What does it mean to be “poor in spirit?”
The first words we hear Jesus saying in the Gospel of Matthew are, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)
But what does it mean to be “poor in spirit?”
Philippians 2:5-8 helped me better understand what Jesus might be saying to us.
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross”
A few years ago, the word “grasped” in this passage sparked an image in my mind of a hand reaching out to take hold of something. My thoughts drifted to Genesis 3, where we see Adam and Eve literally reaching out to grasp the fruit of “god-likeness” as they believed the tempter’s lie.
“For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
From that day on, we all grasp for what we believe will fill us with a richness of self. We don’t want God to be God; we want to be our own gods.
Instead of “opening our eyes” to reality with greater clarity, grasping after the fruit of “god-likeness” has blinded us to the truth.
There is one God, but most of us are so foolishly full of ourselves that we have no room for the blessing that comes from knowing the true God who wants to give us the riches of the kingdom of heaven.
The poor in spirit are blessed because, unlike the fruit of “god-likeness,” humility has opened their eyes to the truth that they have nothing apart from God.
How do we become “poor in spirit?” How can we take hold of this humility that leads to the blessing of God?
Once again, I’ve found looking at Jesus through Philippians 2:5-8 helpful. Jesus didn’t just teach us to be poor in spirit; he showed us what it looks like.
Unlike us, Jesus did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped. Instead of filling himself with all the rights as One who is fully God, Jesus emptied Himself and became fully man. He became poor and dependent on God the Father, just as we are. He humbled himself and became obedient, submitting to the Father rather than going his own way.
The first way we become poor in spirit is by trusting and believing in Jesus, who became poor in spirit for us.
From there, we follow Jesus down. We begin to question the assumption that we should be in charge of our own lives. We start to wonder about the madness that led us to believe that we can make it through life on our own. We begin to see that we are poor. We humble ourselves before God and obey Him.
Jesus told us that the poor in spirit will gain the kingdom of heaven and then proved it. Philippians 2 goes on to say,
“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth or under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Because Jesus humbled himself and chose to be poor in spirit, God gave him the eternal kingdom. Remarkably, as we humbly trust and follow Christ, he shares his kingdom with us.
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”
When we empty ourselves and leave behind the desire to be rich in prideful self-sufficiency, we are in a place to discover that Jesus is offering us the true riches of his kingdom. As we embrace our internal poverty, we find that God is appointing us coheirs and Christ is clothing us in his glory.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
