“Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5)
We will continue our study of meekness this week by looking at the joy or happiness of meekness. This does not sound like it would be much of a study, but the promises given to the meek are enormous. Remember that the text tells us that inner happiness is what the meek have. It is the meek that have true happiness and not those that are slandering and abusing the believers. The promise of inheriting the land or the earth is a promise repeated many times in the Old Testament. The promise within the covenant then was that it was the humble and the righteous that would inherit the land which pictured the coming promise of the New Covenant. In the New Covenant the promise is that the humble and meek will inherit the earth.
We see the teaching of Psalm 37:11 where it is “the humble will inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity,” and in Psalm 37:29 it is “the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.” The promises in the Old Testament had this element to it. There were promises to Abraham about this as well in Genesis where he is told that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed (Gen 12:3). It was also the promise to Abraham after his faithfulness in the issue with Isaac that in his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Gen 22:18). The promises to Abraham were far reaching as to time and as to the extent. We see this continued in the promises concerning Christ in the Psalms. “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession” (Psalm 2:7-8). This promise was to Christ and by inference to all that belong to Christ.
In the New Testament we see that Romans 4:13 teaches us that “the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.” The promise is now that believers are heirs of the world. We see that same theme in Galatians where it is showing that those who are of faith and those who have Christ are the true seed of Abraham. “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:29). Clearly, then, the promises made to Abraham and his seed were promises to Christ and to those who have faith in Christ who are the seed of Christ and the seed of Abraham.
Romans 8:17 tells us the promises are to the children of God which makes us fellow heirs with Christ: “and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” Ephesians 3:6 teaches the same issue as well: “to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” When the believer sees these promises, they should bring some level of anticipation. Believers are promised the earth and so they do not have go out to defeat the world by military force, but instead wait in humility and meekness for the Day of the Lord. The giving of the earth will happen when there are new heavens and a new earth. In that day all those that are meek like Christ will see what it means to be fellow heirs with Christ.
While being heirs of God and those that receive the earth may sound like pie in the sky to some people, it should have some influence on the way we view things now. We do not work in order to overthrow governments by force and threats; we are to work in the harvest of the Gospel. We are to spend out efforts in the kingdom of God which works in the inner man before it flows out into the outer man. The kingdom of God is simply where the King is exerting His reign at the moment. King Jesus reigns in the hearts of His people and exerts His power of love within them. Since meekness flows from love and is in a sense a control over sinful power within the soul, meekness is actually a great power of God within the soul. Meekness is not weakness; it is a Divine power in the soul working a likeness to Christ there.
As mentioned in earlier newsletters, meekness is the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit (singular) is described by nine characteristics in Galatians 5: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control” (vv 22-23). In this newsletter we are looking at how the meek can be blessed or have inner happiness. In light of the fruit of the Spirit, then, when we see the “fruit” is singular and is described by nine characteristics, we should make the deduction that the other characteristics should accompany meekness. In other words, wherever meekness is it should be accompanied with love and joy. True meekness, then, flows from love and joy. So if a person has true meekness, it will be accompanied by love and joy which are also constituent parts of the fruit of the Spirit and meekness. There is no meekness apart from love and joy.
We can also look at peace, patience, and kindness in light of the fruit of the Spirit. Meekness has as a necessary part of it peace, patience, and kindness. Whenever meekness is present, so are peace, patience, and kindness. When a meek person is verbally attacked, a necessary part of meekness is also there. So the desire to be at peace with all men and patience are there. There is also the attribute of kindness too. When a person abuses us verbally or otherwise, while remaining sin may respond to some degree, if the Spirit is in us we should have some degree of meekness which responds with the desire for peace with others and exercises patience with others. Surely this shows how meekness is a necessary part of true happiness and in fact that true happiness flows from those that have true meekness.
We must also not flee from noticing that all of these fruits of the Spirit are attributes of God which is the fruit of what the Spirit works in believers. The Spirit works in His people in order to make them like God. So it is no wonder that as believers grow in faith that the Spirit works in them to become more and more like God. Since God is eternally blessed and His perfect joy and blessedness are never lessened, to become more like Him is to become more like Him in blessedness and joy. No believer can become more like God with the presence of God in him or her without some joy being expressed. We also know that the promises of God for the persecuted are that He will be with them. When God is with His people, there is joy since the joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh 8:10). When a believer is persecuted and responds with meekness and love, that believer is being like God who is hated by unbelievers all of the time and yet responds with by sending the sun and the rain on them. In this God has perfect joy and blessedness the whole time.
Meekness is the fruit of the Spirit, yes, but it is the work of the Spirit working the life of Christ in His people. In Christ we see the beautiful display of meekness. While on earth He was ridiculed and made fun of. He was hounded by the religious leaders and persecuted. When brought to trial for crimes that He had not committed, He was lied about and found guilty. He was then beaten and lashed with a whip that was made of leather and most likely had pieces of bone and metal in it. What was His response? He was quiet. What was His response when the nailed Him to the cross? In meekness He prayed for those that put Him there. What was His response to the thieves who were nailed to the cross beside Him and mocked and ridiculed Him? One of them was converted and Christ told him that he would be in paradise that day. In other words, He was meek and returned love and goodness for persecution and ridicule. We also know from the Scripture that it was for the joy set before Him that Christ endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2). So it is no stretch to say that as Christ was being persecuted He had joy in the meekness He had and exercised. Meekness always has love present and so must have some degree of joy.
There are many reasons throughout Scripture to support the statement of this beatitude that the meek are blessed and have true happiness and joy. Through meekness and its constituent elements the kingdom of God is being extended and He is our greatest joy. With the exercise of meekness we are seen to be sharing in the character of God. That should be a great joy. With the exercise of meekness the character of Christ is seen to be in us and we can know that we have come to Christ the meek and lowly Lamb of God. With the growth of meekness we can look at ourselves and be amazed with joy what God is doing in our souls. We can know that no harm is being done to our estate in the slightest because God is at work in us to manifest His glory through us. We should not desire anything more than that. So our greatest desire (His glory) is being carried out regardless of whatever else happens. In this we are to have great joy.
God Loves... Himself 
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