The Beatitudes, Pt. 4

Jesus says clearly that the reward of the poor in spirit is two-fold:
they are blessed, and they are part of the kingdom of heaven.

The Beatitudes, Pt. 4

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

(Matthew 5:3)

Another poor in spirit individual who found the sweet nectar of a blessed life of humility and dependence on Jesus was Dick Woodward.

He was such a remarkable man and one who personified being poor in spirit. He lived into his 80's, but while he was in his 40's he developed a degenerative spinal cord disease that left him a bedridden quadriplegic. But instead of being bitter toward God, he trusted God and was used to reach people all over the world through his teaching. He is the author of the book, 30 Biblical Reasons Why God's People Suffer. His biblical teaching has been broadcast through the Mini Bible College in 26 languages in 60 countries and reached a population of over 4 billion people. Though handicapped physically, this did not prevent him from making an eternal impact on multitudes. His body was grounded, but his spirit soared in service to Jesus Christ. He shares in his God story of what God can do with somebody when they realize they are a nobody (poor in spirit). I had the honor of being in his home in Williamsburg, VA, years ago, and what a blessing it was to be in his presence. No arrogance, no bitterness, but a poor-in-spirit brokenness and humility before God. Woodward wrote what he called the Four Spiritual Secrets to being used mightily by God:

I'm not, but He is; I'm in Him, and He is in me.
I can't, but He can; I'm in Him, and He is in me.
I don't want to, but He wants to; I'm in Him, and He is in me.
I didn't, but He did, because I'm in Him, and He is in me.

What is the reward for the poor in spirit?

Jesus says clearly that the reward of the poor in spirit is two-fold: they are blessed (makarios, joyful, content, happy), and they are part of the kingdom of heaven. After Jesus died and arose from the dead, He taught for 40 days on this subject of the Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).

The kingdom of God certainly has a future element to it. The humble in spirit will live forever with Jesus in His earthly millennial kingdom, and then forever with Him in His heavenly eternal kingdom. But the kingdom has a present element as well. It is the reign of Jesus in your heart currently. Jesus said the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). The kingdom of God is manifest in the people of God as we live for Him in our current age. The kingdom of God is the reign of Jesus in the here and now. So, there is a future dimension to the kingdom of heaven as well as a present reality.

We are blessed as God's kingdom is advanced in and through us. We are the truly blessed and content ones. The kingdoms of this world are cheap imitations and cannot satisfy the hearts of men and women. If it were so, then Solomon should have been the happiest and most blessed man who ever lived. But listen to the man who had everything and what he said in Ecclesiastes 1:2: "All is vanity." It is all empty, havel, vapor, breath. The kingdoms of this world are vanity, a mist that passes away, but the kingdom of our LORD and of His Christ lasts forever.

Thomas Watson said, "Things of this world will no more keep out trouble of spirit than a piece of paper will stop a bullet. Worldly delights are winged." (MacArthur, p. 40)

Lloyd-Jones says, "Wherever the reign of Christ is being manifested, the kingdom of God is there. . . . The kingdom of God is present . . . in the hearts of those who have submitted to Christ and in whom and among whom He reigns." (Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, p. 31)

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