Matthew 5:3

Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3

There are a few words in Greek for being “poor,” but the word used here doesn’t just describe someone having trouble paying bills or barely getting by financially. No, it is someone who is “destitute or helpless.”

There are many today that consider themselves to be “Spiritual people.” They go to church a few times a year, they meditate or pray, believe in a higher power, so they are spiritual. Unfortunately, that kind of spirituality is fleshly and worldly; it leaves the individual with a false sense of security. They think they are spiritually wealthy, but their spirituality won’t overcome this world.

But to be “poor in spirit” means that we realize that we are spiritual paupers with no hope of seeing the Kingdom of God without God’s help. And as we come to Jesus and receive from Him His Spirit, ours is the “Kingdom of God.” Now, the Kingdom of God isn’t heaven, though that is ours as well, but we receive the kingdom of God in our hearts as new creations with new life in Christ.

So there must be emptiness before there can be fullness, and poverty of spirit precedes riches, grace, and blessings in the kingdom of God.

Pastor Doug Hardin