I figured we would jump right into verses 3-5. I thought I’d get out a couple notes out so we might be able to understand better what it means to be poor in spirit or maybe why we mourn, as we are memorizing it.
This section might be a little longer than the others as we see we are setting the foundation.
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 meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
The first issue that we need to understand is that the “Blessing” verb tenses aren’t there in the original Greek. So when it says “Blessed are” present tense, that means the verb is supplied and I think Barclay (as well as Gale) had the best explanation. “Aramaic and Hebrew have a very common kind of expression, which is in fact an exclamation and which means, ‘ O the blessedness of…’ That expression (ashere in the Hebrew) is very common in the Old Testament. The beatitudes are not simple statements; the are exclamations; ‘O the blessedness of the poor in spirit!”1 This is significant because that means they are not wishful, pious thinking, they are congratulations on the reality of the New Birth. All of the qualities are resident in the life of one who is born again. Yes they are being refined, but to be in the kingdom these are statements of congratulations. These are not natural gifts but gifts received by grace by being born again. We’ll see this better as we move along.
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
First off this is not an economical poverty as Jesus adds “in spirit”.
D. Martyn Lloyd Jones (DMLJ from now on) is very quick to point out that verse 3 is the foundation for all of the rest of the Beatitudes. The first reason he gives is there is no one in the Kingdom that is not poor in spirit as the verse closes, “theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. No one is in the kingdom, that does not come on the basis of being poor in spirit. I might add as we define what it means to be poor in spirit, there is no one in the kingdom that is not poor in spirit. All the other characteristics are in a sense the result of this. This phrase to be “poor in spirit” manifests an emptying of oneself, whereas all the other are a manifestation of the fullness. This is the perfect statement of the doctrine of the Justification by Faith alone.2
So what does it mean exactly to be “poor in spirit”. The “poor in spirit” who view life as standing before God and see their utter despair. They see themselves standing before God without pretense, without self-sufficiency, without any other self-security or self-righteousness and in desperate need. Not necessarily an American motto. This poverty is revealed in an understanding of our utter inability to save ourselves but cry out to God and depend totally on Him. Quarles chimed in stating that “In the Old Testament, the poor are those who cry out to God for help, depend entirely on Gods grace to meet their needs, have a humble and contrite spirit, experience God’s deliverance, and enjoy His underserved favor.3 Grace indeed.
Barclay added a little practical theology to what it means to be poor in spirit when he summarized: “Jesus says that to such a poverty belongs the kingdom of Heaven. Why should that be so? If we take two petitions of the Lords Prayer and set them together; ‘Thy kingdom come, they will be done in earth as it is in Heaven,’ we get the definition, the kingdom of God is a society where Gods will is as perfectly done in earth as it is in Heaven. That means that only he who does Gods will is a citizen of the kingdom; and we can only do Gods will when we realize our own utter inability to cope with life, and when we put our whole trust in God. Obedience is always founded on trust. The kingdom of God is the possession of the poor in spirit, because the poor in spirit have realized their own utter helplessness without God, and have learned to trust and obey”4 That was a mouthful but I’m convinced brings more clarity to what it means to be poor in spirit.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are those who mourn reveals a person who sees the world is in unhappy and unhealthy condition. The realization that it is all a result of sin cause him to mourn, but notice he will be comforted. This causes him to not only mourn over the sin of the world but more importantly to mourn over his own sin and as we see the pattern in 1John 1:8-10, confesses his sin and is forgiven. This gives much light to Paul’s dilemma in Romans 7:7-25. As DMLJ concluded “A deep doctrine of sin and a high doctrine of joy, and the two together produce this blessed, happy man who mourns, and who is at the same time comforted.”5 This mourning over sin drives the believer to Christ and the moment he goes back his peace and happiness return and he is comforted. This is much like the state of the heart John describes in 1John 3:19-24.
James draws a similar conclusion: 8 “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” (Jas 4:8–10).
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
The first thing we’ll note as Jones did is this is not a natural tendency. The world promotes everything but meekness. I believe we’ll understand this better as we explain exactly what meekness is. The word used for meek is πραΰς (praus), which by definition is gentle, meek or mild. The three other significant uses in scripture give us a little more insight. The Lord used it to describe Himself, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Mt 11:29). So we know it by His gentleness. Again in reference to His triumphal entry, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” So we know it includes humility as expressed by Him.(Mt 21:5). In explaining how godly women should adorn themselves Peter stated “but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”(1 Pe 3:4). So we again see the gentleness revealed in their spirit. Jones brings this together with three verses in mind (he didn’t do intentionally but I am). “Meekness is essentially a true view of oneself, expressing itself in attitude and conduct with respect to others.”6
These won’t be as long in the future but hopefully we see everything is being built on being poor in spirit and what that means. I can’t be sure but I think it is a Spurgeon quote and it goes something like this, “apply thyself to the text and apply the text to thyself”. I guess the point is, are we poor in spirit, do we mourn, and are we meek? It doesn’t mean anything if I memorize this if I don’t internalize it.