DP Tool Club 15/CD_ASCQ_15_070894.iso/vrac/beatt.zip/BEAT1.CHP

Text File | 1994-04-06 | 10KB | 427 lines

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#TThe Beatitudes 1.0

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God Bless You
As You View This
Program On
"The Beatitudes"







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     ~cMatthew 5:1~N -~r~K When he saw the crowds he went up a mountain. There he sat
down, and when his disciples had gathered round him.~N~k

  ~W~IWhy did Jesus go up the mountain?~N To withdraw from the crowds or the gain

a vantage point from which he might be seen and heard? Mountains are important

in religious symbolism. For example,|Moses|received the |10 Commandments| on

Mount Sinai.

    Mountains have such a certain character about them that holy men of every

generation have sought them out in order to get ~mcloser to God~N. They have also

been sought out so as to get further from mankind. We need at times turn aside

to any "mountain" where we can feel the presence of God.
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     Here in Matthew 5:1 are two groups of people. But always First there is the

~mLord Jesus Himself~N. We need to hear his voice to our hearts. May we not become

distracted by the voice of "church" or denomination or of creed or any other

thing. For sure God can and has sometimes used denominations and creeds and

seminaries and commentaries and commentators etc.. But we must never forget

that the ~W~I"bottom line", the "missing like", the "crucial factor", the

"foundation", the "vision", the "source", the "power",~N etc. all find their

meaning only in ~R~I~FChrist Jesus.~N

#Wh,P Mountain dwellers who have grown strong there with the forest treesin nature's workshops."The Prophet Isaiah said  "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the     The Beatitudes are part of The Sermon on the Mount which is a bringing
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     The Sermon is addressed to the first group in 5:2-- the|disciples|.The

second group is the crowd of people present.

     These are the crowds of |4:25| and |7:28|. The Sermon's promises and

demands apply ~C~Inot to just a select few but to all who follow Christ in every

generation.~N



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  ~cMatthew 5:2~N -~r~K he began to address them. And this is the teaching
 he gave:~N~k


     Jesus was both ~B~Iteacher and preacher~N. He both taught and proclaimed the

~R~Itruth of God~N. Teaching in the New Testament is |didache| and preaching is

|kerygma|. He taught as one having ~M~Iauthority~N |7:28|.


     Kerygma was a~W~I proclamation to the world and didache was instruction for

the church~N. But it must always be kept in mind that Matthew ~M~Ioffers us Jesus

Christ, never the preaching, teaching, or healing aspects apart from him.~N




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     There is an Old Testament type of Beatitudes:
 |Psalm 1:1|    |Psalm 2:12|    |Prov. 8:34|     |Psalm 84:12|

|Isaiah 56:2|  |Dan. 12:12|    |Psalm 41:1|     |Psalm 32:1-2|


     While there are Beatitudes in both Testaments of the Bible the NT

Beatitudes differ from those of the OT by ~mstressing the joy of participating

in the Kingdom of God rather than the rewards of earthly life.~N

     The Beatitudes of Jesus in Matthew 5 should be viewed with an

|eschatological| viewpoint. Jesus does not renew or confirm the|national hopes|

of the Jews.
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 ~R~I "All the conceptions and pictures in Jesus' message are directed with

concentrated force on one thing only, and are contained in that one thing--

that~W~I~F God will reign."~N

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Yes, God will reign in our
Life for ever in Christ.
It is a relationship.
It is a certainty.
It is through faith in Christ.









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 ~cMatthew 5:3~N -~r~KBlessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.~N~k



     This saying of Jesus is the ~M~I~Fkey~N to ~W~Iall that follows~N in the Beatitudes

and the Sermon on the Mount. Jones says that there is a ~R~Ispiritual logical

order~N in the beatitudes. It is first for there is ~R~I~Sno one in the Kingdom of

God who is not "poor in spirit."~N~s All the other characteristics stated in the

Beatitudes are included in this one. To become poor in spirit one must have

an ~W~I~Femptying.~N ~bAll the other Beatitudes are a filling of what has been emptied~N.

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    ~G~I~FConviction~N must proceed ~C~Iconversion.~N The Gospel condemns before it

releases. The poor in spirit idea "~g~Kcondemns every idea of the Sermon on the

Mount which thinks of it in terms of something you and I can do ourselves.~N~k"

We do not "bring in the Kingdom". Jones says, "~M~IThe Sermon on the Mount comes

to us and says, There is a mountain that you have to scale, the heights you

have to climb; and the first thing you have to realize, as you look at that

mountain which you are told you must ascend, is that you cannot do it, that

you are utterly incapable in and of yourself, and that any attempt to do it

in you own strength is proof positive that you have not understood it.~N"

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Being Poor In Spirit
Is the Foundation of Faith.
We Must Never Leave It.






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     There is a parallel verse in |Luke 6:20| where it reads "~b~Kblessed are the

poor~N~k" without any mention of "poor in spirit". ~mNowhere does the Bible teach

that poverty is a good thing~N. ~C~IThe poor are no nearer to heaven than the rich.~N

Poverty does not guarantee spirituality. Jones says this Lukean passage refers

to those "not possessed by the worldly spirit."This means that they do no rely

upon riches. ~R~IReliance upon riches is what is condemned~N.

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     Jones further says that ~C~I~Kthere are poor who also rely upon riches as do

many rich people~N~k. These poor say "~cif only I had so-and-so~N" and are also

jealous of those who have the "so-and-so."

     Some Christain groups take this verse as a basis for merit based upon

voluntary poverty. ~c~KBut merit before God does not come from anything except

being "poor in spirit" in our relationship to God in Christ~N~k.

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     "~R~IBlessed" is "Makarioi" in Greek.~N It is a declaring of one to be blessed.

It ~G~I~Kdoes not describe one's inner feeling about himself but his state of

blessedness as seen by Jesus.~N~k Some translators use the word ~W~I"happy"~N.

     The Semitic word conveys this but also conveys success or prosperity. It

is also a formula of congratulation meaning "Oh the happiness of". Its early

meaning is mostly limited to describing the rich.

     Vincent says the Christian meaning for blessed is full of the light of

heaven. He says "~W~Iit sternly throws away from itself every hint of the Stoics

asserted right of suicide as refuge from human ills, and emphasizes something

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which glories in tribulation, which not only endures but conquers the world,

and expects it crown in heaven~N."

   To Greek speaking Christians it had religous meaning when used to describe

outstanding Christians, especially those who were a |martyr|.

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     "~bThe poor in spirit" are those of ~wutter spiritual destitution~N. They are

those who have nothing to expect from the world, ~R~Ibut who expect everything from

God~N. They cast themselves upon God. In their lives and in their attitude they

are ~gbeggars before God.~N "So what unites those addressed in the beatitudes and

pronounced blessed, is this, that they are ~c~Kdriven to the very end of the world

and its possibilities. But God waits beyond the limit, or rather he no longer

waits, but comes to those who wait for him.~N~k

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     This consciousness is necessary before one enters the Kingdom of God. It

~g~Kcannot be relieved by human effort but only by the grace and mercy of God.~N~k

"Poor in spirit" is poverty of spirit. Jones says it is ultimately a man's

attitude toward himself. That is what matters, not whether he is wealtly or

poor.

     The world places great emphasis in ~M~Iself-reliance, self-confidence and

self-expression.~N ~c~KThis controls the whole of life outside the Christian message.~N~k

It is in these terms that people think that they can bring in the kingdom.

This verse is an absolute contranst to all of this worldly thinking.

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     Jones says we are not looking at men confronting one another, but we are

looking at men ~mface to face with God.~N ~C~IIn this they should feel utter poverty

of spirit.~N

     It does not mean that we should be diffident or nervous, nor retiring,

weak or lacking in courage. We are ~Rnot born poor in spirit~N. It is not a natural

trait like those who are naturally are introverted. It is not a trait of those

who are anxious to show us how poor in spirit. The man who is truely poor in

spirit need not worry so much about his personal apprarance and the impression

he makes; he will always give the right impression.

     ~g~KTo be poor in spirit is not a matter of suppression of personality~N~k.

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    ~R~I~K"The beatitudes stress the striking contrast between outward apprearance

and inner reality~N~k. The kingdom of heaven belongs not to those who by the

world's standards are rich and mighty. They alone reign with God who

surrender all claims to that end. ~C~INeither material nor spiritual poverty is

blessed, but ones honest and humble acknowledgement of his impoverishment

( |Isaiah 61:1| ) opens the way for the reception of God's blessing~N. ~c~KIt is

precisely when man sees his own nothingness that God can give out of his own

fullness~N~k."








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