A Study in the Beatitudes: Exuding the Character of Christ (Part 1-poor in spirit)

Recently in my women's Bible study on 2 Corinthians, I came across this verse and it has been resonating in my heart and mind ever since.

2 Corinthians 2:14

The apostle Paul states, "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere."

The part that especially stuck out to me was "through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere."

I asked my husband what he thought the "fragrance of Christ" meant and he said, "I think anything that exudes the character of Christ."

I liked that!

I began meditating on this verse and asking myself, is this how I live? Do I portray the character of the One who saved me? I wholeheartedly desire for people to sense Him and His love, for them, through the way I live my life.

The verse begins with, "Thanks be to GOD who IN Christ always leads us..".

It begins with God. He created us. He loved us while we were sinners and gave us Jesus. Jesus Christ is the Way back to God the Father. He is the Way back to our Creator. His death on the cross paid the penalty for our sin. Through faith in Jesus, we are forgiven, made a son or daughter of God, and given the Holy Spirit who helps us understand the character of God, His Truth, His heart, and His will.

Our life in Christ is a response to all God has done.

The next part is "the fragrance of the KNOWLEDGE of Him"

We look to Jesus because he embodies everything we need. He is our Rescuer, our Life, and our Rest. In Jesus, we are completely justified before God and as we desire more of Christ, the Holy Spirit works in our lives to produce the character of Christ. He is our perfect example.

In order to exude Christ's character, I must know Him, what He taught, and what His life exemplified here on earth. I must listen as the Holy Spirit directs me to the Word of God.

Matthew 5 came to mind.

Here, Jesus went up on a mountain and taught "the longest and fullest continued discourse of our Savior that we have upon record in all the gospels." (Matthew Henry)

It was here that Jesus taught what is commonly referred to as the Beatitudes. The word beatitude means supreme blessedness. "In the Beatitudes, Jesus sets forth both the nature and the aspirations of citizens of His kingdom. They have and are learning these character traits." (Guzik)

So I decided to start here and take a close look at what Jesus taught and how He lived out each of these beatitudes.

This is where we begin:

Matthew 5:3

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Poor: (Ptochos) a beggar or pauper

Spirit: (Pneuma) denotes the locality where one does or suffers something, the power by which a human being feels, thinks, wills, and decides; the soul

*Greek words in parenthesis

Jesus taught that those who recognize they are poor in their power to feel, think, will, and decide, will be blessed. They recognize they are paupers when compared to a perfectly Holy God.

A beggar is someone who knows his needs and relies on the generosity of others to provide what he can't for himself. Jesus taught that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are beggars, those who humbly hold out their hands, and thankfully accept what God has already provided.

When we enter God's Kingdom, we enter empty-handed. We recognize there is no amount of good deeds or religious exercises we have done or will do that can earn right standing with God. We need forgiveness, healing, salvation, and redemption.

We begin with humility.

The Bible speaks of God drawing close, teaching, leading, and giving grace to the humble. (See Psalm 25:9, Psalm 149:4, 1 Peter 5:5-6)

The Bible also gives examples of people who were humble, broken, and beggarly toward the Lord and were healed, forgiven, and justified.

(See Luke 13:13-14, Luke 7:37-38, 48 & 50, Matthew 8:6-10)

Everyone can start here. Jesus didn't say first, blessed are the pure, the holy, the spiritual, or the wonderful. He started his sermon with "blessed are the poor in spirit." Everyone can be poor in spirit. “Not what I have, but what I have not, is the first point of contact, between my soul and God.” (Spurgeon)

"The call to be poor in spirit is placed first for a reason because it puts the following commands into perspective. They cannot be fulfilled by one’s own strength, but only by a beggar’s reliance on God’s power. No one mourns until they are poor in spirit; no one is meek towards others until he has a humble view of himself. If you don’t sense your own need and poverty, you will never hunger and thirst after righteousness; and if you have too high a view of yourself, you will find it difficult to be merciful to others." (Guzik)

Let's look at what the Bible says about Christ's character here on earth:

Hebrews 5:7-8

"In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered."

Philippians 2:5-8

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Jesus said, "For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me." (John 6:38) “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work." (John 4:34)

Jesus Christ is God the Son, yet he humbled himself and lived his life on earth, as a servant. He learned obedience and displayed his dependence on God the Father through prayer.

Jesus was perfect, yet he demonstrated the humility we should have toward God and the dependence we desperately need on God. His relationship with God the Father and doing His Father's will were of utmost importance. He said, "my food is to do the will of Him who sent me". God's will was Jesus' sustenance, that which satiated His hunger. Wow!

As I was meditating on exuding Christ's character and the first beatitude, I learned that:

In order to exude Christ's character, we must start with humility and continue in humility all the days of our lives.

Exuding Christ's character means joyfully relying on God's power, direction, and will.

Exuding Christ's character means that God must be our ultimate source of satisfaction and sustenance.

Exuding Christ's character means we will live as humble servants; servants who generously give of our time and resources to help others because God has been so generous with us.

Exuding Christ's character means we joyfully take a lower position so that God would be glorified.

In order to be a beautiful fragrance, we must confess we are beggars, poor, and having nothing good in and of ourselves so that God would fill us with glory.

Blessings,

Amy