Blessed are the Poor in Spirit: those Emptied and Unloaded to Receive from the Lord

We need to be poor in spirit, emptied and unloaded in our human spirit, so that we may realise and possess the kingdom of the heavens; this means we need to be humble, acknowledging that we have nothing, know nothing, can do nothing, and are nothing, so we need the Lord’s filling desperately.

Amen, Lord, Jesus, grant us to be poor in spirit. Empty us. Unload us. We don’t want to hold on to the past. We don’t want to hold on to anything good or bad that we have experienced. May our spirit be emptied and unloaded so that we may be able to receive something fresh and new from You. Amen, Lord, empty us so we may be filled with You afresh! Amen!

This week we come to a new morning revival book entitled, Crucial Aspects of Matthew 5 through 7, based on the September 2025 ITERO (International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones).

The title for this first week is, The Blessedness of Being Poor in Spirit and Pure in Heart That We May Be under Christ’s Heavenly Ruling as Our New King and That We May See God to Express Him in His Life and Represent Him with His Authority.

We are mainly focusing on Matthew chapter 5, verses three and eight, which tell us that we need to be poor in spirit and pure in heart.

On the one hand, we believers in Christ are in the kingdom of God, for we are born of God to be part of His kingdom. On the other hand, we need to enter into the kingdom of the heavens, which is a particular aspect of the kingdom of God requiring our exercise and discipline.

God’s intention in creating man is not only to gain man as His corporate expression by man enjoying God and expressing Him; He also wants to gain a representation on the earth.

On the one hand, we need to express God in His image by enjoying Him and living in the kingdom of God.

On the other hand, we need to go further and be discipled, disciplined, and trained by the Lord to be in the kingdom of the heavens so that we may represent God with His authority on the earth.

When we touch the matter of the kingdom, yes, we are in the kingdom of God as the species of God, for we are children of God.

However, we need to go further and allow the Lord to disciple us and train us in a proper way to be part of the kingdom of the heavens in reality so that we may rule and reign with Christ.

Matthew chapters 5 through 7 deal with the people of the kingdom of the heavens, for it is the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens.

May we cooperate with the Lord to exercise ourselves in a particular way and allow Him to train us in a particular way so we are not just inspired to enjoy the Lord but even more, become patterns to others by living in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today so that we may enter into its manifestation in the future.

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit: not only Humble but Emptied in Spirit to Receive the Things of the Kingdom of the Heavens

Matthew 5:3 says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. The first thing related to the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens is our spirit, the condition of our spirit.

The more important foundation or base for the kingdom to be worked out on this earth among us is the condition of our spirit. What is the condition of our spirit? How is our spirit? Are we poor in spirit?

Then, after dealing with our spirit, verse 8 speaks of our heart; what is the condition of our heart, is our heart pure? Are there any impurities in our heart, or do we allow the Lord to deal with our heart for us to really see God?

These two matters, our spirit and our heart, are very important to us in our Christian life.

In Ezekiel 36:26 the Lord said that He will give us a new heart and also a new spirit. He wants us to have a new spirit, a spirit that is living, sensitive, and strong, so that the Holy Spirit can come in, indwell it, and blend with it.

He wants us to have a heart that is not hardened but soft and pliable, a heart that loves God.

The Lord’s work in His salvation is to work from the mingled spirit to spread into our heart; we need to guard our heart above all that we guard, for from it are the issues of life.

May we be those who cooperate with the Lord to be poor in spirit.

What does it mean to be poor in spirit? Oh Lord, what does it mean for us to be poor in spirit? To be poor in spirit doesn’t mean that we have a poor spirit.

To be poor in spirit doesn’t only mean to be humble but also to be emptied in our spirit, in the depth of our being, not holding on to the old things of the old dispensation (Luke 6:20).

Anything of the old has to be let go; we need to be unloaded to receive the new things, the things of the kingdom of the heavens.

To be poor in spirit is more than being lowly or humble; it may include that, but it is simply to have a spirit that is open, vacant, unloaded, and emptied, with lots of room for something of the Lord to come in.

The Lord wants to come in with His new things, with things related to the kingdom of the heavens, but our spirit may be occupied, full, and with no space in it to receive anything new from the Lord.

The Lord moves on this earth in a progressive way from the Old Testament to the New; even in this age, the age of the church, the Lord goes on and advances, doing new things.

The problem is, however, that there may be some people who are raised up by God and are used by Him, and they cooperate with Him for a while, but at a certain time, their spirit becomes full again.

It is full of good things, not bad things. So the Lord can no longer move through them, for they are full!

For example, John the Baptist was used by God to turn the heart of the people to God, and he opened the way and introduced the Lord Jesus.

However, he became full and did not go on with God; rather, he had his own ministry, he had his own disciples, and his disciples were stuck, for they knew only the baptism of John.

John was stuck; Jesus was here, the New Testament age was here, but he was full of what the Lord did through him, and he did not go on with God.

We need to be emptied afresh. Yes, we did experience something of the Lord yesterday and even this morning, but now He wants to go on, and He is moving in a new way, in a fresh way.

Brother Witness Lee, for example, was always going on, always advancing, and never remaining the same.

Some even accused him that he was changing all the time; he was not changing: he was progressing, and he discovered the God-ordained way to live and serve, and later he saw the highest peak of the divine revelation.

He even invented new terms, even terms that are not in the dictionary, for he saw new things of the Lord.

We need to be poor in spirit, always emptied, unloaded, and vacant in our spirit for the Lord to dispense new things into us, the things of the kingdom of the heavens.

The one killer of the church life is oldness; not just deadness but oldness. We need to not only humble ourselves but even more, empty ourselves.

We need to be poor, emptied, unloaded in our human spirit so that we may realise and possess the kingdom of the heavens (see Matt. 19:13-15).

He can come in and dispense new things into us only when we are poor in spirit.

There’s a part in our inner being that is specifically made to contain the Lord, and that part needs to not be full but be emptied, unloaded, and vacant afresh for the Lord to come in and fill it.

We need to come to the Lord regarding this matter and check with Him, in His light, concerning our spirit.

Our character today in the church life in the Lord’s recovery should be that we are poor in spirit, always new and always going on with the things of the Lord.

Lord Jesus, unveil us to see our need to be poor in spirit. Amen, Lord, empty us afresh. Empty us of anything we think we know. We want to forget the things behind and stretch forward to the things You want to unveil to us. Oh Lord, we not only humble ourselves before You; we want to be emptied in our spirit. We do not hold on to anything of the past but even more, actively empty ourselves so that we may be poor in spirit. Oh Lord, we exercise our spirit to touch You afresh. Save us from being filled and occupied in our spirit. We want to enjoy and receive the new things of the new kingdom of the heavens so that You may have a way in us and through us. May we turn to You and learn to evacuate our spirit to be poor in spirit to receive, enjoy, and live in the kingdom of the heavens today! Amen, Lord, may we always be fresh, new, and living with You by being poor in spirit so that You may fill us with Yourself! May we be emptied so that You may fill us with Your present way, even Your present speaking!

Realising we Are, Have, can Do and Know Nothing Apart from Christ and having a Willing Spirit

For us to be poor in spirit means that we are humble, acknowledging that we have nothing, know nothing, can do nothing, and even are nothing (Gal. 6:3; John 15:5b; Isa. 57:15; 66:2).

We need to exercise ourselves in this way. We need to tell the Lord that we have nothing, we know nothing, we can do nothing, and we are nothing.

We may have been a Christian for many decades, but we need to be freshly emptied and unloaded to be poor in spirit today.

Even after many experiences of Christ in spirit, we still need to have the attitude that we have nothing, we can do nothing, and we are nothing. At the same time, our realisation is that the Lord is everything to us, and we want to enjoy Him in a fresh and new way.

Those who are poor in spirit have a willing spirit for the things of the Lord and for the things of the church (Psa. 51:12).

If we are willing to deal with the condition of our spirit before the Lord, we will ask the Lord to empty us, evacuate and empty our spirit of anything other than Christ, and empty our spirit of any old experiences, even experiences of Christ, which will block Him from dispensing something new and fresh into us.

Even our old experiences of Christ can hinder us from experiencing Christ in a new, fresh, and up-to-date way. May the Lord grant us to have a willing spirit.

May we have a willing spirit for the things of the Lord and for the things of the church. This is to be humble in a genuine way.

We may think we are humble, for we may act in a certain way that seems to be humble, but we may still be proud in our spirit.

Real humility is a matter in the spirit; we need to have a meek and quiet spirit. Real meekness is in the spirit.

Once we find ourselves that we are unwilling, once we find that we reject something or do not hear anything from the Lord, this means that we have lost our willingness before the Lord.

The Lord may have a need, He may sound out a call, but we are unwilling to cooperate; this unwillingness is a sign of oldness.

Those who are poor in spirit experience the Spirit of joy and the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of Jehovah (Heb. 1:9; Rom. 14:17; Isa. 11:2-3).

The only way we can enjoy and experience the many aspects of the Spirit is by being poor in spirit.

May we daily learn the lesson of dealing with the Lord to be poor in spirit by freshly emptying our spirit of many old things, such as old knowledge and old experience.

If our heart is not open to the Lord, He has no way to dispense Himself into us. If our spirit is full, He has no way to impart something fresh of Himself into our being.

May we ask the Lord to help us empty our spirit and clear up our heart; then, He will have a free way and the adequate room in our being to fill us.

When we initially repented and believed into the Lord, we were poor in spirit, and we received something new of the kingdom of the heavens. We were hungry and thirsty, and the Lord gave us to eat and to drink.

But when our spirit is full, we are no longer hungry and thirsty, and there’s no capacity for us to drink even the best drink, which is the all-inclusive Spirit the Lord wants to give to us without measure.

May we learn to open our vessel to the Lord and never be filled in spirit but rather, always have a fresh opening to the Lord and a fresh emptying for Him to dispense Himself into us.

If we are poor in spirit, the kingdom of the heavens is ours; we are in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens in the church age and we will share in its manifestation in the kingdom age.

This will make us His overcomers in this age, to bring Him back with the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens.

Lord Jesus, we love You and we open to You! Unload us. Empty our spirit of anything that is not of You. We don’t want to store anything in our spirit. Oh Lord, we want the full capacity in our spirit to be available to You! We open to You, Lord Jesus. We acknowledge that we have nothing, we know nothing, we can do nothing, and we are nothing. You are everything to us. We want to enjoy You in a fresh new way today. We do not rely on our enjoyment and experience of Christ from yesterday; we want to touch You afresh today! Amen, Lord, grant us to have a willing spirit for the things of the Lord and for the things of the church. May we be poor in spirit to experience the Spirit of wisdom and understanding! Amen, Lord, may we experience the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of Jehovah, by being poor in spirit! Hallelujah, if we are poor in spirit, the kingdom of the heavens is ours: we’re in its reality in this age and we will share in its manifestation in the coming kingdom age! Amen!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers on this topic, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1965, vol. 2, “The Tree of Life,” ch. 13, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crucial Aspects of Matthew 5 through 7 (2025 September ITERO), week 1, The Blessedness of Being Poor in Spirit and Pure in Heart That We May Be under Christ’s Heavenly Ruling as Our New King and That We May See God to Express Him in His Life and Represent Him with His Authority – day 1.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Make us in spirit poor; / Lord, take whate’er we think we know. / We’ll open to life’s flow, / And thus take in the life that makes us grow— / Lord Jesus, grow in us. (Hymns #1132 stanza 5)
  – Lord, keep us poor in spirit, / Pure in heart that we may be / Good ground in which the seed of life / May grow abundantly, / Until the final stage is reached / And You are satisfied / And have Your priceless, chosen pearl, / Your joy complete, Your Bride. / Lord, keep us poor in spirit / and purified in heart, / That growing up in us You may / bring forth Your counterpart. (Hymns #1242 stanza 8 and chorus)
  – Ever true and pure and single / To the Lord our heart must be, / Poor in spirit, ever seeking / God to contact constantly. (Hymns #743 stanza 6)