3.5.2016 SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS (matthew 6.33)

taken from Lenski's commentary on matthew

285  ...'but be seeking first the kingdom and the righteousness that are His and these things all will be added unto you.
this supreme seeking, described as hunger and thirst in 5.6, is the distinctive mark of all true disciples. we may translate the present imperative, 'go on seeking'.  the desire for the kingdom and the righteousness is constantly satisfied for what we seek is ours by grace; and yet THE SEEKING IS ALWAYS TO CONTINUE, for the object of our desire can be ever more fully attained. this seeking is, of course in no sense synergistic (note: man and God working together?) but the desire of the regenerate and believing heart to enter ever more fully into union with God. grace kindles the desire and keeps it ever active in this life.
on 'the kingdom ' compare 5.3 ('blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God); also 3.2 ('repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand') and 6.10 ('Thy kingdom come; Thy will be don, on earth as it is in heaven'); on 'the righteousness, 5.6 ('blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied') here the two are combined, for autU belongs to both. to seek 'His kingdom' is to desire more and more participation in the rule of the Father's grace in Christ, enjoying more and more the blessings...of that rule of grace which eventually becomes a rule of glory. only the righteous participate in the kingdom, hence all seeking of the kingdom is at the same time a seeking after 'His righteousness'...'to seek' means on our part 'to seek to obtain and enjoy'...

the adverb prOton ('first')  does not imply that we may make earthly treasures the object of our seeking as long as we put them in second place. this would contradict all that Jesus has said. in the very next clause He tells us that 'these things all shall be added unto us', thrown in, as it were, for good measure. on the other hand, 'first' or 'in the first place' does not imply that he who seeks the kingdom first will seek nothing more...he who seeks the kingdom..first will seek all other things from the Father in the right way, by humble and submissive prayer, without worry and without a false estimate of these other things. ...