The promise of this first Beatitude Jesus gave is, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:3 [RSV]). Poverty of spirit has to do with humbling oneself before God and expressing a broken and contrite heart. Poverty of spirit has to do with emptying ourselves of all of our spiritual pride and expressing our dependence upon God for salvation and for transformation. Poverty of spirit leads us toward the salvation by grace through obedient, saving faith that God offers, and poverty of spirit becomes the foundation for all the other beatitudes that lead to spiritual maturation. We cannot be filled until we are empty, for God cannot fill what is already full. And we cannot be filled and helped by God until we recognize our need for God’s help.
God loved us even while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8), but He loves us too much to want to leave us in that lost condition. God wants us to have real righteousness and to be just like Jesus.
The Beatitudes are a composite of the spiritual character that will make us be like Jesus. To be “poor in spirit” requires that we die to self through a broken and contrite heart, coming to the Lord in humility and a sincere desire for dependence upon God. This is only the beginning, but it is the right place to start. And it is the right place to keep on starting.
Pride, then, is the antithesis of humility, and it has always been the foundation of all sin ever since Eve first set her eyes upon the forbidden fruit. As John warned, “For all that is in the world – the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions – is not from the Father but is from the world.” (1 John 2:16 [ESV]) So put aside your self-pride, humble yourself before the Lord, and let Him exalt you! James, the Lord’s brother, wrote in James 4:10 [ESV], “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.” So the next time you begin to think how blessed God is to have you working for Him, remember the words of His Son, the greatest example of meekness and humility whoever lived but was exalted to the highest position by the Father where He now sits at the right hand of God (Romans 8:34):
“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” (Matthew 11:29 [ESV]). Remember,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
May the Lord bless you as you come to Him broken and “poor in spirit”!
God loved us even while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8), but He loves us too much to want to leave us in that lost condition. God wants us to have real righteousness and to be just like Jesus.
The Beatitudes are a composite of the spiritual character that will make us be like Jesus. To be “poor in spirit” requires that we die to self through a broken and contrite heart, coming to the Lord in humility and a sincere desire for dependence upon God. This is only the beginning, but it is the right place to start. And it is the right place to keep on starting.
Pride, then, is the antithesis of humility, and it has always been the foundation of all sin ever since Eve first set her eyes upon the forbidden fruit. As John warned, “For all that is in the world – the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions – is not from the Father but is from the world.” (1 John 2:16 [ESV]) So put aside your self-pride, humble yourself before the Lord, and let Him exalt you! James, the Lord’s brother, wrote in James 4:10 [ESV], “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.” So the next time you begin to think how blessed God is to have you working for Him, remember the words of His Son, the greatest example of meekness and humility whoever lived but was exalted to the highest position by the Father where He now sits at the right hand of God (Romans 8:34):
“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” (Matthew 11:29 [ESV]). Remember,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
May the Lord bless you as you come to Him broken and “poor in spirit”!
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