us this day our
daily bread.”
YLT:
“`Our appointed
bread give us to-day.”
Literal
Meaning: “our daily bread”
stands for the necessities of life instead of luxury goods.
Though we should not worry about our life or
food (see v. 25-31), we should pray for our daily bread. Though God will
assuredly provide us with daily bread, we still have to pray. We are exercised
to trust in God in everything by this.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) When we live in
this world, if we could regard the profits of God, God will assuredly regard
our daily needs. For if we live, we live to the Lord (
2) Apparently, we get our daily bread by our toil
(Gen. 3:17). Actually, it is given from God who affords us all things richly
for enjoyment (1Tim. 6:17). Therefore, we should rely on God’s provision of
both the spiritual and material needs.
3) God gives us bread day by day because He wants
us to pray day by day. Those who live by relying on God ask for bread day by
day instead of week by week.
Matt. 6:12 “And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.”
YLT:
“`And forgive us our
debts, as also we forgive our debtors.”
Literal
Meaning: “forgive us our
debts” “debts” refers to moral debts: offences against God and men.
This verse implies that the requirement of
answering our prayer is to forgive others at first. If we do not forgive
others, our conscience will not be good. Without good conscience we will also
lose faith (1Tim. 1:19). Our prayer will not be answered by God without faith.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The moment we
live in natural life, we will sin and fall short of the glory of God (Rom.
3:23). Therefore we should confess our sins every day and ask God to forgive
our sins (1John. 1:8-10).
2) God’s will is to forgive men’s debts (offences)
willingly. Since He has forgiven our debts, He assuredly wants us to forgive
other’s debts just like what He does (Matt. 18:21-35).
3) If men could not commune with men, men will not
commune with God.
Matt. 6:13 “And do not lead us into
temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the
power and the glory forever. Amen.”
YLT:
“`And mayest Thou
not lead us to temptation, but deliver us from the evil, because Thine is the
reign, and the power, and the glory -- to the ages. Amen.”
Meaning of Words: “temptation”: trial; “deliver from”: save; “the
evil one”: the devil is a person and with a mind. “Amen”: trustworthy, surely.
Literal
Meaning: “do not lead us into
temptation” means that do not let us suffer the temptations that we could not
resist. Here the Lord taught us to admit our weakness and ask God to keep us by
praying.
“For” shows the basis why we should pray in
this manner and shows that prayer in this manner will assuredly be answered by
God.
“Yours is the kingdom and the power and the
glory forever.” “Kingdom” is the area where God reigns. “Power” is the working
of God. “Glory” is the manifestation of God.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) When believers
stand on the side of God and pray for the name, kingdom and will of God, the
power of Hades will attack us. Therefore we need to be kept by God.
2) The devil, the tempter (Matt. 4:3), as a raring
lion walks about seeking whom he may devour (1Pet. 5:8). Nobody could resist
the devil by his own strength and therefore we need to rely on God’s keep.
3) The whole world lies in the wicked, but we are
of God and the wicked does not touch us (1John. 5:18-19). However, we should
still be united with God by prayer and hide ourselves in Him.
4) Sometimes, we apparently pray for us, however,
our intention is to bring in the
Matt. 6:14 “‘For
if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive
you.”
YLT:
“`For, if ye may
forgive men their trespasses He also will forgive you -- your Father who in the
heavens;”
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Even though our
intention is for God, our behavior may not be worthy of God. Therefore we
should ask God to forgive us and then we could approach with boldness to Him
and pray to God (Heb. 4:16).
2) If we want our trespasses to be forgiven by God,
we have to forgive men their trespasses at first. Only those who are able to
forgive others could be worthy to pray for God.
Matt. 6:15 “But if you do not forgive
men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
YLT:
“but if ye may not
forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses.”
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) For judgment
without mercy to him that has shown no mercy (James. 2:13).
2) Believers should not criticize others at will
and condemn others for sins. Your attitude towards others affects God’s
attitude towards us.
Matt. 6:16 “‘Moreover,
when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they
disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I
say to you, they have their reward.”
YLT:
“`And when ye may
fast, be ye not as the hypocrites, of sour countenances, for they disfigure
their faces, that they may appear to men fasting; verily I say to you, that
they have their reward.”
Literal
Meaning: The one who fasts
should not show his painfulness to gain others’ attention and compassion. Three
meanings of fasting are as below:
1) It is a manifestation that one humbles
himself before God and seeks for God’s compassion.
2) It is a manifestation that one treats the
body harshly before God.
3) It is a manifestation that one is
grievous and urgent before God for his heavy burden and is in need of God’s
special grace.
Spiritual Meaning: fasting shows that
one works with God and willingly gives up his reasonable enjoyments. Therefore
it symbolizes that one denies himself and takes up his own cross and follows
the Lord (Matt. 16:24).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The power to be
willing to do charitable deeds comes from prayer. The much power of prayer
comes from fasting. Fasting shows that one has agreed with the Lord and works
with the Lord. It is the highest peak among believers’ charitable deeds.
2) Doing charitable deeds is giving others what we
own and fasting is to give up what is reasonable for us to enjoyments.
3) The knowledge we have about the meaning of
fasting determines how much we could appropriate the spiritual power.
Matt. 6:17 “But you, when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face,”
YLT:
“`But thou, fasting,
anoint thy head, and wash thy face,”
Meaning of Words: “anoint your head”: anoint one’s head with oil.
The background: when fasting, the
Jews usually sprinkle ashes on their heads. They anoint their head and wash
their face on happy occasions.
Literal
Meaning: “anoint your head
and wash your face” shows that everything goes as usual in appearance.
Spiritual Meaning: “anoint your head”:
anoint one’s head with oil; “oil” symbolizes the Holy Spirit.
“Wash your face”: one washes his face with
water. “Water” symbolizes the words of the Lord (Eph. 5:26).
“Anoint your head and wash your face”
symbolizes that one is immersed wholly into the spirit and words of life and by
this his spots have been cleaned.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) “Anoint your head
and wash your face.” It is purposely not to appear to men. Anyone who truly
knows God would purposely hide spiritual advantages.
2) Those who expose spiritual things to men are the
most superficial ones. The biggest lose of Christians is that they only know to
live before men instead of to live before God.
Matt. 6:18 “so that you do not appear
to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your
Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
YLT:
“that thou mayest
not appear to men fasting, but to thy Father who in secret, and thy Father, who
is seeing in secret, shall reward thee manifestly.”
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) If we only regard
men’s evaluation, our charitable deeds, prayer and fasting will be useless in
God’s eyes. However if we seek to do these in secret for God, we will assuredly
receive His notice and reward.
2) Fasting means that the burden in spirit is so
heavy that he is unable to eat and drink. Therefore it needs God’s special
grace to support him. If our hearts are fully for God, God will pour out His
full grace on us.
3) Those who appear to men to be fasting were
condemned by the Lord (v.16). However, those who do not appear to men to be
fasting were praised by the Lord.
4) One who truly lives before God lives a life in
secret.
Matt. 6:19 “‘Do
not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and
where thieves break in and steal;”
YLT:
“`Treasure not up to
yourselves treasures on the earth, where moth and rust disfigure, and where
thieves break through and steal,”
Literal
Meaning: “lay up for
yourselves treasures on earth” This sentence shows that treasures on earth are
connected with “selves”. Those who are greedy for treasures are full of
themselves.
“Moth” indicates that treasures will
naturally be devalued by the change of external environment.
“Rust destroys” refers to the consumption,
deterioration and attrition of treasures by themselves.
“Thieves break in and steal” indicates that
some personal factors make treasures flow into others’ pockets unwittingly.
These three factors above cause that
treasures are not reliable and they could not provide men with guarantees.
Controversial Clarification: we could not explain this verse in this way:
the Lord Jesus asked believers to spend all the money every day, eat rice up
and do not deposit money in a bank. The Lord meant that we should not merely
lay up treasures for ourselves and should use treasures for God and others. The
Lord wanted us to rely on God instead of only rely on treasures.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) God has condemned
the lazy treasures. Believers should not waste money and not be reluctant to
spend reasonable costs.
2) The trait of treasures on earth is that they
will be destroyed, corrupted and devaluated. Therefore they are not worthy of
our too much effort, energy and time. Moreover, we should not fully rely on
treasures.
Matt. 6:20 “but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do
not break in and steal.”
YLT:
“but treasure up to
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth disfigure, and
where thieves do not break through nor steal,”
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Give treasures to
the poor, especially the poor among Saints, and by doing this you lay up
treasures in heaven (Matt. 19:21, Rom. 15:26, 2Cor. 9:9).
2) Laying up
treasures in heaven is that believers open a bank account in heaven and they
could draw from God when we are in need. The bank on earth may go bankrupt but
the bank in heaven is unfailing forever.
3) Today every penny we spent for the Lord has its
everlasting value.
Matt. 6:21 “For where your treasure
is, there your heart will be also.”
YLT:
“for where your
treasure is, there will be also your heart.”
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) If we want to
convey our hearts into heaven, we have to lay up treasures in heaven at first.
Treasures go into heaven first and hearts follow the treasures.
2) What mostly attracts one’s heart is treasure. If
we only lay up our treasure on earth, our hearts will only mind things on
earth. On the contrary, if we lay our treasure in heaven, our hearts will be
attracted every day and mind things in heaven.
3) The
4) We may quickly know where one’s treasure is by
his conversation. If one’s treasure is in heaven, he will talk about things in
heaven very soon. If one’s treasure is on earth, soon he will talk at length
about mineral, speculating business, stocks, interest rate and etc.
Matt. 6:22 “‘The
lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body
will be full of light.”
YLT:
“`The lamp of the
body is the eye, if, therefore, thine eye may be perfect, all thy body shall be
enlightened,”
Meaning of Words: “good”: pure, single, single-minded, sound.
Literal
Meaning: here it illustrates
the connection between heart and life with the connection between the eye and
body. Eye here stands for profit, desire, ambition and the direction that one
is attracted to.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The condition of
one’s eyes determines the condition of his vision. In like manner, whether
one’s intention towards God is single determines whether his life has a proper
direction and meaning.
2) What men’s eyes see usually shows what men love
in their hearts. The eye is “the lamp of the body”. The eye will light up and
show what are hidden deeply in the whole body.
3) The eye could stand for the man. From the things
that his eye loves to see, the trend of his heart is seen. The pride or
humbleness of one’s eyes shows his character.
4) If our hearts mind things in heaven fully, our
eyes will focus on God Himself solely, our whole body will be full of light and
our spiritual senses will be opened.
5) If we want to have the spiritual enlightenment,
we should turn our eyes to God (2Cor. 3:16). The reason why children of God do
not have the spiritual enlightenment is that they have not turned their hearts
to God.
6) How perfect one’s heart is towards God depends
on the extent of his dedication to God. The more completely one devotes himself
to God, the more perfect his heart will be towards God and the lighter his
spiritual vision will be.
Matt. 6:23 “But if your eye is bad,
your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you
is darkness, how great is that darkness!”
YLT:
“but if thine eye
may be evil, all thy body shall be dark; if, therefore, the light that in thee
is darkness -- the darkness, how great!”
Meaning of Words: “bad”: evil, wicked.
Literal
Meaning: two eyes could only
see one thing at one time. If one’s eyes want to see two things at one time,
his sight will be blurred.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Spiritual sight
is very important. If men are in darkness, they are in sins and they are not
living in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:8, 1John. 1:5-6).
2) Those who wholeheartedly lay up treasures on
earth have single sight towards money. Today, the most troublesome ones are
those that want to lay up treasures both on earth and in heaven.
3)
4) If we want to lay up treasures both in heaven
and on earth, our hearts will vacillate and become bad and our whole body will
fall in darkness.
5) If you put treasures before your eyes, naturally
your eyes will not see God and light, and you will assuredly fall into
darkness. If you turn your heart away from treasures, you will assuredly have
light.
6) The problem that believers do not have
enlightenment while reading the Bible and lack spiritual opening towards God’s
words lies in the devotedness of treasures. The more important we regard
treasures as, the darker it will be in us.
7) Once our hearts wander from the Lord, all kinds
of things of the world will attract our eyes to make ours eyes bad and unwittingly
we may fall into darkness.
8) Eyes of citizens of the kingdom of heaven have
been opened and have turned from darkness to light (Acts. 26:18). If they fall
into darkness again, their last state will be worse than the first (2Pet.
2:20).
Matt. 6:24 “‘No
one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other,
or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God
and mammon.”
YLT:
“`None is able to
serve two lords, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will
hold to the one, and despise the other; ye are not able to serve God and
Mammon.”
Meaning of Words: “mammon”: money, profit, treasures.
Literal
Meaning: citizens of the
kingdom of heaven have been bought by a price and they are not their own (1Cor.
6:19-20), but His own special people (1Pet. 2:9). However if our hearts are
inclined to treasure, treasure will occupy our hearts and become our lord.
Consequently, we are unwittingly under its control and bondage.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Treasure on earth
is the enemy of God and it will steal the service that God deserves. If one
loves treasure on earth, he will not love God fully. We could not love both God
and treasure.
2) The love of money is root of every evil. Someone
had aspired after money and had wandered from the faith (1Tim. 6:10).
3) Today, the greatest temptation to believers is
to serve two masters------they want to serve both God and money. Consequently,
God is always despised.
4) Only when one loves God will his heart be
enlarged. When one is divorced from the attraction of money and loves God only,
his heart will be enlarged to the greatest extent.
5) A double-minded attitude is unacceptable and
there could be nothing such as a spiritual hedger. One is not serving God at
all unless he serves God wholeheartedly.
Matt. 6:25 “‘Therefore
I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will
drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food
and the body more than clothing?”
YLT:
“`Because of this I
say to you, be not anxious for your life, what ye may eat, and what ye may
drink, nor for your body, what ye may put on. Is not the life more than the
nourishment, and the body than the clothing?”
Meaning of Words: “life”: soul; “worry about”: distract.
Literal
Meaning: “therefore” shows
that it is connected with v.24------our worries about daily necessities (food
and clothing) may lead us to serve mammon.
Since God has created our body, He will care
about the needs of our body.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Since God has
given us life, He will care about the needs of life and give us things to eat
and drink. In Him we exist (Acts. 17:28).
2) It is a sin that believers worry about food and
drink and clothing because worry shows that they do not trust in God’s care.
3) A believer should not let his body become the
lord of his life. The body is the servant instead of the lord.
4) On one hand the Lord asks us to pray for daily
bread (v.11); on the other, He asks us not to worry about food and clothing.
Prayer is the expression of belief. One asks and trusts that He will assuredly
give to him. Worry is the expression of unbelief.
Matt. 6:26 “Look at the birds of the
air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
YLT:
“look to the fowls
of the heaven, for they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into storehouses, and
your heavenly Father doth nourish them; are not ye much better than they?”
Controversial Clarification:
here the Lord did not meant that we should
not labor for life (see Gen. 3:17). He did not tell us that we should not work
to make a living. If any man does not like to work, neither let him eat
(2Thess. 3:10). The Lord meant that our provision lies in the hand of God and
therefore we should trust in God instead of ourselves in this matter.
Spiritual Meaning: “the birds of the
air” symbolizes heavenly life with faith.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) A life by faith
keeps aloof like birds of the air that they do not run for themselves (“they
neither sow”) or save for themselves (“nor gather into barns”).
2) A life by faith is that we have nothing except
Father in heaven------He is my lord who “feeds” me.
Matt. 6:27 “Which of you by worrying
can add one cubit to his stature?”
YLT:
“`And who of you,
being anxious, is able to add to his age one cubit?”
Meaning of Words: “worry”: be anxious about, take thought.
Literal
Meaning: Our length of life
and stature are decided by God and men’s worry won’t change God’s arrangements.
Our worry is unhelpful and therefore there is no need to worry in vain.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Worry is unbelief
towards God. God wants us to be carful about nothing (Pill. 4:6).
2) There is no need to worry about things that we
are able to do. Worrying about things that we are unable to do is useless. The
most useless thing in the world is worrying.
Matt. 6:28 “‘So
why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they
grow: they neither toil nor spin;”
YLT:
“and about clothing
why are ye anxious? consider well the lilies of the field; how do they grow?
they do not labour, nor do they spin;”
Spiritual Meaning: “lilies” symbolizes
a life by faith that is under the care of God and without any artificial work
(S. of Sol 2:1-2).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) A life by faith
is pure as lilies of the field, without any artificial work (“they neither
toil”) or decoration (“nor spin”), but only resting in the care of God.
2) The birds of the air and lilies of the field
both testify the principle of God’s grace------to receive freely instead of to
gain by labor.
Matt. 6:29 “and yet I say to you that
even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”
YLT:
“and I say to you, that
not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these.”
The Background:
“even Solomon in all his glory” The days of
Solomon were the most prosperous period in the history of
Spiritual Meaning: What Solomon was
arrayed was the best artificial one; “like one of these” symbolizes what is
made by God’s hand.
Enlightenment in the Word: any man-made achievement cannot compare with that
grows up in life.
Matt. 6:30 “Now if God so clothes the
grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will
He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”
YLT:
“`And if the herb of
the field, that to-day is, and to-morrow is cast to the furnace, God doth so
clothe -- not much more you, O ye of little faith?”
The Background:
“the grass of the field…is thrown into the
oven” Men in the
Literal
Meaning: God so clothes the
grass of the field that is of no use. Therefore God will assuredly care about
us according to our use before God.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) A life by faith
is resting on “today” that is arranged by God ------“give us this day” (food)
and “today is” (clothing).
2) Men are the center of God’s creatures. All
things exist for the provisions to men. If believers know our status in God’s
heart, we will not worry about their living.
3) Having faith towards God will save us from many
useless worries. If someone does not have faith (or has little faith) towards
God, how miserable his life will be!
Matt. 6:31 “’Therefore
do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?' or ‘What shall we drink?' or ‘What
shall we wear?'”
YLT:
“therefore ye may
not be anxious, saying, What may we eat? or, What may we drink? or, What may we
put round?”
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The moment
believers worry about food and drink and clothing, he loses his use. Those who
are full of worries cannot be used by God and cannot partake in God’s work.
2) Believers have to do their duties of life and
should not worry about life.
Matt. 6:32 “For after all these
things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all
these things.”
YLT:
“for all these do
the nations seek for, for your heavenly Father doth know that ye have need of
all these;”
Meaning of Words: “For after all these things the Gentiles seek” “the
Gentiles”: unbelievers in the world. What believers seek after should be different
from what unbelievers seek after.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The world does
not know God and therefore they worry about life. We could cast all our care
upon Him (1Pet. 5:7).
2) God is the Father
of citizens of the kingdom of heaven. He is the fountainhead of every good gift
and every perfect gift and He surely will give us what we need (James.1:17).
3) God will give us
what we “need” and He is not willing to give us what we “seek after” (what we
love and hope for).
Matt. 6:33 “But seek first the
YLT:
“but seek ye first
the reign of God and His righteousness, and all these shall be added to you.”
Literal
Meaning: Here it is “seeking”
in life instead of “asking” in prayer. We should live a life with an attitude
of seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness------let God reign us in
our life (“the kingdom of God”) and let Him be manifested in our life (“His
righteousness”).
“All these things shall be added to you” As
long as citizens of kingdom of God seek the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, they will gain the kingdom of God and His righteousness and
additionally their daily necessities.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Here the Lord
connects “the
2) “The
3) Believers’ life should be controlled by God (the
4) It is of no meaning to have a zero first and
other numbers simply added to it. You must firstly have an effective number for
other numbers to follow. You have to seek first the
5) Those who seek the
6) God minds the needs of those who mind the things
of God.
Matt. 6:34 “Therefore do not worry
about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for
the day is its own trouble.”
YLT:
“Be not therefore
anxious for the morrow, for the morrow shall be anxious for its own things;
sufficient for the day the evil of it.”
Literal
Meaning: God wants us to pay
attention to “today”. He does not want us to reach for what is beyond our grasp
or worry about tomorrow. One takes one step after a lead on the way by faith.
The lead of the Lord is first a lamp unto one’s feet and then a light unto
one’s path.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Citizens of the
kingdom of heaven should live well “today” and should not become slaves of
“tomorrow”. Actually, we do not know what will be on the morrow (James. 4:14).
2) Citizens of the
kingdom of heaven unavoidably have tribulation in the world (John. 16:33) and
therefore we should have faith. Faith is for “today” (Heb. 3:13-14) rather than
“tomorrow”.
3) God hasn’t given us the extra effort to hold the
burden of tomorrow. Never let
worries bind your souls and let God’s grace lead us live every day because
worry covers the shine of today like the darkness of tomorrow.
4) All the worries about tomorrow are produced by
imagination. God’s grace will give to those who are truly in trouble instead of
those who are imaginatively in trouble.
III.
Outlines of the Spiritual Lessons
Charitable Deeds of
the Citizens of the
II. Charitable deeds to
“men”------benefaction (v.2-4)
III. Charitable deeds to “God”------prayer
(v. 5-8)
IV. Charitable deeds to
“oneself”------fasting (v.16-18)
V. Result------God will Himself reward you
openly (v.4, 6, 18)
Prayer of Several
Kinds of People
A. way------in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets (v.5)
B. aim------they may be seen by men (v.5)
II. The heathen:
A. way------vain repetitions (v.6)
B. aim------seeking for what to eat and what to drink (v.31-32)
III. The Saints:
A. way------in secret (v.6)
B. aim------seeking first the
Three “Do not”s and
Three “Do”s (v.5-8)
II. Do not use vain repetitions
III. Do not use many words
IV. Go into your room (return into the depth
of spirit)
V. Shut your door (lay aside all the things
besides God)
VI. Pray to your Father who is in the secret
place (meet God in spirit)
The Content of
Prayer (v.9-15)
II. Obedience and warfare------ Your kingdom come.
III. One heart and working together ------
Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
IV. Trust and thanksgiving------ Give us this day our daily bread.
V. Confession and dealing with sins------ And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our
debtors.
VI. Asking and entrusting------ And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us
from the evil one.
VII. Praise and Amen------ For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the
glory forever. Amen.
Knowledge the
Citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven should Hold
I. Treasure on earth is not reliable (v.19)
II. Treasure in heaven is everlasting (v.20)
III. Treasure on earth is able to darken
one’s eyes in heart (v.21-23)
IV. Treasure on earth is the enemy of God
(v.24)
Attitudes the
Citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven should Hold
I. Do not worry about food and drink
(v.25-27)
II. Do not worry about clothing (v.25,
28-30)
III. Citizens of the kingdom of heaven
should be different from the Gentiles (v.31-32)
IV. Seek first the
V. Do not worry about tomorrow (v.34)
Three “not”s about
worry
I. We can not worry (v.19-24)
II. We do not worry (v.25)
III. We should not worry (v.26-34)
Why Christians Do
not Need to Worry
I. Worry will make men rely on money:
A. Treasure is not reliable (v.19-20).
B. Treasure will make one’s inner part dark
(v.21-23).
C. Treasure will make men lose the love of
God (v.24)
II. There is no need to worry about food and
drink and clothing:
A. Worrying about food and drink and clothing
is worrying about life and body (v.25).
B. The existence of life and body lie in
Father in heaven (v.26).
C. Men cannot change life or stature by
worrying (v.27).
D. Men’s life and body are more precious
than birds of the air and lilies of the fields (v.26, 28-31).
E. Heavenly Father knows that you need all
these things (v.32).
F. If we life for the
III. Do not worry about tomorrow (v.34):
A. Tomorrow will worry
about its own things.
B. Sufficient for the
day is its own trouble.
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Sharon Ren