ROYAL PRIESTHOOD QUALIFICATIONS: THE POOR IN SPIRIT
1. Royal Priesthood 1 Peter 2:9-10 NKJV
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; {10} who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
2. The Qualifications and Blessings of Priesthood
a) We believe that what we call the beatitudes that Jesus gave at the Sermon on the Mount are the qualifications and blessings of priesthood in the Kingdom of God. Immediately following the beatitudes Jesus spoke that we are salt and light in reaching the lost world. Salt is for taste and light is to see, we believe that as we operate in the beatitudes as priest reaching the lost world people will taste and see that the Lord is good.
(Matthew 5:3-12 NKJV)
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. {4} Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. {5} Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. {6} Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. {7} Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. {8} Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. {9} Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. {10} Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. {11} “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. {12} “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
3. Blessed are the poor in Spirit, For theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
a) The phrase poor in Spirit carries with it the connotation of a spiritual beggar. The Spirit gives life and is life. We must crave the Holy Spirit like we crave oxygen, continuously asking God to fill us with the Spirit.
(Luke 11:13 NKJV)
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
b) Children of the Kingdom recognize that the presence of the Holy Spirit gives us everything we want such as love, peace, and joy. The Holy Spirit also frees us from everything we don’t want, such as bad emotions, sin, and even temptation; for where the Spirit is there is freedom. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives causes us to produce spiritual fruit, guides us into all truth.
c) As royal priest of the Kingdom we must be guided by the Holy Spirit in fulfilling the great commission to bring the Gospel to the lost world. To be effective in bringing people into the Kingdom we must be led by the Spirit; led where to go, when to go, what to speak, and who to speak to. Who, what, where, how, and when come together into destiny when one is led by the Spirit.
(Romans 8:14 NKJV)
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
d) Gifts of the Spirit are manifested in the priest life to strengthen the believer, and to convince the unbeliever. The Holy Spirit flows through us in the form of a river of compassion seeking to bring people into the Kingdom, and to strengthen our brothers and sisters that are in the Kingdom.
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