Verses 7 through 11 present a difficulty because it seems that these verses should not be here. For some years, I skipped over these verses, going from verse 6 to verse 12, because verse 12 matches verses 1 through 6. Verse 12 says, “All things therefore whatever you wish that men would do to you, so also you do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” This verse is the continuation and conclusion of the first six verses. However, between verse 6 and 12, we have verses 7 through 11 as an apparent insertion. What is the significance of this? As we have pointed out, 7:1-12 is concerned with the principles of the kingdom people in dealing with others. We have seen that the kingdom people must mainly observe the principle of taking care of others. In judging others or in speaking about holy things, we must take care of others. Let us now consider how verses 7 through 11 fit in with this matter.
Verses 7 and 8 say, “Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.” It takes experience to understand these verses. By reading these verses again and again in the light of our experience, we can realize that they mean that we must look to the heavenly Father as we are dealing with others. We must ask Him, seek Him, and knock for Him. Many times we have failed to do this. But these verses indicate that at the very time we are contacting people and dealing with them, we must look to the Lord and say, “Lord, tell me how to contact these people. Lord, show me how to deal with them.” Sometimes simply asking will not be adequate. We must seek and even knock. This indicates that contacting people is a serious matter. Never think that it is an insignificant thing. We, the kingdom people, must approach it seriously, never doing it in a light or loose way or merely according to our feeling. Rather, we must do so by taking care of others. We must ask for a way, seek after a way, and even knock at the heavenly door for a way. Thus, we must ask, seek, and knock; then we shall have the proper way to contact people.
In Matthew, the proper way to contact people is according to the principle of the kingdom. In verse 11, after using the examples of a son asking for a loaf and a fish in verses 9 and 10, the Lord says, “If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father Who is in the heavens give good things to those who ask Him?” Because Matthew is a book on the kingdom, no doubt the “good things” in verse 11 are the things of the kingdom. However, Luke 11:13, the sister verse of Matthew 7:11, says, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall the Father who is from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” In Luke 11:13 the “good things” are changed to “the Holy Spirit.” If we put these two verses together, we see that the best way for the kingdom people to contact others is according to the kingdom and according to the Holy Spirit. Both the kingdom and the Holy Spirit are the way to contact others. The wisdom we need in properly contacting others is of the kingdom and of the Spirit. As we deal with others, we must ask, seek, and knock. Eventually, we shall receive the guidance to deal with people according to the kingdom and according to the Spirit. Thus, the controlling principle for our contact with others is the kingdom and the Spirit. If our contact with others is based upon this principle, we shall not make mistakes.
If we consider the past, we shall have to admit that we have made mistakes in contacting people. Some of those contacts were not profitable to anyone. But now we are being trained by the kingdom. We are not loose believers, but serious and strict kingdom people. Our contact with others is according to the principle of the kingdom and the principle of the Holy Spirit. We receive the guidance we need in contacting others by asking, seeking, and knocking. If we ask, we shall receive; if we seek, we shall find; and if we knock, the door will be opened.
According to our human thought, we first take the way and then arrive at the door. But the divine concept in the Bible is exactly the opposite. First we pass through the door, and then we walk along the way. The Lord said, “Knock and it shall be opened to you.” This means that the door will be opened to us and then we shall be on the way. If we ask, seek, and knock, the door will be opened to us, and the way will be set before us. Then we shall know how to contact others. In order to contact people, we need an open door and a straight way as our guidance. We can have this open door and straight way only by asking, seeking, and knocking. How much we all need to find a proper and profitable way to contact others, whether unbelievers, saints, or the churches.
We all must learn to take care of others and to pray, “Lord, show me the way.” First you need to ask. If the way does not open up, then you must seek. If the way still does not open up, then you must knock. To knock means to come close to the One whom you are seeking. When you ask, there may still be a distance, but when you knock, there is no distance. Rather, you are directly in front of the One you are seeking. Thus, you need to spend time to seek the Lord. In contacting others, we need the asking, the seeking, and the knocking. Then the door will be opened, a straight way will be given to contact people, our contact will be profitable, and we shall be saved from making mistakes. We shall also know to beware of the dogs and the hogs. This is the significance of the insertion of verses 7 through 11 between verses 6 and 12.
Before we consider verse 12, we need to add a further word about asking, seeking, and knocking. To ask is to pray in a common way, to seek is to supplicate in a specific way, and to knock is to reach the door in the closest way. The matter of asking and receiving in verse 8 is good for the kingdom people’s prayer concerning their keeping of the new law of the kingdom. They ask for it and they will receive it. The matter of seeking and finding is good for 6:33. The kingdom people seek the Father’s kingdom and His righteousness and will find them. The matter of knocking and having the door opened is good for 7:14. The narrow gate will open to the kingdom people by their knocking.
Verse 11 contains a great promise. This promise affirms that the kingdom people are under the care and supply of the Father who is in the heavens. Thus, they are well able to fulfill the new law of the kingdom and live in its reality that they may enter into its manifestation.
In verses 9 and 10, the loaf and fish which are requested indicate the need of the one asking. When we ask, seek, and knock, we always have a need. Our heavenly Father knows our need and will give us what we need. No human father would give his children a stone for a loaf or a serpent for a fish, but would always give them good gifts. How much more will our heavenly Father give us things which He considers good. Even in our seeking for a way to contact others, He will give us the best way, the way that we need.
Now we come to verse 12, the conclusion to the section on the principles of the kingdom people in dealing with others. This verse says, “All things therefore whatever you wish that men would do to you, so also you do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” The new law of the kingdom does not contradict the law and the prophets; rather, it fulfills them and even complements them.