Alex Townsend
The Beatitudes
Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit
Matthew 5:1 - 16
26 February 2023

The Sermon on the Mount is about kingdom life. There are two kingdoms - the domain of darkness, and the kingdom of God. Those who are in God's kingdom live in the ways Christ describes in His sermon.

Being blessed is not a feeling of happiness; it is a state of living rightly before God and having a rich spiritual life. This means being wholly dependent on God for salvation and daily needs - like a beggar. All are born spiritually bankrupt: believers are different from unbelievers because they recognize and accept how desperately they need God.

The poor in spirit are blessed because they know they are poor in spirit. And God accepts them - that is why they are rich.