Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit: The Happy Humility of God’s Kingdom

Human flourishing. Life fulfilment. The abundant life. A happy existence. What ancient philosophers called the “good life.” This has been humanity’s relentless pursuit since creation itself.

Many have attempted to define what such an existence looks like. Some definitions are better than others, but most miss the point entirely. As Jesus makes abundantly clear in the Sermon on the Mount, the happy, flourishing life is the life lived within the kingdom of God, which Christ came to establish. Those who live as subjects of King Jesus are truly happy, and this happiness is evident to all who observe them.

The beatitudes are not merely pronouncements or conditional promises—”if you do this, then that will happen”—but descriptions of those who live as God intends, revealing what the happy, flourishing, good life actually looks like. Jesus is saying, “Look, observe the happy life of those who are subjects in my kingdom. Look at their flourishing life as God intends.” By observing this description, by witnessing those living it out, the beatitudes serve as an invitation to such a life.

Who are happy people and what characterises them? They are those who have entered the kingdom, and they are marked by, among other things, humility. This is not a “natural” good life; it is a supernatural, godly life.

Matthew 5:3 declares: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Why wouldn’t they be poor in spirit? They belong to God’s kingdom. The subjects of the King are the objects of his affection, provision, and protection in his kingdom, which is unshakeable. When one belongs to such a kingdom, there is no reason to compete, no reason for self-promotion, no reason to tread on others for self-preservation. In short, those in the kingdom of God can rest all their dependence on the King of kings and Lord of lords (see Matthew 18:1–4).

What does poverty of spirit look like? What is this happy humility?

It looks like self-forgetfulness. This does not mean thinking less of yourself but rather not thinking of yourself at all—like Jesus (Philippians 2:1–8). It does not mean self-hatred, for Jesus was poor in spirit. It means being happy with the knowledge that you belong to God. It means being content that God is fulfilling his will (John 5:19, 30). It means not clinging to our rights. It means coming to God with the heart singing, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.”

The result of being in God’s kingdom is happiness generally, but in v. 3, Jesus specifically says that such people are “poor in spirit.” Understanding the nature of a beatitude, Jesus is saying both that those who are poor in spirit are happy—and people can observe it—because they have received the kingdom, and they are happy because God has given them the kingdom, which has produced poverty of spirit. It is simultaneously cause and effect.

As we journey through these beatitudes, it is crucial to appreciate that the pronouncement of blessedness is the result of God first blessing the person, putting them in a position where they can live such an enviable life.

In this case, God has, first, established his kingdom. Second, God chooses individuals to be his subjects in the kingdom. Third, God brings them into his kingdom by granting them poverty of spirit.

The kingdom of God fundamentally concerns the rule of God. It is the rule of God over the heart of man. It is the rule of God in every realm of life. It is the rule of God under the lordship of Jesus Christ. To humbly live under this rule is to happily live under this rule. This is what Jesus meant when he said that he came to give life abundantly (John 10:10)—not merely length of life (eternal existence) but breadth and depth of life, eternal unbroken relationship and fellowship with the triune God.

All those who have been born again are heirs of this birthright. They are heirs of a flourishing life. Heirs of a happy life. Heirs of a happy humility. Jesus made this clear in this beatitude: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

These are those who flourish: those who belong to God’s kingdom. Because they belong to God’s kingdom, because they are so profoundly happy, they are humble.

These are those who flourish: those who belong to God’s kingdom. Because they belong to God’s kingdom, they are happy. And because they are happy, because they are flourishing, they are humble. After all, if by God’s grace you are in the kingdom of God, what is there to be prideful about—and therefore miserable?

In other words, because they are subjects of the King, they are happy. Because they are subjects of the King, they are no longer subjects of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Therefore, they are no longer focused on self-promotion; they are not deceived by and enslaved to “expressive individualism”; they are not enslaved by pride but rather they love God (Psalm 31:23).

The lives of these blessed subjects are an invitation to enter the kingdom and live such “happy” lives. This is a major point of the beatitudes. They describe the life God intends for humanity—a life of genuine flourishing under the gracious rule of Christ the King.

Are you a willing, happy subject of God’s kingdom? You can be only if you have been born again. Have you seen your prideful rebellion against God’s rightful rule? Then repent. Bow the knee to King Jesus in repentance and faith, trusting him alone for your forgiveness and reconciliation.

Christian, because the kingdom of God is yours, keep happily humbling yourself as you serve God and one another. Your happiness and your humility are inseparable gifts of grace, marks of the kingdom life, and testimonies to a watching world of the goodness of God’s rule.

The abundant life Jesus promises is not found in self-assertion but in self-forgetfulness. It is not found in climbing over others but in serving them. It is not found in grasping our rights but in releasing them. This is the paradox of the kingdom: Those who are poor in spirit possess everything, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.