Answers:
The Lord Jesus said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). The Lord likes and blesses the poor in spirit and only they can enter the kingdom of heaven. But just what kind of people are the poor in spirit? Are the poor in spirit those who appear on the outside to be humble, patient, and loving to others?
This issue is key, as it relates to whether or not we will be able to enter the kingdom of heaven. We can’t determine which kind of people are poor in spirit based only on whether they appear on the outside to be humble, patient, and loving to others; the most important is how they treat God and what their attitude toward the truth is. That is the correct way to evaluate this issue. Some people appear on the outside to be humble and patient, but inside they are arrogant, self-righteous, and cannot obey God and the truth. When God’s work doesn’t fit with such people’s notions, they not only do not humbly seek, but they uphold their own views, and even condemn and resist God’s work out of their own arrogance. No matter how humble, patient, or loving such people may be, it cannot be said that they are poor in spirit. They are just like the Pharisees at that time, who externally appeared to be very humble, pious, and loving of others. But, when the Lord Jesus came to work, even though they clearly saw that the Lord Jesus’ words contained authority and power, they did not seek the truth at all, and instead were especially arrogant, wildly resisted and condemned the Lord Jesus based upon their own notions and imagination, and even colluded with the Roman government to nail the Lord Jesus to the cross. Thus, they committed a heinous sin, offended God’s disposition, and were punished by God. This shows us that no matter how a person may appear on the outside to be humble and loving of others, if he has no real obedience of God and the truth, he is absolutely not someone who is poor in spirit. His humility and patience are false, and his love for others is a disguise. It is entirely deceptive, duplicitous, and intended to fool others in order to win their admiration and high opinion. Such people appear on the outside to be humble, patient, and loving, but their hearts are full of deceit, sinisterness, and viciousness, and their essence is that of a hypocrite.
So, what kind of people are the poor in spirit? The poor in spirit are able to seek the truth and obey God’s work when something happens to them, and when God’s work doesn’t conform to their notions, they will not judge or resist, but instead are able to put themselves aside, humbly seek God’s will, and accept and obey the truth as soon as they understand it. Such people are truly poor in spirit, and are also humble. For example, it is recorded in the Bible when Philip tried to testify the Lord Jesus to Nathanael: “Nathanael said to him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael said to Him, From where know You me? Jesus answered and said to him, Before that Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael answered and said to Him, Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel” (John 1:46–49). We can see that although Nathanael had notions of the Lord Jesus at the beginning because he believed that the Messiah should not have been born in Nazareth, he did not cling to his own notions and imaginings, but instead humbly sought and listened carefully to the words of the Lord Jesus. When he heard the Lord Jesus say He saw Nathanael praying under the fig tree, he felt that the Lord was omnipotent and all-knowing, that the Lord Jesus could examine his heart and soul, and that the Lord Jesus was entirely unlike ordinary people, so Nathanael put down his own notions, acknowledged that the Lord Jesus was the prophesied Messiah, accepted the Lord Jesus, and received the Lord’s salvation.
From these things, we can see that the poor in spirit have hearts that fear God, and that no matter whether God’s work fits with their human notions, they are able to let go of themselves and humbly seek God’s will. This is truly being poor in spirit, and only such people as this are qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven. Those who are humble in appearance but arrogant and unaccepting of the truth in essence, once God’s work does not conform to their notions, begin to judge, resist, and condemn, aren’t able to humbly seek and investigate at all, ultimately are loathed and detested by God. Such people have no part or share at all in the kingdom of heaven.
Now, if we look at the Lord Jesus’ statement: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3), we understand even more clearly. We are already in the last stage of the last days, which is the crucial time to welcome the Lord’s return. Now it is even more important that we are able to be poor in spirit, seek humbly in all things, let go of our own notions and imaginings, and accept and obey the truth, so that we can delight the Lord and welcome the Lord’s return. Remember that the Lord Jesus said: “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come” (John 16:12–13). And, in Revelation 3:20 it says: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” In Revelation 2:7, it is also prophesied: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” From these verses of Scripture, we can see that when the Lord returns in the last days, He will speak more, and that He will tell us all truths and mysteries. When we hear that a particular church testifies that the Lord has returned and is speaking, or when a person testifies that the Lord has returned, we should let go of our own notions and humbly seek to see if these words can provide for our spiritual needs, resolve our practical problems, and point out a path of practice. When we determine that this is the voice of God and an expression of the truth, we should accept the truth and obey God’s work. In this way, we can be sure of welcoming the Lord’s return. Otherwise, without an attitude of humbly seeking, if we reject and refuse to seek or investigate anything not in accord with our notions, we are liable to walk the Pharisees’ path of resisting God, and we will lose our opportunity to welcome the Lord’s return.
