The Blessing of Purity

Matthew 5:8

May 5, 2002

 

During the 1960's the United States and Soviet Union embarked on a "space race." Each sought to outdo the other in the race to be the "first" in putting someone in space, first in orbiting the earth, and first in reaching the moon. In the midst of it there was the Soviet attempt at intimidation and discrediting the whole persona of the United States. Their desire was to undermine our confidence in the foundation of our nation, which was ultimately a belief in God as Creator and Sustainer (however faulty some held this view).

 

It was in this tension that two Soviet cosmonauts left Earth's atmosphere and entered outer space in search of God. They made no bones about it. They were going to try to put an end to the belief in the existence of God by proving that God did not exist. So they looked from their orbiting vantage point for God; but they did not find him. So they reported back to the Earth the news that they had searched the heavens but found no sign of God. Therefore the view that God exists, in their thought, was mere fantasy now disproved.

 

In contrast some American astronauts that were believers saw the glory of God revealed all over the heavens! They even riled the liberals in government by reading from their orbiting spacecraft, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." One did not see God; the other did. It was not a matter of nationality or political ideology that caused the difference. The Scripture explains it so clearly, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." The condition of the heart dictates one's sight of God. God will not be seen by an unprepared and impure heart, for such a heart blinds the eyes and understanding from perceiving God, now and in eternity.

 

Do you have a heart that is capable of seeing God? Jesus told the disciples and listening crowd in the Sermon on the Mount that only those with pure hearts could see God. What did he mean by such a statement? 

 

I. Seeing God

 

Let's begin in reverse order. What did Jesus mean by the promise, "For they shall see God"? We know that God is spirit, and spirit cannot be seen with physical sight. Paul as well tells us that He is invisible (John 4:23-24; I Tim 1:17). So gazing upon God with our physical sight seems out of question. So the promise is not referring to any sort of mystical vision of God with the physical sight in this life. In addition to this, John declared that no man has seen God at any time; but he went on to state that Christ has explained or "exegeted" Him (John 1:18). And add to this the statement of Jesus to the disciples, "He that has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). So in what ways are we able to see God? Is this a promise for Heaven only, or does it have implications in the present? That assertion, "for they shall see God," is paramount in understanding the balance of the verse. We will look at this in three ways: first, whether or not a person has a desire to see God, second, how the sight of God comes in diverse ways, and third, the ultimate destiny of a vision of God.

 

1. Desire

 

I was struck by Jonathan Edwards thought that if it were possible for the wicked or impure to see God, they certainly would not find any blessedness in it [The Work of Jonathan Edwards, Banner of Truth edition, vol. II, 912]. What delight would they find in basking in the glow of divine glory when their whole lives are bent on sin and rebellion against God? It probably even seems foolish to those living in rebellion against God to bring up the thought of seeing God. Why would they want to see Him whom they have spurned? Why would they want to gaze upon the Creator and Judge who has levied an eternal sentence of damnation upon them? Why would they find any pleasure and delight in holiness, glory, righteousness, and the blaze of divine purity?

 

On the other hand, "for they shall see God," offers the most incredible promise imaginable for those that have known the pardon of their sin, and the sanctifying work of the Spirit in their hearts. For here is the incredible delight of being able to see God, and find the deepest, most satisfying effect upon one's whole being. Rather than a sense of dread at seeing God, because of the purifying work of Christ there is now immense joy at the thought of seeing God. What does this suggest to us?

 

Edwards wrote, "To see God, is this. It is to have an immediate, sensible, and certain understanding of God's glorious excellency and love" [906]. By "immediate," Edwards refers to something experiential in the present life. It is not something that is just for the future, but it is also a reality to be experienced now. "Sensible" means that the vision of God affects you; it is a reality that envelops you. What Jesus promises are that the pure in heart will have an experiential reality of God that others in the world cannot have. 

 

Borrowing a few ideas from Edwards let me identify some implications of what this means. To "see God" implies that we are experiencing something of the sense of God's glory and excellence. Glory suggests the 'weightiness or heaviness of God's worth or being'. The believer seeing God is overwhelmed by the apprehension of the wonder of God. It may come as Paul prayed for the Ephesians, comprehending "with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God" (Eph 3:18-19). What Paul was praying was experiential. He wanted the Ephesian believers to be filled with this knowledge of God so that they would be radically affected in worship, purity of life, and witness to the world. Seeing God is the comprehension of God's graciousness and kindness, so much so that the believer finds incomparable delight in just knowing God. All other things in this life pall into insignificance; nothing else can give him such enjoyment as seeing God [Edwards, 906].

 

2. Diversity

 

It is not the physical sight of God in this life that answers this promise, though that promise awaits the future. Instead, the believer sees God in diverse ways. For instance, the Psalmist tells us, "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands" (19:1). Have you had the experience of gazing at the beauty of nature and seeing more than just natural beauty? You have gazed, but your mind and heart begin to be filled with a grasp of the wonder of God as Creator. I still remember driving from the French and Italian coastline with its azure water, snow-capped mountains in the background, and rocky beaches. Then we headed north toward the Alps. From a long distance I could see these giant mountains against the backdrop of the setting sun. The closer I drove, the more breathtaking they became. The sun nestled behind them and radiated their beauty. I worshiped the Lord as I drove, for the whole scene displayed the glory of God.

 

The works of God's providence in history also give us a glimpse of God. I love to read history, and often I find myself worshiping the Lord by seeing the amazing ways that he has accomplished his purposes through the details of history. He is not limited by man's cooperation in doing his will. He does his will whether man acknowledges the Lord or not!

 

How about in times of adversities? There God shows himself wondrously, revealing his grace, might, power, and strength so that believers have found incomparable times of worship in the midst of pain and darkness. Joseph saw God often through his adversity in the Egyptian prison before he was elevated as prime minister. As David fled from Saul in the cave he took refuge in the Lord as though under the shadow of divine wings. He describes the scene, "My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword." Then he exults in the experience of God's presence, "Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth" (Ps 57:1, 4-5).

 

God meets us as well in the revelation of Scripture. That is why we call it divine revelation, for on pages of white paper and black ink, God pulls back the blinders from our eyes and we see him. Vividly, majestically, gloriously, God shows himself to the believer so that he finds the most incredible satisfaction that he has seen God in the Word. Add to this the varied displays of God's grace, the worship among the congregation of believers, the practice of the church ordinances, the fellowship of the saints, and yet more; so we observe that Christians see God in diverse ways.

 

3. Destiny

 

But we must not forget that there is an ultimate destiny in this promise, that the "pure in heart...shall see God." The day will come when the blinders are gone, when there is no more taint of sin in the heart, when the mind will be pristinely filled with the knowledge of God, when the eyes have no distraction from the pollutions of the world, when the ambitions are no longer for the paltry things of the world, and the Christian will have eyes that have been fitted for eternity so that he might gaze upon the Lord. Then we shall behold him in all the radiance of his eternal glory! That glimpse of him will produce infinite numbers of new songs attempting to express the praise and worth of our Lord for eternity. With the whole of the created order, and all the redeemed of the ages, we shall sing, "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever" (Rev 5:13). As Edwards put it so well, "That light which now is but a glimmering, will be brought to clear sunshine; that which is here but the dawning, will be the perfect day" (907). The pure in heart shall see God.

 

II. Foundation of the heart

 

Jonathan Edwards stated in his exposition of this Beatitude, "God is the giver of the pure heart, and he gives it for this very end; that it may be prepared for the blessedness of seeing him" [911]. What is the attention given to the heart? Why is this critical in seeing God? It is obvious that the heart is foundational to any vision of God, now or in eternity. So we will consider the heart as the foundation of the thoughts that lead to behavior, and of the understanding that lead to affections.

 

1. Foundation of thoughts and behavior

 

Matthew uses the word "heart" throughout his Gospel. The way it is used will help to shed light on what Jesus meant, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." For to our Lord, the heart was much more than a muscle that pumps blood through the circulatory system. The term was used to express the center of the inner life, the place where all of the spiritual thoughts and practices have their root. But this stood in sharp contrast to the thinking of the typical Pharisee. He thought that spirituality was rooted in his outward appearance. So he could be inwardly corrupt, and often that was the case, yet go through the rituals of his religion and he would be okay. That is precisely why Jesus called them "whitewashed tombs." If you have ever been to New Orleans you know that they bury people on top of the ground in mausoleums due to the city being under sea level. They have beautiful cemeteries, with ornate structures for housing the dead. But even with the beauty, they are full of dead men's bones. The Pharisees cared for the outside but gave no attention to the heart.

 

That same lack of understanding of the heart appears to predominate our own day as most people are not concerned with the "heart" but only with their appearance. Thus you can have multitudes claiming to be Christians, participating in Christian worship, serving in offices in Christian churches, observing Christian marriages and funerals, yet their hearts are far from God. 

 

Jesus describes this a bit later in Matthew 5:27-28, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery'." Most considered this to mean the actual, physical act of adultery, but Jesus explained, "but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." The thought may or may not lead to action, but Jesus explains that the heart is so precious in the sight of God that it is not to be defiled with thoughts or desires for sin. Behavior is birthed in the heart-good and evil. That is why Jesus told the Pharisees, "For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart" (12:34), and "the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man." And then he adds, "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders" (15:18-19).

 

It is not just the outward appearance that matters. Most of us can do a pretty good job of covering our tracks; we can appear to be pious when we need to be. But what is really going on in our hearts? Do we know the kind of purity that Jesus was speaking of in our own hearts? Here is the point that we must grasp. Looking good on the outside will not suffice before God. God does not see as we see. We look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart, as the Lord told Samuel (I Sam 16). What is he seeing in your heart?

 

2. Foundation of understanding and affections

 

All of us will have to admit that there are sins we have allowed to creep into our hearts, harboring them to our own detriment and shame before God. That is why we mourn over our sin. And in mourning, expressing our sorrow, repenting of our sins, we find the Lord working purity in the heart. He changes our thoughts and affections so that there is true blessedness in the heart made pure by the Lord. This is reflected in Jesus' words later in the Sermon on the Mount, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (6:21). And in similar fashion he warns the disciples concerning the affections of the crowds, "For the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them" (13:15). In both of these passages, one's understanding of God and affections toward God are linked to the heart. If the heart embraces idols or nurtures sins or harbors vanity, its affection will not be for the Lord; and ultimately it will not be a pure heart. 

 

But let us move to the matter of purity and consider what it means, and how purity affects the heart.

 

III. Two-pronged purity

 

Sinclair Ferguson has aptly stated, "Being pure in heart means letting nothing stand in the way of our vision of Christ" [The Sermon on the Mount, 37]. So what can stand in the way of seeing God? "Blessed are the pure in heart," suggests two intertwining meanings: moral purity and singleness of devotion. 

 

1. Moral purity

 

The word "pure" can be translated as cleansed, so that we can rightly say, "Blessed are the cleansed in heart, for they shall see God." The implication is certainly not that the person makes himself pure, though he does give every effort toward purity. He recognizes that God alone can cleanse the heart from sin, and that he is helpless before his own nature unless God gives grace to cleanse him through the blood of Christ. He knows that Jesus Christ has come "to take away sins" (I John 3:5). And now that his hope is in Christ he "purifies himself, just as He [Christ] is pure" (I John 3:3). So the "pure in heart" are those who have come to faith in Christ and known the cleansing power of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection applied to the heart. But as we have been seeing in the Beatitudes, each of the eight Beatitudes gives us a glimpse of assurance for the believer. They are describing how the believer is pro-active in relationship to God and man. Here the stress is laid upon purity, that the true Christian pursues moral purity. He is not satisfied with living the way he used to live in the ways of the flesh. With shame he remembers the works of the flesh that had dominated his life, but by the grace of God it can be declared of him, "Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God" (I Cor 6:11). So now that this describes the believer, he desires in practice to be found "pure in heart" before his Lord.

 

The scribes and Pharisees excelled in ceremonial cleanness. That is why they could so smugly reprove Jesus and the disciples on numerous occasions for various "infractions" of their ceremonial practices. Not washing their hands with the ritual ablutions before a meal brought a tongue-lashing. Eating with sinners, known sinners, brought dismay and shock. Ceremonially, they were in great shape. But their hearts were filthy. The legalist in our own day may avoid even the smell of dirt, and yet have a heart that is sooty-black with the filth of sin. What does the "pure in heart" aim for?

 

He sees the filthiness and ugliness of his sin, finding it abhorrent. He thus mourns over it and applies the redemptive work of Christ to the problem. He pleads for mercy for he knows that he does not deserve even the least blessing of God. He prays about specific sins, asking the Lord to deliver him from it. He sorrows with a godly sorrow leading to repentance for his sins. He heeds the words of Paul to "put to death" the deeds of the flesh with all its vile passions (Gal 5:24). Having tasted freedom in the redemptive work of Christ, he longs for more of that purity, so he addresses sins with the killing power of the work of Christ, and disciplines his heart for purity. He heeds James' exhortation to put aside "all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness," and in humility he receives the implanted word of the gospel that delivers him from his impurity (1:21). He gives himself to those holy exercises that will strengthen his resolve against sin, and avoids those traps of the flesh that are pitfalls into sin. Because Christ has satisfied his sin debt before God, the believer seeks to walk in moral purity as a reflection of the holiness of Christ. 

 

Peter gives a four-fold answer to how the Christian pursues moral purity.

 

Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ As obedient children do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy" (I Pet 1:13-16).

 

First, he calls for preparation. Moral purity requires that we ready our minds through meditation on the Word and that we keep ourselves spiritually sane by guarding what we pour into our minds through the eyes and the ears. It is rather difficult to keep our mind clean if we keep dipping it in the garbage can! Second, he calls for anticipation. We are to consider the day that Christ will return and we shall stand complete before him, and we will also give an account to him; that anticipation has the effect of purifying our motives and actions. Third, he calls for observation. We are to be "obedient children," submitting ourselves to the commands of God, observing what God has clearly set forth for us in Scripture. Let's face it, the problem most of the time in moral purity is not ignorance of what the Lord commands but an unwillingness to bend our hearts in obedience to the Lord's revealed Word. Finally, we are to find our motivation for holiness by realizing that our Lord is holy, and we desire to be like him, so we pursue holiness in all things.

 

2. Singleness of devotion

 

The "pure in heart" not only give attention to moral purity, but inevitably this can be done only through a singleness of devotion to Christ. The duplicitous heart that worships on Sunday and embraces the world the balance of the week is not pure in heart, but rather that kind of heart reveals hypocrisy and inward deceit. Jesus is speaking of devotedness in our affections characterized by delighting in spiritual disciplines that enables the Christian to draw near to God. His life is governed by his spiritual appetites rather than by carnal appetites. His devotion to Christ affects his passions and decisions. He continually seeks to lay aside those things that blur his vision of God [cf. Edwards 910-911].

 

Thomas Watson, the gracious Puritan pastor, helps us grasp this by outlining seven signs of a pure heart [The Beatitudes, 181-188].

"A sincere heart is a pure heart," serving God whole-heartedly and willing even to bear up under trials for the sake of being purified by Christ.

 

"A pure heart breaths after purity," desiring this more than riches, attention, and applause.

 

"A pure heart abhors all sin," so that "the love of sin is crucified" in his life as he seeks to kill sin at the roots of his life for the sake of love for Christ.

 

"A pure heart avoids the appearance of evil," because he realizes that often the appearance of evil becomes the occasion of evil. Out of respect and reverence for the Lord, and for the sake of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and his testimony of the gospel, he avoids the suspicion of sin.

 

"A pure heart performs holy duties in an holy manner," that is, he will take care how he prepares for worship or the Lord's Table or any service unto the Lord.

 

"A pure heart will have a pure life," so the believer cultivates his devotion life, seeks God's face in prayer, and walks with God in daily life.

 

"A pure heart is so in love with purity that nothing can draw him off from it." 


As Watson so eloquently put it, "Holiness is the queen every gracious soul is espoused to and he will rather die than be divorced."

 

Conclusion

 

Are you pure in heart? Or let me put it another way, you know that you are developing purity in the heart when you are getting glimpses of God, so have you been seeing God lately? It is the pure in heart that shall see God. And my dear friend, it is Christ alone, through the sufficiency of his atoning death and resurrection that makes the heart pure.

 

Would you see God? Then by God's grace, be pure in heart.

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