Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.-Matthew 5:3
What does Jesus mean when he says “Blessed are the poor in spirit”? The word “blessed” doesn’t just mean happy but it refers to the ultimate well-being and distinctive spiritual joy of those who share in the salvation of the kingdom of God. Now that we know what the word blessed means we can look at what the phrase “poor in spirit” means. Jesus is not using the word poor here to refer to those who are lacking money, but instead he is using the word poor here to describe an attitude. What Jesus is saying here is that those who will come into the kingdom of heaven are those who realize that they can’t earn their way into heaven. “Poor in spirit” simply means those who are not proud spiritually, but who do recognize that the kingdom of heaven is not something earned and is therefore a gift, given freely, and not a recompense.