connected and in logical sequence. They are not like a collection of pearls thrown together so that those touching each other are only doing so by accident. Instead, they are separate yet inseparable. C H Spurgeon called them a ‘ladder of light’, with each rung leading further upwards. Jesus begins by defining those in the kingdom of God as being ‘poor in spirit’. They realize that in the sight of a holy God they are morally and spiritually defiled and depraved, and cannot contribute in any way to