In Matthew Chapter 5, during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus delivered eight teachings called The Beatitudes. Beatitudes comes from the Greek word beatus, meaning happy or blessed. Each Beatitude names a virtue and lists an eternal reward for that virtue.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)
Jesus begins with this lesson which calls on us to be “poor in spirit”. What does Jesus mean by “poor in spirit”? Matthew Henry says the following about this verse in his concise commentary:
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.
We are called upon to be humble and act with humility many times throughout the Old and New Testaments. In this verse, the “poor in spirit” are those that examine themselves and see their spiritual destitution which requires a redeemer.
In his complete commentary, Matthew Henry also discusses that “poor in spirit” refers to our being content to be poor, “willing to be emptied of all worldly wealth”. This involves acknowledging God’s wisdom and sovereignty in making us poor in this life, and being thankful for what we have. Even if we are not poor, we should sympathize with those who are and not fear poverty, but be prepared for it if that is God’s will in our life. Matthew Henry points to Job who was “poor in spirit when he blessed God in taking away as well as giving”.
Salvation is a work of God alone. To be poor in spirit means that we must acknowledge that we cannot save ourselves, or even improve our condition. We must rely on God’s saving grace in order to get to heaven. We must be poor in spirit.