Beatitudes - Poor in Spirit

     Without a doubt, one of the greatest sermons ever preached is recorded in Matthew chapters five through seven.  The first part of this sermon contains a series of statements known to us as the "beatitudes."  This designation comes from the fact that each statement begins with the phrase, "Blessed are..."  Some translations use the word "happy" instead of "blessed."
     Although there is not nearly enough time in one broadcast for even a superficial discussion of all of the beatitudes, let's take a look at one of them today.  Then, hopefully, you will be encouraged to study all of them on your own.
     Before considering the message of the beatitudes, we must ask ourselves two questions about the blessings that are pronounced by Jesus in this opening segment of His Sermon on the Mount.
     First of all, we must determine WHEN this happiness is to be enjoyed.  Jesus says quite plainly, "Happy ARE" those who have these characteristics.  The implication is not that we will be happy some day if we possess these traits, but rather that we have already entered into a happy life.
     "Godliness is profitable for all things," Paul states in the second half of 1 Timothy 4:8, "since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come."
     Secondly, we must try to understand WHY these people are so happy.
     We can be freed from our sins by the blood of Christ, according to Revelation 1:5.  That makes us happy.
     We can be freed from spiritual death, as we read in Romans 8:2.  That makes us happy.
     We can have eternal life as a gift from God, as we find in Romans 6:23.  That makes us happy.
     We can have a purified conscience, as noted in Hebrews 10:22.  That makes us happy.
     We can have the companionship of Christ, as we see in Matthew 28:19-20.  That makes us happy.
     We can have peace, as we learn in John 16:33.  That makes us happy.
     And we can have the certainty of victory, as we discover in Romans 8:37-39.  That makes us happy.
     So our happiness can start now, and it has its foundation in the things that we enjoy because of Jesus.
     As Jesus prepares to share these thoughts with the people, he finds a place to sit down.  This seems a little strange to us, since it leaves the impression of an informal chat.  But we should know that Jewish Rabbis always sat down when they were doing official, authoritative teaching.
     "Opening His mouth He began to teach them," Matthew 5:2 says.  This term "opening His mouth" has a double meaning.  First, it implies a discourse that is serious, important, noble and solemn.  And, then, it carries the idea that someone is getting ready to open his heart, his mind and his soul without barriers.  What follows is of ultimate importance to the Son of God, and it should be equally important for us today.
     "Blessed are the poor in spirit," verse 3 says, "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
     What does it mean to be poor?  The Greeks had two words for poor.  One meant someone who had to work for a living.  The other, which is the one used here, meant one who is forced to cower or bow; one who is beaten to his knees.
     But Jesus very likely was speaking Aramaic instead of Greek.  If so, the word that He probably used is one that had undergone a series of changes.  At first, it meant simply to be poor.  Then, because one was poor, he came to be looked upon as one who lacked power, influence and prestige.  Therefore, he was stepped on and oppressed.  Finally, he was forced to put all his trust in God.  He had no other alternative.
     Jesus pronounced this blessing on those who are poor in SPIRIT.  The Bible does not teach that poverty is good, or that being well-off is bad.  It simply teaches that we must understand that we are dependent upon God for everything we have.
     To be poor in spirit means that we realize that we are dependent upon God for every spiritual thing that we enjoy.
     "I know, O Lord," Jeremiah 10:23 acknowledges, "that a man's way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps."
     "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus," Paul writes in Ephesians 1:3, "who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ."
     To be poor in spirit means that we realize that everything comes from God, as Paul notes in a discourse recorded in Acts 17:22-31.  It means that we realize our salvation is a gift from God, as is pointed out in passages such as Romans 5:1-11 and Ephesians 2:1-10.
     To be poor in spirit means that we realize that we have the power to do nothing by ourselves, but it also means that we realize we can do everything through God.
     "For I have learned to be content in what ever circumstances I am," Paul begins in Philippians 4:11.
     "I know how to get along with humble means," he continues in the following verse, "and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
     "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me," he concludes.
     And just what is it that the poor in spirit enjoy?  

     Jesus promises that the poor in spirit are able to enjoy the kingdom of heaven.
     "Repent," John the Baptist advises in Matthew 3:2, "for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
     "The time is fulfilled," the same New Testament prophet says in Mark 1:15, "and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
     "Repent," Jesus admonishes in Matthew 4:17, "for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
     "Thy kingdom come," Christ prays in Matthew 6:10.
     "Truly I say to you," Jesus teaches in Mark 9:1, "there are some of those standing here who shall not taste of death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power."
     "The kingdom of God has come near to you," the disciples of Jesus were told to say to all those they met, as we see in Luke 10:9 and 11.
     "For he delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son," Colossians 1:13 instructs.
     In the Gospel accounts, while Jesus is still living, we read about the kingdom as something that is coming soon.  In the rest of the New Testament, following the establishment of the church on the day of Pentecost, the kingdom is referred to in the past tense.  In fact, 1 Corinthians 15:24 and other passages talk about a time when Jesus will deliver up the kingdom that has been given to him.
     Obviously, the kingdom is the church.
     "Happy are those who realize their dependence upon God," Jesus says in the first beatitude, "for they have the attitude that is required to take part in the church."
     Only if we understand that we cannot save ourselves, and that we must rely on God and His word, can we have part with those who make up the church.  And only in the church can we enjoy freedom from our sins.
     According to Ephesians 5:23, Jesus is the Savior of the body, the church.
     "Husbands, love your wives," Paul continues in Ephesians 5:25-26, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her; that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word."
     If Jesus saved, loved, died for, sanctified and cleansed the church, what does this say for those who are outside the church?  What does it say about the philosophy that a person can be saved without having anything to do with the church?
     Toward the end of the Sermon on the mount, Jesus stresses the importance of being on the right road.
     "Enter by the narrow gate;" He instructs in Matthew 7:13-14, "for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it.
     "For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it."
     "Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?" someone asks Jesus in Luke 13:23.
     Many people today would answer, "No, many are being saved.  All good people will go to heaven, regardless of their religious beliefs."
     "Strive to enter by the narrow door," the Master responds, "for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able."
     Back in the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explains what it means to enter by the narrow gate.
     "Not every one who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven;" Jesus states in Matthew 7:21-23, "but he who does the will of My Father, who is in heaven.
     "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'
     "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'"
     In verses 24-25 the Lord compares a person who hears His words and acts on them with a wise man who builds his house upon the rock.  In the next two verses He says that one who hears the words and does not act on them is like a foolish man who builds his house upon the sand.
     Blessed are those who look to God instead of to themselves for instruction, Jesus teaches in the first beatitude, because they are members of the kingdom, the church.
     And, according to the words of Jesus at the end of the sermon, the kingdom is made up of the few who hear and obey His words, the truth that will set us free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.lockman.org)