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Scripture Reading: Matt. 5:1-12
I. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens” — v. 3:
А. To be poor in spirit is not only to be humble but also to be emptied in our spirit, in the depth of our being, not holding on to the old things of the old dispensation but unloaded to receive the new things, the things of the kingdom of the heavens — cf. Luke 6:20.
B. We need to be poor, emptied, unloaded, in our human spirit that we may realize and possess the kingdom of the heavens — cf. Matt. 19:13-15.
C. To be poor in spirit means that we are humble, acknowledging that we have nothing, know nothing, can do nothing, and are nothing — Gal. 6:3; John 15:5b; Isa. 57:15; 66:2:
1. Those who are poor in spirit have a willing spirit for the things of the Lord and for the things of the church — Psa. 51:12.
2. Those who are poor in spirit experience the Spirit of joy and the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah — Heb. 1:9; Rom. 14:17; Isa. 11:2-3.
D. All spiritual progress depends on man’s hunger — Luke 1:53; Psa. 81:10:
1. We should be afraid of self-contentment, self-satisfaction, and satisfaction with the things of the past — Phil. 3:13.
2. Spiritual stagnation is the result of indifference to one’s own spiritual lack; all failure and decadence are the result of self-complacency — cf. Deut. 4:25.
3. Past victory can never be our present strength — cf. Josh. 7:3-4:
a. We cannot go on without new knowledge of the Lord and a new vision of Him — cf. Acts 26:16; Phil. 3:8b; 10a.
b. Whenever we find ourselves crying, “I cannot make it,” our progress has begun; then God is easily able to create a desire for Him in us — cf. 2 Chron. 20:12.
c. We should remember that God gives difficulties to us in order to dig more deeply in us so that He can fill us more with Himself — cf. Rom. 8:28-29.
4. Whenever we become empty, the Lord will fill us up; spiritual progress is a matter of being continually emptied out and continually filled up — cf. 2 Kings 4:1-6.
II. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” — Matt. 5:4:
А. The entire situation of the world is negative toward God’s economy; God wants us to mourn over such a situation.
B. If we mourn according to God and His economy, we will be comforted by being rewarded with the kingdom of the heavens; we will see God’s heavenly ruling over the entire negative situation.
III. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” — v. 5:
А. To be meek means not to resist the world’s opposition but to suffer it willingly.
B. If we are meek, willing to suffer the world’s opposition in this age, we will inherit the earth in the coming age — Heb. 2:5-8; Luke 19:17, 19.
IV. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” — Matt. 5:6:
А. This surpassing righteousness is Christ Himself lived out of us — Phil. 3:9.
B. We need to hunger and thirst for this righteousness, to seek after such righteousness, and God will grant us the very righteousness we seek, that we may be satisfied and enter into the kingdom of the heavens — Matt. 5:10, 20; 6:33.
V. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy” — 5:7:
А. To be righteous is to give one what he deserves, whereas to be merciful is to give one what he does not deserve.
B. If we are merciful to others, the Lord will give us mercy (2 Tim. 1:16, 18), especially at His judgment seat (James 2:12-13).
VI. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” — Matt. 5:8:
А. To have a pure heart means that our heart is single, seeking nothing but the Lord Himself, so that Christ may grow in us without frustration — 13:19-23.
B. To be pure in heart is to be single in purpose, to have the single goal of accomplishing God’s will for God’s glory — 1 Cor. 10:31.
C. If we are pure in heart in seeking God, our reward is that we will see God:
1. Seeing God equals gaining God so that we may become God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead — 2 Cor. 3:18.
2. The more we see God, the more we abhor ourselves — Job 42:5-6.
3. If we see the Lord, we will see that the things and objects of this world are trash — Phil. 3:7-8; cf. Jer. 15:19.
4. Spiritual progress is the increase of the element of God in us and the decrease of things within us that usurp God’s place — 1 Tim. 4:15; Col. 2:19:
a. As long as there is one thing, one event, or one person that takes possession of us, there is something in our heart usurping the place of God — cf. 2 Tim. 3:2, 4; Mark 12:30; Prov. 4:23.
b. We must be pure; our heart should not be occupied by anything other than God — Matt. 13:19-23.
c. Our spiritual progress depends on the degree to which our heart is turned towards God — Matt. 4:17; 2 Cor. 3:16; cf. 2 Kings 23:25.
d. The more a person is in the word of God, the purer he becomes — Psa. 12:6; 119:140; John 17:17.
VII. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God” — Matt. 5:9:
А. Satan, the rebellious one, is the instigator of all rebellion; for the kingdom of the heavens, under its heavenly ruling, we must be those who make peace among men — Heb. 12:14.
B. Our Father is the God of peace (Rom. 15:33; 16:20), and we must walk in His peaceful life and according to His peaceful nature; in this way we will express His life and nature and be called the sons of God.
VIII. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens” — Matt. 5:10:
А. The whole world lies in the evil one (1 John 5:19) and is filled with unrighteousness; if we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we will be persecuted for the sake of righteousness.
B. For the sake of the kingdom of the heavens, we need to pay a price for the righteousness that we seek.
IX. “Blessed are you when they reproach and persecute you, and while speaking lies, say every evil thing against you because of Me. Rejoice and exult, for your reward is great in the heavens; for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” — Matt. 5:11-12:
А. When we live a life in the spiritual nature of the kingdom and according to the heavenly principles of the kingdom, we are reproached, persecuted, and evilly spoken of, mostly by the religious people, who hold to their traditional religious concepts — Acts 5:41; 13:45, 50; 2 Cor. 6:8; Rom. 3:8.
B. This persecution is because of our following Christ, the new King — cf. Acts 13:50-52.
