Matthew 7:7 The key for Edification!

This the instruction Jesus gave at the end of The Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 7: 6-8 (KJV) {The how and the why!}

 
⁶  Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

** 
Note 48 at Matthew 7:6: Not everybody will receive instruction (Proverbs 1:7; 15:5, and 32).
We need godly wisdom to judge who is receptive and who is not. When we perceive people who are scorning our witness, we should heed the advice of this scripture and Proverbs 9:7-8 lest they mock the things of God and then turn on us.

⁷  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

Note on Matthew 7:7

The Greek word translated “ask” here is “AITEO,” and according to the Strong’s Concordance notes on the Greek word “PUNTHANOMAI” (another Greek word for “ask”), it means to demand what is due. It was used in Luke 23:23, which says, “And they were instant with loud voices, REQUIRING that he might be crucified” (emphasis mine). In that instance, it is clearly more than a passive request.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines “ask” as “
1. To put a question to.
 2. To seek an answer to.
3. To seek information about.
4a. To make a request of.
4b. To make a request for....
6. To expect or demand.
7. To invite.” If you use “ask” in the sense of definition 6 or 7, it is consistent with everything already being an accomplished work in Christ. But when used in the sense of the other definitions, that is inconsistent with Jesus having already provided everything.

Jesus has already provided our needs through His atonement. The provisions are waiting for us to receive them. We don’t ask in the sense that we don’t believe they are already ours. We ask as Jesus instructed us: “Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts” (Matthew 6:11-12). It’s already ours; we just need to appropriate by faith what grace has already provided.

There are three things spoken of in this verse: asking, seeking, and knocking. We ask for what has already been provided, we seek what we don’t know, and we knock to open doors that have been closed.

I’ve often heard that the Greek words for “ask,” “seek,” and “knock” mean to keep on asking, seeking, and knocking. I looked at every Greek dictionary I have, and that was not communicated in any of them. This isn’t saying that we have to plead with the Lord, as is often communicated (see my notes at Luke 11:5 and 18:2).

Note 49 at Matthew 7:7: Asking and receiving must be qualified by these other scriptures:
(1) We must ask in faith (Matthew 21:22 and Mark 11:24) without wavering (James 1:5-7).
(2) We must ask according to God’s will (1 John 5:14-15, see note 31 at Matthew 6:10) and not to consume it upon our own lusts (James 4:2-3). Seeking and finding must also be qualified by Matthew 6:33.
If we are seeking something more than we are seeking God, we are hindering our own supply. {or success}

 Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Andrew Wommack's Living Commentary.
 
⁸  For every one that ask receive; and he that seek find; and to him that knock it shall be opened.

Note on Matthew 7:8

It is obvious that many people have prayed for things that they have never seen come to pass. So, in an attempt to reconcile these promises with our experiences, many have said that God sometimes says no or that this doesn’t apply to everyone, but that’s not what this verse says. It clearly states that EVERYONE who asks receives, etc. How can this be?

The answer lies in the fact that God is a Spirit (John 4:24), and God moves in the spiritual, or unseen, realm. When He answers our prayers, the answers come in spiritual form, and whether or not they ever move from the spiritual realm and form in the physical realm is not dependent on God answering but rather on whether or not we know how to receive.
 Faith gives tangibility to things not seen (Hebrews 11:1); i.e., things that are spiritual and not physical. See my notes at Daniel 9:23 and 10:12.

Note 50 at Matthew 7:8: Prayer that meets the requirements outlined in God’s Word (see note 49 at Matthew 7:7) is always answered. Many times we don’t perceive the answer because it always comes in the spiritual realm first before it is manifested in the physical realm.
 If we waver (James 1:6-7) from our confident (Hebrews 10:35) faith, then we abort the manifestation of that answer. But God did answer. Everyone who asks receives, etc.

Compare with Daniel’s answers to prayer in Daniel 9 and 10.

 Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Andrew Wommack's Living Commentary.

*** Here is the meat or purpose of the Gospel message to seek, find and learn how to use God's perfect Word!