Start Here: Why Spiritual Poverty Is the First Step Toward the Kingdom

Jesus' Wisdom in Beatitude #1

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

"Poor in spirit" is not a confession that we are insignificant or personally without value. Both are untrue. It is, rather, a confession that apart from Christ, our problem is that we are sinful and rebellious.

The Poor are Rich

"Poor in spirit" does not describe financial poverty or low self-esteem. Jesus was not saying, "Blessed are the pathetic people or the wimps of the world." To be "poor in spirit" is to recognize our moral lack, our spiritual poverty apart from God.

The first step to spiritual recovery is admitting you are powerless—you have a problem you can't solve. You need a power beyond your own. We must admit our need to get supernatural help to be free from the bondage of sin. If we don't realize our need and repent, we will never enjoy God's blessings.

The prodigal son who ran away from home, but when he woke up and realized what he had done, he returned home to his father showed poverty of spirit when he confessed: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Luke 15:21

If you are not yet a believer in Jesus, this is your starting place—you must realize that you need to be saved before you can experience salvation. Conviction precedes conversion. Shatter the illusion that you are sufficiently righteous to please God.

Until you see your poverty, you cannot see God's riches. It starts with being poor in spirit.

Expose yourself to the full glare of this Beatitude. Nothing is more uncomfortable than discovering what we thought would pass muster doesn't even get us in the front door. Maybe that's the Beatitude you need to focus on right now. Next week we will move to the second Beatitude.

David L. Turner, Matthew: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008)