Matthew 5:3
Memory Verse
Happy are the poor in spirit because theirs is the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 5:3).
In the opening of Christ’s sermon on the mount, He makes several statements about happiness. Jesus is speaking to a crowd of Jews, declaring to them the rules of His coming kingdom (Matthew 4:23–25). In these statements, Jesus is not seeking to convey an invocation of Divine favor, but a sense of well-being. Just as the man who does not condemn himself in what he does is happy, so also will the Jew who is poor in spirit (Romans 14:22).
The concept of poverty is not restricted to financial poverty; it expresses a lack. What is lacking must be determined by the context. In Matthew 5:3, these Jews are lacking in spirit. Spirit is the rational center of a human (1 Corinthians 2:11). Therefore, their lack concerns matters related to a rational mindset.
In Daniel 9:26, Israel is informed that the Messiah, who would come on the sixty-ninth week of the seventy weeks that are determined to finish the transgression and make an end of sin, would be cut off for a time, but not for himself. Before the Messiah’s return, the man of lawlessness will make a covenant for seven years, which he will break after three and a half years (Daniel 9:27). Note: “Weeks” in this context refers to years. In the middle of the peace covenant, the beast will turn on Israel and desecrate the Temple, setting himself up as a god. This is the time period Jesus references when He speaks to the Jews. Happy are those who lack a rational understanding of what the man of lawlessness is doing in Jerusalem while the Jews are in the wilderness.
In direct contrast, those of the Church are not to lack in spirit, unlike the Jews addressed earlier. They are to be filled in experiential knowledge of the will of God in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (Colossians 1:9). While the Jews lack in spirit and therefore a rational mindset, the spirit of the Christian is connected to God (1 Corinthians 6:17). Grace believers have a quality of the mind of Christ and know what is coming (1 Corinthians 2:16; Revelation 1:1).
During Christ’s earthly ministry to Israel, the Church was not revealed (1 Corinthians 2:6–7). Therefore, Jesus’ words cannot be applied to Christian. The Christian is to be mature in his spirit, understanding the things of God, not lacking. It is the understanding of Christ’s return that brings happiness to the grace believer (Titus 2:13). When a grace believer overcomes a temptation, this action makes him happy (James 1:12). In the life of a Christian, happiness is based upon spiritual understanding, not lacking in spirit.