Kids are far smarter than adults. At least that’s what I’m told. The other day, one of my precious, beautiful, super-interesting daughters – who shall remain anonymous – said to me very gloatingly, “Kids are waaaay smarter than adults.” And I said, “Oh, really? What makes you say that?” This super precious, beautiful, interesting daughter of mine went on to explain that scientists made a backwards bicycle which meant that in order to turn left you had to turn the handlebars to the right, and to turn right you had to turn the handlebars to the left. I said, “That sounds complicated.” She said, “Yeah, it took kids only a week to learn how to ride it but it took grown ups 8 months.” And then with a big gloating smile she said, “That’s because we kids are waaaaay smarter than you grown ups.” I sat there looking at her. She was looking at me – clearly relishing her superior intelligence, waiting for a response from her inferior. Then I said, “Honey, your shirt is on backwards.”
While I concede there are some kids who are smarter than some adults, I believe on the whole, adults will still run the world. Or at least my household. But my wonderful, precious, beautiful, interesting daughter is right in an adjacent way, and kids do have something over adults: Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” He didn’t mean to put your shirt on backwards. He meant that we adults must approach His words with childlike awe, wonder and total faith.
But this over-complicated bicycle my daughter described does also illustrate the way in which we are supposed to live. The way we are called to live by Jesus is not “natural.” It goes against our instincts, our flesh, our worldly ideas and ways. We have to learn that in Jesus’ words we have to turn left to go right, and turn right to go left. His way has to be learned. His way is not natural to us, we must be trained by Him in it. We must submit ourselves to Him fully.
Our text today also talks about entering the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3 says, “Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
The blessing for those who are poor in spirit is that they are heirs of the kingdom of heaven.
POOR IN SPIRIT
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,” Jesus says. What is poor in spirit? What does that mean? Let me start with what it does not mean: it does not mean simply down in the dumps, or depressed, or anxious, or ruled by a guilt-complex, or regrets, or fear, or persisting with sin, or living worldly or “back-slidden” as a Christian. It also does NOT mean that a person has a weak faith and is struggling to believe God. Every one of these beatitudes demands faith, and describes faith, NOT the lack of it.
One more thing it does not mean is that those who are economically poor are heirs of the kingdom of heaven. The companion passage for the beatitudes here is found in Luke 6, and Luke 6 records Jesus’ words this way, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” Luke doesn’t say poor in spirit, but just poor. So some have interpreted Jesus’ words – especially social justice advocates – that it is the economically poor who will enter the kingdom of heaven. But that is just bad bible study. There will be poor people in both heaven and hell, just like there will be rich people in both heaven and hell.
One of the important rules of interpreting the bible is to interpret a passage in context of the whole teaching of Scripture. So we know from all of scripture that simply being economically poor does not mean someone is saved and has entrance into the kingdom of God.
A second important rule is to interpret the “less clear” passages with the passages that are “more clear.” Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 are clearer than Luke 6, where “poor” is clarified to be “poor in spirit.”
So what does it mean to be poor in spirit? Basically it means you understand that you are spiritually empty, poor, or bankrupt. You know you don’t have anything to offer God that is acceptable to Him. Specifically it means you fully realize that APART from God you have nothing good, are nothing good, and do nothing good. This idea of being poor in spirit is characterized by a deep humility and knowing full well that you depend on God for mercy, blessing and everything else. Poor in spirit is the opposite of sufficient in one’s self.
- Think about Psalm 16, “Apart from you I have no good thing.”
- Or Psalm 73 when it declares, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My heart and my flesh may fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
- Being poor in spirit is captured by Paul in Romans 7 when he says, “I know nothing good lives in me – that is, in my sinful nature.” Or when he said in Philippians 3, “But whatever was to my gain I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.” That is poor in spirit – being convinced that whatever you thought you could offer to God to gain his approval you now cast aside because you see how worthless it is and anything else you think you could offer him. You know that you are nothing, have nothing and do nothing that God accepts. Instead, you realize you have to ACCEPT from God the riches of His mercy and goodness.
- The rich young ruler came to Jesus in Matthew 19 and though he had great wealth he was spiritually poor. “Teacher what good thing must I do to get eternal life? I’ve kept all the commandments since I was a boy. What do I still lack?” He was so uncertain about eternal life and you can see how it disturbed he was by it. If only he would’ve seen the riches in Jesus and how poor he truly was!
- He is like the church of Laodicea when Jesus told them in Revelation 3, “You say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”
- What a contrast to the church in Smyrna, when Jesus told them in Revelation 2, “I know your poverty, yet you are rich!” He was speaking of their spiritual riches, even in the midst of their material poverty. They may have had their property confiscated and they may have been fired because of Jesus Christ, but they sang about their riches from Ephesians 1:3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” They may have had far more month than money left, but they knew what James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights…”
- Then there is the thief on the cross, who in his last hour became poor in spirit. He rebuked the other thief hanging there for his arrogance and said, “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He understood he deserved punishment, and that only by the mercy of Jesus would he enter the kingdom.
- Romans 5:6 describes our spiritual poverty when it says, “at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” Key in on powerless. We have no spiritual power to be godly. We are so empty and broke spiritually we cant pay anything to God that is good. Wealth has two aspects to it: having abundant resources and possessions, AND, purchasing power – or the economic power for buying things. We have nothing of spiritual value and we have no spiritual purchasing power.
Maybe the best picture of being poor in spirit is the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple together. Turn to Luke 18:9-14 with me. Both men had nothing to offer God, but only one was “poor in spirit” the way Jesus had in mind in the beatitudes. He knew he was poor in spirit, and it created a humble, reverent, attitude and it made him look to God for mercy and put himself totally at the mercy of God.
The Pharisee, however, looked to himself, expecting God to be as impressed with him as he was with himself. He expected God to be just as disgusted with the tax collector as he was with him. The Pharisee’s view of God, himself and the tax collector was all wrong. The Pharisee’s whole posture was wrong, which proved the wrongness of his religion.
APPLICATION: If your religion makes you feel confident in YOURSELF because of YOU, then your religion is wrong and you are under God’s judgment. If, however, your religion is making you see your own spiritual bankruptcy, and it is making you continually seek God’s mercy, then your religion is right.
Being poor in spirit means you understand your own spiritual nothingness. Blessed are the poor in spirit who know they are poor in spirit, having nothing to offer God, and so have turned to God and rely upon Him for everything, and relying on Him as their everything. Those who are poor in spirit are blessed also because they know confidently that the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.