Poor in Spirit

It is amazing how a single verse in the Scriptures can grip a man—how that verse can cause us to think and pray upon it to seek its true meaning.  So it is with Matthew 5:3, the first verse of the Beatitudes, which reads, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (NASB)

Now I know that some translations read “happy” in place of “blessed”, but the state of being happy seems to fall short of the original meaning.  We are blessed when we receive something outside of ourselves—when we cannot assign any human effort or cause to what we are experiencing.  To be blessed is to receive a gift from God, without any merit or effort upon our part.  It is deeper than the emotion of being happy.  So in the case of this verse, what is the blessing that we receive?  Let’s look at what it means to be poor in spirit.

A person who is poor in spirit knows that he/she is dependent upon God for all spiritual discernment.  Beyond that he knows that he is spiritually bankrupt without God.  The original fall of man produced a slain spirit in Adam, and so on to all men.  We cannot discern spiritual things, much less achieve any relationship with God by our own power or will.  To be poor in spirit has nothing to do with our financial condition or our intellect.  But it has everything to do with obtaining the key to the kingdom of God.

Over the years I have learned that the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:3-9, describe the characteristics of the Christian--specifically those of a servant.  No true disciple of Jesus can exist without showing these attributes.  But Jesus did not choose to explain this on that wonderful day as He spoke to those who were listening.

What a different message He was bringing.  The listeners would not have heard anything like this from the teachers in the synagogue.  Jesus was not telling them of rules for behavior, or giving any special commandments of the Law.  But He was describing the fruit of the spirit that would mark their lives if they would but follow Him.  Remarkably, he did not even give a special invitation to follow Him.  But to those who would have the proper attitude—who would be poor in spirit—there would be the key to the door of heaven.

So this brings us back to Matthew 5:3.  What does it say in the original Greek?  The Zondervan Interlinear Greek-English New Testament renders this verse as, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for of them is the kingdom of the heavens.”  Do you see the point made here—that the kingdom of heaven is made “of them”—the poor in spirit?  Yes, the key to the kingdom is to be poor in spirit.  No one in the kingdom is intended to be haughty or proud in his or her spirit.  This verse opens the door to all the other characteristics of the Beatitudes!

So clearly Jesus knew what He was saying to those who would listen.  Without giving any special invitation, without explaining what attitude they were to have in order to understand what He was saying, He gave His message with an opening key to the whole package of the Christian life.  Perhaps only a few were prepared to hear what He was really saying, but that is the way with most of His messages. 

After reflecting upon this new understanding, I had a greater confidence that Jesus had given the perfect description of how any of us would come to Him and receive His blessing.  We know that Cain killed Abel because he (Cain) had a proud spirit that rebelled against the wishes of God for a blood sacrifice.  Cain could not bear the displeasure of God, and he took everything out upon Abel.  We know the difference between Saul, who was proud in spirit, and David, who had a heart for God.  The disciples were not equipped to serve the Lord until they fully believed that Christ had risen and He had equipped them with a new spirit—a spirit that was humble and in accordance with the indwelling Holy Spirit.  We need only to read Mary’s prayer in Luke 1:46-55 to see that even when we receive blessings we can say as she did, “My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”  (Luke 1:46)

Yes, being poor in spirit is a mark of the Christian.  We are to focus upon our need for the Father and His Son in every aspect of our lives.  Our personal relationship is founded upon His total adequacy, and not our own merit.  The Christian increasingly realizes this, and in fact our growth in Christ will reflect more and more of His Spirit.

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