We have pointed out previously that many matters concerning the kingdom are in Matthew in seed form. We have also pointed out that the kingdom has three aspects: the reality, the appearance, and the manifestation. The seed of the reality of the kingdom is in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. Now we need to see the growth and the harvest of the reality of the kingdom. In a previous chapter we covered seven aspects of the reality of the kingdom including: the character of the children of the kingdom under the ruling of the heavens, the influence of the children of the kingdom upon the world, the righteousness of the children of the kingdom under the restriction of the law of life, the purity of the children of the kingdom in their good deeds, the attitude of the children of the kingdom toward mammon or riches, the principle of the children of the kingdom in dealing with others, and the grounds of the children of the kingdom for their walk and work. These seven aspects are in seed form in Matthew; they are developed in succeeding books, especially the Epistles; and they are harvested in the book of Revelation.
The first aspect of the character of the children of the kingdom under the ruling of the heavens is that they are poor in spirit. This point is sown in Matthew and developed in the Epistles and in Revelation. We need to read Romans 8:16 and 1:9: "The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God...For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you always in my prayers." Matthew says that we need to be poor in spirit, and Romans 8:16 says the Spirit is bearing witness with our spirit. If we are not poor in spirit, empty in spirit, there is no way for the Spirit to come into us and witness in our spirit. Once we are poor in spirit, the Spirit can come in and fill us with Himself. The Spirit is with our spirit. Moreover, in Romans 1:9 Paul said that he served God in his spirit. Originally his spirit was idle and filled up with worthless things, but now all the worthless things are gone. God's Spirit fills his spirit, and he serves God in his spirit.
In Revelation 1:10 John said, "I was in spirit on the Lord's day and heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet." According to the proper translation of this verse there is no definite article before the word "spirit." Furthermore, the "s" in spirit should not be a capital "S" but a lower-case "s," indicating it is the human spirit. John was in his human spirit on the Lord's day and heard behind him a loud voice. After he heard the voice, verse 12 continues by saying, "And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me; and having turned I saw seven golden lampstands." This verse shows that in order to see the churches, we must be in our human spirit. Romans 8 indicates that we must be poor in spirit so that the Spirit may come into us. Romans 1 indicates that after the Spirit has filled our spirit, we may serve God in our spirit. Then Revelation 1:10 and 12 indicate that in order to see the churches we must be in our spirit.
We also need to read Revelation 21:10-11: "And he carried me away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, as a jasper stone, clear as crystal." Again the proper rendering of this verse is "in spirit," with a small letter "s" and no definite article. This is the same as Revelation 1:10. The way for us to see the holy city, Jerusalem, is to be carried away in spirit to a great and high mountain.
By putting all these verses together, we can see from Romans and Revelation a rich development and harvest of the seed of the human spirit. Matthew begins by being poor in spirit; Romans continues by saying the Spirit witnesses with our spirit and that we serve God in our spirit; eventually we see the churches and the New Jerusalem in our spirit. The seed is in Matthew 5; the growth is in Romans and other Epistles; the harvest is in Revelation.