Chapter 4 Return to the Original State I The `easy believers' say that the Sermon on the Mount has something for both states of man. However, as we progress through the discussion of the Sermon on the Mount in this chapter, I believe you will see, as I have, that, Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7 are for the natural, unsaved, dichotomous man. I can think of no better way for us to see what the Lord requires of us to return to his favor, than to study the sermon that he preached on the subject. But, first in light of what we have learned in the preceding chapters, let's revisit John 3:1 through 3, which says, "There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." In view of the two states of man, of course Jesus was talking about the image of the Holy Spirit needing to be reborn in man. Nicodemus questioned this as he was thinking of a physical rebirth. In Matthew 5:3-11 we read, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.". In the past, I have heard the Beatitudes used as a plan of salvation but whoever would use them would stop there. Jesus didn't, as I'll show later. But first, what did Jesus mean in what is called 19 ______________________________________________________________________________ the Beatitudes? To be blessed means to be in a state of joy and peace that cannot be described, extreme happiness. Why are the poor in spirit happy? First, to be poor you have to recognize, or admit to your poverty. Jesus said in effect that you can't attain heaven until you recognize that you have lost it. In the preceding chapters we have seen that man lost the blessing of heaven by quenching the spirit. That dichotomous man is indeed poor in spirit. When he recognizes how much he has lost, and how poor he truly is, he will do something about it. Why are they that mourn happy? Jesus was talking about a special kind of mourning here. He was talking about a broken and contrite heart that is concerned about the loss man incurred in the garden of Eden; broken to the point of wanting to turn from a two part state to a three part state, with Holy Spirit control. One of the things we saw in Chapter 1 was that the Holy Spirit was called the Comforter. When Jesus told us that the meek would be happy, He probably had Psalm 37:7-11 in mind, "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evil doers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.". From this, we see a definition arising for meekness. The meek will be patient, be free of worry, be even tempered, and will turn from wrath, while doing the Lord's will. That is they are resting in the Lord. It would appear that Jesus expects us to turn from the world and follow him without reservation; just as when he called Simon Peter, and Andrew in Matthew 4:19, "And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.". Jesus is beginning to describe to some degree the cross we are asked to bear. 20 ________________________________________________________________________________ |
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