Matthew 6:9-15

As we said when we finished up last time, anyone who speaks or writes on the so-called Lord’s Prayer has entered a field of controversy. Why is this and why do so many well read and highly knowledgeable bible scholars differ so much when it comes to this prayer.

There are those who believe it has no place in the Church today and those who believe it’s a good model that we should base our prayer life on today, and there’s many opinions all along the spectrum between those points.

So, with the understanding that all these good scholars the majority of who Love God and believe in the salvation provided through Jesus still differ where this prayer’s concerned, how can you and I be sure to get it right?

Well, I think there are two important truths we should be aware of.

First, we should always look at the whole counsel of God. Very few passages in the bible remain a mystery when taken in the context they were given in and when viewed within their place in the whole Word of God.

Second, we should never think that praying the Lord’s prayer word for word as Jesus gave is somehow wrong and that our salvation rests on getting it right.

So, with those things in mind let’s take a closer look shall we?

 

Should this really be called “The Lord’s Prayer”? It’s not named that in the Bible of course, that’s just the name man’s put on it and it’s stuck through the ages.

Technically, John 17 is the Lord’s Prayer which is the prayer that Jesus prayed just before His betrayal by Judas and His journey to the cross.

This prayer could be more accurately named the disciples prayer because Jesus is teaching it to the disciples. In fact, in the version in Luke 11:1 the disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray as John (that’s John the Baptist) taught his disciples to pray.

This prayer sample was given to Jewish disciples, and it was included in the sermon on the mount which we’ve seen is a “pre cross”, “pre new covenant” sermon.

 

You see at the time Jesus taught this prayer there was still about 31/2 years of the Old Covenant left to run and the New Covenant, which is the covenant we’re under today, is not yet a reality because Jesus is still alive. His shed blood, His death, burial, and resurrection, all which bought in and ratified the New Covenant, hasn’t yet happened.

So, this prayer sample was given to Jewish people, in this case Jewish disciples, still under Old Testament law. They were in the final stages of the Old Covenant’s existence, but it hadn’t passed away yet. The New Covenant was not yet a reality because the One with Whose blood it would be sealed was still alive, standing there doing the talking.

In light of this we should try and see how much of this prayer Jesus intended you and I, as members of the Church, The Body of Christ, to pray today and how much was given for the disciples to pray in this period up till the New Covenant comes into existence.

 

The more we look at the Lord’s prayer the more we realise that the petitions the disciples are taught to ask for, the requests they’re making to God we already have today. After Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection and the arrival of The Holy Spirit these request have already been fulfilled in Christ, but they weren’t at this particular point in history.

Could the Lord have given this prayer for the disciples to pray together? And could the purpose have been to pray for those things that would all be fulfilled when Jesus’ earthly ministry was completed in about 31/2 years from that time?

 

The Lord’s prayer doesn’t mention praying in Jesus’ name.

We’re told in John 14:13-14 by Jesus Himself,

And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 

If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

 

Then again in John 16:23-24, spoken by Jesus again,

“And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 

Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. 

 

What did Jesus mean by “In that day”?

Well, the earlier verses, 16 to 22 of the same chapter, John 16, tell us what “In that day” meant. He was telling them of His soon coming death and His returning to be with the Father.

 

Also, from the book of Acts, there’s no record of the disciples, the apostles or the early church ever praying the Lord’s prayer, but they did pray in the name of Jesus in Acts 3:6, 4:30, 9:34.

 

In Jesus Name actually means “On the authority of Jesus”. Why do we have this authority? Because the kingdom of God, that the Lord’s prayer was requesting from God, for is already here in the hearts of the believers, even though the Kingdom will also be on earth in the future when Christ rules on earth from David’s throne.

Why do we have this authority? Because we have already been delivered from the evil one. And we can use this authority only because God (through Christ) has unconditionally forgiven us and there’s no longer a barrier between Him and those in Christ, Christians.

The people who were receiving this prayer model from Jesus didn’t yet have that authority.

 

Jesus starts teaching the prayer starting in verse 9 and for the sake of easy understanding, let’s continue to use the title, “The Lord’s Prayer.”

In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

 

One of reasons why we know that the Lord’s prayer couldn’t have been the Lords own prayer that He prayed himself is His use of the first two words, Our Father.

You see, He, personally, couldn’t have used the Word “Our”. Why?

Well, His relationship with God the Father was, and is, much different than ours. Today, as Christians, we can call God “Father” because of our adoption through regeneration, or the new birth and we may call Him “Our Father” because He’s our common Father to all of us that are united in One Body, The Body of Christ.

However, individual Israelites didn’t call God “Father”. The Jewish nation as a whole called God “Father” but never individually. Why the Jewish nation didn’t call God “Father” has to do with the fact that they don’t use the name of God at all, believing that it is too holy to be uttered by humans.

Jesus called God “Father” because of His place in the Godhead.

He was always careful to use the terms, “My Father” or “The Father” when speaking of His own relationship with God.

Then He used “your Father” when He spoke about God to the Jewish nation collectively, but never “Our Father” as in yours and mine together. That would’ve meant that he was on the same level as the ones He was talking to, and He clearly wasn’t.

He was the Son in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of the Godhead.

He used “Our Father” in this prayer model purely as a sample to the disciples.

The term “Our father” also shows us that the prayer was not given as a prayer for personal use so much as it was a corporate prayer and we can also see this by the number of times “our”, “we” and “us” is used.

 

For us today, God is still the mighty sovereign of the universe who created all things and keeps all things in place and will judge all things – but He’s also Father to us who believe. He’s our Abba Father as Galatians 4:6 explains, which signifies the close, intimate relationship of a father and his child while still retaining the reverence due to the All Powerful and All Mighty God. I became a son of God or a child of God only through faith in Christ.

There’s nothing wrong with recognising this incredible relationship believers have today with God.

 

“Hallowed be Your name,” could be more correctly translated, “Let your name be made holy.”

The name of God stands for all that He is.

 

“Our Father in heaven, or Which art in heaven, as other versions translate, refers to God’s holiness and glory.

God’s not a prisoner in this universe, He’s beyond and above it. He’s in the air, in space and in the hyper spaces, in the atmosphere and in every tiny cell in the universe and has perfect command over all of the dimensions that we know exist along with the ones we don’t know of. He’s more than creation! He’s the One sitting on the throne of the universe, and He has it under His control!

Again, there’s nothing wrong with recognising the wonder of God in our worship of Him.

 

Verse 10,

Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

 

Now this term “kingdom” in Scripture causes so much confusion. What’s the meaning behind this? What’s actually being asked for here?

Identifying what “kingdom” means, could be of more help in getting a correct view of the Word of God and of life than almost any other single thing.

 

When John the Baptist appeared with the Lord Jesus Christ, they began with the message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Remember they’re both speaking to the Jewish nation still under the Old Covenant.

The Kingdom of heaven is now at hand.

The time for its arrival had come and it’s logical that the King must have arrived first because there simply is no Kingdom without a king. The King had most definitely arrived.

The kingdom of God, also called the Kingdom of heaven and sometimes the Kingdom of Christ, is simply the rule of the heavens over the earth.

This kingdom, like the King who rules it, is eternal. It has no beginning or end and so it crosses over all of the time periods that we as natural humans live in. It has a past, a present and a future.

King David knew this when he worshipped God when he was handing over the building of the temple to his son Solomon. We see that in,

1 Chronicles 29:11,

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head over all.  

 

In the present the Kingdom is in the hearts of regenerated believers.

In Luke 1:20-21 we read,

One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?” Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. 

You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.” 

 

In Matthew 13:24-30, Jesus likened the kingdom of God to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but his enemy came and planted tares among them. Tares are what’s called a darnel which is a weedy rye grass with poisonous seeds, often found in grainfields.

Note that an enemy and tares were a feature of this kingdom.

In the interpretation of the parable in verses 37 to 43, Jesus says the enemy is the devil and the tares are his children meaning evil is still mixing with good in the Kingdom of God.

So, we’re looking here at the part of the Kingdom that’s present today and where evil still exists, not the part of the future Kingdom where the devil is bound.

 

I doubt that anyone’d disagree that there’s something wrong in this world and getting “wronger”. Although God, through His Word is holding all things together, He’s certainly not ruling the earth today.

 

Jesus also stated in Mark 9 verse 1 and Luke 9 verse 27 that some members of His audience wouldn’t taste death till they saw the kingdom of God come with power.

 

You see these people were looking for a powerful, physical, Jewish led Kingdom to come that’d be ruled by the Messiah who’d finally cast off all the bonds of their current Roman rulers.

So, to clarify, we know that the Kingdom is a reality today.

The kingdom of God is the rule of the heavens over the earth and today that’s in the hearts of regenerated believers.

The Church, the body of Christ is part of that kingdom but it’s not the only part, in fact there’re probably many parts that’ll be revealed throughout eternity.

We could say it’s like Brisbane is part of Queensland but it’s not Queensland or Queensland is part of Australia but it’s not Australia.

 

Another part of the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of heaven is yet future.

That’ll be the reign of Christ over the earth where He rules from the throne of David from Jerusalem in the millennium. That is the facet of the Kingdom that’s yet to come. It’ll come after the Great Tribulation and not only will Christ rule as the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, but Satan will be bound for the duration of this earthly rule, 1000 years.

 

People today are disillusioned, disappointed, fearful, and confused with world events that includes endless war, the explosion of government control and the struggle to find a purpose but, many people still talk about the Church building God’s kingdom here on earth that’ll change all this.

Christians have largely turned away from the teaching of the millennial rule of Christ where He’ll rule His people, the nation Israel, in their promised land from the throne of David. They’ve either forgotten or rejected the teaching that the Church and the nation of Israel are different, with different destinies. The Church has in no way replaced the nation Israel or somehow taken over God’s eternal promises to Israel.

Many think, without really thinking at all, that “Your kingdom come” is referring to the rapture when the Church meets the Lord in the air, but we need to get specific and find out what’s really being said.

Keep remembering here that we’re in the Old covenant still.

 

It’s that kingdom which was first told to David through the prophet Nathan in 2 Samuel 7:12-17, when God said to him,

“I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 

He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”

And then in Isaiah 9:6,

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. 

God is saying He’ll bring the Messiah, and He’ll reign in righteousness and justice and peace over this earth forever.”

A day was coming when Jerusalem would become the very center of this earth, the Capital City, if you like. It was a brilliant ray of hope in what was the darkest hour of these people.

The entire earth would be ruled over by this One who was to come. Even nature would be affected. The desert would blossom as the rose. Even the sun, moon and stars would be affected.

This event on the Lord’s calendar is coming, despite some catastrophic events that will take place before it comes.

 

In the Lord’s prayer as it was given to the disciples, the instruction is to pray for that spiritual Kingdom that would come in about 31/2 years from that time when man was finally reunited with God through the New Covenant which came into existence with through the sacrifice and the spilled blood of the sacrificial Lamb of God.

It would come into the hearts of all mankind who would nothing more than believe.

If we pray “Your kingdom come” today, we’re not praying for the part of the Kingdom which is already here in the hearts and souls of believers. We should in fact be thanking God that we who believe already have that Kingdom in us.

Praying “Your kingdom come” today is praying for the eventual setting up of the rule of the heavens on the earth, the millennium, but associated with that we’re actually praying for all the events on God’s calendar which must be fulfilled before that kingdom arrives including the rapture of the church, the revealing of the man of sin (The Antichrist) the great tribulation and the second coming of Christ to earth. And we must remember that the second coming is not the rapture. Christ doesn’t come to the earth in the rapture, we meet Him in the air. He comes to earth at His second coming after the terrible events of the Great tribulation.

 

Verse 11,

Give us this day our daily bread.

 

This request seems simple if we view the bread we’re asking for as simply everything we need to sustain us in this world today.

We know that in Luke 12:22-24 after Jesus told His disciples the parable of the rich fool who concerned himself only with his worldly goods He said,

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. 

For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. 

Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! 

In Philippians 4:6-7 Paul is definitely speaking to born again believers, you and me, (if we have believed) and he says

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 

In Philippians 4:11-13 Paul goes on to say and I’ll read from the New Living Translation,

Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 

I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. 

 

So, in asking to give us this day our daily bread in today’s environment, wouldn’t we be better thanking God for what He’s already promised us?

 

Now, if we look at this request from the Old Covenant viewpoint we see it in the light of John 6 verses 26 to 35 after Jesus had fed the 5000,

Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 

Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” 

Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 

Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” 

Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘HE GAVE THEM BREAD FROM HEAVEN TO EAT.'” 

Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 

For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 

Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” 

And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

 

Then after the Jews murmured and complained amongst themselves Jesus said to them in verses 47 to 51,

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. 

I am the bread of life. 

Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 

This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 

I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” 

 

In light of this, we see that asking God for daily bread is a plea for the soon coming time when the true bread would be freely given.

 

Verse 12,

And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.

 

As we’ve already stated, Our Lord Jesus couldn’t pray this. You see He had no sin, no debts to be forgiven.

In some churches today they use “forgive us our debts” while others use “forgive us our trespasses” or even “forgive us our sins.” There’s no difficulty here at all since they refer to the same thing, and that thing is sin.

We’ll look at this closer after the next verse.

 

Verse 13,

And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

 

“Lead us not into temptation.” This word “lead” gives us the wrong impression because God does not tempt any man and we see that in James 1:13. A better translation would probably be, “Leave us not in temptation.” It doesn’t mean to keep us out of it, but when we’re in it, don’t leave us there.

“Deliver us from evil”. This deliverance is from the evil one. Deliver us from the evil one, deliver us from the Devil.

Satan is the same awful reality today as he always has been. The world’s tried many times to deny his existence and it’s easy to see that His most effective lie is “I don’t exist”, but any person who stands for God knows the reality of Satan.

 

Now, we know that in John 12:31 Jesus when heading to the cross said,

Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

He also said in John 16:7-11,

Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 

And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Then Paul writes in Galatians 1:4-5,

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, that Jesus died so that He could deliver us from this present evil age.

If the evil one has been overcome already, why pray for deliverance from him?

However, to those people who were in the death throes of the Old Covenant but not yet in the New, the events that occurred just before Jesus said these things, just before the cross, hadn’t happened yet, neither had Pauls started his ministry to the gentiles which he had in these verses in Galatians.

 

Prayer should be communication from the heart based on a relationship with God so it can’t be confined in a box or restricted to a chant or mantra.

James 5:16 says, and I’ll read from the amplified version,

Therefore, confess your sins to one another [your false steps, your offenses], and pray for one another, that you may be healed and restored. The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God–it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].

 

This is not to say anyone praying this prayer is wrong or that it somehow damages a person’s relationship with God. No way!

God looks at the heart as 1 Samuel 16:7 tells us.

For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 

We just need to be aware that tradition is never far away from religion and a real and true relationship with God is never religious.

Our Lord gave the Lord’s Prayer as a model to the disciples. He’d like us to learn to pray in our own words when we talk to Him and using our own words when we pray.

As the Lord Jesus said in the verses before the Lord’s Prayer, prayer shouldn’t be for public display, and neither should it be vain repetition. The most effective prayer is in privacy between you and God only.

 

Now to the very important verses of 14 and 15,

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

 

These verses are usually always considered with verse 12 and they’re almost always interpreted and taught as that our forgiveness from God is conditional upon us forgiving others first. If we don’t forgive we won’t be forgiven.

It’s possible to see this line differently from a deep word study, but this is the way it’s normally understood.

However, all throughout the new testament our forgiveness is unconditional. The entire New Testament, in fact the whole Bible hinges on that.

For instance, Colossians 2:13-14 tells us this,

And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

Then Ephesians 2:8-9,

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

And Romans 3:24,

Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

We could go on and on.

If forgiveness from God is a free gift, then it can’t be based on our own personal track record of forgiveness to others.

Just like the rest of the sermon on the mount this is raising the bar on the law and it’s really raising it in this case.

As Christians I think we all agree that it’s very, very important that we forgive each other and to have a forgiving heart that forgives others that have sinned against us.

It’s a part of the natural Christian life, and God calls on us and encourages us to forgive others.

 

Unfortunately, though some church messages approach these 2 verses a bit differently to make them sound like not only should we forgive but we better forgive because if we don’t we can’t be forgiven.

So, if someone, even a Christian, was to do something very bad against me and even just for a little time I had a bit of unforgiveness in my heart, this teaching would imply that until I resolved it God would be turning from me and punishing me or if I were to die with that unforgiveness in my heart I’d be thrown into hell.

It’s a frightening message and it’s bad teaching because it’s at odds with the rest of the New Testament.

Not one of us can ever live up to this demand and therefore if that teaching related to salvation today no one could be saved.

No, my friends. This is the sermon on the mount. Jesus is showing us over and over again that trying to earn salvation by works is impossible.

Our hope today lies in just one of many, many New Testament scriptures like Romans 10:12 and 13,

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.

For “WHOEVER CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED.”

You see, He doesn’t wait for us to forgive others before He forgives us. This is not His method of settling the sin question. He gave His Son to die, and it’s on this basis that God forgives.

Next time my friends we’ll continue this journey through the sermon on the mount and until then may God give you revelation of just how great His mercy and Grace are to us wo do not and cannot earn it by our own works.