The Pure in Heart See God
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God, Matt 5:8.
You can tell from the context that the fulfillment of the promises for each of these verses in Matt 5:1-12 is future, during Christ’s millennial reign.
However, concerning v.7, notice Ps 18:25, “with the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful”. And Prov 11:17, “the merciful man doeth good to his own soul”.
So, there is also a spiritual application. In v.7 there is a future promise and a current benefit. Likewise, with our text concerning the pure in heart, there is a future promise and a current benefit.
The promise is “they shall see God”, which will be true in the millennial reign. The current benefit is that you can see God’s presence in a place and in what he is doing. In Ps 34:8 David wrote, “O taste and see that the Lord is good”. The Pure in Heart See God.
In Ex 34:6 when God passed by Moses, Ex 33:21-23, Moses saw the mercy, graciousness, long-suffering, abundant goodness and truth of the Lord. He saw God, though he didn’t see his face.
The Lord appeared to Job in a whirlwind and Job said, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee”, Job 42:5. He saw God by his presence in the whirlwind.
In 1 Ki 19:11, the Lord said to Elijah, “stand upon the mount before the Lord”. Elijah heard a strong wind, “but the Lord was not in the wind”. Neither was he in the earthquake, nor in the fire. After the fire there was “a still small voice”. The Lord was there and Elijah could “see” he was there.
God’s presence is among us, Matt 18:20, but we often only see people and not God. It’s really noticeable when he’s supposed to be in a place, like a church, and he’s not there. His absence can be easier to detect than his presence.
Why don’t “we” see him? It’s a heart problem. The Pure in Heart See God. Three main things obscure our “sight”.
A Dark Heart.
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. But what’s the problem with those who can’t see the invisible things… Rom 1:21 their foolish heart was darkened.
They reject the light of his word and they have an evil eye which causes the whole body to be full of darkness, Matt 6:23. A person with a pure heart will believe God’s words and see God in his creation with a single eye, Matt 6:22.
A Fat Heart.
In Is 6:1 Isaiah wrote, “I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple”. God sent him to “Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with they heart, and convert, and be healed”, Is 6:10.
In Matt 13:15 Jesus quoted Is 6:10 and said, “their heart is waxed gross”. And this affected their sight, v.14, “seeing ye shall see, and not perceive”. Their heart was filled with pride and idolatry so that they couldn’t see that Jesus is God manifest in the flesh. They thought they were seeing there devil.
When your heart is filled with love for yourself, your pleasures, and your idols, you can’t see God in and around you.
An Impure Heart.
David was a man after God’s own heart. But when he saw Bathsheba, he lost sight of God. This is why he prayed in Ps 51:10, “create in me a clean heart, O God”.
Consider Matt 5:28. Jesus said of the people in his day that they were a wicked and adulterous generation.
Conclusion:
The Pure in Heart See God. You must keep your heart pure to “see” God. You initially get it pure by getting saved. You keep it pure by:
- Loving the words of the Lord which are pure words, Ps 119:140. This fixes a dark heart.
- Loving the Lord’s appearing, 2 Tim 4:8, 1 Jn 3:1-3. This fixes a fat heart.
- Loving the brethren, 1 Pet 1:22, “love one another with a pure heart fervently”. This fixes an impure heart.