Poor in spirit?

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johnshelby:
it’s the opposite of being filled with the Spirit…

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No I meant was one of the Beatitudes. That meaning. 😛
 
It means to acknowledge your utter dependence on God for everything, including grace and faith.
 
The poor in spirit are 1. the humble who know their own misery and sinfulness, and who confess by word and deed that they can do nothing of themselves, but that they have received from God all that is good in them. Examples: Joseph, Moses, Gedeon [Gideon], David, Judith, John the Baptist, Peter. 2. the unworldly whose heart does not cling to worldly goods and pleasures, and who, be they rich or poor, have no inordinate desire for them. Example: Abraham, Job, Lazarus, the Apostles. (Bishop Frederick Justus Knecht, D.D., A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture, published in 1923, page 469.)
 
Paris Blues:
What does it really mean to be “poor in spirit”?
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I would say, in reference to “Happy are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.” that poor in spirit means failed utterely, betrayed, completely discouraged, miserable, wretched and unhappy.

It is the starting point for the Beatitudes because it is where we all end up if we have spent time chasing after false gods in the world around us (as most of us have). When those false gods fail us - as they surely will - we are miserable, wretched and unhappy and then we are open to receiving the word of God. Thus we are fortunate to be miserable, because - with the grace of God - that misery can be turned into a turning to God.

The rest of the beatitudes build on this one.

peace

-Jim
 
Todd Easton said:
The poor in spirit are 1. the humble who know their own misery and sinfulness, and who confess by word and deed that they can do nothing of themselves, but that they have received from God all that is good in them. Examples: Joseph, Moses, Gedeon [Gideon]
, David, Judith, John the Baptist, Peter. 2. the unworldly whose heart does not cling to worldly goods and pleasures, and who, be they rich or poor, have no inordinate desire for them. Example: Abraham, Job, Lazarus, the Apostles. (Bishop Frederick Justus Knecht, D.D., A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture, published in 1923, page 469.)
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This sounds close to the footnote to the 1st beatitude in the St. Joseph edition of the New American Bible.

“The poor in spirit: in the Old Testament, the poor (anawim) are those who are without material possessions and whose confidence is in God (see Isaiah 61:1; Zeph 2:3; in the NAB the word is translated lowly and humble, respectively, in those texts). Matthew added in spirit in order either to indicate that only the devout poor were meant or to extend the beatitude to all, of whatever social rank, who recognized their complete dependence on God. The same phrase poor in spirit is found in the Qumran literature.”
 
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