Jews try to avoid directly calling God by his name, because they are afraid of taking the name of the Lord and breaking the commandments. The word "kingdom of heaven" is widely used in Matthew's gospel, which is of course the function of "taboo" and is indeed an idiom used by Jews to address the kingdom of God. So "the kingdom of heaven" is "the kingdom of God".
"Kingdom of God" is a common title in the New Testament. The reason why Matthew is called "the kingdom of heaven" is obviously because Matthew was originally written by Jews. Jews try to avoid directly calling God by his name, because they are afraid of taking the name of the Lord and breaking the commandments.
The word "kingdom of heaven" is widely used in Matthew's gospel, which is of course the function of "taboo" and is indeed an idiom used by Jews to address the kingdom of God. So "the kingdom of heaven" is "the kingdom of God".
"Country" = Kingdom = (Greek) Basileia has double meanings, namely "rule" and "realm".
Meaning: exercise his power on the land owned by the king. God the Father gave the kingdom to his son Jesus Christ, and put all his enemies at his feet. 15: 24-28). He will establish the kingdom of the Messiah. Christ will reign forever (Revelation 1 1: 15).
Jesus once said to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world". It can be seen that the kingdom of God is not to occupy a piece of land in this world, but to exercise his kingship in this world, that is, the sovereignty of God.
In fact, the most important power of God is to liberate people from the power of sin, so that people can be reborn and become reborn Christians in this world. In this way, the "kingdom of God" is not only a country to be completed at the second coming of Christ in the future, but has now entered the history of mankind.
The power of the kingdom of God has destroyed Satan's power in this world and set free sinners. All disciples can defeat Satan's tricks by the power of Christ. So Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is among you" (Luke 17: 2 1). This is not like the new theology that as long as everyone in the world is kind, the world will be harmonious and the kingdom of heaven will be on the ground.
It is not until Christ's second coming that this regional kingdom of God can be realized. The power of the kingdom of God is something we Christians can feel now, because it is already running in our hearts. ?
Such an idea about the kingdom of God was hidden in the Old Testament, and the mystery was not solved until Jesus Christ completed redemption on the cross (Romans. 16: 25-26).
Judging from Daniel's prediction, the Jews in the Old Testament always believed that after they passed through the state power of Medea, Persia, Greece, Rome and another land, the Messiah was a descendant of David and wanted to be king so that the Jews could rebuild their kingdom (Daniel II).
This is also the belief of Judaism. This is also the main reason why the Jews at that time could not tolerate Jesus and crucified him. When Jesus was alive, he used the metaphor of the kingdom of heaven to express this mystery many times, but Jews didn't understand it and didn't want to understand it-because this mystery also included: salvation belongs to Jews alone, and the kingdom of God is no longer a Jewish patent.
But belongs to people who generally accept Jesus as Christ (Matthew. 13: 1 1). Paul emphasized this mystery in his letters (Ephesians 3:1-1).
Since the power of God (re-ign) has entered this sinful generation, the blessings we have experienced from God have formed the spiritual realm of the kingdom of God.
Therefore, anyone who wants to enter the eternal kingdom of God in the next life must simply accept Jesus as the king in his heart, just like children in this life. Because "anyone who wants to inherit the kingdom of God can never go in unless he is like a child." (Ke 10: 15).
Jews think this is a place to avoid the end of the world.
Second, God's righteousness is a general principle used to govern his people. We are justified by faith and return to the righteousness of God, we live in righteousness, we righteous people are justified by faith, and we righteous people will be born by faith.
In this way, we live in justice, we are slaves of justice, I dedicate our bodies as instruments of justice, and we walk in the middle of justice and in the light of God. The so-called righteousness is the general principle of our life.
Extended data:
In Matthew 6, Jesus tells his disciples how to pray to God. During this period, Jesus said an important principle, that is, when you pray, the order should be different: first ask God for his kingdom and righteousness, and then do your own thing.
Many people don't quite understand what Jesus meant by the kingdom of God. Some people say that the kingdom of God is heaven. Christians should pray for the early arrival of the kingdom of heaven and the early unification of the universe. In fact, this understanding is wrong. When we understand the kingdom of God, we should focus on "God" rather than the kingdom.
There is a contrast when Jesus said this sentence. This contrast is the meaning of man's country and man. Jesus told his disciples that ordinary people want human country and human meaning, and Christians should have obvious contrast with them. We don't miss things on the earth, we miss things in the sky.
Jesus told his disciples: "don't worry about what you eat or drink for your life;" Worried about what to wear. Is life better than food? Health is better than clothes.
Look at the birds in the sky. They don't sow, gather or store in barns. Your heavenly father feeds them. Aren't you much more valuable than a bird?
Which one of you can add a moment to your life by thinking?
Why worry about clothes?
Think about how lilies grow in the field. It's neither hard nor spinning. I tell you, even when Solomon was in all his glory, he was not dressed like this flower! ? You unbelievers! The grass in the field is still there today and will be thrown into the stove tomorrow. God has given it such decoration, let alone you!
So don't worry about saying,' What to eat? What to drink? "What to wear?" This is what foreigners want. Your heavenly father knows all these things you need. "
After these words, Jesus made a different prayer. This is the first meaning of this passage.
Secondly, let's think about another thing: Who does the country we live in today belong to? Or we can take neighboring North Korea as an example. First of all, she must not belong to the Korean people. No country in the world actually belongs to the people. Because people's words in this country are not important.
A man of his word, this country belongs to him. Then let's think about what the kingdom of God means. The kingdom of God is the place where God is in power, and God's word can pass unimpeded within this range. When we pray that the kingdom of God will come, it means that we are willing to let God's will pass through us, and then our individual will realize the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God refers not to the area of territory, but to individuals. We can even say that two people walk on the road at the same time, one person obeys God, and God's word is unimpeded in him, then this person is already in the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of God has arrived relative to this person.
The other person, though walking with this person, is unwilling to obey God's will or command, so this person still has not entered the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God means our "personal" obedience. When Jesus taught us to pray for God's kingdom, he told us to let God's sovereignty replace our sovereignty, and we obeyed another higher will to replace our own thoughts.
So what is the righteousness of God? This is also relative in the first sense, what is the meaning of ordinary people. It's a secular thing. The meaning here refers to the purpose of people living, and the purpose of people living is to earn daily food through daily hard work. And this can't be the righteousness of Christians. Such righteousness is selfish and meaningless in the eyes of God.
So Jesus put forward the righteousness of God according to the righteousness of man and told his disciples how to be different from the world.
So what is the second meaning of God's righteousness? We know that every country in the world has laws, and laws are conventions that every citizen of a country must abide by. If everyone obeys the law, then this country will become a harmonious country.
As citizens of the kingdom of heaven, while the kingdom of God (the authority of God) is on us, we should also implement the representative law of this country, which is the righteousness of God. Some people say that God's righteousness is too advanced. How to maintain as a person?
In fact, the righteousness of God is not as elusive as we think. God gave it to us. In 1 Corinthians, chapter 1, section 3 1 says:
But what you have in Christ Jesus comes from God, and God has made him our wisdom, righteousness, holiness and redemption. The righteousness of God is all the moral attributes of God. He is called good not because of his natural attributes, but because of his moral attributes.
God's natural attribute determines God's ability, and God's moral attribute determines God's temperament, that is, God's righteousness. God's rule depends not on his power, but on his love, and he is based on his righteousness. Therefore, God also requires us to have these meanings, which are actually given to us by God. We have God's righteousness and put it into practice, which is the fulfillment of God's will. "
Through the description of these two aspects, we know that God's requirements for us are different from those for the world. He asked us to obey a higher country and a higher righteousness. This "national meaning" does not come from people, but from himself.
Because human authority oppresses and belittles people, and the adoption of God's authority on people is God's respect for people. He is not a submissive oppressor, but constantly exhorts us to turn to him. People's benevolence and righteousness have many shortcomings, and what people want is a short affair in this life. These meanings can't really achieve anything for people, and this meaning is flawed.
As the kingdom of God, what we do in it transcends all the meanings in the world, which can bring us a higher pursuit of life without losing the demand for our low-level life.
References:
Baidu Encyclopedia-Kingdom of God