"If you have never felt as though your soul was empty, you have never experienced the bankrupt soul of the lost."
[This sermon is one of a series entitled "Sermon on the Mount, Concentrating on the Beatitudes," which is being preached on Sunday mornings by Pastor Tim Senter.]
Last week we opened the Beatitudes and found that their focus concerned contentedness and the Kingdom of God. We learned that these beatitudes are not just some profitable sayings that sound greatly philosophical and instructive for life; but they are instead life as Christ lived, and therefore they exemplify the life of a Christian. What better way to introduce a sermon with the magnitude and influence that the Sermon on the Mount has had on so many lives. Equally, we find that these beatitudes are a perfect introduction in themselves.
The contentedness we found, the blessedness, the happiness lies in our Savior Christ Jesus who Himself is these things, personifies these attributes, and provides them to us for His glory.
When we looked at the Kingdom of Heaven, the promise of God to those who display the Christlike behaviors of the beatitudes, we find the promise was that we would receive Christ Himself, and in receiving Him, we receive the eternal life He offers. Those then who found Christ and whose hearts exemplified Christ were also steeped in the hope of Christ and rejoiced in their hope to be in His presence.
This week we boil our efforts down a little further and look specifically at one of the beatitudes– the first one. We concentrate, therefore, on the poor in spirit.
For each of these passages in the Sermon on the Mount I think that a Tim’s translation is in order; therefore, I beg your patience and ask you to put up with my elementary Greek again. Read with me now please Matthew 5:3:
“Contented are the poor ones in spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.”
A little different from most translations; however, the same idea is conveyed. In most translations, we find the term “heaven” and not “heavens.” We also normally find the term “poor” translated as we have it in our King James Version. My translation, therefore, is very literal again; however there is a sense of the dynamic in the first word “contented.” I have specifically brought out the plural aspect of these words simply for poignancy and not necessarily grammatical accuracy. This passage, then, just as the eight verses that follow, tells us how we should approach life as believers. How should we find ourselves reacting to life as a whole? We will explore this throughout our study of this wonderful sermon, the beatitudes, and the Sermon on the Mount.
It is most likely the most unnatural thing in the world to be one given to such a mindset that we should consider ourselves empty of real substance. Our natural bent is to be competitive and show we are capable of more, prove that we deserve respect, give an account of ourselves such that we are recognized for our abilities. We naturally tend to believe we are more capable than we are. Our world today relishes individuals who are high on themselves. Many years ago you would never see a football player prancing around an end-zone after a touchdown or doing some kind of duck walk bobbing their heads and pumping their fists after a great defensive play. People knew what “team” meant and to take the spotlight upon yourself meant “individual,” which is not the same as “team.” The old saying was, “There is no “I” in “team.” We should note that there is, in fact, an “I” in “individual.” It was at one time understood that if we are a nation “United” we are “indivisible” under God. Those thoughts have now left our great schools of learning. We now have relative math where if a child wants to consider 2+2 as equaling 5– they have that prerogative until they have to learn real mathematics such as Algebra and more advanced concepts. In our world today we have “Latin-Americans,” “Afro-Americans,” and “Italian-Americans.” The person’s individualism has become more important than the survival of the organization that provides for the freedoms realized in no other country.
This misplaced pride and arrogance is further displayed in the individualism that is heavily promoted in the pop culture. Most entertainers are interested in upstaging one another in an effort to gain attention. They use this unwarranted attention in many cases to further political causes that drive more individualism such as forcing everyone to accept the unnatural and indecent (Romans 1:26-27) behaviors of the homosexual community (those who may contend, contend with scripture not with the preacher – take your issues to God). These environments drive individualism, exacerbate it, cultivate it, and in their efforts weaken our family unit, our witness, our testimony, and our national structure.
The unbridled display of self-aggrandizement is equally at work in our teens when they display disrespectful, deceitful, and regularly insolent behavior to their parents and others who should receive respect. Children, aided sadly by their parents, seek to promote their own self-esteem by skipping school, just doing enough to get by, being disruptive in class, and not performing to expected levels. This individualism and spiritual haughtiness begins very early and if not checked early, it festers like an infected boil which eventually explodes to contaminate all that is around it.
Teachers have been given, in many cases, ultimatums with respect to this situation. The ultimatum is to put up with these individualistic heathens or the system will find someone else who will. Some teachers have drawn a balance where they concentrate on the students who are interested in learning – the ones submissive to instruction – and toil to find ways to pass those unwilling to learn. Teachers, beholden to the individuals in the teachers union and administration, will either submit themselves, or find other employment.
We find rugged individualism in religious practices as well. Some religions are condoned because they are pliable – they are moldable to whatever structure demands of them. These are the unbelieving religions that exist in politics – Pseudo-Christianity such as Roman Catholicism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism (that is any Christianity that will concern itself with the things of the world for its existence), Islam, Judaism, and others fall into these groups. Governmental politics demands lukewarm beliefs so as not to be offensive to others. Christ demands we obey scripture (John 14:15) and recognize that without Him we are unable to attain this level of perfection. In actuality, anyone who is willing to subjugate their religious beliefs because, “they offend people” does not really believe. Individuals in fundamental circles of Christianity are seen as “intolerant” or “legalistic.” I think you would find labeling this ministry as either intolerant or legalistic is a very uninformed opinion. We are fundamentalists; we are strict biblical believers; however we are not intolerant of anything except that which is an affront to God or His commands. Normally, catcalls of “intolerance” are intimidation tactics. They do not want you to be individuals except within the worldly atmosphere. This sets up a dichotomy.
The world, therefore, seeks individualism as each individual self promotes. However, the world does not want religious organizations to maintain any individualistic beliefs – they all need to get along and harmonize. This establishes the schizophrenic, idealistic, worldly religious contemplations of man. Man simply does not know what he wants, except that he wants it to be oriented toward, focused upon, and wholly submitted to himself. This is man’s individualism, and this individualism is exactly the opposite of what we find in our first beatitude – the poor in spirit.
As is normal, we find that the scriptural representation of those who will inherit the Kingdom of God, and be in Heaven with our Savior and in the presence of God, is completely opposed to what is in the world. The contentedness we have been discussing is a contented spirit in the understanding, recognition, and operation that it is NOT about them. This beatitude teaches, “Spiritual recognition and honesty results in a contented spiritual humility.” This humility is not a form of debasement, it is not a form of ineptitude, and it is in fact full and vibrant in its operation. This lesson, therefore, from the world’s point of view, will make no sense. “We must demand our respect,” one would say. “We must demand our rights,” another would say. Those who are unable to speak out for themselves lack self-esteem, self-confidence, self-awareness in their own power. For this reason, “Many consider “poor in spirit” to mean one spiritually bankrupt; but it is humility.“
Let us open, then, discussing the true meaning of this word “poor” and understand how it relates to contentedness, and how those with this spirit receive the Kingdom of Heaven.
I. Poverty of spirit
What does the word “poor” mean, anyway? If we consider carefully the Greek word used here, we find a very purposeful truth revealed. The word is “ptōchoi” and it is used in a number of places to indicate an individual without adequate means to support themselves. It also indicates an individual or thing that is inadequate for use, or of insufficient value – worthless. This word, therefore can best be described as bankrupt, bereft, empty, destitute, without, or completely lacking. A fuller rendition of this verse then is,
“Contented are those who know that they are so desperately destitute in their spiritual condition that they know of their hearts need and yearn for God’s perfect grace and provision of spirit, theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Folks, these individuals set at the door of the house of God and beg, “Feed me O dear Father, for without You I am unable to survive.” Wesley put it this way:
“They who are unfeignedly penitent, they who are truly convicted of sin; who see and feel the state they are in by nature, being deeply sensible of their sinfulness, guiltiness, helplessness.”[1]
These people would sit on the floor under the table at the feet of our Lord and be content with the crumbs therewith. These people, my dear brothers and sisters, would be content to understand God’s great promises and act upon them, but know they are unable within themselves, being empty of spirit, to carry forward in strength, without the Holy Spirit. They can do God’s work; but they would never conceive or attempt it without God himself within them. These people know what humility is and seek its strength only through the grace of God. These are people, then, of God. In truth, those in this condition know that only God will see them through, they know they are incapable outside of God. “Not I but God” is not merely am idiom, it is life itself.
We opened our discussion in the introduction noting the world around us. Now let us look at specifics concerning what this beatitude does not discuss.
A. Poverty of spirit is not
Everyone who thinks of the word “poor” thinks of it as a negative. One who is poor is destitute or without means. One who is poor may have some means, but their means are meager. A poor individual is to be pitied, to be cared for, because they are unable to care for themselves. A poor individual is normally one we affiliate with being unhealthy because they cannot afford health insurance. We have things we affiliate with poverty such as head lice, a noticeable lack of hygiene, poor transportation, and even lack of mental stability or intellectual prowess. For these reasons, when we see poor in spirit, we immediately conjure up images of individuals that are just destitute personally, emotionally, mentally, and physically. Their countenance has fallen to a point where they suffer an absence of self-esteem. Some psychologists would search for past familial relationships (in the typical Freudian ploy) on which to blame their condition. Newer pop psychologists seek trigger events, or a gathering of events–probably failures–that lead to this obvious lack of assertiveness, aplomb, or morale.
Equally, a person who is poor in spirit, then, is not physically weak, nor are they cowardly, or milquetoast. They probably live a very vibrant and exciting life and are continually happy. Their countenance is not fallen; they do not lack self-esteem. This individual would attribute any esteem to the Savior, where it rightly should lie.
If, then, the poor in spirit are not weak, frail, and feeble, what are these people who are “poor in spirit” like?
B. Poverty of spirit is
To understand how a person who is poor in spirit operates, we should consider others who are documented in scripture in this fashion. We begin with Moses. We would have to note that Moses was no feeble or frail man. He was mighty in Egypt; he was strong enough to lead the Israelites for 40 years. He climbed Mount Horeb on a number of occasions to commune with the Lord at 80 years old. He was a strong man: however, he was poor in spirit. In Exodus 3:11, we read his first question, as he comes to the Lord: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” This is pure recognition of one’s inability to succeed in a task, given by God, in and of themselves. Moses knows he is without the strength to succeed. God reassures him and tells Moses He will be with him.
In Genesis 41:16,, we find another man who is held up as one strong in the Lord, strong to others, and a great leader of many. Joseph tells Pharaoh that it is not him but the Lord God who provides the ability to understand dreams.
Ruth in Ruth 2:10 says to Boaz, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” She has made superb choices, humbled herself to her mother-in-law, and given herself to the Lord God. She is a strong and wise woman, yet she humbles herself to Boaz and knows her humble state.
We could talk about Saul in 1 Sam 9:21 – and his recognition that his tribe was a meager one. David in 1 Sam 18:18 and 2 Sam 7:18 displays clear recognition of a humble in spirit and a contrite heart which recognizes the Lord as doing the work and accomplishing all that is possible in His humble servants. All those who are of use to the Lord have this spirit and have understanding of their specific place.
Ultimately, this is our Lord. Yes, our Savior, the great Godman, was poor in spirit. We find Him poor in spirit in John 5:30 where Jesus states emphatically He does nothing of Himself. We can look at Matthew 26:39 and find a wholly submitted Lord Jesus to the Father’s will, a Christ who looks to the Father for strength to continue with the grisly task of submission, a Messiah who seeks not to fulfill His weak flesh’s desire to run, but the strength of a God to persevere. This is our Savior, and He is poor in spirit, yet His spirit is willing because He is submitted unto the Father for strength, not to the flesh of man.
If only the Christian would seek to be fallow ground, pliable, easily turned over, and tilled. Oh, Christian, may you not be clay or full of rocks, making the Lord’s work hard; but may you yield easily to the plow of the Lord.
We find we are to be poor in spirit. We are to understand those who have gone before. We find in scripture that all those who recognized their bankrupt spirit and sought the Lord for His power were enabled to serve Him. That also indicates the initial salvific act of God.
C. Poverty of spirit for salvation
When man recognizes his lost, fallen, and empty condition before an all-perfect and demanding God, he can be saved (Is 66:2, Phil 2:12). In 2 Corinthians 7:10 ,we find man coming to grips with the wretched, bereft soul that he has, and seeking a great God full of grace and love to give him strength and draw man close to Him. Note that the sorrow or grief mentioned is according to the will of God. It is, therefore God’s will alone that brings us to Him. It is God’s will alone that shows us our great depravity. It is God’s will alone that can bring us to our knees for repentance and salvation. People, if you have never been on your knees before God begging that your wretched soul be saved, you have never experienced a poor spirit. If you have never seen fit to seek God on your knees, you have never been in a place where you came to true repentance. Before you can be repaired, you need to be broken. If you have never felt as though your soul was empty, you have never experienced the bankrupt soul of the lost. Your soul must ache for nourishment, before the Bread of Life can feed it. Your soul must feel stripped of life, parched, before the Savior can fill it with His life-giving water. Your soul must feel as though it will cave in for the hollow hole it is within you before the Savior can pump the Holy Spirit into it. You must recognize the black darkness that is the dead soul of a sinner before you can ever experience the bright light that is the soul of the saved. You must know you are damned for eternal torment, before you can ever realize the freedom of salvation. Folks, if you have never seen your spirit empty, you can never see it filled with the Holy Spirit of God Himself. As Custer wrote:
God’s kingdom is made up of people who have bowed the knee to Him and are prepared to walk humbly in His pathway (Mic 6:8). God promises to “cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease” (Isa. 13:11b).[2]
What was the promise for David, Ruth, Saul, Moses, and Jesus Christ and every believer that realizes this great humility?
II. Kingdom Promises
We see our promise given in this verse that we will find contentedness in the Kingdom of God within our poor spirit. We find a promise that if the Kingdom of Heaven is present in the Lord Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry as we learned last week, then equally the Kingdom of Heaven is present in the indwelling Holy Spirit Who is given to the believer at salvation. To be abased in spirit, then, is the beginning of salvation to man. To be bereft of human arrogance and spirit is a beginning point for man’s spiritual freedom. To see one’s spirit as incapable of the perfection of God, is the beginning of the individual’s ability to receive the Kingdom of God in their heart. Christian, the bankrupt soul of the lost is filled to the brim with the gold of the Kingdom of God–in this is the believer’s contentedness. The soul that aches for nourishment is fed by life-giving bread, not for the body, but for the soul. This bread is the manna of heaven in our lives and gives us, therefore, a piece of the Kingdom of God. The soul that is parched and recognized as a desert is filled then with His life giving water. This water is from the Rock of God (1 Cor 10:4) that feeds all those who follow Him. This, then, is water from the Kingdom of God. The soul that is as a cave–a hollow hole in the ground bereft of life and incapable of self-production–is pumped full of life and living when the Holy Spirit establishes a home therein. This once-empty soul is now filled with the Kingdom of God. When the black, dark, dead soul of a sinner receives bright light that is the soul of the saved, this is the pure light of creation in God’s kingdom. This light creates in the believer a new heart (Ps 51:10). When the Kingdom of God takes shape, therefore, within the believing heart, you have great contentedness, you feel great happiness, your heart soars with freedom, and you realize you are saved. This release, this lifting of great tension is the spirit’s receiving the Kingdom of God within you. This is salvation.
When one is saved, the heart is free from concern with respect to their wickedness, free from concern with respect to their forgiveness, free from concern with respect to their livelihood, because they then–at that moment–comprehend what it is to enjoy the Kingdom of God within their hearts. The Kingdom of Heaven in this individual’s spirit provides a glimpse, ever so slightly, into a realm that is truly unfathomable, incomprehensible, yet it is within their grasp. A child, therefore, of the Kingdom of Heaven has no care or concern for the riches on this earth; they grow strangely dim in the light of this great glory and the tremendous grace of God, which first introduced this freedom.[3]
When we look back today then, we find we have learned great things of God in the poor in spirit.
If we look to Revelation 3:16, we find those who consider themselves wealthy, well off, rich, and needing nothing, to be lost; yet the poor the wretched, the miserable, and the blind are found to be clothed, given fine linens and great riches. This is the way of God. Those who consider themselves self-sufficient can never be used of God. They do not consider from whence their earthly contentedness came. These are not the poor in spirit; these are the haughty in spirit who claim they need naught of the Savior. To be poor in spirit is to compare yourself with a perfect and demanding God and realize His kingdom requires perfection and demands justice for any sin you have committed. To be poor in spirit is to acknowledge that you inherently have nothing to offer the great God who offers everything to you. To be poor in spirit is to recognize your low estate compared to this perfect God who has provided for every aspect of your salvation, it is an admitted position of need based in an acknowledgment of internal desolation and with this comes the understanding of true judgment. The poor in spirit then is the first requirement for salvation, and the basis for all future contentedness. Christ Himself sits in this position as He ministers on earth, humbling Himself in all ways like man (Phil. 2:7-8).
If you have felt this great strain on your soul, seek the peace of the Kingdom of God. If you have never had this great weight lifted from you, this great emptiness in your soul being filled with the Kingdom of Heaven, you may not know the Savior. Your soul may still be searching for that great peace, the wonderful abasement is still within you, and your soul is still empty waiting to be filled. You should come now and fill your soul with the Holy Spirit. Do not wait–come now, realize the contentedness of our Savior’s salvation, fill your soul with the Holy Spirit, come to the altar and find peace, find happiness, find blessedness, and seek the contentment of a great God who will indwell your heart. I implore you, come now to the Savior.
[1] Wesley, John, John Wesley’s Notes on the Whole Bible, (Derived from an electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library) Formatted by OakTree Software, Inc. Ver 1.0
[2] Stewart Custer, The Gospel of the King: A Commentary on Matthew (Greenville: BJU Press, 2005), 62.
[3] Lemmel, Helen H. Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Majesty Hymns (Greenville: Majesty Music Inc, 1997), 639.
