The pure in heart (Part 1)

In Matthew 5:8, as part of his famous “sermon on the mount,” Jesus made this statement:

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Any way you look at it, this is really an amazing statement. Think about it for a moment – Jesus is talking about seeing The Almighty God of the universe. The weight of this might not strike you at first, but consider the following verses:

John 1:18

“No one has seen God at any time…”

John 6:46

“No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God…”

1 Tim 6:15-16

God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.”

1 John 4:12

“No one has ever seen God…”

God is so absolutely holy – so completely clean, pure and undefiled by sin, that mankind, defiled by sin, cannot behold him. And yet Jesus makes the clear promise that those who are “pure in heart” will see God! To understand how this is possible, we need to realize that God actually designed mankind to have intimate, fact-to-face fellowship with him, as Adam and Eve enjoyed in the garden “in the cool of the day.” (Genesis 3:8) And it was sin that defiled this relationship and caused mankind to hide his face in shame from the Holiness of God’s presence.

The word translated “holy” throughout the Old Testament comes from a root word that means, “to be clean.” The word translated “pure” in Matthew 5:8 also means, “clean.” Jesus was saying that only those with clean hearts can approach and see a holy God. This concept is expressed in several other verses as well. Consider these examples:

Psalm 24:3 asks us, “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place?” Then in the next verse we find the answer to these questions: “He who has clean hands and a pure heart.”

Isaiah 33:14 asks, “Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning?” Then in the following verses we are told that it is only “He who walks righteously” whose “eyes will see the King in His beauty.”

And Hebrews 12:14 tells us plainly that, “without holiness no one will see the Lord.”

The clear message in these verses is that God is Holy and only those who are holy will be able to walk with him and see him. But the New Testament makes it clear that there are two aspects to holiness, also referred to as sanctification. The first was accomplished in us at the moment of our new birth by the blood of Jesus. 1 Corinthians 1:30 tells us that Jesus has “become holiness to us.” And Hebrews 10:10 tells us that, “We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

The simple fact is that no one can be holy without first believing in Jesus and being born of the Holy Spirit. Through the simple act of putting our faith in Jesus, we realize the truth of God’s promise, “I am the Lord that sanctifies you.” (Ex. 31:13, Lev. 20:8) This is the first and most important step to becoming one who is “pure in heart.”