Applied theology takes what we know of God and asks the question: “how should we then live?”
Theology, after all, is the study of God. We seek to know God so we can grow in our relationship with Him and understand how He wants us to live.
Therefore, any discussion of the Christian life, any prescription for how we should conduct ourselves, must start with God’s character.
Jesus shared the basic program of the Christian life in Matthew 5, during the Sermon on the Mount. In this extended teaching, he showed what the basic Christian life looked like in the areas of our heart attitudes, our place in the wider culture, our treatment of the poor, issues of justice, the sins of the heart, and our entire way of living.
But the Sermon of the Mount, and the opening Beatitudes do not exist in a vacuum. These principles are backed up with a rich and robust revelation from God about who He is and how He wants us to live. In this series of articles, I want to examine one of the Beatitudes in particular, found in Matthew 5:5: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth.”
I want to examine the nature of this Beatitude (i.e. what does it say/mean?), the theological basis for this Beatitude (i.e. the character of God that serves as its basis), the application of this Beatitude/principle throughout Scripture, and the practical implications for us today in our current culture.
In this post, I will start with an overview of what this Beatitude refers to.
What is Meekness?
Meekness is a complicated word in our modern vocabulary. The common usage now denotes timidity and weakness. It draws a picture of an animal with its tail between its legs, cowering in fear. Is this the attitude Christ prescribes in the Beatitudes?
To truly understand the meekness prescribed in Matthew 5:5 we must consult the original meaning of the original text. The word translated “meek” here is a Greek word: praus. It is translated a variety of ways in the ESV Bible: “meek” (Matthew 5:5), “gentle” (Matthew 11:29), and “humble” (Matthew 21:5).
It stands in contrast to self-assertion and self-interest. [source]
This word was used by Christ to describe himself in Matthew 11. He held authority over the spiritual world, the physical world, and everything in creation. He was not weak but he describes himself as “gentle”. He uses the same word in the Beatitudes to prescribe “meekness”.
So we can conclude that this biblical definition of meekness has more to do with gentleness than it does with timidity or fear. That’s important to keep in mind, especially as we trace Jesus’ prescription for meekness back to its origins in the character of God.
Inheriting the Earth
What does it mean to inherit the Earth? Why is this promised to those who are meek? Other blessings in the Beatitudes follow a straightforward logic: those who mourn are comforted, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are filled. Mourning and comfort are connected. So is hunger/thirst and filling. But what does meekness have to do with “inheriting the Earth?”
This phrase “inherit the Earth” is so poetic but it can be hard to understand what is really meant by it.
The concept of the meek inheriting the Earth is actually drawn from the Old Testament. Psalm 37:11 promises that the meek “shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.” This is in the context of the psalmist contrasting the quick fall of the wicked with the eternal destiny of the righteous.
This draws our attention to the security of meekness and gentleness. And it puts a core doctrine of Christian living into the spotlight, namely that a life of trusting God instead of contending for ourselves will ultimately lead to true justice and establishment. We will explore this more in coming articles.
Power and Peace
The biblical doctrine of meekness is based in the character of God. The prescription and blessing for the meek in Matthew 5:5 reveals God’s gentle heart and His power. In a culture that is dreadfully confused about power, I’m excited to study this more. We certainly need a fresh understanding of gentleness/meekness and a fresh understanding of God’s power and how we are to wield it in our lives.
In the next post in this series, we will traverse Scripture, exploring meekness in the character of God. Stay tuned!