Understanding the Poor in Spirit

[saint701]

December 2, 2013
BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT


Hello Christianity Oasis!


Blessings!

According to numerous online sources such as Dictionary.com and Free Mirriam-Webster.com beatitude means a state of supreme bliss or supreme happiness. When the word beatitude comes to mind most of us automatically think of the states of blessedness found in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 5. However, WHEN CONSIDERING THE POOR IN SPIRIT we do not necessarily understand the significance of it. In fact, many of us have no idea what or where our spirit is, let alone what he looks like, or how he functions within us.
Yet we have read of the many functions of the Spirit in the Bible such as walking in the Spirit, mind of Christ, Spirit of Wisdom…given us of His Spirit, baptized in the Spirit, gifts of the Spirit, fruits of the Spirit, Spirit of Adoption, led by the Spirit, taught by the Spirit, reproved by the Spirit, judged by the Spirit, worship Him in Spirit and in Truth, all spiritual blessings, etc.

We have also read of the many names of the spirit/Spirit such as The Holy Ghost, The Holy Spirit, The Comforter, The Spirit of Truth, The Spirit, The Spirit of Adoption, The Spirit of Burning, The Spirit of Life, The Spirit of God, The Seven Spirits, The Spiritual Man, etc.

The Bible is pregnant with references about “The Spirit.” Yet many of us remain in the dark about the many things God has provided for us by giving us of His Spirit. We lack light simply because we do not seek life in the Spirit of God. Life in the Spirit of God, and God's life in us is the sum total of what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ purchased for us through His death and resurrection on our behalf. If we do not have the Spirit of Jesus in us we do not belong to Him. I hope that statement wakes those of you lacking Christ within you to sincerely seek His baptism of you in His Spirit. If we do not have the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus residing in us we are not Christian at all!

Now…what does it mean to be poor in spirit and why does that spiritual condition make us suitable for the Kingdom of Heaven? The answer cannot be completely understood without considering how we use the word, “poor.” There are the poor that lack wealth. There are those that have poor health. There are the poor that have lost possessions and loved ones in some form of calamity…those poor souls we say. There are those that are cut down in the prime of life as in that poor man or that poor woman.

Being poor in spirit is like the examples above. We are lacking in spirit. We need spiritual help. Our spirit is weak. We do not have the same drive in us others in the world seem to have. Our mental microprocessor seems slow compared to others. We always have a feeling inside that we are missing something. We are poor in spirit.
Jesus taught us about such in the following parable.

Luke.15
[8] Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?
[9] And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.
[10] Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

One that is poor in spirit will look to God to fill the void in their heart. One that is poor in spirit will seek and search for that missing thing to fill the void inside them. Those poor in spirit will seek to fill the void in them in any number of ways until they come to the end of themselves and cry out, “Oh God, if you are truly real, please show me now!!!”
Being poor in spirit is like that. We need that extra something in our life that is missing, and we search until we find it in the form of the Kingdom of Heaven. What is the Kingdom of Heaven to those that are poor in spirit? Paul defined the Kingdom of Heaven with the following words.

Rom.14
[17] For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Wherever the Kingdom of Heaven/God is, the Spirit of God is. When we invite our Lord Jesus to come and live within us, we begin a new life with the Kingdom of God, His Spirit, within us. The Kingdom of God is within...

Who is it that is poor in spirit? It is that one that is missing the Spirit of God, (Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, Spirit of Wisdom in their life…Simply put, those of us that are poor in spirit need the Spirit of God in our spirit to be the strength we lack in spirit for the saving of our soul. The strength of God is made perfect in our weakness the Apostle Paul tells us.

We that are weak God has made rich in faith. Why? It is because a weak person is more likely to seek help for his/her weakness than those rich in spirit. And it is because of our weaknesses we are all the more willing to repent of our imperfections and believe on Christ our Lord to save us from our sins more so than a rich man/woman.

Jas.2
[5] Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

Blessed are the poor in spirit for ours is the Kingdom of Heaven.


Blessings!
Love, In Christ Jesus, saint