Matthew 6: 9-13

(Matthew 6: 9-13)

『After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 』

Prayer is not telling my requirements before God, but asking God's will to be done on earth. God decides all wills and plans, but man's supplication to God is God's glory.

① Jesus said 『Our Father which art in heaven』.『 God is in heaven. Those who pray are on earth, "God and I are not one." That is why humans on earth pray to God in heaven. This has the same meaning as God put Israel into Egypt. Those who pray are those who have left God and are confined in the world. In John (17:11), Jesus prayed.

『And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. 』Jesus prayed in John (17:22).

『And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 』 This is Jesus' prayer before the cross, and it is a prayer to be one. There can be many purposes for Jesus to come to the world, but ultimately humans are to be one with God. For the Father in heaven and the humans on earth were not one.

Why can't God and humans become one? Because he has left God. To be one, we need to return to God. Paul said in Ephesians (5: 30-32).

『For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 』 Those who are in Christ are men of Christ. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (Genesis 2:24) This means that Christ comes to earth and forms one body (union) with the church (those in Christ). It was originally one.

Through the Garden of Eden, the man (Adam) and the woman (Hawa) were originally one, which the Apostle Paul explains in Ephesians. "Christ and the Church were originally one. Who are the churches? Those who came into Christ. Therefore, they were one with Christ before they left God. The reason why Christ and the church were united was because they were originally one member. So, the apostle Paul says, "This secret is great." What great secret can be "to be one as a couple" between men and women?

②『Hallowed be thy name.』This means that God's name is not sanctified. 『 And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land. 』(Ezekiel 36:20) Because the Israelites were unclean and idolatry in their land, God scattered Israel into nations. Jehovah's name was defiled in the lands of nations. The time when God's name is sanctified is found in Ezekiel (chapters 34-37). God calls Israel into their homeland, making it like a paradise and sanctifying his name. Then all people sanctify the name of Jehoa, saying that they have Israel and are Jehovah's people. Those who have left God are sanctified when they return to Him. For only God is good and holy.

③ “Thy kingdom come.” This word means “Let God's kingdom be on this earth.” What is the kingdom of God? It is the place where the perfect rule of God is achieved. Governance is a place in the Holy Spirit. The concept of the kingdom of God is not a concept of place but of the working of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit comes 100%, God's kingdom comes and God's reign comes.

As Jesus says in John 17, "God and people become one, as the Father and Jesus are one." "Thy kingdom come" means "to come to this world", and "to make it in me." If Jesus asks, "Let the kingdom of God come," this is not the kingdom of God. The Bible says that humans have left God and realize it, so let the kingdom of God come.

The primary meaning of the coming of the kingdom of God is the coming of the Messiah's kingdom into this world. It is a nation where Jesus Christ returns and reigns. This refers to the millennial kingdom of Revelation. Secondly, it is God's kingdom for me. Jesus said in Luke (17:20-21). And when 『he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. 』 Jesus speaks of the kingdom of God in you. If the kingdom of God is in me, then I will have perfect rulership of God. It is to be one with God.

In John (17: 11-15), Jesus said, "Be one." This word speaks of the perfect reign of God in the Holy Spirit. That is, perfect communion with God in the Holy Spirit. 『 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 』 (Genesis 2: 23-24)

This content has profound meaning. Originally, because it was one, it must be one again. The apostle Paul says in Ephesians (5: 30-32):『 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 』

What is the great mystery of the apostle Paul? It is not easy to see. This mystery is about the relationship between Christ and the church. The union of Christ and the church is one. In Genesis (2:25) the Bible says:『 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. 』The word naked was unknowing about the kingdom of God. Jesus called the Pharisees blind, which is blind to the kingdom of God. The fact that Adam and Eve were naked is not physically naked, but spiritually naked. Paul says in 2 Corinthians (5: 1-3).

『 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. 』 This is a description of the tabernacle of the flesh and the tabernacle of the kingdom of God. It is spiritual nakedness that took off the tabernacle of the kingdom of God. Taking off the veil of the flesh is the death of the flesh. The apostle Paul explains the desire to put on the tabernacle of God after the death of the flesh.

④『Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 』 What Jesus tells us in the Lord's Prayer is not to ask for anything in the world. People are now living on earth, but what people ask of their heavenly Father is to fulfill what God has planned since the creation. Many do not know about God.

People say that God is omnipotent, but humans think of God as their omnipotent. God created the world and it was "very good" in God's eyes. People believe that God is omnipotent. However, if God tried to create the world perfectly, but he understood that Satan was involved and the world must be destroyed because of human error, they did not regard God as “all-powerful”.

It is like thinking that God's omnipotence can be changed by some external factor. This is God's omnipotence in the human way, not really knowing about God's omnipotence. Although people believe that God created all things in this world, perfect and blessed, they are forced to think that "God must destroy this world."

Only God is good. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus also speaks with a rich young man, saying, "Only God is good," but people think that God judges good and evil. It is not judgment, but everything but God is evil. People misunderstand that God is involved in evil as people misunderstand God as good and evil.

To judge evil, one must know about evil. Knowing evil means "experientially knowing evil." God has nothing to do with evil. There is no evil in the kingdom of God. "Leaving from God" is evil. There is no good and no evil before God. Evil is Satan who left God. Followers of Satan are evil.

Escape from God is evil. People do not know about the goodness of God. These are the ones who drop God's name to the ground. Therefore, we must know well about God's omnipotence and God's absolute goodness. If we believe in almighty God, we must believe that God "planned from creation to the end." Satan's intervention or human error does not transform God's creation.

God has accomplished the will in heaven. God's will is said in John (6:40).『 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. 』 The Bible says in Ephesians (1: 4-5):『 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will』

God's will is that everyone who believes in Jesus Christ will be saved, and this will be established before the foundation of the world. God did not make this will for those who are holy and unblemished, but for those who are faulty and unholy. A blemished and unholy person is one who has left God. Why did God mean this when nothing happened before the creation? When we say that God knows and made this will about what will happen after creation, it is as if God's creation is not perfect but will be transformed. This will bring forth the results of an omnipotent, good God in vain.

Satan's opposition to God occurred before the creation of the world. By the way, does it make sense to say that nothing happened before the creation of the world, and that it was expected to happen after creation, and that God had planned in advance? If God knew beforehand that man would fall after creation, why did he leave the Son of God even to die on the cross? Those who do not believe in the Son of God must enter hell. If God had known of man's fall beforehand, wouldn't God change it so that man did not fall? This makes it impossible to say, "The God of perfect good."

When did God intend to presume Christ and save all who believe in him? The word before creation means eternity. The meaning of eternity is taken by humans as meaning "endless time." Human thought cannot escape this. Eternity cannot be understood within the concept of time and space because it is not in the spirit world.

The world of time and space is different from the world of eternity. However, people try to understand the world of eternity based on the world of time and space. The material world exists to express the spirit world. God created the material world for this. Jesus said, "I have come to save the one who is trapped in darkness."The prisoner of darkness was originally a spirit in Christ.

Why is the spirit in Christ in darkness? Says in John (1: 9).

『That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world』 The Bible says in John 1: 5.『 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.』 Darkness as used here and darkness as used in Genesis (1: 2) are synonymous.『And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 』

Because there was no light, it was shining in the dark. As Jesus shined in darkness, Jesus Christ, the light of life, was shining on human beings in darkness, indicating that Jesus came in darkness. The darkness in Genesis is the darkness of the world. The world without God is darkness.

Jesus says in John (6:63):『 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 』

⑤『 Give us this day our daily bread 』 This means, “Give me the food of the kingdom of God,” so that the will of heaven can be done on earth. Today, most people think that “daily food” is a fleshly food that is eaten every day. Jesus said in Matthew (6:25)『 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 』 And Jesus also spoke in Luke (12:29).

『And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. 』 The bread of life is needed for the will of heaven to be done on earth. The same thing is said in John (6:27). Do not work for rotten food, but for food that is eternal. The bread of life is the everlasting covenant (the covenant that all people will be saved by the seed). When Jesus gave bread to the disciples before the cross, he said, "This is my body," and gave the cup, "This is the new covenant in my blood." The new covenant is the eternal covenant God speaks. The eternal covenant refers to Jesus Christ, the covenant with God, Abraham, and Isaac, and the seed of promise. The bread is the eternal covenant. Those who die with Jesus enter into God's eternal covenant.

⑥『 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  』 This is literally an ambiguous expression that doesn't seem right. We must forgive our sins first, and God will forgive us. Some biblical scholars say that they have changed back and forth. They claim that we should forgive others' sins, just as God has forgiven our sins.

But what is said in the Lord's Prayer is almost the same as in Matthew (14: 14-15).『And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. 』

"God's forgiveness of human sin" is a Greek grammar of the past perfect usage. Our forgiveness for the sins of others is now in progress. According to the tense, the grammar is incorrect: It is not good to say that God has forgiven our sins in the past because we have forgiven the sins of others. Then the phrase “because God forgave our sins, we forgive the sins of others,” is tender in tense.

By the way, the translation of our words is in the opposite tense. And logically, it doesn't make sense to say that "God forgave us first, we forgive others first and God forgive us on that basis." God seems first, but man first seems to be wrong.

By the way, let us examine the background of Jesus' words. In Matthew (vv. 18: 23-35), we can understand the parable of the 10,000 Tarland debtors, who did not forgive the 100 Dennaron debtors.

『So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.』(Matthew 18:35)

This is the same as Matthew's (14: 14-15) saying, "If you forgive a man's fault first, God forgives him." This is man's forgiveness first, and God's forgiveness comes after. The reason why God does this, however, is to understand well what we are talking about in connection with 100 denarius and 10,000 Talent debt relief.

Peter asks Jesus, and when my brother sinned against me, how many times should I forgive? Peter asked if I could forgive my brother seven times. Jesus replied that you must forgive seventy times seven times. This is to forgive indefinitely. It is the words of Matthew 18: 23-35 that explain indefinite forgiveness. For all men owe 10,000 talents, and brothers owe 100 denarius. 10,000 talents and 100 denarius are incomparable. Ten thousand talents are equivalent to about one billion dollars today, and 100 denarius is equivalent to three months' wages (a few thousand dollars). That's a billion dollars and thousands of dollars. Therefore, people must be forgiven unconditionally.

When I think about it, I have already been forgiven a lot of debt from God. So my sin is solved. Now after I have been forgiven, I have a 100 denarius bond I have. We must forgive others. If the 10,000 talents who have been forgiven do not forgive their debtors, the cancellation of 10,000 debts is cancelled.

God has forgiven sin, which means "to invalidate" the forgiveness, but if we forgive others afterwards, God will restore him to the original position where he had forgiven his sins in the past. Thus, God forgives our sins, as we forgive our debtors. But if a forgiven person does not forgive others 'sins, then the sinner later realizes his fault and forgives others' sins, and God returns to the past where he forgave his sins. So, I forgive my brother for now is the progressive, and forgiveness of my sins for God is the past. Since I forgive others' sins, God has forgiven my sins in the past.

This can be seen as saying that salvation from God can be canceled. However, it is difficult if so accepted. If you can't forgive others, it means "you don't repent and believe in Jesus Christ only by words." True repentance is the one who forgives everyone's sins. Thus, it is possible that those who cannot forgive others have not been saved. Even though he thought himself “convinced of salvation,” it is possible that he was not saved. Look back on your first repentance. Those who repent and enter into Christ cannot be canceled. But those who do not repent are those who think they are saved, even though they are not saved.

In addition to denying oneself, repentance includes forgiving others. Those who do not repent do not have the grace of God to love others. If there is God's grace, it means, "You must forgive your brother's sin." In other words, if you realize God's tremendous love, you must naturally convey God's love to others, but hating your brother makes no sense. .

⑦『And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil』, God chose the foolish way of evangelism to achieve salvation. Jesus made twelve disciples and preached the gospel to the end of the world. However, because of having a weak body in the process of evangelism, the prayer, "Let us not fall by Satan's deception," is the prayer "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

Jesus also said, "Do not fall into evil." The Bible says in John (17:15).『I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 』 Although Jesus' disciples could fall into evil when they go out into the world and preach the gospel, Jesus prayed to God for his disciples so that they might not fall into that evil. Jesus was tested by Satan before God began his public works. Jesus defeated all temptations and defeated Satan. We are not to be tempted from Satan. As we expand the kingdom of God and witness the divine forgiveness of our sins, we must pray that we will not be tempted and fall into evil while in this world.

It is evil to leave God. This is an old man derived from the flesh and from Satan. The apostle Paul says in Ephesians (6:12).『 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 』 Those who have a body have no power to fight wicked spirits. The power to fight evil spirits is the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. That is the gospel of salvation. Satan has everything in the world and is trying to knock down the saints. Because the saints have a body, even if there are temptations of the world, they must pray for their evangelism, not to fall, to fall into evil, and to overcome them.

Says in Matthew(24:24).『For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.』 To those who carry life, Satan will not just look. Pray for evangelism. In order for God's name to be glorified, we must have God's will done on earth. We must make those who have left God repent and turn back to God. This is evangelism.