Understanding ‘the gospel is preached to the poor’

by preparingthebrideofchrist

And He (Jesus) was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

Luke 4:18-19 NKJV

To start off with, let’s look at the word ‘poor” to gain a deeper understanding of what is meant by this. I wholeheartedly believe that preaching the gospel to the ‘poor’ in this context of Scripture, is actually referring to a spiritual condition. We were all ‘spiritually poor’ before we came to Christ. But after we have been born again, we become spiritually rich in Christ. But what does this actually mean?

I believe that God opened my eyes to this understanding one day as I read the introduction of the epistle to the Ephesians. I’d like to share this with you, as I believe it will help bring more clarity and understanding of what it means to be ‘spiritually rich’ in Christ:

“Ephesians is addressed to a group of believers (meaning: they have already repented of their sins, been baptized in water after repenting, and they have been filled with God’s Holy Spirit) who are rich beyond measure in Jesus Christ, yet living as beggars, and only because they are ignorant of their wealth. Paul begins by describing in chapters 1 – 3 the contents of the Christian’s heavenly “bank account”:

  • Adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself (Eph. 1:5)
  • Acceptance in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6)
  • Redemption through His blood (Eph. 1:7)
  • Forgiveness of sins (Eph. 1:7)
  • Wisdom and prudence/understanding (Eph. 1:8)
  • In Him we have obtained an inheritance (Eph. 1:11)
  • The seal of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13)
  • Life (Eph. 2:1)
  • Grace (Eph 2:7-8)
  • Citizenship (Eph.2:19)
  • in short, every spiritual blessing. (Eph. 1:3)”

Based on this understanding, we can safely assume that being ‘spiritually poor’ is the exact opposite of being “spiritually rich in Christ,’ meaning that a person who is still spiritually poor is in lack of all these spiritual blessings.

Next, let’s understand more about what Jesus meant by the word “gospel.” When Jesus said that the ‘gospel’ is preached to the poor, He is referring to the good news of the kingdom of God. We know that Jesus took our place on the cross so that we can be forgiven of our sins when we repent, be set free from the power of sin and be reconciled back to God. He died our death and paid our price for everything we did wrong. He was buried, descended into the heart of the earth and was resurrected on the third day by the Holy Spirit. The fact that He rose from the dead was evidence to the fact that He never sinned, and it was also evidence of the amazing victory He won for us over sin, death and Satan. Thank You Jesus!

There is so much more to be discussed on this topic, and I am hoping to share more insight and understanding with you in future blog posts.

I’d like to close this message with a call to action:

Our Beloved Bridegroom is coming soon, and time is short. It’s more important now than ever to make sure we have repented of our sins, been baptized in water after repenting and received the infilling of God’s Holy Spirit. This is what it means to be born again, and once we have been born again, we become spiritually rich in Christ. By His amazing grace, we freely receive every spiritual blessing in Christ. Thank You Lord Jesus.

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission (forgiveness) of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

Acts 2:38-39 NKJV

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, let us continually plant and water the good seeds of the gospel message in faith, knowing that our loving Father will bring the increase.

Jesus, may You be glorified in all things. Thank You Lord! Amen.