Question?

I am sorry if this may sound like and ignorant question, but what are Beatitudes, and what would you like to disscuss about them?

The Beatitudes (from Latin beatus, meaning "blessed" or "happy" is the beginning portion of the Sermon on the Mount of the Book of MatthewMatthew 5:1 "And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain: and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him:"Jesus was now getting away for the multitudes that followed Him in Matthew 4. The ones that He was teaching were His disciples. Matthew 5:2 "And He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying,""Opened His mouth", is an idiom saying that He spoke in the teaching manner. Jesus is now filled with the Holy Spirit of God, and Jesus is now ready to reveal to His Apostles a commentary showing that His teaching is connected with the proclamation of His kingdom. Parts of this address are repeated in His ministry, and as well as the ministry of the Apostles. This address by Jesus became part of the "gospel of the Kingdom", and is given in part in Luke 6, and 7, though many critics claim that there is "discrepancy" between the two, there is not. The later repetitions in Luke were given in "a plain", and after the calling of the twelve Apostles. In Matthew 5, Jesus had called only four Apostles, and the sermon is given on the "Mountain". Modern critics are assuming that the two accounts are identical, and given at the same time, when they are not.

Mathew 5:3"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."I will start with the first one then. The "poor in spirit" is referring to the "humble". All throughout the Bible God tells us that the humble and meek will inherit the kingdom of God. God greatly values humility, and disdains pride. If we want to get anywhere with God, then we need to learn to be humble.

Ill take twoMatthew 5:4 "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted,"If we are humble and appreciate that all of our gifts and blessings come from God, we grow in love and gratitude for Jesus Christ our Savior. But this can only produce mourning and regret over our own sins and the sins of this world, for we have hurt the one who has been so good to us. When we realize the poverty of human nature, man can only be left in sorrow. When one contemplates that we were made in the image and likeness of God and lived in Paradise, the Garden of Eden, and compare that to our present state after the Fall, one can only mourn our present condition.But the sentence continues that they shall be comforted, by the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, one day in the Kingdom of Heaven. Mourning in this context is called a blessing, because mourning our fallen nature creates in us a desire to improve ourselves and to do what is right

It is a beatiful lesson Lookin4ward and Im glad you brought it up there are 8 total I was just giving others a chance to share in the study but if no one else wants to jump in I will finish all eight so all can read and enjoy them St. Gregory of Nyssa taught that the Beatitudes build one upon another. A humble person becomes meek, or becomes gentle and kind, and exhibits a docility of spirit, even in the face of adversity and hardship. Obedience and submission to the will of God are certainly not in style these days, but they will bring one peace in this world and in the next.

Thanks also Sister Christina. I didn't know what the word beatitudes means either, but at least my guts was right, but I wasn't sure.. but sometimes we have read other verses to understand sometimes.Christina, I just think you are a wonderful person to spend time with... with a study.

(SoldierforChrist;59548)
Mathew 5:3"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."I will start with the first one then. The "poor in spirit" is referring to the "humble". All throughout the Bible God tells us that the humble and meek will inherit the kingdom of God. God greatly values humility, and disdains pride. If we want to get anywhere with God, then we need to learn to be humble.
SoldierForChrist, Actually the Scripture at Matt 5:3, means being wanting in spirit. It means Happy are the ones that want more spirit, because they do not feel they have enough. This makes them conscious of the spiritual need.

(jtartar;59735)
SoldierForChrist, Actually the Scripture at Matt 5:3, means being wanting in spirit. It means Happy are the ones that want more spirit, because they do not feel they have enough. This makes them conscious of the spiritual need.
Dictionary results for "poor":humble; modest: They shared their poor meal with a stranger.Now you can interpurret the word poor in many ways since it has many definitions. However, I do not believe it is saying that people with a wanting spirit will be blessed. The word "wanting" means:1. lacking or absent: a motor with some of the parts wanting.2. deficient in some part, thing, or respect: to be wanting in courtesy. 3. lacking; without: a box wanting a lid. 4. less; minus: a century wanting three years. I find it hard to believe that God is reffering to people who have a lacking or deficient spirit about them. We are to be full of the spirit, not deficient of it.

Number 3Matthew 5:5 "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."The "meek" are the "praus" in the Greek; the humble before the Lord.The meek are happy. The meek are those who quietly submit to God; who can bear insult; who, in their patience, keep possession of their own souls, when they can scarcely keep possession of anything else. These meek ones are happy, even in this world. Meekness promotes , comfort, and safety, even in this world. Meek does not mean you cower from those who would bully you, But rather you are sure where your strength comes from that you have reverence before the Lord.

(jtartar;59735)
SoldierForChrist, Actually the Scripture at Matt 5:3, means being wanting in spirit. It means Happy are the ones that want more spirit, because they do not feel they have enough. This makes them conscious of the spiritual need.
I will have to disagree in part with your answer it contradicts itself you cant be poor in spirit and be happy the very reason they are called Beaattitudes is they are the way we are supposed to be.But Perhaps we are misinterpting what you are saying ...we are to thrist after Christ. But we are happy because we know where from we drink .... And we do it without pride... allowing him to fill our cup The poor in spirit are happy. These bring their minds to their condition, when it is a low condition. They are humble and lowly in their own eyes. They see their want, bewail their guilt, and thirst after a Redeemer. The kingdom of grace is of such; the kingdom of glory is for them. When we are an empty cup and devoid of pride, we are humble. Humility brings an openness and an inner peace, allowing one to do the will of God. It is pride, the opposite of humility, that brings misery. For pride brings anger and the seeking of revenge, especially when one is offended. If every man were humble and poor in spirit, there would be no war!

(Christina;59773)
I will have to disagree in part with your answer it contradicts itself you cant be poor in spirit and be happy the very reason they are called Beaattitudes is they are the way we are supposed to be.But Perhaps we are misinterpting what you are saying ...we are to thrist after Christ. But we are happy because we know where from we drink .... And we do it without pride... allowing him to fill our cup The poor in spirit are happy. These bring their minds to their condition, when it is a low condition. They are humble and lowly in their own eyes. They see their want, bewail their guilt, and thirst after a Redeemer. The kingdom of grace is of such; the kingdom of glory is for them. When we are an empty cup and devoid of pride, we are humble. Humility brings an openness and an inner peace, allowing one to do the will of God. It is pride, the opposite of humility, that brings misery. For pride brings anger and the seeking of revenge, especially when one is offended. If every man were humble and poor in spirit, there would be no war!
Amen Christina! Thats exactly right.

Number 4Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. First have to ask ourselves, what is meant by righteousness? And righteousness means being in complete accordance with what is just, honorable, and Godly. Righteousness are those things that are upright, virtuous, noble, morally right, and ethical. You could say that righteousness is a life style that is in complete conformity to the will of God. "Hunger and thirst" is an Hebrew idiom, and it means that you have a "strong desire". You have a strong desire to love the Lord and learn from His Word. I know you do, or you would not be reading this book. It is your mind and soul that will be filled with God's Word, and in turn God's Spirit. It is a lifestyle that Jesus not only finds pleasing, but one that he approves of. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness are happy. Righteousness is here put for all spiritual blessings. These are purchased for us by the righteousness of Christ, confirmed by the faithfulness of God. Our desires of spiritual blessings must be earnest. Though all desires for grace are not grace, yet such a desire as this, is a desire of God's own raising, and he will not forsake the work of his own hands. A continuous desire for justice and moral perfection will lead one to a fulfillment of that desire - a transition and conversion to holiness. This is true for all the virtues - if you hunger and thirst for these spiritual blessings, you will head towards the goal you have in mind. For the true believer, righteousness saturates every single aspect of his life. And every Godly believer knows that he has Jesus Christ living on the inside of him leading and guiding him. Psalms 11:7 "For the Lord is righteous; He loves righteousness; And the upright will behold His face".Hunger and thirst are appetites that return frequently and they require that they be met often during the day. Similarly the true believer calls for constant meals of righteousness to do his daily Godly work, just as the living body calls for its daily food. When a believer hungers and thirsts after righteousness he becomes a new man and this new man now bears the image of God. This new man greatly desires to do the will of God for he now has great interest in Christ and all that Christ said and promised.To hunger and thirst after righteousness can only be perceived by persons spiritually enlightened, and who have our Lord Jesus Christ living and dwelling within them. This child of God not only has an earnest desire to fervently seek righteousness and thus lead a Godly life on a second to second basis, but he wants to be possessed by righteousness, he wants to constantly live in it, to be totally absorbed into it, to be completely saturated in righteousness, for he knows that this way of life is the Godly way of life. And a righteous life is what also fills the true believer with peace and joy. And because of their spiritual enlightenment they realize that nothing can be more perfect, more pure, and more pleasing to Our Heavenly Father then living a life that he totally approves of.

Number 5Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. The merciful are happy. We must not only bear our own afflictions patiently, but we must do all we can to help those who are in misery. We must have compassion on the souls of others, and help them; pity those who are in sin, and seek to snatch them as brands out of the burning.Mercy is love toward those that are miserable, those that are wretched, and those that need some type of help or assistance.The merciful are those that are tender hearted and who truly feel in the deepest parts of their beings the pain and the suffering of those who need mercy. But most importantly is the fact that the merciful are those special individuals who go out of their way and make the effort to help. Having compassion on the those that are in any way hurting is only the first part of having mercy. Doing something about it, is the all important second part. We as believers must show mercy to all men and we are to do this by both sympathizing with them and by taking care and tending to their needs. And we must do this with readiness and gladness, with affection and tenderness, always ready to give and to forgive. Our Lord instructs us to show the same type of mercy to others that he shows to each of us. He talked much about showing mercy and a good example is found at 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God". Therefore, to be merciful as a Christian does not mean to perform isolated, occasional acts of charity. A Christian is to be habitually merciful, and all acts of mercy should be done in a thankful and cheerful manner. Just imagine how absolutely wonderful God would feel if in the act of being merciful he heard you say, "Praise be to you God for this opportunity that you have given me to help someone else in need. Thank you Father for letting me be of some assistance to another human being." So doing an act of mercy in a thankful and loving manner has to make God our Father just beam with joy. The merciful are indeed those special people who love all men as themselves: The merciful truly believe that whatever mercy they desire from God, they in turn will show to all men everywhere. The merciful are the ones who realize that our Heavenly Father demands that we be merciful, and they also realize that our acts of mercy will be repaid a thousand fold. Mercy is extremely important to Jesus Christ and much of the Bible either directly or indirectly deals in some way with mercy and kindness shown to others. Mercy is the loving disposition towards those who suffer. Love, compassion, and forgiveness towards others will bring peace in your relationships. We say in the Lord's Prayer Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. As we are merciful to others, so our Heavenly Father will be merciful with us! Jesus reminds us that whatever "you did to the least of my brethren, you did it to me [Matthew 25:31-46