Thursday, March 2, 2017

Lowly & Poor

'A Lowly Spirit

“It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud” (Prov.16.19)
“He who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor” (Prov. 29.23).
“And also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble” (Is. 57.15).

Lowliness is not a looking down on one’s self; rather is it a not looking at one’s self at all.

As soon as a believer’s spirit becomes haughty he is liable to fall. Humility is not only Godward but is manward as well. A lowly spirit is demonstrated when one associates with the poor. It is this spirit alone which does not despise any who are created by God. God’s presence and glory is manifested in the life of the spiritually humble. A lowly person is a teachable person, easily entreated and open to explanation. Many of our spirits are too arrogant: they can teach others but can never themselves be taught. Many possess a stubborn spirit: they stick to their opinions even if they realize they are wrong. Many are too hard in spirit to listen to an explanation for a misunderstanding. Only the humble have the capacity to bear and forbear. God needs a lowly man to express His virtue. How can a proud man hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and then cooperate with God? No trace of pride should be found in our spirit: tenderness, delicacy, flexibility—these shall be the norm. A tiny bit of harshness in the inner man may hinder fellowship with the Lord, for this certainly is most unlike Him. To walk with the Lord the spirit must be lowly, forever waiting on Him and offering no resistance to Him.

Poor In Spirit

“Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matt. 5.3).

The poor in spirit views himself as possessing nothing.

 A believer’s peril lies in his having too many things in his spirit.

Only the poor in spirit can be humble. How often the experience, growth and progress of a Christian become such precious matters to him that he loses his lowliness. The most treacherous of all dangers for a saint is to meditate on what he appropriates and to pay attention to what he has experienced. Sometimes he engages in this unconsciously. What, then, is the meaning of being poor? Poor bespeaks having nothing. If one endlessly reflects upon the deep experience which he has passed through, it soon shall be debased to a commodity of his spirit and hence become a snare. An emptied spirit enables a person to lose himself in God whereas a wealthy spirit renders him self-centered.

Full salvation delivers a believer out of himself and into God.

Should a Christian retain something for himself his spirit immediately shall turn inward, unable to break out and be merged in God. '

The Spiritual Man - by Watchman Nee

No comments: