#bibletruth

Blessed are the Meek

The Beatitudes

Matt. 5:3 “Blessed are those who recognise they are spiritually helpless.

The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

4 Blessed are those who mourn.

They will be comforted.

5 Blessed are those who are gentle (meek). They will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for God’s approval.

They will be satisfied.

7 Blessed are those who show mercy.

They will be treated mercifully.

8 Blessed are those whose thoughts are pure.

They will see God.

9 Blessed are those who make peace.

They will be called God’s children.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for doing what God approves of.

The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

- God’s Word Translation

The Blessing of God

The Beatitudes or ‘Blessed Sayings’ means ‘blessed is’ or ‘happy is’. Happy unfortunately has lost its meaning in modern times and is now used for a superficial moment of contentment. Someone has said that if would mean much more if we could qualify it by saying. “Oh how incredibly happy!” It means supremely blessed or fortunate. The One who is doing the blessing has our absolute good as his highest interest.

When God blessed Adam in Genesis 1:22 and Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3 he meant that everything else around them would be working together to bring about God’s favour.

We should live in a favourable and prosperous state that is not based on worldly circumstances but on divine conditions. These conditional blessings are frequent in Hebrew scriptures, including the wisdom literature, especially the Psalms (Job 5:17; Ps. 1:1; 32:1-2; 33:12; 41:1; 106:3; Prov. 8:34; 28:14).

The Beatitudes contrast Jesus' values with the values of the world

Jesus’ Values vs World’s Values

Poor in spirit Self confident, complete

Mourning Pleasure seeking, hedonistic

Meek Proud, self importance

Hunger for God Self made, self reliant

Merciful Assertive, forceful

Pure in heart Hidden, secretive

Peacemakers Competitive, aggressive

Persecuted Popular, crowd pleasing

Like most of Jesus’ teaching the beatitudes are contrary to the values that the world offers [1]. Leaders must serve if they want to rule; if they want to live they must first die; if they want to receive then they must to give away; if they want to be made worthy they should first recognise their unworthiness; if they want to be happy they first need make others happy.

Blessed are the Meek

In the church today there is little emphasis on humility or self-emptying. There are many Christian books on how to be happy, how to be successful, how to overcome problems, and so on. But sadly there are very few books in print on how to empty ourselves, how to deny ourselves, or how to take up our cross.

There are numerous commands about humbling ourselves (Matt. 18:4; 23:12; James 4:10; 1 Pet. 5:5).

The first step in experiencing humility is to turn our eyes away from ourselves and to look to God. It is the vision of an infinitely Holy God in all His sinless purity and perfection that enables us to see ourselves as sinners. To seek humility, we do not look at ourselves to find our faults, but to the perfection of God. Jesus invites the weary and overburdened of this world to take upon themselves his yoke and discover that he is “gentle and humble in heart.”[2]

People are increasingly aggressive and unkind (including Christians) to each other. There is a real need to nurture a gentle and kind spirit.

Ephesians 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Titus 3:1 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.

๏ Meekness is learning to be kind

๏ Meekness is learning to not take offence

๏ Meekness is is not being angry or aggressive

๏ Meekness is not allowing people to affect our mood

Meekness should not be confused with weakness. Jesus didn’t let people control him. He was quite willing to confront and challenge. He wouldn't let them ‘make him king’, he overturned the tables when His Father’s house was being desecrated, he strongly denounced the Pharisees because of their hypocrisy.

Meekness does not mean that we fail to challenge, correct, rebuke or speak the truth in love.

2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction.

‘For They will Inherit the Earth’

Psalm 37:11 But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.

To inherit the land has a twofold application, present and future.

Those that are at peace with themselves will be at peace with their surroundings. The world will be enjoyed and appreciated so much more when we have a tranquil spirit.

Romans 8:6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

His kingdom principles define and shape us. This is the meekness to which Jesus calls his followers. It is the meek who will “inherit the land and enjoy great peace”. It is those of a ‘gentle spirit’ , not the grasping or the greedy, who will receive from life its most satisfying rewards. The aggressive are unable to enjoy their ill–gotten gains. Only the meek have the capacity to enjoy in life all those things that provide genuine and lasting satisfaction.[3]

One day the earth will be transformed where the children of God will live. Those who are transformed by Christ will inherit the earth.

Amen

Personal Prayer

This was a joint teaching from Pastor Paul Meiklejohn and Charles Green.

References

[1] The NIV Application Commentary, p223

[2] New International Bible Commentary, Matthew chapter 5. Electronic version.

[3] Ibid

What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness?

To gain a clearer understanding of this concept, we will examine the original Greek words used in Matthew 5:6.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Hunger

Original Word: πεινάω Part of Speech: VerbTransliteration: peinaó

Phonetic Spelling: (pi-nah'-o)

Short Definition: I am hungry, needyDefinition: I am hungry, needy, desire earnestly.

It signifies that we should be starving for God in our souls, experiencing a constant hunger daily. This draws us closer to God and leads to eventual spiritual triumph. The earnest longing for God should be at the core of our being.

Only the bread of life from heaven can satisfy our souls.

Thirst

Original Word: διψάω Part of Speech: VerbTransliteration: dipsaó Phonetic Spelling: (dip-sah'-o)

Short Definition: I thirst for, desire earnestly Definition: I thirst for, desire earnestly.

Psalm 42:1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

Like a plant in the desert longs for water, it cannot survive without it. Only water can sustain life. Only the water of the Holy Spirit can quench your spiritual thirst.

Take a deep drink now from the wells of living water. Amen

Righteousness

Original Word: δικαιοσύνη, ης, ἡ Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine

Transliteration: dikaiosuné Phonetic Spelling: (dik-ah-yos-oo'-nay)

Short Definition: justice, justness, righteousnessDefinition: (usually if not always in a Jewish atmosphere), justice, justness, righteousness, righteousness of which God is the source or author, but practically: a divine righteousness.

There are at least two types of righteousness found in the New Testament. 1. Legal righteousness, which we receive from Jesus when we are born again, is the righteousness of Christ, a one-time event. However, this passage seems to refer to moral righteousness, which is something we pursue continuously. It is from our sense of divine justice that our good deeds flow to the poor and the suffering.

Filled

Original Word: χορτάζω Part of Speech: VerbTransliteration: chortazó

Phonetic Spelling: (khor-tad'-zo) Short Definition: I feed, satisfyDefinition: I feed, satisfy, fatten.

If we hunger and thirst for God, He will fill us as if we have just enjoyed a lavish meal. When we hunger, we will be nourished, we will be satisfied, and our souls will be enriched.

God is in the filling business;

He will fill us with:

1. The Holy Spirit

2. His love

3. His moral righteousness

4. A satisfaction that can continue to grow

One Bible scholar put it like this: The more of God you want, the more you get, and again, the more you want.

How can we become hungry and thirsty for God?

Jesus awakens the desires of his believers' hearts. Consider these words of Jesus: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you" Luke 11:9. Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, it is an open secret. You need to want it, and it is appropriate for us to ask for it! Amen

It's whom you ask, where you seek, and what door you knock on that makes all the difference. What could be more exciting than a journey into God himself, for that is what he desires for you and me?

Conclusion

God does not ask us to deny our burning desire for intimacy, beauty, and adventure. Religion does that. Jesus invites us to intimate communion with himself and his Father that will truly satisfy the deepest longings of our souls. Where are you looking to satisfy your deepest desires and longings? Only God will satisfy your deepest desires if you look to him for fulfillment. God is calling his mature ones here today to hunger and thirst for him and to begin seeking his face.

Amen

Personal Prayer