BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT
MATTHEW 5:1-3
MATTHEW 5:1-3
Introduction:
We have somewhat of a paradox here. Generally poverty expels riches, but here poverty begets riches. Mourning would expel joy, but here mourning begets joy, “for they shall be comforted,” v. 4. Persecution normally expels happiness, but here it makes one happy: “Blessed are they that are persecuted.” These are sacred paradoxes in our Savior’s sermon.
The world thinks, “Blessed are they on the pinnacle;” but Christ pronounces them blessed who are in the valley. Consider what Jesus says in verse 3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
I. THE MEANING OF “POOR IN SPIRIT.”
A. It is distinguished from material poverty. The Lord is not referring to those who lack in this worlds material goods.
B. It is not those who are spiritually poor, Revelation 3:17, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:”
C. It is distinguished from the poor-spirited. These are people who are have mean and base spirits, Ecclesiastes 6:2, “A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.”
D. “Poor in spirit” signifies those who have seen their spiritual poverty and fled to Christ for salvation, Luke 18:13, “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.”
II. QUESTIONS PROPOUNDED ABOUT “POOR IN SPIRIT.”
A. Why does Christ begin with poverty of spirit?
1. Jesus was setting the foundation of all other graces that follow, 1 Corinthians 3:11, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
2. Until a man sees himself as he really is he cannot mourn over sin in his own life and in the life of others.
a. For our own sin, Ezekiel 7:16, “But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity.”
b. For the pollution of sin in the life of the believer, Acts 5:3, “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?”
c. The color of our sin stands out, Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
B. What is the difference between poverty of spirit, humility and self-denial?
1. Humility is becoming as a child before the Lord, Matthew 18:4, “Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
2. Self-denial is learning to put Christ first in your life above everyone and everything else, Titus 2:12, “Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;”
III. WHY CHRISTIANS MUST BE “POOR IN SPIRIT.”
A. If we are self-sufficient, we are not fit for Christ, Isaiah 61:1, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;” [broken hearted = unworthiness] “The thing I am blessed in is my poverty. If I know I have no strength of will, no nobility of disposition, then Jesus says—Blessed are you.” – Oswald Chambers
B. Until we are poor in spirit, Christ is never precious, Zechariah 3:4-5, “And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. 5And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.”
1. We see ourselves as we really are – in RAGS. Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
2. Then God clothes us in garments FIT for His service. Isaiah 61:10, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”
IV. ATTRIBUTES OF THE “POOR IN SPIRIT.”
A. He that is poor in spirit is weaned from self.
1. Our ego causes us many problems, Romans 8:13, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” “The true character of the loveliness that tells for God is always unconscious. Conscious influence is priggish and un-Christian. If I say, ‘I wonder if I am of any use,’ I instantly lose the bloom of the touch of the Lord. “He that believeth in Me, out of him shall flow rivers of living water.” If I examine the outflow, I lose the touch of the Lord.” – Oswald Chambers
2. Our self-importance stands in the way of serving God in a way that is pleasing to Him, Luke 14:11, “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Who are the people that have influenced us most? Not the ones who thought they did, but those who had not the remotest notion that they were influencing us.
B. He that is poor in spirit is a Christ admirer, Ephesians 3:19, “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
C. He that is poor in spirit is always complaining of his spiritual estate, Isaiah 6:5, “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
D. He that is poor in spirit is lowly in heart.
1. He sees himself as unworthy, Job 42:6, “Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
2. He sees himself as a great debtor, Romans 1:14, “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.”
3. He sees that his strength in not in himself, but in the Lord, Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
E. He that is poor in spirit is much in prayer.
1. He is ever begging the Lord to increase his faith, Luke 17:5, “And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.”
2. He is ever begging spiritual alms at the throne of God.
3. He sighs; he sheds tears before the Lord, Romans 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
F. He that is poor in spirit sees himself lost without Christ.
1. To him Christ is his LORD as well as the Saviour, Philippians 3:8, “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”
2. He asked the Lord as Paul did on the road to Damascus, Acts 9:6a, “And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”
CONCLUSION
Four reason to be “poor in spirit:”
1. This poverty is your riches. Poverty of spirit entitles you to all of Christ’s riches.
2. This poverty is your nobility. The Lord looks on those “poor in spirit” as being persons of honor.
3. Poverty of spirit quiets the soul. Here the believer learns to rest in the promises of God such as Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
4. Poverty of spirit paves the road of blessedness, Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”