Sunday Devotional: Matthew 5:8

Blessed are the pure in heart, for these shall see God.

At first, this Beatitude appears to be referring to those who are morally clean: those who don’t defile themselves with impure thoughts, or anger, or other internal sins that wreak havoc on one’s life, and can make the Christian ineffective. This is certainly an aspect of the “pure” or “clean” heart (Greek: katharoi tê kardia). If we understand “see God” in the sense of being in God’s presence and able to commune with Him, then certainly, the less sin there is in our lives, the more we are aware of the abiding presence of God. It is more often the case that God seems most distant from us when, in fact, we are distant from Him as a result of an impure and hard heart.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God,” David cried out in Psalm 51, “And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” This thought of having a “steadfast” spirit, one that is devoted to God, may also be in mind here. David wrote this Psalm on the heels of his sin with Bathsheeba, which was indeed one of the most dramatic and deep moral failures of a man of God in Scripture. Not only does David want a clean heart, but he wants steadfastness, the ability to focus on God, to lean on Him at all times, and not be distracted by the temptations of the world.

The Greek translation of Psalm 24 uses the same term, “pure in heart”:

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
And who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart [katharos tê kardia],
Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood
And has not sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive a blessing from the Lord
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face–even Jacob. (Psalm 24:3-6) [NASB]

Here I think we get further insight into the meaning of this term. Notice that the one with clean hands and a pure heart avoids falsehood and deceit. There is a sense, then, that being pure in heart is more than just avoiding sin. It is being devoted to God, having a life that is His, and that is recognizable as being His. It is about serving only one master, not two, and drawing near to God. The words of James echo this thought:

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:7-8) [NASB]

What does Jesus mean, then, when he says that the pure in heart “shall see God.” Wasn’t Moses told that no-one can see God and live (Exodus 33:20)? First, I think there is a present reality to seeing God here, in the sense that those who are pure in heart draw near to God, as James says, and in turn God draws near to them. But I think there is also a future reality, looking forward to the time when all those who have endured this fallen world, who come out the other side beaten and bruised but, by the grace of God, have pure hearts, solely dedicated to God’s word and will, shall indeed stand before His throne and, in a sinless state (on account of the work of Christ), see Him face to face.

Have a great week!