The Beautitudes

OK... let's get started on the Beattitudes... but, I am asking you at the beginning of this;
keep these 2 things in the forefront of your mind as we study together: Number 1, these
Beattitudes are actually conditions of the heart; in other words, they are attitudes.
Number 2, the order in which these are listed in Matthew chapter 5, is significant in
that they appear to be revealing a certain
progression of spiritual development.
With these 2 things in mind (we will discuss the importance and validitiy of these 2
presumptions as we go), now take a look at your own questions you sent in the last email.
What do you think, now? So, let's set aside the discussion on your question temporarily,
and start with the beginning of this chapter...
Matt 5:1...Notice how the Lord withdrew from the crowds in order to teach His own 12
disciples some very fundamental things. I believe He realized the kind of demands which
were going to be placed on the disciples themselves as they eventually began to serve the
needs of the crowds which would develop around Jesus, so He wanted to get their own
hearts in the right position or attitude for service. They needed an attitude adjustment in
order to be prepared for the draining and tiresome work of ministering to the needs of the
people.
Then in verse 2 we read some very valuable words... ...and He opened His mouth, and
taught them... . Now what is so significant about those words??... well, let's look back just
one chapter to the time Jesus spent in the Wilderness being tested by Satan. The very first
test Satan threw at Him was concerning His own needs... namely, His own physical
hunger, which is certainly understandable, since He had eaten nothing for 40 days prior to
this time. "Command these stones to be made bread... satisfy your own cravings, first...
your own desires are improtant, too, you know! Look after numero uno, above of all!!...
after all what good are you if you are sick or incapacitated??" Do you get the picture??
Look at Jesus' reply... Man does not live by bread alone, but by everything which comes
from the mouth of God. No, I did not misquote that verse... Jesus sated He was quoting
an Old Testament verse, namely, Deut 8:3, which does not contain the word "word" at
all, but, states that man is to live by everything which comes from the mouth of God. He
was speaking only what He had heard His own Father speak many years prior. Man is to
live by all the life-giving power and the living and active nature of the Spirit of God
living in us to feed us of the food of Heaven. Jesus said in John chapter 4:34... My
food/nourishment is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work. This is
the life-sustaining nourishment which He has planned for us to live by on this earth, and
indeed, for all of eternity.
Do you get the picture... the first prerequisite to spiritual development culminating into a
mature son or daughter of God, having the spiritual DNA of the Godhead, and fulfilling a
task on this earth which prepares us individually for our eternal existance as a child of the
Almighty God; the primary thing, above all other things... is to find all our nourishment
and sustainence from all which comes from the mouth of the Lord. This source of meat
and drink is infinately more valuable than realizing anything which attracts our attention
on this earth. This goes for anything at all... from acts of service to lifting a finger in
response to a need. I wish I could make this point even more pointedly... absolutely
nothing has higher in priority than this one thing!!
OK... now it's your turn... thoughts, please...
Darrell
OK... let's keep going with this discussion on the Beatitudes...
The first four Beatitudes listed here in Matt chapter 5 seem to focus on the response of
man to the working of the Spirit of God within him. Specifically, when man sees his
neediness, and recognizes the seriousness of the state of depravity of his evil heart, he is
drawn ever so lovingly by the Holy Spirit of God toward the light of His divine truth and
righteousness. As the love and grace of God shines brightly into his heart and reveals the
pathway to the cross of Christ, he becomes overwhelmed with the awful sorrow of his
rebellion and stubbornness, which has led to the state of the wounded and suffering
Savior. He realizes his own sin has caused the shedding of the innocent blood of the
spotless Lamb of God. In this state of mourning and grieving over his sin, the Spirit of
the Lord comes to him and comforts him. Immediately, his imminent sentence of "guilty
as charged" is commuted. He receives the assurance of forgiveness and experiences the
washing away of the sin and even the stain of it. From this place of being born again of
the Spirit, and receiving the comforting presence of the Holy Spirit of God, the pilgrim
walks once again in this world with full and complete memories of the state he has just
been made totally new. For the simple reason that it was not of his own doings, nor of his
own abilities, that he has obtained this new life in Christ, he walks among his former
friends and family as one who owes his entire existence to the King of kings and the Lord
of lords. He also walks daily to please His Redeemer and Savior. This is the power and
strength of the humble person who is meek as his Lord Jesus Christ. He realizes his only
source for the food for which he has cravings for is the Lord Himself. He hungers for
anything he can receive from the hand of the Lord. And, oh, the cool, refreshing water of
life which flows freely from the throne of God... this is the only water which satisfies his
thirstiness. He receives his fill daily from his Lord and Savior.
So, these first four progressive steps refer to the inner working between the Godhead and
the soul of man. Then we come to the next three stages. These next steps seem to be more
focused on the intimacy of a relationship which is in every way closer than any brother,
sister, mother, or father of this earth. This relationship is even closer than the intimacy
existing between husband and wife. The first step in this group is specifically referring to
those who have received the mercy of the Lord. No person can come in contact with the
mercy and compassion of the resurrected Christ and ever hope to remain unchanged. The
change is complete and radical. The one who has received the work of God's mercy to
them becomes one who shows mercy now to others. He or she cannot help it. They have
been made into a new creation by the work of mercy in their own life, and what was not
in their nature to do before, now they freely show mercy as one who has a new nature. In
Matthew 9:13 and 12:7, Jesus refers to the heart of His Father when He repeats His
Father's own words... I will have mercy, and not sacrifice. In James 2:13 we read these
words, Mercy rejoices (exalts over, boasts over, is victorious over) judgment. Or, in other
words, "mercy is more powerful than judgment; mercy conquers judgment." Hebrews
chapter 4, at the end of the chapter, states that we have in Heaven a High Priest who
understands our weaknesses, and therefore has mercy and compassion on us. He knows
what we are going through. So, in the last verse of that chapter, verse 16, we find these
words, Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we might obtain mercy
and find grace to help in our time of need. In Hebrews 9:5, we see the name given to the
covering of the Old Testament Ark of the Covenant is "Mercy Seat". This is the place
where the blood of the atonement for sin was to be sprinkled every year, bringing with
the action a reminder of the absolute need for cleansing from sin. Even in the Old
Testament prophesies we have reference to the powerful nature of mercy over the
application of judgment. Take a look at Micah 6:6-8... Wherewith shall I come before the
Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
and calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten
thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression; the fruit of my body
for the sin of my soul? He hath shown thee, O man, what is good. What doth the Lord
require of thee? But, to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God. James
chapter 1 and verse 27 states this truth in other words... Pure religion and undefiled
before God and the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction,
and to keep himself unspotted from the world. The work of mercy in our life is to change
us into those who will show mercy. This amazingly powerful force, which triumphs over
judgment, requires much more than human determination or discipline to accomplish. It
requires the one showing the mercy to have first of all received it.
The next step in this group of changes of the nature of man by the power of God's Holy
Spirit residing within is the receiving of a pure heart. Now, obviously most people will
place this concept alongside the use of the word "perfection", and say, "Well, we are just
now going to be like this till we get to Heaven." Well, clearly, we are not talking about
man's own tendency to excuse himself of inadvertent slips of human error or immoral
behavior. We are speaking of a changed heart... one which is pure in God's eyes. First
Timothy 1:5 says this, Now the end of the commandment is charity (agape) out of a pure
heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned... (sincerity). Think about that for
a bit... the whole essence of the Law of God is love from a pure heart. Jesus said that the
greatest law was to love God with all the heart, etc., and thy neighbor as thyself... on
these 2 statements the entirety of God's Law given to rule and guide mankind, and also all
of the prophesies of all the Prophets are summed up in these two statements. There is
clearly a state of purity in our heart which is achievable in this life here on this earth, and
as Christians, we are called to be such. But, look at what is the "reward" or the experience
of such a one... (Matt 5:8)... Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Wow!
Now there's something we all should want... to see God! Who of those who have been
washed and cleansed by the blood of the Lamb would not want to see God?? Obviously,
something is wrong in the life of the Believer who seeks to hide from the face of the
Lord... right?? Sure we want to see God! But, this isn't speaking primarily of physical
eyesight. Clearly, this is speaking of having our spiritual eyes opened to see God. Jesus
referred to the spiritual senses we all possess, and of the sad state of man who has eyes
and ears and cannot see or hear. He also told His disciples that He would speak to certain
groups of people in parables so they would not be able to see or hear the true meaning of
His words. On another occasion, Jesus told His disciples that whoever has "seen" Him
has "seen" the Father. This comment was in response to a request from one of them of
their desire to "see" God. Also, I believe the gift of spiritual eyesight is given so we can
"see" the characteristics of Christ in those around us, and thereby be able to embrace
them as part of the household of God. Second Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 18 says
that as we "look upon" the (glory/nature/characteristics) of the Lord, we ourselves are
changed (by the process of metamorphosis) into Christ's own likeness, progressively. It
starts with receiving the spiritual sense of sight, and ends in the transformation of our
nature into the nature of Christ. Now, this is not some powerless gospel... this is
powerful! We are talking about being born again and living in a new life in Christ till we
become like Him.
The third and final stage in this new man with the likeness of Christ being a reality is
seen in verse 9 of Matthew chapter 5. Jesus said this, Blessed are the peacemakers; for
they shall be called the children of God. The beauty of this verse is slightly obscured by
the English translation from the early Greek texts, resulting in a phrase which seems to be
saying, "people will refer to the peacemakers as children of God". However, if you follow
the Greek words and their placement here, even if all you do is use the Strong's dictionary
to get a preview of what is being stated, the actual text seems to be saying, "Those who
make peace... will be called to become the sons (and daughters) of God." Now this is
consistent with John chapter 1, verse 12, But as many as received Him, to them He gave
the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. In Romans
chapter 8, verse 14, we read, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of
God. Also, the New Covenant God made with man after the Old Covenant had suffered
irreparable breeches, stated that God Himself would put His laws in our heart, and write
them on our mind, and that He would live within us (by His Spirit) and walk in us, and
that those are the ones who He would refer to as sons and daughters of His own. So, those
who make peace are not primarily those who make peace between brothers, but first of
all, one who makes peace with his Heavenly Father to the result of God living within
these individuals, empowering them to acts of faith and love and service.
Now, these are seven stages, or steps of progressive spiritual development for mankind.
There remains one more Beatitude for our discussion, which I will deal with separately.
This is the final step or goal of the life which bears the image and likeness of Christ. So,
until the next time...
So, how about your thoughts now on the first 7...??