These verses, the opening phrases of the Sermon on the Mount, hold some of the Bible’s most beautiful and best-loved poetry. Part of its beauty, though, lies in the fact that the meaning is not quite clear. What does it mean to be “poor in spirit”? What does it mean to “inherit the earth” or to be called “the children of God.” The fact that there are many possibilities causes us to linger over the phrases, pondering them.

Understood in the internal sense, these blessings show the spiritual states of the various people who could be receptive of the Lord and the new church he was launching. On a deeper level it shows that states within ourselves that can lead each of us to the Lord and to a deeper understanding of His truth today.

The “poor in spirit” are those who know little about spiritual things, but want to learn. Those that “mourn” are those who want to be good, but see no desire for good in their church. The “meek” are those who love to care for and serve others. To “hunger and thirst after righteousness” shows a desire to rise up, to learn about what’s good and to come to desire it.

The “merciful” are those who love their fellow people. The “pure in heart” are those who love only what is good. “Peacemakers” are those who are in harmony with the Lord, gaining knowledge from Him and wanting what He wants. And to be “persecuted for righteousness’ sake” means acting out of love and care for others, even though you are condemned by others for it.

There’s something of a progression there, from those who simply want to learn to those who actively want to be good people to those who actually are good and acting out of love for others. None of it, though, describes those who are learned in the Jewish traditions, or even necessarily observant in terms of ritual; they are, rather, those who sense that it is possible to be a good person and are willing to make the effort.

And they are promised their rewards! The “kingdom of heaven” is the understanding the angels have of the Lord; “comfort” represents ideas that lead to the good of life; “inheriting the earth” is a state of loving others and being loved by them in return. The overall message is simple: If we truly wish to be good people, and are willing to let the Lord teach us how to be good people, we will end up filled with love and wisdom from Him. And that’s what we need to focus on: The desire to be good, and openness to ideas from the Lord. It’s not about ritual and intellectual “correctness”; it’s about ideas that lead us to be good.

But what of being reviled and persecuted? This depicts temptation, when the hells attack our newborn good desires and true understanding. They cause us to doubt our ability to be truly good and question the ideas that are leading us. And they can do it in many ways, reminding us of the fun we’ll be missing or reminding us of all the bad things we’ve ever done to render us hopeless. They will even attack the Bible and the ideas that come to us through it from the Lord; that’s represented by the idea that people also attacked the prophets.

These states, however, are blessed in their own way; only by battling these evils, which are rooted inside us, can we finally fully embrace the good life we have been striving for. That’s why it is pictured last, and that's why it leads to the “great reward” in heaven.

49. 3. “Spirit” means the life of those who have been regenerated, which is called spiritual life.

Jesus said, “Unless you have been born of water and the spirit you cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)

I will give you a new heart and a new spirit. I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes. (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

God will give a new heart and a new spirit. (Ezekiel 11:19)

Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a strong spirit within me. Bring back to me the joy of your salvation, and let a willing spirit uphold me. (Psalms 51:10-12)

Make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? (Ezekiel 18:31)

You send out your spirit, and they are created; you renew the face of the earth. (Psalms 104:30)

The hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23)

Jehovah God gives soul to the people and spirit to those who are walking on [the earth]. (Isaiah 42:5)

Jehovah forms the human spirit within us. (Zechariah 12:1)

With my soul I have awaited you in the night; with my spirit within me I have awaited you in the morning. (Isaiah 26:9)

On that day Jehovah will become a spirit of judgment to the one who sits in judgment. (Isaiah 28:6)

My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. (Luke 1:47)

They have given rest to my spirit in the land of the north. (Zechariah 6:8)

Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me. (Psalms 31:5)

There was not one, even among the remnant who had spirit. (Malachi 2:15)

After three and a half days the spirit of life from God entered the two witnesses who had been killed by the beast. (Revelation 11:11)

I, Jehovah, form the mountains and create the spirit. (Amos 4:13)

O God, the God of the spirits for all flesh... (Numbers 16:22; 27:18)

I will pour a spirit from on high upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (Zechariah 12:10)

... even until he has poured out upon us a spirit from on high. (Isaiah 32:15)

I will pour out waters upon those who are thirsty and streams upon the dry land; I will pour out my spirit upon your seed. (Isaiah 44:3)

I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; also upon my male and female servants I will pour out spirit in those days. (Joel 2:28-29)

To pour out the spirit means to regenerate, as does to give a new heart and a new spirit.

[2] “Spirit” refers to the spiritual life of people who have been genuinely humbled.

I dwell in a crushed and humble spirit, to bring to life the spirit of the humble and to bring to life the heart of the crushed. (Isaiah 57:15)

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; God will not scorn a crushed and broken heart. (Psalms 51:17)

He will give the oil of joy in place of mourning, and a garment of praise in place of a confined spirit. (Isaiah 61:3)

... a woman abandoned and afflicted in spirit. (Isaiah 54:6)

Blessed are the poor in spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. (Matthew 5:3)