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In this message we come to the fourth section of the King’s decree on the mountain, Matt. 6:1-18, concerning the righteous deeds of the kingdom people.
In Matt. 5:17-48 we saw the complementing and the changing of the law. In these verses, all the new laws of the kingdom of the heavens dig out and expose our temper, lust, and natural being. Thus, in these verses it is not a matter of dealing with our outward behavior, but with our anger, our lust, and our natural being all hidden deeply within us.
Matt. 6:1 says, “But take heed not to do your righteousness before men to be gazed at by them; otherwise, you surely have no reward with your Father Who is in the heavens.” Righteousness here denotes righteous deeds, such as giving alms, mentioned in Matt. 6:2-4 praying, in Matt. 6:5-15 and fasting, in Matt. 6:16-18. No doubt these verses speak about the righteous deeds of the kingdom people. Actually, however, they expose the self and the flesh. We have something within us that is worse than anger and lust. Everybody knows how ugly lust is, but even many Christians do not know how ugly the self and the flesh are. Of course, the words “self” and “flesh” are not used in these verses. Nevertheless, both the self and the flesh are exposed here. In these eighteen verses the Lord uses three illustrations — the giving of alms, praying, and fasting — to reveal how we are filled with the self and the flesh.
Man’s flesh, seeking to glorify itself, always wants to do good deeds before men to be praised by them. But the kingdom people, who live in an emptied and humbled spirit and walk in a pure and single heart under the heavenly ruling of the kingdom, are not allowed to do anything in the flesh for the praise of men, but must do all things in the spirit for the pleasing of their heavenly Father.
To the kingdom people, God is not only their God, but also their Father. They are not only created by God, but also regenerated by the Father. They have not only the created natural human life, but also the uncreated spiritual divine life. Hence, the new law of the kingdom, decreed by the King on the mountain, is given to them with the intention that they should keep it not by their fallen human life, but by the Father’s eternal divine life, not to gain man’s glory, but to receive the Father’s reward.
Regarding each of the three illustrations, the Lord uses the word “secret” (vv. 4, 6, 18). We must do our righteous deeds in secret, for our Father is in secret. In verse 4 the Lord says that our Father sees in secret. The kingdom people as children of the heavenly Father must live in the presence of the Father and care for the Father’s presence. Whatever they do in secret for the Father’s kingdom, the Father sees in secret. The heavenly Father’s seeing in secret must be an incentive to doing their righteous deeds in secret. In this verse the Lord also said that the Father will repay us. This may transpire in this age (2 Cor. 9:10-11) or in the coming age as a reward (Luke 14:14).
The effect of doing our righteous deeds in secret is that the self and the flesh are killed. If people in society today are not allowed to make a show of their good deeds, they will not do them. As long as people have an opportunity to make a public display of their righteous deeds, they are glad to perform them. This is the deplorable practice of today’s degraded Christianity, especially in the matter of fund raising, which provides an excellent opportunity for the donors to make a display. The greater the public show, the more money people are willing to give. Certainly such making of a show is of the flesh. Giving alms to the poor in order to show how generous you are is not a matter of anger, lust, or the natural being; it is a matter of the self, the flesh. Making a show in such a way is simply boasting for yourself. Thus, for us as kingdom people, a basic principle concerning righteous deeds is never to make a show of ourselves. As much as possible, hide yourself, keep yourself covered, and do things in secret. We should be so hidden that, as the Lord Jesus says, our left hand does not know what our right hand is doing (v. 3). This means that we should not let others know what we are doing. For example, if you fast for three days, do not disfigure your face or show a sad countenance. Rather, give the impression to others that you are not fasting so that your fasting may be in secret. Do not fast in the presence of men, but in the secret presence of your heavenly Father. To do this is to slay the self and the flesh.
We encourage the saints to function in the church meetings. However, there is the danger of functioning in order to make a show of ourselves. There is the danger of doing things in the presence of man. If you consider your own experience, you will realize that perhaps nine times out of ten your functioning has been before men. This is to glorify the self and the flesh. But the constitution of the heavenly kingdom does not yield an inch to our anger, lust, or natural being; neither does it yield any ground to our self and flesh. By the Lord’s mercy and grace, we must do as much as possible in a hidden way. Always try to do those things that are pleasing to God and righteous with man in a secret way. Try not to let others know of them. Simply do your righteous deeds in the presence of God.
Our Father sees in secret. As you are praying alone in your room, no one else can see you, but your heavenly Father sees. Do not pray on the street corner or in the synagogues to be seen by men. Pray in secret to be seen by your Father who sees in secret. Then you will also receive an answer from Him in secret. I am concerned that many of us have experiences only in the open and that we do not have any experiences in secret. Not only does the Father see our experiences; everyone else sees them as well. This indicates that we are not rejecting the self or repudiating the flesh. We must always do things in such a way as to constantly reject the self and repudiate the flesh. If possible, do everything in secret, not giving any opportunity to your self or yielding any ground to your flesh.
Although the Lord speaks about the matter of reward (vv. 1, 5), the important thing here is not the reward, but the growth in life. The saints who grow openly do not grow in a healthy way. We all need some secret growth in life, some secret experiences of Christ. We need to pray to the Lord, worship the Lord, contact the Lord, and fellowship with the Lord in a secret way. Perhaps not even the one closest to us will know or understand what we are doing. We need these secret experiences of the Lord because such experiences kill our self and our flesh. Although anger and lust are ugly, the thing that most frustrates us from growing in life is the self. The self is most visible in the fact that it enjoys doing things in a public way, in the presence of man. The self likes to do righteous deeds before man. We all must admit that, without exception, we have such a self. Those who always want to do things in such a way as to make a public show are full of self, full of the flesh. The self loves to be glorified, and the flesh loves to be gazed upon. Probably you have never heard a message on these verses that dealt with the self and the flesh. Whenever we come to this portion of the Word, we must realize that it exposes our self and our flesh.
To repeat, the crucial matter here is not the reward, but the growth in life. Those saints who know only to make a show of the self and a display of the flesh will not grow in life. The genuine growth in life is to cut off the self. Those whose self has been cut off and whose flesh has been dealt with may sometimes speak concerning their deeds. However, I am quite cautious in saying even this. It is not healthy to expose our righteous deeds. Rather, we should pray much, yet not let others know how much we pray. This is healthy. If you pray every day without telling others or letting them know about it, it means that you are healthy and that you are growing. However, suppose you always tell others how much you pray. If you do this, you will not only lose your reward, but you will not grow in life or be healthy. We all must admit that we have the subtle self, the subtle flesh, within us. We all have such a weak point. When we pray alone in our room, we often wish that others could hear us. Likewise, we do our righteous deeds with the intention that others could see them. Such desires and intentions are not healthy; they indicate that we are not growing in life. Making a public display before men will never help us grow in life. If you want to grow and be healthy in the spiritual life, you must slay the self in the doing of righteous deeds. No matter what kind of righteous deeds we do — giving material things to the saints, praying, fasting, doing something to please God — we must try our best to do them in secret. If your righteous deeds are in secret, you may be assured that you are growing in life and are healthy. But any time you exhibit yourself in your righteous deeds, you are not healthy. Such an exhibition greatly frustrates your growth in life.
The universe indicates that God is hidden, that God is secret. Although He has done a great many things, people are not aware that He has done them. We may have seen the things done by God, but none of us has ever seen Him, for He is always hidden, always secret. God’s life is of such a secret and hidden nature. If we love others by our own life, this life will seek to make a display of itself before men. But if we love others by the love of God, this love will always remain hidden. Our human life loves to make a display, a public show, but God’s life is always hidden. A hypocrite is one who has an outward manifestation without having anything within. Everything he has is merely an outward show; there is no reality inwardly. This is absolutely contrary to God’s nature and to His hidden life. Although God has so much within Him, only a little is manifested. If we live by this divine life, we may pray much, but others will not know how much we have prayed. We may give a great deal to help others, but no one will know how much we give. We may fast often, but this also will not be known by others. We may have a great deal within us, but very little will be manifested. This is the nature of the kingdom people in the doing of their righteous deeds.
This is vastly different from the nature of the worldly people. When the worldly ones donate a hundred dollars, they advertise it, making it appear that they have given a much greater amount. But when we Christians give a hundred dollars, it is better that we only let others know that we have given a dime. We do more than what is visible to others. We can never practice this kind of giving in our natural life. It is possible only in the divine life, the life that does not enjoy making a show. This is the crucial point in this portion of the Word.
If we are serious about being the kingdom people, we must learn to live by the hidden life of our Father. We must not live by our natural life, which is always making a display of itself. If we live by our Father’s hidden life, we shall do many things without making any public show of them. Rather, all that we do will be in secret, hidden from the eyes of others. The biographies of many saints reveal that they did certain things in secret, things that often were not made known until after they had died. This is the right way. I have known a number of dear saints who have done things for the Lord, for the church, and for the saints in secret. They never desired to make a display or to let others know that those things were done by them. These deeds are done according to our Father’s nature and according to His secret and hidden life.
Verse 2 says, “When therefore you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets that they may be glorified by men. Truly I say to you, They have their reward.” Surely the heaven-ruled spirit of the kingdom people restricts them from such fleshly boasting.
When I was in a certain denomination, the offering plate was passed during every Sunday morning service. At that time, copper coins or silver dollars were used instead of paper currency. Some people used to place their donations in the offering plate in such a way as to draw attention to themselves. That was a display of the self. Of course, they did not say anything. Rather, they dropped the coins in the plate in a noisy way. By doing this, they were sounding a trumpet before them. When the time came for public notice regarding contributions to be posted in the lobby, the one who gave the most was listed first, and the one who gave the least was listed last. If the one who had given the most had been listed last, he probably would not have given as much in the future.
For this reason, we in the churches do not keep records of the giving of the saints. The cash is put in the offering box, and there is no opportunity for the self or the flesh to be glorified. The use of checks, however, poses somewhat of a problem. In our practice of the church life in China many years ago, we did not use checks very often. But the use of checks is not a legal matter. Everything depends on our motive and our attitude. I am not saying that the saints should not use checks. The principle is that we do not give with the intention of making a show or receiving glory from man. Instead, we do everything in secret in the presence of our heavenly Father. In this matter, you know what your motive and attitude are.
Verse 3 says, “But you, when you give alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” This word indicates that the kingdom people’s righteous deeds should be kept secret as much as possible. What they do in their spirit under the heavenly rule to please their Father alone must not be interfered with by their flesh lusting for man’s glory.
In verse 4 the King said, “So that your alms may be in secret; and your Father Who sees in secret shall repay you.” The kingdom people’s living is by the Father’s divine life according to their spirit. Thus they are required to do good things in secret, not in public. Any public exhibition does not correspond to the mysterious hidden nature of the divine life.
In praying, as in giving alms, the kingdom people are not to make a public show. Verse 5 says, “And when you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners that they may appear to men. Truly I say to you, They have their reward.” Prayer to seek man’s praise may gain a reward from men, but it does not receive an answer from the Father. Thus, it is vain prayer.
Our prayer should be in secret. In verse 6 the King decreed, “But you, when you pray, enter into your private room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father Who is in secret, and your Father Who sees in secret shall repay you.” The kingdom people must have some experience of prayer in their private room, contacting their heavenly Father in secret, experiencing some secret enjoyment of the Father, and receiving some secret answer from Him.
As we pray, we are not to repeat empty words. Verse 7 says, “And in praying do not repeat empty words as the nations do; for they suppose that they will be heard through their much speaking.” This does not mean, however, that we should not repeat our prayer. The Lord repeated His prayer in Gethsemane (26:44), the Apostle Paul prayed the same prayer three times (2 Cor. 12:8), and the great multitude in heaven praised God with hallelujahs repeatedly (Rev. 19:1-6). It means that we should not repeat with empty words, words in vain.
Verse 8 says, “Therefore do not be like them, for God your Father knows what things you have need of before you ask Him.” Although God our Father knows our need, we still need to ask Him, because he who asks receives (7:8).
In verses 9 through 13 we find the pattern of prayer. However, it is not the pattern for all prayers. The prayer presented here in Matthew 6 is absolutely different from the prayer taught in John. In Matthew 6 we are not told to pray in the Lord’s name, but in John chapters fourteen through seventeen the Lord Jesus tells us repeatedly to pray in His name. The reason for this difference is that the prayer here in Matthew is not related to life; it is related to the kingdom. In this short pattern of prayer the kingdom is mentioned at least twice. Verse 10 says, “Let Your kingdom come,” and verse 13 says, “For Yours is the kingdom.” The prayer in John, on the contrary, is related to life. Praying in the Lord’s name is not a matter of the kingdom, but a matter of life. To pray in the Lord’s name means that we are one with the Lord. In praying to the Father, we are one with the Lord. Hence, we are praying in His name. To pray in the Lord’s name is actually to pray in the Person of the Lord. We are praying with Him in one name and in one life. Therefore, we are one with Him in life, praying to God the Father. But as we have seen, the prayer in Matthew 6 is absolutely different, for it is a prayer of the kingdom.
If you would have some prayer in life, you must go to John. You must abide in the Lord and be one with Him. You must remain in your spirit and pray in oneness with Him. This is what it means to pray in His name. But the prayer in Matthew 6 concerns the kingdom. In other words, it is a fighting prayer, a prayer of warfare against God’s enemy for God’s kingdom.
Verse 9 begins with the words, “Pray, then, like this.” The words “like this” do not mean to recite. In the Acts and the Epistles there is no example of such reciting. However, in certain Christian denominations today this prayer is recited during every Sunday morning service. I recited this prayer very often as a youth in a denomination. This is not to say that those who recite this prayer are not sincere in doing so. No doubt there have been a good number who were very sincere in their repeating of this prayer.
In the example of prayer patterned by the Lord, the first three petitions imply the Trinity of the Godhead. “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.
Verse 10 also says, “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.
Verse 11 says, “Give us today our daily bread.” This prayer is all-inclusive. The patterned prayer firstly cares for God’s name, God’s kingdom, and God’s will; then secondly, for our need. This reveals that in this fighting prayer the Lord will still take care of 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 them to pray for their 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.
Verse 12 says, “And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.” Thirdly, the patterned prayer cares for the kingdom people’s failures before God and their relationship with others. They should ask the Father to forgive their debts, their failures, and their trespasses, as they forgive their debtors to maintain peace. Verse 12 indicates that in this fighting prayer 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 says, “And do not bring us into trial, but deliver us from the evil one.” Fourthly, the patterned prayer cares for the kingdom people in dealing with the evil one. They should ask the Father not to bring them into trial, but to deliver them from the evil one, Satan, the Devil. Remember, the King was led into temptation. The word “trial” in verse 13 actually means temptation. Sometimes the Father brings us into a situation where we are tried and tempted. Thus, as we pray to the Father, we must recognize our weakness and say, “Father, I am very weak. Do not bring me into trial.” This implies that you admit that you are weak. If you do not recognize your weakness, you will probably not pray in this manner. Rather, you may feel that you are strong. That will be the very time the Father will bring you into trial to show you that you are not strong at all. Thus, it is better for our prayer to indicate to the Father that we know our weakness. 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 be led into the wilderness to confront temptation. Instead of having such an attitude, pray that the Father would not bring you into trial, but that He would deliver you from the evil one.
According to this pattern of prayer, the kingdom people must recognize God’s kingdom, power, and glory. Verse 13 also says, “For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.” The kingdom is the realm for God to exercise His power that He may express His glory.
Verses 14 and 15 reveal that the condition of prayer is to forgive others their offenses. These verses say, “For if you forgive men their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their offenses, neither will your Father forgive your offenses.” “For” indicates that the word in verses 14 and 15 is an explanation of why the kingdom people must forgive their debtors (v. 12), If they do not forgive man’s offenses, neither will their heavenly Father forgive their offenses; hence, their prayer will be frustrated.
In verses 16 through 18 the King speaks regarding fasting. Instead of appearing to men to fast, we should fast in secret. Verse 16 says, “And whenever you fast, do not be as the hypocrites of a sad countenance; for they disguise their faces so that they may appear to men to be fasting. Truly I say to you, They have their reward.” To fast is not to refrain from eating; it is being unable to eat because of being desperately burdened to pray for certain things. It is also an expression of self-humbling in seeking mercy of God. To give alms is to give what we have the right to possess, whereas to fast is to give up what we have the right to enjoy.
Verses 17 and 18 say, “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father Who is in secret; and your Father Who sees in secret shall repay you.” This indicates that our fasting, like our giving of alms and praying, must be done in secret, not before men. The Father sees in secret, and He will repay us.
