Matthew 5:6….Working

Matthew 5:6….Working

5:6 “Blessed-{V. 3} are those who hunger and thirst (Spiritual hunger, deepest longing,  all-passionate desire, driving need. Present tense suggests a continual action.) for righteousness, (1343-A right relationship and standing with God. The character of behaving & living right. Syn.-holiness, integrity, godliness. Expresses a spiritual hunger for the things of God and Christlikeness.) for they will be filled. (Suggests God will completely Save and satisfy their souls. Or God will give them the grace, peace, and freedom their looking for.)

Continued From the Book

Teaches those who keep God at the center of their lives will find true fulfillment and satisfaction. ⇔ You live long enough, and you try this and that and nothing seems to ever fill you up. You start wondering if life is playing some kind of cruel joke on you, that it keeps getting your hopes up only to disappoint. Yet Jesus promised, “Shall be filled”. The end of the Christian life is not one of disappointment or disillusionment. The person who keeps centered on God and His word will overcome all obstacles, will find the answers to questions pertaining to their relationship with God, and will find fulfillment and satisfaction in serving God.

Additional Notes & Applications

Teaches how hungering and thirsting for God and His righteousness makes the soul receptive to the voice and message of Christ. Those who have no cravings for God, no longings for Christ, and no thirst for the things of the Spirit will also be insensitive to the Spirit’s promptings. They are like the dead and are in danger of remaining in a state of spiritual stupor that will lead eventually to eternal death.

Teaches if the promise of being “Filled” is conditional. Only those who pursue righteousness as a passion will end up full or satisfied. This means that pursuing God now and then, here and there; hot at one moment and cold at the next will only end in disappointment. Not merely a disappointment at the judgment, but disappointment in this life as well.

Even today, what are your deepest desires? Do you find yourself gravitating toward the world and all that it has to offer? Are you experiencing the blessings of peace and security that come from knowing that you are in right-standing with God? Have you trusted in the person and work of Christ for your soul’s Salvation? Do you have an unquenching desire for God and His Word/Will?

Note: When one is hungering and thirsting after righteousness, one realizes:

• Just being a good moral person is not enough.

• God’s standards cannot be compromised, for His truth is our only guide to eternal life.

• Any issue that God has addressed is a big issue. This means that when one is hungering and thirsting after righteousness, one does not neglect public worship, and neither does one try to see how close one can get to sin or error without sinning.

• God’s standard of righteousness goes far beyond just outward conformity but includes inward purity

• It also includes putting the things of God ahead of all other things and relationships