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The Church that is Poor in Spirit
“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
When we arrive at passages like this, we must begin by asking the question: “What is blessedness?” Sadly, over the years, there have been some translations that have rendered this phrase, “Happy are…” Is being happy the same thing as being blessed? No, it is most certainly not! Happiness tends to be based on external things that bring you joy or comfort: friends, a good meal, entertainment, etc… In contrast, blessedness focuses on one’s inward state. That is why one can be blessed even during the most difficult of times. Indeed, just a few verses down, Jesus speaks about those who are persecuted for His name’s sake as being blessed. Happy…probably not so much, but definitely blessed.
So, what then does it mean for a church body to be blessed? In a sense, that is the purpose of these eight blessings (beatitudes). Ultimately, it means that the kingdom of heaven is theirs. But, what does it mean that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to a church that is poor in spirit? To answer that question, we must first ask, to what does the Kingdom of Heaven refer?
A Kingdom, by its nature, is a nation or realm that is ruled by a king. In the context of the church, we are talking about King Jesus. The idea may seem obvious enough, but its ramifications are wide and sweeping. For instance, kingdoms are not ruled in a democratic manner; the king has absolute sovereign rule. One might share with the king one’s difficulties with an aspect of his rule, but like it or not, but the subjects of the king do not get to make the rules. That belongs to the King alone. Similarly, in the church, the subjects of the King (believers) do not get to make or remake the rules. Our role is to submit to His Lordship and to yield ourselves to His authority. Every man does not get to do what is right in his own eyes (yet, how many churches do just that!).
But wait, I sound as if I am speaking of the church today, not the church in heaven. True. You see, while we tend to think of the Kingdom of Heaven only in future terms, that is not how the Bible treats it. For instance, both John and Jesus preached that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand (Matthew 4:17; 10:7). Yet, Jesus also spoke as if the Kingdom of Heaven had always been present in the life of God’s people (Matthew 11:12). Finally, though, Jesus also speaks of the Kingdom of Heaven as something that will come at the end of all earthly time (Matthew 8:11). Perhaps, though, the Parable of the Mustard Seed presents the idea of the kingdom best. It starts very small and then grows into something mighty and magnificent (Matthew 13:24). In other words, it began small, in the Garden of Eden, and then grew through history until Pentecost, where it reached its branches to the ends of the earth. Further, it will come to completion in the New Creation when Jesus’ reign will be clear and universal. Nevertheless, in the here and now, the Kingdom exists and the King is seated on the right hand of God the Father, so the church should be in submission to the King’s rule.
That idea of submission brings us back to the beginning of the beatitude: blessed are the poor in spirit. So, to what does “poor in spirit” refer? The Greek word that is translated here as “poor” is the word πτωχός (ptochos) and refers to the idea of being entirely dependent upon others for support. It is the opposite of being proud and self-sufficient. At the same time, poor does not mean “without any other means,” but it means that any means one might have of their own are utterly inadequate to the task. And indeed, when it comes to heaven, membership in the Kingdom, and a life that honors Christ, we are utterly and completely bankrupt. Indeed, we are inadequate to the task.
If I might translate that a bit into the context of the life of the corporate church. It means there is no room for pride in the Church of Jesus Christ. It means that no matter how many dollars that the church has in the bank, they can do nothing. They are like vapor, summer grass that is burned up in a moment. Pride and the church are incompatible ideas if we are talking about the True Church of Jesus Christ. Civic associations have pride. Social clubs have pride. Yet, if we are to be a part of Christ’s eternal kingdom, we owe our past, our present, and our eternal future to Him. In turn, we must be obedient to His commands in life and in worship. It’s not about what we want. It is about what Christ commands.
A Christian Hierarchy of Values
The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, argued that there was a hierarchy of values in terms of what was worthwhile for individuals and society to pursue. For Aristotle, the highest value was the knowledge of truth for its own sake. Of course, Aristotle was an Empiricist, which means that his real interest in “Truth” has to do with what one can observe with one’s senses or through the use of observational tools. Some might be tempted to simply label this, “science,” but such a label would shortchange both science and Aristotle’s view. Much of science is based on the use of reason built upon basic presuppositions and Aristotle recognized that observation could be applied to things outside of the realm of what we would typically classify as science (metaphysics, for example).
Aristotle’s second value was the discovery of practical knowledge—what Christians and Jews typically refer to as wisdom. This is the kind of knowledge that can guide one to live a life well and skillfully. For Aristotle, this was exemplified in the Four Cardinal Virtues of Greek thought: Justice, Wisdom, Courage, and Moderation. Finally, the value at the bottom of Aristotle’s list was that of learning to be skilled in Technique—what we would refer to as technical or vocational skills. These are the skills by which one would earn a trade.
I began to reflect on these ideas for two reasons. First, I heard a contemporary philosopher argue that our modern culture has turned Aristotle’s hierarchy upside down—that those who our society values the most (based on their paychecks) are those who demonstrate a high degree of skill in technique and those who are valued the least are those whose life is dedicated to the pursuit of truth for truth’s sake. Thus we live in a society where professional athletes, popular musicians and actors, and skillful doctors (again, technique with the surgical instruments) are the wealthiest class and preachers, teachers, and philosophers make up one of the poorest classes in society. The second reason that I began reflecting on this idea is because I happened to be teaching on Augustine’s approach to the Four Cardinal Virtues of the Greeks. Ultimately, Augustine affirmed these virtues as Christian virtues, but only when they were joined by faith, hope, and love—especially love.
Thus, I began asking the question, if I had to construct a hierarchy of values for the Christian life, how do I think that they would be reflected in the Christian life. One might be tempted to begin, as Aristotle begins, with a knowledge of truth for its own sake. Jesus said that his purpose in coming to dwell with men was to bear witness to the truth (John 18:37). God, of course, is the God of truth (Isaiah 65:16) and those who reject God suppress the truth (Romans 1:18). In addition, those who have no knowledge of God (as truth resides in God) destroy themselves (1 Corinthians 1:34). Also, the implication of scripture is that it is the knowledge of God that allows his people to be faithful (Hosea 6:6) and when there is no faithfulness in the land, it is joined by a lack of the knowledge of God (Hosea 4:1).
Yet, it seems to me that a higher virtue sets the stage for the knowledge of the Lord. When Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the very Son of God, Jesus’ response is not to congratulate him on that knowledge, saying it was the highest virtue, but Jesus instead said, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah” for this knowledge came from “my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). There are two things that need to be brought out from this verse in light of understanding Christian virtue. First of all, the source of the knowledge of God is God himself, not something gained through a human pursuit—and if something has a source, or a precursor, it ought not be seen as the “highest” virtue. Secondly, Jesus does not say, “virtuous are you,” but he says, “blessed are you.” The Greek word for virtue, ajreth/ (arête), refers to one’s moral excellence or other attributes that make one praiseworthy. Yet, blessedness, maka/rioß (makarios), has to do with one’s internal state as a result of their relationship to God. Thus, Jesus can say, “blessed are you when you are persecuted for my name’s sake…” Similarly, Peter’s blessedness does not come from anything he has done, but because of what has been done to him.
Now, we may be tempted to engage in a discussion of regeneration, but since the purpose of a hierarchy of virtue is to give us something of merit to pursue, such a discussion does not seem to have a place here as regeneration is something that God does in us which in turn precipitates a response of faith and repentance in the believer. Our temptation, too, might be to jump immediately to the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and to Peter’s instructions on how to build up our faith (2 Peter 5-7), but again, these seem to have their source in a virtue that is more primary.
And that brings us to the question, what then does the Bible present as primary? The logical answer seems to be that the highest virtue is the fear of the Lord. We are told in scripture that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of both wisdom (Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 9:10) and knowledge (Proverbs 1:7). The fear of the Lord gives life and health not only to the individual believer, but it is also a sign of a healthy church (Acts 9:31). And then, out of the fear of the Lord proceeds the pursuit of the other Christian virtues.
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