This morning I thought I would go back and reread the Sermon on the Mount, for that is considered by many as the formative thought regarding the Kingdom, some even call it the Kingdom Declaration akin to our Declaration on Independence. Jesus starts out speaking about the Kingdom - “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." ( Matthew 5:3 NIV).
David Guzick has the following to say about this verse in his commentary:
(3) "The foundation: poverty of spirit.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
a. Blessed: Jesus promises blessing to His disciples, promising that the poor in spirit will be blessed. The idea behind the ancient Greek word for blessed is "happy," but in the truest, godly sense of the word, not in our modern sense of merely being comfortable or entertained at the moment.
b. The poor in spirit: This is not a man's confession that he is by nature insignificant, or personally without value, for that would be untrue. Instead, it is a confession that he is sinful and rebellious and utterly without moral virtues adequate to commend him to God.
c. The poor in spirit recognize that they have no spiritual "assets." They know they are spiritually bankrupt. With the word poor, Jesus uses the more severe term for poverty. It indicates someone who must beg for whatever they have or get.
i. Poverty of spirit cannot be artificially induced by self-hatred; it is brought about by the Holy Spirit and our response to His working in our hearts.
d. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven: Those who are poor in spirit, so poor they must beg, are rewarded. They receive the kingdom of heaven, and poverty of spirit is an absolute prerequisite for receiving the kingdom of heaven, because as long as we harbor illusions about our own spiritual resources we will never receive from God what we absolutely need to be saved.
e. The call to be poor in spirit is placed first for a reason, because it puts the following commands into perspective. They cannot be fulfilled by one's own strength, but only by a beggar's reliance on God's power."
From this point forward Jesus is speaking of the Kingdom. He makes it very clear that this is a spiritual kingdom, and its affects are initially internal. This is a kingdom that we must rely on Him to bring about, hence the call to recognize our own spiritual poverty. God will provide us everything we need to enter into, and fulfill our purpose in His Kingdom.
The message was also very important for the Jews, for they were expecting a national resurgence, and reestablishment of the Kingdom of Judah and Israel, like they experienced under David and Solomon. In fact, even after three years of Jesus teaching and trying to set expectations correctly, the apostles were still thinking worldly kingdom, right up to Jesus Ascension, as described here in Acts 1:6 NIV: "Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” This idea of the natural Kingdom was so firmly ingrained that apparently it wasn't until after Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to teach and guide them, that the Apostles and disciples finally understood the reality of the Kingdom of God, of which Jesus spoke.
Let us pray for understanding and insight as well, for in my opinion the church is not doing a good job, at least in America, of representing and expanding the Kingdom. Let us pray for poverty of spirit to come to us, for we NEED His Spirit, not our own efforts, ideas or natural abilities. His Kingdom is not founded on nor dependent on any of those things. His Kingdom flows out of His own sovereignty, His own power, His own ability. We must recognize our own lack, and His abundance, and embrace this. When we do, then "theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven".
Amen!
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