We are ALL poor in spirit. Completely destitute. So what was Jesus saying there? You don't read it and then say, oh my gosh, I want to see God, so I'm going to try to be poor in spirit!
Blessed are the poor in spirit
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If all men are poor in spirit, it looks like it could read as: blessed is every man, for every man shall see God...
bbyrd009
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What about the opposite of someone who exalts himself...has a high opinion of himself....claims to be "special." (of course not in an Olympic kind of way)
VictoryinJesus
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Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
I guess I would define poor in spirit in that verse as: a man who SEES his poverty of spirit.
It is the condition of each of us, poverty of spirit. But if a man doesn't know he is poor and instead thinks he is rich, he is 1. Deceived and 2. Will not ask for what he lacks. (He doesn't think he is poor, so why would he ask?)
It's the man who SEES he is poor who will beg from others what he lacks.
bbyrd009
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ah ok. And how would you fit 2 Corinthians 6:10 Lexicon: as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things. into that iyo
I think He is making comparisons. Sorrowful now, but also joyful because these present sorrows are only temporary. Poor, without earthly riches, yet honored to be able to make many rich by his preaching of the gospel, with an inheritance not corruptible, which is not a mere temporary/temporal inheritance.
bbyrd009
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well, i doubt we are all poor in spirit, first off? Strong's Greek: 4434. πτωχός (ptóchos) -- (of one who crouches and cowers, hence) beggarly, poor
tbh i'm not sure how any of us will avoid hearing remember, in your life you had all the good things
Invisibilis
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Poor in spirit is a spirit subjected to a consciousness of dishonesty, conditionality, fear, deceit and doubt. A spirit still bound by the flesh that surrounds it. A spirit hiding in the dark by its dishonesty. Ruled by self-will.
A consciousness of honesty is a spirit filled with Truth, with unconditionality, fearlessness, love and faith. A spirit free from bodily and worldly restrictions. A spirit which is illuminated by Truth; The Light of this dark world we walk through (the valley of the shadow of death). Ruled by our surrender to God's will.
It is the ones who are rich in their own spirit who are in trouble. The poor in spirit [their own spirit, not the Holy Spirit] are those who really have humbled themselves. Consider what Jesus describes in Matt 5:3-11 as the perfect final result. You might compare those verses to to Ecclesiastes where Solomon writes about the emptiness of men who have material things and are still never contented: vanity of vanities. They are rich in their own possessions including their own self-righteousness, but Apostle Paul wrote about esteeming others better than yourself and Jesus as a man of flesh actually did that as no other man ever did. Jesus was the epitome of the poor in spirit.
The way to become like Jesus is the way of the publican who was praying along side the Pharisee. Both of them may have been rich with money of the world, but the publican with his prayer in that moment was by far the poorer of the two in his own spirit.
Given that then what is meant by this from Proverbs?
"The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly." Prov 20:27
A little child before he is corrupted by following the ways of his parents and other examples is poor in his own spirit. As he 'wises' up he gains momentum toward being rich in his own spirit. A person who is and remains rich in his own spirit will never make room in himself for the Holy Spirit. He will always be marching to his own drummer.
Truth
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Blessed are the Poor in Spirit = those that are remorseful to the world that is before them, and the condition of all those around them that either do not follow Gods ways, or reject His way's!
The following verse states, Blessed are those who Mourn,! for what?!, as I do, when praying for the souls that are without the Grace of God ruling in their lives.
I believe that these two verse's are in continuity with each other
Then why does Jesus say the kingdom of heaven is theirs...?
FHII
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Well, I suppose cause he meant it. But did he say we must be poor in spirit? Or meek? Or mourn? He gave blessings to those that are, but that doesn't mean we must always be.
1 John 3 says something interesting:
1 John 3:20-21 KJV
For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. [21] Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
There is a blessing either way. If our hearts condemn us, it's all good and if our hearts don't, its good.
I know I am poor in spirit unless his spirit is in me. I mourn only because I know there is something greater than this life and this world. I am meek unto him. If I was 7 foot tall and 350 lbs while lean and still could run a 7 minute mile, or had an IQ OF 160 I would still be meek to him. Even at that, I am really no better than any other man without love, kindness and truth.
We must not always mourn, be meek or be poor in spirit. God doesn't want that for us.
Jesus also said whatever state we find ourselves in, therewith be content. What if I find myself, in the spirit, joyful and confident?
I've never seen that translation. I don't care for it personally because I would never understand it written that way.
I understand it this way: the Lords light penetrates deep inside a man and exposes his true motives.
Esentially someone who is 'poor in spirit' is one who recognoses that they are a sinner, are unable to save themselfes and turns to Jesus , to humble confess/repent and to ask for salvation.
Invisibilis
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I was referring to a person's soul. Jesus was referring to the person's self-esteem (ego).
Hidden In Him
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This is essentially it in a nutshell. A parallel passage in one of the other gospels (I forget which one now) read simply, "Blessed are the poor."
The poor in Israel generally had a lower self-esteem because the mentality was that the rich were and righteous and the poor were not (James 2:1-5). But by this saying, Jesus turned this way of thinking on its head. Even the disciples operated under this assumption early on. When Jesus said, "How hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God," they replied, "Who then CAN be saved?" They too were operating under the assumption that if anyone was going to Heaven it would be the rich.
Essentially the expression meant, "Blessed are those who see themselves as in need of God's mercy and grace."
Good explanation, there HiH....I would like to expand...Matthew 5:3 says Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.....then Luke 6:20 simply says Blessed are the poor for yours is the kingdom of God....
Jesus wouldn't be edifying the poor in material means because that would contradict too many other scriptures about prosperity....so I most definitely think that one who is poor in spirit is a person who has emptied their life of themselves and have nothing to fill the void but Jesus.....just my humble opinion.
