Matthew 5:3 says, ““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  According to this verse, those who are “poor in spirit” possess the “kingdom of heaven.” Without being “poor in spirit,” the kingdom of heaven is not ours.  Without a realization of this first beatitude in the life of a person, there can be no real assurance that they are really saved.  

So, it is pretty important that we are crystal clear about what Jesus means by “poor in spirit” if we want to be part of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Over the centuries, some people have read this verse, sold everything they owned, and lived in utter poverty so they could be more spiritual.  It that what Jesus had in mind?  I don’t think so!

Ridding ourselves of material wealth could not possibly be what Jesus is referring to here.  Think about all the times when Jesus encourages us to give money to the poor and needy.  If being “poor in spirit” meant to live in material poverty, then He would never tell us to help people get out of poverty.  Instead, He would be telling us to imitate those in need because physical poverty would be ideal.  In fact, if we were to help a poor person, it would be a great spiritual disservice to them if Jesus was talking here about material wealth.

But… He is not talking about material poverty in this passage.  (And yes, we should absolutely help the poor.)  In fact, we see throughout scripture many examples of godly people who did not live in poverty. 

  • King David was not poor and he said in Psalms 37:25, that he had “…not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.”
  • The Apostle Paul was hungry and in need on several occasions, but we never see him in a position of being a beggar.
  • The Lord Jesus also never begged for food.  On one hand he said in Matthew 8:20 that the  “Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”  Yet on the other hand, the disciples seem to have had enough income to give some money to the poor.
  • Jesus and his followers were accused of a lot of things.  They were called mad, ignorant revolutionaries.  However, they were never accused of begging.

So what kind of poverty of Jesus referring to then?  Jesus is talking about spiritual poverty…

Being “Poor in Spirit” means having no spiritual resources in yourself – Rev. 3:14-18

People who are “Poor in Spirit” see the standard that God’s Law demands and realize that they have absolutely nothing in themselves to attain God’s approval.  Poverty of spirit is the realization of desperate spiritual need.  Without Christ, they are empty, poor, and helpless. 

The “Poor in Spirit” know that they cannot make any strides towards salvation by effort and good works.  The spiritually poor are absolutely dependent on God’s grace.

It is worthwhile to point out that the gospel reaches down and picks up at the exact spot where the law leaves us utterly broken.  The best the law can ever do is to show us exactly how far we are from being able to save ourselves.  The greatest service the Law provides is to reduce the value of self-righteousness to nothing and show each person their overwhelming indebtedness to God.  Once we see our helpless state before the Lord, the Law leaves us helpless, poor, and miserable.  The law doesn’t save; Jesus SAVES!

We live in a world that tells us to assert ourselves and be proud of all we can accomplish.  It encourages us to find our way into the spotlight.  Our flesh and our ego assist every step on the way to self-promotion.  However, God is giving us a very different message here.  He says that when you and I admit our spiritual nothingness, that’s where spiritual life begins.

—
Mark Stafford

Senior Pastor