Blessed are the poor
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L
Jesus was referring to the poor in spirit in both of these verses. That can and has been extrapolated out to cover all categories of the poor. Strongs concordance gives the following definition:
1) reduced to beggary, begging, asking alms
2) destitute of wealth, influence, position, honour
a) lowly, afflicted, destitute of the Christian virtues and eternal riches
b) helpless, powerless to accomplish an end
c) poor, needy
3) lacking in anything
a) as respects their spirit
1) destitute of wealth of learning and intellectual culture which the schools
afford (men of this class most readily give themselves up to Christ's
teaching and proved them selves fitted to lay hold of the heavenly treasure)
The last definition listed is the correct one for this verse.
In Christ,
John
1) reduced to beggary, begging, asking alms
2) destitute of wealth, influence, position, honour
a) lowly, afflicted, destitute of the Christian virtues and eternal riches
b) helpless, powerless to accomplish an end
c) poor, needy
3) lacking in anything
a) as respects their spirit
1) destitute of wealth of learning and intellectual culture which the schools
afford (men of this class most readily give themselves up to Christ's
teaching and proved them selves fitted to lay hold of the heavenly treasure)
The last definition listed is the correct one for this verse.
In Christ,
John
I
We must let the Bible interpret itself as this has nothing to do with being poor in the physical sense of the word.
Revelation 3:15-18
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
17Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Being poor in spirit is not about having earthly possessions. This is about the true message of the gospel. Remember, those who does not accept the mark of the beast won't be able to buy or sell. To the world, they are poor in spirit. But in heaven, they are rich. They will inherit the kingdom of heaven!
G
Being poor in Spirit is realizing that all that crap that you think you own, out of your silly selfishness, really belongs to God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and you are simply watching over it for a little while. Use your goods and money for the good of the kingdom! Store up treasures in heaven where they will last eternally. You cannot serve two masters. Would we still want to be Christians if Jesus said to us, "Go sell everything you own and give the money to the poor."? Where is your comfort, in Jesus the Son of God, or in your checking account?
I
Let's look at Luke a little closer for a deeper meaning.
Luke 6:20-26
And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
If this was simply about being poor, alot of people are in the kingdom of God.
21Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
Remember Jesus said man shall not live by bread alone! The truth of the gospel of God these poor people hunger for but they simply are not fed that truth by the world! Why do they weep? Read Joel 1 but in verse 8 it says to lament like a virgin dressed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth. The two witnesses in Revelation are again wearing sackcloth!
22Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
This is how the truth is treated, even now in the world. It is treated this way in christianity, Judism, islam and anyother mainstream religion today.
23Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
Jesus told a man that to be perfect, to sell all he has, give it to the poor and to follow him and he would have treasure in heaven. Again, if selling our possessions is all it takes to enter into the kingdom of God, then why not simply do that? This was a test of the man's faith. The imagination of man is vanity, yet he could not let go of the world. He lacked the faith to simply believe what he could not see.
24But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.
25Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. 26Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
These verses are warnings to anyone who holds the truth in unrighteousness.
C
Ehh, I think it gets back to the love of money issue.
Being poor in spirit will naturally reflect on your physical lifestyle, too. For example, a person who is poor in spirit will scrape every last little bit out of the peanut butter jar.
A person who is poor in spirit will pick a penny up off the ground. A person who is poor in spirit will keep a budget and will think about how much is being spent each day/week and if it's really worth it.
A person who is poor in spirit will generally go for the cheapest deal despite being able to afford better (although wisdom dictates also considering the theory of penny wise pound foolish)
A person who is poor is spirit will probably try to use two squares of toilet paper when they could reasonable afford 6 or 8!
A person who is poor in spirit will probably turn the water off while scrubbing hands and then back on again when it's time to rinse.
A person who is poor in spirit will probably see the value of rescuing thrown out food from supermarket bins (more on that if anyone is interested).
etc etc etc lol
Being poor in spirit will naturally reflect on your physical lifestyle, too. For example, a person who is poor in spirit will scrape every last little bit out of the peanut butter jar.
A person who is poor in spirit will pick a penny up off the ground. A person who is poor in spirit will keep a budget and will think about how much is being spent each day/week and if it's really worth it.
A person who is poor in spirit will generally go for the cheapest deal despite being able to afford better (although wisdom dictates also considering the theory of penny wise pound foolish)
A person who is poor is spirit will probably try to use two squares of toilet paper when they could reasonable afford 6 or 8!
A person who is poor in spirit will probably turn the water off while scrubbing hands and then back on again when it's time to rinse.
A person who is poor in spirit will probably see the value of rescuing thrown out food from supermarket bins (more on that if anyone is interested).
etc etc etc lol