kingdom of God is NOT meat and drink

• The kingdom of God is NOT “Physical” Meat and Drink - God cares for His Saints on Earth. As the “King of saints”, God indeed cares for His dear children on this earth. This does not necessarily mean that they will enjoy all the physical benefits that this life offers. In fact, they might barely survive as in the case of the beggar Lazarus in Luke 16:20-21. And yet Lazarus was a true believer, and finally God took him home to eternal bliss.

Rom 14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”

John 6:27 “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.”

Luke 16:20-21,25 “20And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 25But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou [rich man] in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.”

Matt 6:25-26 “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? 26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”

• The kingdom of God is “Spiritual" Meat and Drink - Ecc 6:7 makes this point: “All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled”. The “meat [or food] and drink” that is in view here in Rom 14:17 is physical as opposed to the spiritual “meat and drink” that we find explained in John 6:27. Isa 55:1-3 beautifully describes the free gift of “everlasting life” for those who hunger and thirst for it. We are to proclaim the Gospel (that is, the spiritual “meat and drink” of the Bible - Isa 55:1-3) to those who are spiritually thirsty and hungry in obedience to Mat 25:34-40. May God give us renewed zeal to be about His business as “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor 5:18-20).

Rom 14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”

Isa 55:1-3 “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant [or Gospel] with you, even the sure mercies of David.”

John 6:27 “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.”

John 6:35,48-51 “35And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. 48I am that bread of life. 49Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 51I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

John 4:10, 13-14 “10Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 13Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

John 7:38 “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

Psa 42:1-2 “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?”

Mat 25:34-40 “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.” 

• Sign of the Times - Eating and Drinking - A very real and insidious problem of life on this sin-cursed earth is that we can became captivated by “… all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life ...” (1 John 2:16-17). These were the very same temptations that Satan successfully used against Eve in the Garden of Eden. These same enticements are the bases for our sin, which is rooted in our own selfishness. They also form the foundation of how unsaved man thinks, speaks, and acts. The Bible says in Luke 12:34, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”. Luke 17:26-33 is a fitting commentary of our day where the people are caught up in the Cares of the World. As “bread of heaven” and “living water” typify the true Gospel (sin, righteousness and judgement) on which believers will be feeding on, eating and drinking in Luke 17, also typify the false Gospels in the last days (health and wealth and prosperity) rampant today, on which unsaved will be feeding on.

Luke 17:26-27 “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.”

Luke 17:28-31 “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.”

Luke 21:34 “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.”

Luke 12:29-34 “And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. 30For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. 31But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. 32Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. 34For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” 

• The kingdom of God is Righteousness, Peace, and Joy in the Holy Ghost - A true believer will find that he is happiest when he desires the things of God and not of the world, as we read in Mat 6:31-33, which outlines the attitude of one who has been born from above: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His Righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you”. In Matt 5:6 we understand that those who are spiritually hungry and thirsty will be filled. God also promises that He will provide spiritual drink for His elect when there is spiritual drought and, we can say by extension, in times of spiritual famine, according to Isa 41:17-18. The Christian longs for the day when he can “inherit all things” according to Rev 21:6-7. The word “overcometh” in this verse means “to be victorious”. Have you become victorious in Christ?
  

Rom 14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”

Matt 6:31-33 “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Matt 5:6 “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."

Rev 21:6-7 “And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”

Isa 41:17-18 “When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.”

Luke 11:9-13 “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 11If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit [indwelling Holy Spirit given in Salvation] to them that ask him?”

Gal 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”