“Each [Beatitude] leads to the other in logical succession. Being poor in spirit reflects the right attitude we should have to our sinful condition, which then should lead us to mourn, to be meek and gentle, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to be merciful, pure in heart, and have a peacemaking spirit. A Christian who has all those qualities will be so far above the level of the world that his life will rebuke the world – which will bring persecution from the world and light to the world.” – John MacArthur
I am going to go through the Beatitudes as well as Jude in my blog, so there may be times when one blog is on Jude and one on a Beatitude. Do not worry I plan on going through each Beatitude and through the book of Jude as the weeks go by. The only break will be my time in India, as we will be giving updates while there on this blog.
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
What do you think of when someone says they are Blessed? I think of Grandma Bryd. She is this wonderful little old lady in Charlotte, NC. When I was the director of Faith, Hope & Love she was taking care of three of her grandchildren who attended the program. Every time I would ask her how she was doing, she would reply “blessed.” I would think to myself, how can she say that, as she lives in one of the poorest communities has virtually no money and raises three grandchildren with no financial support from any other family member. Yet, every time I asked her how she was she would reply “blessed.”
I now understand and know she could truly say that because of her relationship with Christ. It had nothing to do with material wealth or worldly things, but she knew that this world was only temporal and where she was going. She lived dependent on Christ and that is why she is blessed, and blessed she is. I wish everyone had the privilege of meeting her.
Philippians 4:11-13, “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
The Greek word for Blessed is “Makapioi.” It comes from a characterization of God, meaning blessedness. This is when God’s nature is indwelt within us and His nature is in us. Blessed also means to be fully satisfied, but this is not to be from the things of this earth or life, but because of Christ residing within you. Being blessed is not on account of me or you, but Christ. Not on external things, but Christ. Not what someone else thinks of me, or says of me. Not what grades I get, or who I date, or how much I make, but Christ.
1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
The poor in spirit, in this context, are those who recognize their total spiritual destitution and complete dependence on God for everything, the very breath you breathe now. All is dependent on God. If He for a mille-second stopped thinking about you then you would disappear as if never existing. He holds you and me in the palm of His hands.
Someone who is poor in spirit recognizes that we are spiritually impoverished in the sight of God. They are those that recognized this and their utter and complete dependence on God. They realize that the only reason they breathe is because God allows it. The only reason they exist is because God made it so. The poor in spirit understand there is nothing the can do to earn it and nothing to gain more of it. It is from God alone and nothing that we can or will do to attain the kingdom of heaven. If we could then it would take control from God and it would make a means of works for salvation, and we no what Paul thinks about a works based faith.
Lastly, Jesus makes a point of saying “in spirit,” in this verse, and it is because it takes away any physical way of attaining this blessing. You cannot fake it by wearing the right close, or saying the right things. God looks at the heart and what is there He will know, and sooner or later it will reveal itself to the real world as well. It makes us dependent like a child. It means that we are completely reliable on God; utterly reliant on Him.
My pastor was telling us about Mr. Finney, if you do not know who he is then research him, as he is an important figure in our faith. He said that Mr. Finney opened his soul to God and his life was never the same. So, the question I ask you and in turn ask myself is: Have you opened your soul to God? Have you repented and asked for Him to fill all those spots you filled with fleshy desires? Until then, I am afraid that we may never fully understand or appreciate what it means to be “poor in spirit,” or blessed fully because of it.
Poor your soul out to God. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun?” – Ecclesiastes 1:2-3.
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