Blessed are the poor in spirit! What does this mean?

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew.5:3

I like how Bob Wells summarizes this Beatitude where he states, “the poor in spirit are those who are conscious of their sins and know in their hearts that they are completely unworthy of the grace that a most holy and loving God pours down upon them.” Being poor in spirit has nothing to do with physical poverty or lack of riches. Being poor in spirit is a demonstration of us acknowledging that we are absolutely nothing, except for God’s saving grace.  Being poor in spirit means that we have nothing to be boastful of except our loving Heavenly Father, His Son the Lord Jesus, and the ministering of His Holy Spirit in our lives.

 Another writer states, “these are people who are humble and who do not think of themselves more highly than they ought. Jesus once said that whoever humbles himself as a little child would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. In the book of Proverbs, we read that a man's pride will bring him down, but a lowly spirit will bring him honor.”  The entire focus of someone who is poor in spirit is on the Lord.  He or she is absorbed with Jesus in giving Him praise and honor.

Another great example presented by Bob Wells is about the prodigal son in Luke 15 where we see how he became poor in spirit. “In his pride and arrogance he left his father's house, wasted his inheritance and fell into great need in some far away country. During a severe famine, this son had no job and nothing to eat. At that point, the text says, he came to himself. He went back to his father and said, "I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son" (Luke 15:21). That is being poor in spirit.

According to Dr. Tom Constable, a Biblical Scholar, “The "poor in spirit" are those who recognize their natural unworthiness to stand in God's presence and who depend utterly on Him for His mercy and grace (cf. Ps. 37:14; 40:17; 69:28-29, 32-33; Prov. 16:19; 29:23; Isa.61:1)." They do not trust in their own goodness or possessions for God's acceptance. The poor in spirit acknowledges his or her lack of personal righteousness. This condition, as all the others the Beatitudes identify, describes those who have repented and are broken.

"'Poverty in spirit' is not speaking of weakness of character ('mean-spiritedness') but rather of a person's relationship with God. It is a positive spiritual orientation, the opposite of the arrogant self-confidence which not only rides roughshod over the interests of other people but more importantly causes a person to treat God as irrelevant."  Have we been treating God as unimportant until something occurs when we have nowhere to turn?  God is not there for us to put on and put off as we choose.  He created us, and desires us to worship Him.  God is a jealous God!  We can be everything we need to be when we are poor in spirit.

Another example of being poor in spirit is the story of this poor old man in Burundi who, eating one slice of bread that was all he had, smiling, said, "I have my piece of bread and Jesus too!"  This man was praising Jesus even though he had nothing else.  Are we praising Jesus for what He has done for us, that which we could never do for ourselves?
The latter part of the verse states, "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  One writer believed that Jesus was not talking about the poor in spirit entering the kingdom but rather, possessing it (i.e., it will be theirs in the sense that the poor in spirit will reign over it with Jesus (Rev.3:21). “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

As we reread this blog, including all of the Bible references presented, take time right now to give thanks to our Heavenly Father for His saving love that He demonstrated by sending His only Son, the Lord Jesus, to die for our sins on the cross.  If you have never asked Jesus to come into your life, do so now by repeating the following prayer, “Dear Jesus, I ask you to forgive me for the sins I’ve committed.  Come into my life right now!  Thank you Jesus for coming into my life!

If you are a Believer, and know that you are not "right" with God because of unrepentant sin, or because you have sided with someone who has accused another believer, whatever your situation that the Holy Spirit has placed in your heart, why not bow down right now, to agree with God that you have sinned.  Then, determine that you will make things right with God's help, and focus on deepening your relationship with our Heavenly Father.

In my next blog, we'll look at the second beatitude in Matthew.5:4. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

Christians - Smothering that Old Nature by Deepening Our Christian Walk

All Believers have been called to "raise the bar" when it comes to the Christian Walk.  Whether it's the Believer who has been judgemental upon a Christian brother or sister because of wrongful accusations, a Believer who has been judgemental of another Believer in the first place, or the Believer who has been wrongfully accused and slandered as an evil or a bad person, ALL Believers are challenged to focus on the Blessings of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:2-12:

He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,
³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
⁵ “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
¹⁰ “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

As Believers, our first step in this process of "raising the bar" is falling to our knees and confessing and agreeing with our Heavenly Father about any sin in our hearts! 

The second step is for us to ask His Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and direct our lives (thoughts, actions, behavior, what we say, etc.) so that our focus is to glorify God in our entire being, at all times.

The third step is to read and meditate on the above verses, asking God to use His Word to minister to us and that we be sincere in seeking Christian growth as we go through the teaching of these verses in the following blogs.

Are You Hurting Because of Being Shot by one in Your Own Christian Army

It has been said that the only army that shoots its wounded is the Christian Army.  Sadly, this has often been proven true.  Christians, both from my personal experience as well as from confirmed experiences of other believers, often listen to a story presented to them from another person and are swift to lay judgement. 

Sadly, the trial and execution take place in the absence of the accused Believer, with him/her having absolutely no opportunity to present his/her side of the story.  The Book of Proverbs states in Proverbs 18:17 - "The first to plead his case seems right, Until another comes and examines him."

Christians must resist rushing to the judgement of other Believers!  Certainly, the Word of God advises that we not judge our brother in the first place.   We cannot count the vast number of stories that are told about Believers which are "spun" to make the Believer seem bad and evil.  These "convincing" stories can damage reputations, create ungodly barriers, and provide real hurt to the unsuspecting Believer.

God's Word addresses these situations.  Whether Stephen, who was martyred, who said, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them," or other situations where the real truth was not revealed to exonerate the Believer, God desires him/her not to even try to disprove guilt beyond stating that "What you have heard is not correct."

Remember what happened to Stephen?  Even as he received the first stones and spoke of Christ being on the right hand of His Heavenly Father, that statement angered the men even more as they grit their teeth.  As the Believer seeks to explain his/her innocence, the accuser will become even more angry because of his/her already dysfunctional state.

Just as Christ suffered injustice, the Believer is challenged to work out his/her own salvation. As Believers, we are to demonstrate the qualities as presented in the beatitudes (Matthew.5:1-12).

Join me for my next blog as we take a look at the verses of Matthew.5:1-12.