Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
Matthew 5:4
"Blessed"
This is to be happy with an eternal mindset. It's not temporary happiness, but lifelong joy. This is to find absolute peace in your life, no matter your circumstances. To be “blessed” is to understand that you have been given grace by a Holy God. Even though we are dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1-3), it is God who has chosen to make us alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:4). “For by Grace are we Saved Through Faith” in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). This comprehension should bring to you much joy!
To be "blessed" is to understand and submit to the Sovereignty of God in all situations. Whether things are going well or poorly, you know that you have been blessed by the Supreme Ruler of the Universe. You surrender to His Sovereign will and you have submitted to His decree. To be “blessed” is to view yourself as nothing more than a servant of the King, and no matter the assignment given to you, you will joyfully carry it out with all hope of eternity.
As you consider “blessings” don’t think of just physical gifts that God gives to us — that is a worldly mindset. To be "blessed" is to be totally satisfied in Christ no matter your circumstances. The difference between a genuine believer in Christ and one who is just in search of “blessings” is found in the result of the search. The world is seeking the benefits of Jesus, where the true believer is pursing Christ Himself. The world calls healing a “blessing,” but will not call sickness a “blessing.” The world will call a prosperous person “blessed,” but will not understand that a poor man can be “blessed.” It is not the results of Christ that are the blessings, but it is Jesus Christ Himself. He is sufficient. He is all-satisfying. Pursue Him as a deer pants for the water (Psalm 42:1-2).
Consider the “blessing” that is found in Ephesians 1:3-4…
"They shall be comforted"
This is an eternal comforting that happens when we are finally saved. The believer in Christ will be comforted by the grace and mercy of God for all of eternity. In Isaiah 40:1-2, God tells the prophet, "comfort, comfort my people..."
Although this commission is given to the Prophet Isaiah, this is a command for all of the Christian leaders, specifically in churches. Isaiah is commanded to comfort the people of God. And if you really think about the situation of these people, they had lived through time of fear. They had seen God’s providence bring hard time. They had experienced much disaster. And immediately following this difficult time, the Prophet Isaiah is commanded to comfort the people of God.
It is this comfort that we receive from the Word of God, when we are experiencing times of difficulty. When the Word of God is proclaimed boldly from this pulpit, there should be encouragement and comfort synced throughout the message. It is the Word of God that brings us joy in Christ!
As we read this text in Isaiah, we see the word “Comfort” enforced twice. This is not because Isaiah does not want to comfort the people. Instead, we can see that this is written twice because the people of God often times do not wish to be comforted. Christian people run quickly to the Bible when difficult times arise. But obedience to the Word of God is a completely different story. Our Lord gives to us assurance that there is much joy found in the Word of God, and in this we will find “Comfort.”
The word for “Comfort” is parakelo, which is the word used to describe The Holy Spirit — also called, “the Comforter.” The comfort received from the Holy Spirit is not talking about receiving a hug or a shoulder to cry on. Instead, this word comes from the Latin “Comforto,” which means, “with strength.”
In other words, the comfort that the believer receives is the strengthening of the Word of God through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Summary of the Beatitude
There is much blessing in living a life of repentance and realizing that God’s mercy is right around the corner.
Here's a modern hymn written by Matt Papa and Matt Boswell called His Mercy Is More:
"Praise the Lord! His mercy is more!
Stronger than darkness, new every morning.
Our sins they are many,
but His mercy is more!"
How can we live a life of repentance each day?
This is to be happy with an eternal mindset. It's not temporary happiness, but lifelong joy. This is to find absolute peace in your life, no matter your circumstances. To be “blessed” is to understand that you have been given grace by a Holy God. Even though we are dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1-3), it is God who has chosen to make us alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:4). “For by Grace are we Saved Through Faith” in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). This comprehension should bring to you much joy!
To be "blessed" is to understand and submit to the Sovereignty of God in all situations. Whether things are going well or poorly, you know that you have been blessed by the Supreme Ruler of the Universe. You surrender to His Sovereign will and you have submitted to His decree. To be “blessed” is to view yourself as nothing more than a servant of the King, and no matter the assignment given to you, you will joyfully carry it out with all hope of eternity.
As you consider “blessings” don’t think of just physical gifts that God gives to us — that is a worldly mindset. To be "blessed" is to be totally satisfied in Christ no matter your circumstances. The difference between a genuine believer in Christ and one who is just in search of “blessings” is found in the result of the search. The world is seeking the benefits of Jesus, where the true believer is pursing Christ Himself. The world calls healing a “blessing,” but will not call sickness a “blessing.” The world will call a prosperous person “blessed,” but will not understand that a poor man can be “blessed.” It is not the results of Christ that are the blessings, but it is Jesus Christ Himself. He is sufficient. He is all-satisfying. Pursue Him as a deer pants for the water (Psalm 42:1-2).
Consider the “blessing” that is found in Ephesians 1:3-4…
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”
This is a normal Jewish blessing that we see all over the Old Testament. One person would say, “Blessed by God” and the other person would return by saying, “Blessed be God.” And normally when a Jew would say, “Blessed be God” he would be referring to a physical blessing. He might say, “My business is doing well… Blessed be God.” Or he might say, “We had another baby… Blessed be God.” Or he might say, “My health is doing really well… Blessed be God.”
But notice that Paul doesn’t stop at the Jewish blessing… he continues by saying: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…” And so, what Paul is doing is turning this Jewish blessing into a Christian blessing. And by doing that, he is turning it from a physical blessing to a spiritual blessing. See what has happened here is that Paul is recognizing the overflow of spiritual blessings from God and what naturally flows out of his mouth is praise back to God!
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…”
Paul is praising God because he has everything he needs! He has been blessed with every spiritual blessing! He has everything he needs because He has Christ!
Our tendency is to wait and give a Jewish blessing by waiting until something great physically happens and then we praise God. We might say, “Finally, I got that promotion… Blessed be God.” Or we might say, “Finally, I sold that contract… Blessed be God.” Or we might say, “Finally, my husband listened to me… Blessed be God.” Or we might say, “Finally, I got what I wanted… Blessed be God.”
But this is not a Christian blessing. Because we are to praise the name of Jesus Christ even in our difficulties. We are to praise the name of God when it is hard. We are to praise the name of God while we are in the middle of our depression! And yes, we are to praise the name of Jesus when we lose our job, not just when we get a promotion. That is a Christian blessing!
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…”
The two words “in Christ” are the two most important words in this text. We are blessed “in Christ.” God has given us everything we need because He has given us Christ! You don’t need anything that this world has to offer. All you need is Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
If you are a child of God, then understand that this earth is not your home. This is nothing but a temporary dwelling place. Your eternal home is in the heavens with Christ.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”
So at the beginning of verse 4, pay special attention to the first two words. It says, “even as…” This connects the previous phrase to the upcoming phrase. That means that verse 4 is not a stand alone, it goes with the previous phrase.
Now, there are doctrines that are specifically drawn out of phrases, specifically in verse 4, but for us to properly dissect these two verses, we need to know that verse 4 goes with verse 3. Look at the end of verse 3 again.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us…”
And let’s stop here and understand that the next two clauses are prepositional phrases which support the main point which is that “He chose us.”
The preview phrase is connecting the fact that the Saints are “blessed with every spiritual blessing.” And the reality of what the Apostle Paul is saying that one of the spiritual blessings for the believer is that we are chosen by God. God choosing His Saints is one of the spiritual blessings that we are blessed with.
We should praise God for spiritual blessings! We should praise God that He chose us!
“…even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”
Paul is speaking positionally, in that, we are chosen “in Christ.” And this points us right back to having “every spiritual blessing.” That we are “in Christ!” We are “Blessed in Christ” AND “We are chosen in Christ!”
Paul is also speaking chronologically, in that, we were chosen before the foundation of the world. And this is vital because our being chosen had nothing to do with our merit! Our being chosen had everything to do with God wanting us. Let that sink in… God wanted you!
And then Paul also speaks of the purpose of God’s choosing. Part of the purpose of God’s choosing is “that we should be holy and blameless before Him.” God chose for us to be “holy and blameless.” And this happens because of the interposed blood of Christ.
The main point is that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, and one of those blessings is that He chose to love us. And the greatest spiritual blessing that we can ask for is that we are “in Christ.” And that is all you need. Don’t get caught up in this world. This is not your home. You are made for eternity with Christ!
"those who mourn"
This is to be repentant over your sin. This is to mourn over your sin. This is to be "groaning in this tent" (2 Corinthians 5:2-4) because the New Creation is not made for this earth. As a believer in Christ, we should live a life of repentance. Daily we should be seeking Christ and confessing our sin because we realize that we fall short of His glory.
This is an eternal comforting that happens when we are finally saved. The believer in Christ will be comforted by the grace and mercy of God for all of eternity. In Isaiah 40:1-2, God tells the prophet, "comfort, comfort my people..."
Although this commission is given to the Prophet Isaiah, this is a command for all of the Christian leaders, specifically in churches. Isaiah is commanded to comfort the people of God. And if you really think about the situation of these people, they had lived through time of fear. They had seen God’s providence bring hard time. They had experienced much disaster. And immediately following this difficult time, the Prophet Isaiah is commanded to comfort the people of God.
It is this comfort that we receive from the Word of God, when we are experiencing times of difficulty. When the Word of God is proclaimed boldly from this pulpit, there should be encouragement and comfort synced throughout the message. It is the Word of God that brings us joy in Christ!
As we read this text in Isaiah, we see the word “Comfort” enforced twice. This is not because Isaiah does not want to comfort the people. Instead, we can see that this is written twice because the people of God often times do not wish to be comforted. Christian people run quickly to the Bible when difficult times arise. But obedience to the Word of God is a completely different story. Our Lord gives to us assurance that there is much joy found in the Word of God, and in this we will find “Comfort.”
The word for “Comfort” is parakelo, which is the word used to describe The Holy Spirit — also called, “the Comforter.” The comfort received from the Holy Spirit is not talking about receiving a hug or a shoulder to cry on. Instead, this word comes from the Latin “Comforto,” which means, “with strength.”
In other words, the comfort that the believer receives is the strengthening of the Word of God through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Summary of the Beatitude
There is much blessing in living a life of repentance and realizing that God’s mercy is right around the corner.
Here's a modern hymn written by Matt Papa and Matt Boswell called His Mercy Is More:
"Praise the Lord! His mercy is more!
Stronger than darkness, new every morning.
Our sins they are many,
but His mercy is more!"
How can we live a life of repentance each day?
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