Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Matthew 6

Mat 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

alms

Or, righteous acts. The word refers to religious externalities. These may be seen of men, but that must not be the motive.

reward

Rewards. Mat 10:41, 42. (Dan 12:3; 1 Cor 3:14.)

Mat 6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

reward

i.e. the reward they have sought.

Mat 6:3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

let not thy left hand know

Mat 8:4.

Mat 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

thy Father which seeth in secret

Luk 14:12-14; Phl 4:17-19; 2Ti 1:16-18.

Mat 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

reward [See also Mat 6:16.]

i.e. the praise of men.

Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

when thou prayest

Mat 23:5-7, 14; Mar 12:38-40; Luk 18:10-12; 20:46, 47.

Mat 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

use not vain repetitions

Cf. 1Ki 18:26-39; Mat 26:39-44; 2Co 12:8, 9.

heathen

i.e. Gentiles.

Mat 6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

your Father knoweth what things ye have need of

Rom 8:26, 27.

Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

After this manner

Luk 11:1-4; Jhn 16:24; Eph 6:18; Jde 1:20.

pray

Bible prayers (N.T.). Mat 8:2. (Mat 6:9; Rev 22:20.)

Our Father which art in heaven

Mat 5:9, 16.

thy name

Mal 1:11.

Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

kingdom

Kingdom (N.T.). Mat 11:27-30. (Luk 1:31-33; 1Co 15:28).

come

Scofield Matthew 3:2, note.

Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we we forgive our debtors.

forgive

Forgiveness. Mat 6:12, 14, 15; Mat 9:2, 5, 6. (Lev 4:20; Mat 26:28.)

debts

Sin. Scofield Romans 3:23, note.

we forgive our debtors

This is legal ground. Cf. Eph 4:32, which is grace. Under law forgiveness is conditioned upon a like spirit in us; under grace we are forgiven for Christ's sake, and exhorted to forgive because we have been forgiven. See Scofield Matthew 18:32; Matthew 26:28, note.

Mat 6:13 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.

temptation

Temptation. Mat 16:1. (Gen 3:1; Jas 1:14.)

Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

neither will your Father forgive your trespasses

Cf. Mat 18:21-35; Jas 2:13.

Mat 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

fast

Cf. Isa 58:3-7; Luk 18:12.

Mat 6:17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

when thou fastest

Dan 1:12-16. Cf. Pro 14:10; 2Co 6:10.

Mat 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth

Pro 23:4; 1Ti 6:6-11.

Mat 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

light

Or, lamp.

Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

No man can serve two masters

Luk 16:13. Cf. 1Ki 18:21; 2Ki 17:41; Rev 3:15, 16.

Mat 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?

Take no thought for your life

Mat 6:31; Luk 12:22-31; Heb 13:5, 6; Phl 3:18, 19; 4:6, 7.

Mat 6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

one cubit

About 18 in.

Mat 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

take no thought

Or, have no anxiety. Mat 6:34.

Mat 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need

Mat 6:8; Exo 3:7; Deu 2:7; Psa 103:14; Mar 6:38; Luk 12:29, 30.

Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

kingdom of God

The kingdom of God is to be distinguished from the kingdom of heaven (Scofield Matthew 3:2, note), in five respects:

1. The kingdom of God is universal, including all moral intelligences willingly subject to the will of God, whether angels, the Church, or saints of past or future dispensations (Luk 13:28, 29; Heb 12:22, 23); while the kingdom of heaven is Messianic, mediatorial, and Davidic, and has for its object the establishment of the kingdom of God in the earth (Scofield Matthew 3:2, note; 1Co 15:24, 25).
2. The kingdom of God is entered only by the new birth (Jhn 3:3, 5-7); the kingdom of heaven, during this age, is the sphere of a profession which may be real or false. (Scofield Matthew 13:3, note; Mat 25:1, 11, 12).
3. Since the kingdom of heaven is the earthly sphere of the universal kingdom of God, the two have almost all things in common. For this reason many parables and other teachings are spoken of the kingdom of heaven in Matthew, and of the kingdom of God in Mark and Luke. It is the omissions which are significant. The parables of the wheat and tares, and of the net (Mat 13:24-30, 36-43, 47-50) are not spoken of the kingdom of God. In that kingdom there are neither tares nor bad fish. But the parable of the leaven (Mat 13:33) is spoken of the kingdom of God also, for, alas, even the true doctrines of the kingdom are leavened with the errors of which the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Herodians were the representatives. (See Scofield Matthew 13:33, note.)
4. The kingdom of God "comes not with outward show" (Luk 17:20), but is chiefly that which is inward and spiritual (Rom 14:17); while the kingdom of heaven is organic, and is to be manifested in glory on the earth. (See "Kingdom (O.T.)," Scofield Zechariah 12:8, note; (N.T.), Luk 1:31-33; 1Co 15:24, note; Matthew 17:2, note.)
5. The kingdom of heaven merges into the kingdom of God when Christ, having "put all enemies under his feet," "shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father" (1Co 15:24-28). Cf. Scofield Matthew 3:2, note.

Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

morrow

Jas 4:13, 14.