Gospel of Matthew Chapter 5 Vs. 3

 The Beatitudes

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

Blessed are the... Happy—used 9 times here of people who have godly characteristics as:

1. Broken spirit (Mat. 5:3; 11:28-30; Psm. 51:17; Isa. 57:15; 66:2)

2. Penitent spirit (Mat. 5:4; Isa. 61:2; Jas. 4:9; 2Cor. 7:9-11)

3. Mild-tempered, gentle spirit (Mat. 5:5; 11:29; Psm. 37:11; 1Pet. 3:4)

4. Hungering, thirsting spirit for righteousness (Mat. 5:6; Psm. 34:10; 42:1-3; 63:1; 84:2; John 7:37-39)

5. Compassionate and merciful spirit (Mat. 5:7; 18:27; 1Pet. 3:8)

6. Pure spirit (Mat. 5:8; Phlp. 4:8; 1Tim. 1:5; 3:9; 5:22; 1Pet. 1:22)

7. Spirit of wisdom and mediation (Mat. 5:9; Rom. 14:19; 1Cor. 13:1-13)

8. Longsuffering and forgiving spirit (Mat. 5:10-12; 10:16-28; 1Cor. 13:1-13; 1Pet. 3:14-17; 4:3-19).

theirs is the... The 4th New Testament prophecy in Matthew (Mat. 5:3-12). Eight prophetic promises are being fulfilled; they will be completely fulfilled at the second coming of Christ. Next, Mat. 5:17.

We see it means “happy, fortunate, blissful” and here it speaks of more than a surface emotion. Jesus was describing the divinely-bestowed well-being that belongs only to the faithful. This is a basic description of the believers’ inner condition as a result of the work of God.

The Beatitudes demonstrate that the way to heavenly blessedness is antithetical to the worldly path normally followed in pursuit of happiness. The Beatitudes give Jesus’ description of the character of true faith.

These Beatitudes, like Psalm 1, do not show a man how to be saved, but rather describe the characteristics of one who has been saved. The “poor in spirit” are the opposite of the proud or haughty in spirit. The opposite of self-sufficiency, and speaks of the deep humility of recognizing one’s utter spiritual bankruptcy apart from God.

It describes those who are acutely conscious of their own lostness and hopelessness apart from divine grace.

They have been humbled by the grace of God and have acknowledged their sin and therefore their dependence upon God to save them. They will inherit the “kingdom of heaven.” Kingdom of heaven is a general designation of the dwelling place of the saved.

First let us look at the BE Attitude. What would we be? Jesus is saying in this very first verse of the Sermon on the Mount, can’t you understand that you are not self-sufficient? Your spirit is unlearned and dependent on the Spirit of God. You are poor in spirit compared to the wealth of God’s Spirit. Depend on God, and not on self.

This was in direct opposition to the Jewish leaders, who thought they knew it all, because they had the law. The one thing we want to receive in this is: our wealth of spiritual knowledge is totally dependent on our faith in God’s Spirit.

“Theirs is the kingdom of heaven”: Notice that the truth of salvation by grace is clearly presupposed in this opening verse of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus was teaching that the kingdom is a gracious gift to those who sense their own poverty of spirit.

Jesus instructed them in view of His announcement of the coming kingdom (Mat. 4:17). Natural questions on the heart of every Jew would have been, “Am I eligible to enter Messiah’s kingdom? Am I righteous enough to qualify for entrance?” The only standard of righteousness the people knew was that laid down by the current religious leaders, the scribes and Pharisees.