Sermon on the Mount, 1

Sermon on the Mount
The Beatitudes, 1

Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Introductory Thoughts

* David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, my favorite preacher of this century, said the following:

“I do not think it is a harsh judgment to say that the most obvious feature of the life of the Christian Church today is, alas, it superficiality… The important thing for us is to discover the causes of this. For myself, I would suggest that one main cause is our attitude to the Bible.” [1]

* Lloyd-Jones goes on to say that one of the greatest indications of the weakness of Christianity in our day is that Christians are not concerned about personal righteousness, Christians do not fear God (in the sense of reverence and awe), and Christians do not practice the Presence of God.

** We live in the Presence of God all the time.

** This is not just because God is omnipresent and omniscient, but if we are really Christians, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

** God is always there—He is always there to help, He is always there to guide, and if need be, He is always there to chastise.

* If we want an antidote to superficial Christianity, there is no better single portion of scripture for us to study than the Sermon on the Mount.

** The Sermon on the Mount consists of the King of Heaven giving the first part of the constitution and by-laws of the Kingdom of Heaven.

*** This Sermon is the first part, the first installment, because the disciples were not ready for all that Christ had to say. Even later, just before His crucifixion, they were not ready for all He had to tell them.

John 16:12-13 "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come."

*** In Acts, the Epistles, and Revelation, Christ finishes the instruction, revealing the fullness of the New Covenant through His Apostles.

* The Beatitudes—the attitudes that ought to be.

* The Beatitudes are the character traits of the Christian.

** Principles to be learned from the beatitudes: (adapted from D.M. Lloyd-Jones)

1. All Christians are to be like this.

2. All Christians are meant to have some measure of all of these characteristics.

3. None of these things refer to what we would call a natural tendency.

4. The Beatitudes show the utter difference between the Christian and the non-Christian.

“The glory of the gospel is that when the Church is absolutely different from the world, she invariably attracts it…” (Lloyd-Jones.)

a. The Christian is different from the world in what he admires.

b. The Christian is different from the world in what he seeks.

c. The Christian is different from the world in what he does.

d. The Christian is different from the world in what he thinks he can do.

e. Bottom line: the Christian and the lost man belong to completely different kingdoms.

* No one on this earth expresses these qualities perfectly or absolutely, but just as with the contrast in lifestyles given in Galatians 5, and 1 Cor 6, if you look at your life and some measure of the beatitudes is not to be found, you must begin to ask yourself if you are really a believer or not.



1. God’s Concept of Happiness—3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

a. Blessed—markarios

(1) This is not the normal word for blessed, as in:

Mat 21:9 "And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest."

Luke 1:68 "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,"

(2) The concept here is one of happiness.

b. Happiness—a misused and abused concept.

(1) The World’s idea of happiness

(a) Ease and comfort

(b) Material wealth and possessions.

(c) Good health, a good-looking wife or a handsome husband.

(d) The roar and adulation of the crowd.

(e) Lack of conflict, lack of stress, life laid back and easy.

(f) With some, who think they are superior in their version of worldliness, happiness is found in the simple pleasures of life.

(g) Others find their happiness in human religion.

(h) Some find their happiness in a bottle or in drugs.

(i) Some find their happiness in sexual promiscuity or perversion.

(2) The average Christian’s idea of happiness.

(a) In many ways, much the same as the world’s idea.

(b) Everything going smooth

(c) Being uplifted and feeling good.

(d) Some Christians think they are unhappy because they don’t have the things that won’t make them happy anyway.

(e) Christian: don’t let the world set your standard for happiness!


c. The Biblical idea of happiness:

(1) Happiness comes from faith in Christ—John 20:29 "Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."

(2) Happiness comes from Following Christ—John 13:17 "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."

(3) Happiness expresses a basic characteristic of God—1 Tim 1:11 "According to the glorious gospel of the blessed (happy) God, which was committed to my trust."

(4) The ultimate happiness for the Christian is the return of Christ—Titus 2:13 "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;"

“The word literally means “happy, fortunate, blissful.” Here it speaks of more than a surface emotion. Jesus was describing the divinely-bestowed well-being that belongs only to the faithful. The Beatitudes demonstrate that the way to heavenly blessedness is antithetical to the worldly path normally followed in pursuit of happiness.” (John MacArthur, Study Bible)

(1) The Biblical idea of happiness is the quiet confidence that comes from faith in Christ, and the benefits that come from Him being your Savior.

(a) Salvation from Sin

(i) Sin kills, and that eternally

(ii) Sin spoils, and that totally

(iii) Sin separates, from God, from family, from friends

(iv) Sin make us miserable

(b) Salvation to holiness

(i) Holiness is not a dirty word—it should be the heart desire of the Christian’s life.

(ii) Holiness does not mean that we are pious, arrogant, and holier-than-thou

(iii) Holiness is separation in the life

(iv) The holy person is separated from the love of sin, separated to the purposes of God, and is separating from the practices of sin.

(c) Escaping Hell

(d) Gaining Heaven


(e) Gaining the fellowship of believers.

(i) Did you lose a lot of friends when you became a Christian?

(ii) Did you lose family over your faith?

(iii) You have gained new friends and new family.

(f) Being given the gift of the Holy Spirit indwelling.

Rom 8:9-12 "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

(2) One category of these heavenly benefits is bound up in the character that grows in someone indwelt by the Holy Spirit—and the beatitudes reveal that character.

Gal 5:22-24 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts."


2. Poor in Spirit—Not what you think it is.”—Mat 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

a. What Poor in Spirit is not…

(1) “Poor in spirit” is not a natural quality of personality.

(a) Backwardness

(b) Lack of self-esteem

(c) Shyness

(d) False humility

(2) “Poor in spirit” does not refer to an unhealthy poor self-image.

(a) In myself I am nothing

(b) But even as a lost man, I was entitled to a certain measure of dignity because I was and am the creature of a Holy and Righteous Almighty God.

(c) I don’t believe in pumping up someone’s self-image with a lot of touchy-feelie nonsense and lies—that is false.

(d) But every human being needs to know that God created them, that God sent His Son to die for them, and that God bids them come to Christ for salvation.

(e) We are members of an evil, rebellious race, and every one of us has shaken our fist in God’s face and sinned against Him.

(f) But the meanest person in the world is a creature of God’s power and a potential target of His grace.

(g) “God loves people more than anything…”

(3) “Poor in spirit” does not refer to a put-on humility, as in someone that is so “humble” that they are proud of it.

(4) “Poor in spirit” does not refer to economic poverty.

(a) There is nothing evil about being poor—sometimes people can help it, sometimes they can’t, but there is nothing to be ashamed of when a person is poor.

(b) There is nothing holy about poverty.

(c) Some poor people are covetous and selfish, and many wealthy people are generous and giving.

(5) “To be poor in spirit does not mean that we …should be retiring, weak, or lacking in courage.” (Lloyd-Jones)

(6) What “poor in spirit” is—“poor in spirit” is a proper attitude toward ourselves.

b. The World’s idea of the successful winning attitude—

(1) “I can do all things through my natural abilities and winning charm, which strengthen me.”

(2) “I can to all things through employing advanced sales techniques, which strengthen me.”

(3) “I can do all things through money, and possessions which strengthen me.”

(4) “I can do all things through Self confidence, self esteem, positive confession, positive self image, mind control techniques and networking, which strengthen me.”

(5) “I can do all things through beer that strengthens me…”

(6) “I can do all things through drugs, that strengthen me…”

(7) “I can do all things through sexual pleasure, that strengthens me…”

(8) And none of these things will make anyone happy, even in a worldly sense, for very long. These are all deceptions, lies, booby traps, snares for your feet.

1 John 2:15-16 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."

(9) The Biblical Teaching on the successful winning attitude—Phil 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

(a) There is nothing that is within God’s will which is impossible.

(b) But I must understand that any success in any area is due to the work of Christ Himself, and I must submit my life to His Way.


3. What is “Poor in Spirit”—According to the Bible

a. Being poor in spirit means having a spiritually realistic self-image.

b. What is man, spiritually, without Christ?

(1) Dead in sins— Eph 2:1 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins:…”

(2) Blinded by Satan—2 Cor 4:3-4

(3) Insensitive to spiritual things—1 Cor 2:14 "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

(4) With a mind that hates God naturally—Rom 8:6-8

c. The classic comparison between one “poor in spirit” and one not so.

Luke 18:9-14 "And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

(3) God favors those who understand this spiritual reality in their own life

Psa 34:18 "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."

Isa 66:2 "For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word."



4. How does one become “poor in spirit?”

a. First, being “poor in spirit”, or humble, is the starting point of the Christian life—Mat 18:1-4 "At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

(1) You cannot make yourself poor in spirit—that is a work of God convicting the heart under the preaching of the Word.

(2) One cannot be saved until some measure of this is worked out in the life—pride will keep you from Christ and His salvation.

(3) God must show you, through the conviction of the Holy Spirit, that you are destitute and desperate, without hope in the world unless Christ gives you hope.

(4) But then, having been saved, developing the continuing and deeper grace of humility is part of discipleship.

b. You first have to come to know some things from the Bible.

(1) Once you have been saved, the first key to growing in poverty of spirit is knowing Who and What God is—the first principle of theology: “…there is a God, and He isn’t me.”

Isa 57:15 "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

(a) Job found out the hard way

Job 42:5-6 "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. 6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."


(b) Nebuchadnezzar found out the hard way.

Dan 4:34-35 "And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: 35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?"

(2) The second key growing in poverty of spirit is knowing who and what we are as a race.

Psa 144:3 "LORD, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him!"

Is 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts…”

(a) Are we creations of a Holy God, made in His image? Yes

(b) Is there a certain dignity and majesty to the human race just because God made us? Yes

(c) But we are a race in rebellion against our Creator, at war with our God, at Odds with all He stands for.

(d) We can have no pride in our humanity—our humanity is fallen humanity, lost humanity, spiritually, morally, and ethically bankrupt humanity.


(3) The third key to growing in poverty of spirit is knowing who and what we are personally.

Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers,

1 Tim 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

2 Cor 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

(a) Without Christ, we are spiritually destitute.

(b)Without His blood, there is no hope.

(c) Without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we have no way of finding our way.


(4) The Fourth key growing in poverty of spirit is knowing that there is nothing we can do in and of ourselves to alter our condition.

Rom 7:18 "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: …”


(5) The fifth key growing in poverty of spirit is consciously applying that knowledge to our lives.

Luke 17:10 "So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do."

Phil 3:3 "For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh."

(a) In myself I am a nobody; in yourself, you are a nobody.

(b) With Christ “…all things are possible…”, but without Christ, all is just vanity and despair.

5. The Inheritance of the Poor in Spirit—Mat 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

a. What is the kingdom of heaven?

(1) Comparison to the Kingdom of God

(2) The meaning of the term as used in the Bible.

b. Theirs is—The poor in spirit inherit the kingdom of heaven—it is their possession.

c. Pride leads to destruction, Humility leads to exaltation

(1) Christ is the supreme example of this:

***Phil 2:5-11

(2) This is the promise of God to all the humble of heart


Isa 57:15 "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

James 4:10 "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."

(3) This is the promise of God to all His children.

Luke 12:32 "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."





[1] D. M. Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, Eerdmans, 1971, pages 9-10.