Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6 (NKJV) The Pursuit of Happiness: Beatitude 4

Progression in Matthew 5:3-6 Poor in spirit: intellectual knowledge of sin Mourn: emotional knowledge/feeling Meekness: social knowledge of own sinfulness Hunger and thirst after righteousness: personal response

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst” Original cultural context: hunger or thirst that seemingly can never be satisfied – Psalm 42:1-2 – Psalm 63:1 Rooted in spiritual knowledge that righteousness is something we desperately need.

“after righteousness” Psalm 119:172 – All your commandments are righteousness Isaiah 45:8 – Rain down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, et them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together: I, the Lord, have created it.

a.Legal righteousness: justification leading to salvation (Philippians 3:9) – Costs: Jesus’ life (John 3:16) and ours as aliving sacrifice (Romans 12:1) – Brings reconciliation and more hungering and thirsting for God’s glory (Romans 5:1-2) “after righteousness”

b.Personal righteousness: sanctification – Requires willing cooperation : submission – Challenge to hatred of world and our old man: You who love the LORD, hate evil! (Psalm 97:10a) “after righteousness”

– Hungering and thirsting after spiritual things : How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word…. Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You…. I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.… Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, and I shall keep it to the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; indeed I will observe it with my whole heart” (Ps. 119:9, 11, 15, 16, 16, 33, 34) “after righteousness”

– Daily practice of righteouness: Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does (Jas. 1:22-25). “after righteousness”

c.Social righteousness: dealings with others – And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:9-10) – Teaching the nations “all things that Chris has commanded (Matthew 28:20 ) “after righteousness”

“for they shall be filled” Jesus’ use of chortasthesontai (shall be filled) – Completely filled and satisfied in every possible way

Complete satisfaction of being justified through faith alone – Christ “has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself…this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever sat down at the right hand of God…by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified…Their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Heb. 9:26; 10:10, 14, 17)

Complete satisfaction of deliverance from the power of sin – old things have passed away and all things have become new (2 Col. 5:17). of the perfect righteousness of the new heavens and the new earth - no longer be “anything that defiles or causes an abomination or a lie” (Rev. 21:27)

Matthew 5:6 Amplified Bible (AMP) 6 Blessed and fortunate and happy and [a] spiritually prosperous (in that state in which the born-again child of God [b] enjoys His favor and salvation) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), for they shall be [c] completely satisfied. abc