Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

Matthew 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.

The heart is the target of Jesus here. It's not just what we do on the outside that matters. In order to 'see God' you must also clean up your inside. Later in Matthew Jesus says,

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.” (Matthew 23:25-26)

The heart is the root of your actions. What is in your heart springs forth in your words.

"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:33-34)

“But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” (Matthew 15:18-19)

It is the heart that matters for Jesus. He came into the world to purify our hearts. Notice that the Holy Spirit sanctifies our hearts. From our sanctified hearts comes sanctified actions.

The world today has a problem. Murders, adulteries, thefts, false witnesses and blasphemy is rampant. The problem with society is the heart. If people were pure in heart, they would be blessed. Society would be blessed. No more robberies. No more murder. No more adulteries, false witnesses and blasphemy.

But not only that! That's only the beginning! Those fade into insignificance compared to the promise of this beatitude: we shall see God! That is the greatest goal and result of being pure.

So to further examine this promise, I'm going to try and find out three things. Firstly what it is to be pure in heart; secondly what is is to see God; and finally how these two things are bound together.

First, what is it to be pure in heart? What does that mean?

There is a close parallel to this beatitude in Psalm 24:3-4:

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? 
Or who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, 
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, 
Nor sworn deceitfully.

A pure heart is one that is true, not idolatrous and not deceitful. Verse 6 of the psalm says that purity of heart to seek the face of the Lord. James echoes this statement:

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:8)

Clean hands and a pure heart is needed to draw near to God, and for Him to draw near to you. Notice those who need to purify their hearts are referred to as 'double-minded'. That is, impure hearts are divided between God and the world. Pure hearts are totally and fully allied with God.

Jesus Himself explained it this way in Matthew 22:37: 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' Not with part of your heart. Not with a double or divided heart. That would be impurity. Purity of heart is no deception, no double-mindedness, no divided allegiance.

If you want to be pure in heart, seek God with utter single-mindedness. Then you will see God.

But what does this encompass? What does it mean to see God?

Firstly it means to be admitted to His presence. To see someone means to see them face-to-face. Spiritually we dwell in His presence at the current time but we do not see His face, or dwell in His presence like we shall in the future:

Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; 
The upright shall dwell in Your presence. (Psalm 140:11)

God has promised that the righteous shall be allowed into His presence. As a result of this we shall also see His glory. His full glory. In our current state we receive a foretaste of the glory of God through His Word and His works. But there will come a day when we will dwell in His glory, experiencing it directly. His glory will light up the place in which we live (Revelation 21:23). So that's another thing. Not only shall we be admitted into His presence but we shall see His glory directly.

Seeing God also means we will be comforted by His grace. Often the psalmists cry out to God, petitioning Him not to hide His face from them. For example, Psalm 27:7-9:

Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! 
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me...
Do not hide Your face from me.

This is the same as saying “Be gracious to me.” Seeing the face of God is a comforting and glorious experience. God showing His face helps us, God hiding His face dismays us.

So there's at least three things encompassing 'seeing God': firstly dwelling in His presence, secondly seeing His glory, and thirdly being comforted by His grace.

Finally I want to investigate and meditate on how these two are combined. Jesus says that those who are pure-hearted shall see God. Thus in order to see God you must be pure-hearted. The impure are neither admitted to His presence, awed by His glory nor comforted by His grace. Hebrews 12:14 agrees with that, “Pursue ... holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” So purity is essential for us to inherit eternal life.

But how do we get this cleanness of heart? From where does it come?

The disciples had the same question in Matthew 19:25. Jesus answered in verse 26, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

In other words, God is the one that creates this purity in us. We must petition Him for it, though, and must pray with David, “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10). We must also look to Christ, “who gave Himself for us, that He might … purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14).

Trust in the Lord with your whole heart (Proverbs 3:5). 

Purify your heart and you will see God.

See the full series on The Beatitudes here.