Matthew 5:6
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
The Amplified Bible states it like this:
Blessed [inwardly peaceful, spiritually secure, worthy of respect] are the gentle [the kind-hearted, the sweet-spirited, the self-controlled], for they will inherit the earth.
BLESSED
Here, blessed means more than happy. We are peaceful for we have the peace of Christ living within us. We are spiritually secure for we have Eternal Life through Jesus Christ, Who loves us and died for us. We are worthy of respect because of our faith in God through The Name of His Only Begotten Son.
Our blessing comes from God and because of this we are persecuted by anyone who is not of God. Though our persecutors rail against us by their words and their actions, we are still blessed of God when we allow Him to have the victory. We choose to let Him fight our battles for us by praying for those who come against us, by speaking The Word of Life over them and to them in the love of God Which is alive in our hearts and minds.
ARE THE MEEK
With Christ Jesus as our example, we are gentle, for He is gentle.
Matthew 11:29
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Philippians 2:5-8
5. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:
6. Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7. but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.
We are self-controlled, for we have His Holy Spirit teaching us how to be so and speak so, following Christ's example for us.
Isaiah 53:7
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.
1 Peter 2:23
When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.
It is difficult at times to not want to brashly respond to someone who is unjustly coming against us, even in our own homes [Psalm 38:12-15]. Our feelings get hurt; we are gaslit by a loved one; we are abused or slandered. Yet, as Christ's beloved we must maintain a gentle heart, if we are to advance God's directive in this world. For we must remember, this world in which we live is not our home.
Hebrews 11:13
All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
1 Peter 2:11,12
11. Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.
12. Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles (the unbelieving} that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.
We need God's Holy Spirit in us that He may instill within our hearts and minds His precious fruit: Galatians 5:22,23 "Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Temperance."
These are not just attributes of the believer, they are blessings from God The Father upon His chosen people [1 Peter 2:9], His flock [John 10:27].
Love: Agape-"a holy, self‐giving disposition that originates in God, is displayed perfectly in Jesus Christ, and is implanted in believers by the Holy Spirit" [John 13:34]
Joy: Chara-" the settled, Spirit-given delight that arises from the redemptive acts and abiding presence of God" [Nehemiah 8:10]
Peace: Eiréné- "it is the positive, covenantal state that flows from God’s redemptive work in Christ and is applied by The Holy Spirit to individuals and communities" [Ephesians 2:14]
Patience: Makrothumia- "a God-centered restraint that endures provocation without surrendering to resentment or retaliation. .. A purposeful waiting that preserves righteousness and seeks the good of others. .. Spirit-empowered resilience" [Colossians 1:11]
Kindness: Chréstotés- "the Spirit-produced goodness which meets the need and avoids human harshness; meeting real needs, in God's way, in His timing. A supernatural product of regeneration. " [Titus 3:4,5; Romans 2:4]
Goodness: Agathosune- "the goodness that comes from God; spiritual, moral excellence: virtue actively expressed in generosity and righteous initiative toward others. Moral integrity" [Ephesians 5:8,9; 2 Thessalonians 1:11,12]
Faithfulness: Pistis- "reliance upon Christ for salvation; being daily filled by God with additional faith to accomplish His purposes" [Romans 12:2,3; Ephesians 2:8,9; Hebrews 11:1]
Gentleness: Prautés- "meekness, humility; begins with The Lord's inspiration and finishes by His direction and empowerment. It is a divinely-balanced virtue that can only operate through faith: inner strength under Holy Spirit control" [Isaiah 42:2; Galatians 6:1; 1 Peter 3:15,16]
Temperance: Egkrateia- "proceeding out from within oneself, but not by oneself; the Spirit-enabled mastery of desires, impulses, and habits so that they serve rather than rule the believer." [Romans 12]
THEY INHERIT THE EARTH
Not this world, this earth, but the new earth which God will create after His purposes have been accomplished on this earth.
Romans 4:13
For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
Isaiah 57:13
When you cry out, let your companies (idolatrous heaps) deliver you; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them: but he that puts his trust in Me shall possess the land, and shall inherit My holy mountain.
Isaiah 65:17
For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
Revelation 21:1
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
And, as Peter reminds us, the believers, in 2 Peter 3, there is coming a day when all of this earth and all of her skies and seas will disappear. With this announcement comes a warning to all, believer and unbeliever alike: God is Judge and will judge all on a day that is yet to be declared. [2 Peter 3:1-7]
We must endeavor to maintain our relationship with God through Christ Jesus and His Holy Spirit. The days in which we live now, though hard days, are more comfortable to us than the days we have yet to live, which will be nearly insufferable; yet suffer we will. Through it all, we are to keep hold of our faith and live holy and godly lives. [2 Peter 3:8-13]
And he wraps it all up neatly [2 Peter 3:14-18] by exhorting, encouraging, the church of believers to (1) Be found at peace {spotless, blameless}; (2) Remember the Lord's patience which leads to salvation; (3) Be on our guard against false doctrines; (4) Grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Let this same exhortation be to us, as well. Let us be seen as "the blessed of The Lord God". Let us be known as meek in every aspect of the word. Let us be longing for our mansions which The Lord is preparing for us.
Let us work together in unity of The Spirit and the freedom thereof that the will of God be accomplished through our actions. Let us express our hope and our yearning for that day in which we will be reunited with our Groom. And let us take as many of our family and friends, strangers and enemies, as we can, with us. For all have been invited. The invitation has gone out and The Groom and The Father are waiting for a response.
