The Pure in Heart will See God

                

Duncan smith remembers first time that he encountered God . He says “in Colorado at Estes Park I heard the gospel preached. When the altar call came, instead of running up to the front, I ran outside the building. As I went stumbling up this mountainside, probably looking for an opportunity to have a cigarette, I literally walked smack into the presence of God. Although he was invisible, I knew I was standing face to face with Jesus and I was in his presence.

“I hit the deck right there. I just collapsed into the pathway and wept before God as I felt this incredible weight of all of my sin, and yet his incredible love, washing over me. Instead of killing me, he lavished his love on me, and called me his son and called me into his kingdom. I have never ever been the same since.”

The religious leaders during Jesus life on earth were legalistic. Legalism is the human attempt to gain salvation or prove spirituality by outward conformity to a list of religious “do’s” and “don’ts.” It’s often disguised in spiritual beliefs and behavior. These leaders had set rules and traditions which they regarded more important than the Scriptures. Jesus bluntly called them hypocrites.

He told them "you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules”’ (Matt 15:6-9). Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.

Cleanse the inside … that the outside of them may be clean also. You are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of … uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness (Matt 23:23-28). These men were "play-actors" , their words and deeds were in opposition to their inner motives.

These religious legalists oppressed the people.  The man-made rules and traditions were almost impossible to adhere to. Then when Jesus came, they heard him talking about the kingdom of God and they saw its power. But, the questions in their minds were: how can a person enter the kingdom of God?  What kind of righteousness must one have to be accepted into that kingdom? 

Jesus addressed these questions in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. chapters 5-7). The sermon is a comprehensive teaching on how to live in and be a part of God’s kingdom. The sermon begins with the beatitudes which describe the characteristics of the people in God’s kingdom. Each characteristic is followed by a promised reward. One of those beatitudes is “blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8).

Purity means genuine or free from things that would adulterate. Pure gold is free of alloys. Pure milk is unadulterated, it’s free of additives. Pure wheat has no chaff or contaminants.  A pure heart is unadulterated in nature. Its free from deceit, hypocrisy, hidden motives or divided allegiance. It’s solely focused on God and his will. People with pure hearts have nothing to hide, their public life mirrors the private life , demonstrating a consistent , undivided commitment to God.

THE HEART is the centre of your personality; it’s the “real you” who makes the decisions of life. Proverbs 4:23 says, “above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” The heart is the spring from which all thoughts, words and actions come. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, false witness (Matt. 12:33-34; 15:18-19).

The heart is the master control centre of your life. It  is what you are, in the secrecy of your thought and feeling, when nobody knows but God. To be pure in the heart is to be pure in the centre of your life. To be pure in the heart is to be pure inside out. If you are pure there, you will be pure everywhere. If your heart is pure, then your actions will be good and your life will be clean in the eyes of God.

The motives that are hidden inside your heart, matter as much to God, as what is publicly displayed in your actions (1Sam. 16:7). God requires purity at the very centre of our being. He wants his people to have the core of their nature regenerated. In Jeremiah 32:38-39, God said “They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them”.

The people with pure hearts have been given a great promise- they will see God. Seeing God has always been a great longing of the hearts of God’s people. Moses asked God to show him His glory (Exod.33:18). The Psalmist thirsted for the living God. He asked “when can I go and meet with God?” (Ps.42:1-2). My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me” (Ps. 27:8-9). Philip asked Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied" (John 14:8).

Job lamented that God was out of sight. He said “if only I knew where to find him, if only I could go to his dwelling... if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him . When he is at work in the north I do not see him. When he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him” (Job 23:3,8-9).  Job was finally able to see God; at the end of his book he says “my ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5).

The “pure in heart will see God” is a great promise. Seeing God is the great goal of being pure. It’s a great motivation for living a holy life. Purity is a prerequisite for seeing God both in this life and in the life to come.  Hebrew 12:14 urges us to “make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without  holiness no one will see God”. This promise can be understood in both present and future senses.

John 1:18 tells us that no one has seen God. 1 Timothy 6:16 says that God “lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see”. Even Moses who often talked with God could only see the form of God (Numbers 12:8). In Exodus 33:20-23 he did not see God in his essence but only saw the “back side” of God. No one could ever see God in his essence and live to tell the story.

Thus “seeing God” does not mean seeing him in his essence. The verb “see” here is used figuratively. It stands for the ability to discern God’s hand in everyday life. The pure in heart recognizes God’s presence, guidance and will in his live. He sees Him in the Scriptures. He sees him in his creation. He sees him in providence. He sees him in circumstances. He sees him working in the lives of people around him.

In life we only see what we are able to see. When you look at something written in an unknown language you see strange shapes on a paper, but someone else sees very clear information. The Scriptures are veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded their minds (2 Cor.4:3-6). The unbelievers cannot see God displayed in the pages of the Scriptures. The word of God does not make any sense to them.

 In life you only see what you are looking for. Jesus said “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21). Your desires and affections will follow what you value most. Your pursuits in life are guided by your priorities.  If your treasure is something earthly, you will focus on that.  However, if your treasure is God’s will, you will focus on seeking and doing it it. This will make your heart pure and you will see him.

In this life we see God through the eye of faith. Someday we’ll see the blazing glory of God. Someday we will see Jesus face to face in His glorified form. David prayed “by your hand save me ...  from those of this world whose reward is in this life… As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness (Ps 17:14-15).

Those who have pure hearts are allowed into God’s presence. They continually see him. They serve Him; they hear what He says, know what is on His heart for the day and see where He is working.  They don’t see God with the physical eyes; they see Him with the spiritual eyes. They walk in the light of his presence (Ps. 89:15). Their perception of God is clear. Lastly, the time will come when those who have thus seen God on earth will see him face to face in heaven.

There is a future application to the promise. The barrier that keeps us from seeing God now is our fallen character. The greatest glory of heaven will be the ability to enjoy direct, face-to-face communion with God and our saviour Jesus Christ. Faith will give way to sight. We can scarcely contemplate the wonder of that day. We long for it and pursue the purity of heart that leads to this vision. Paul says

When Christ appears, those who are believers will be completely purified to be like him and they shall see him as he is. John wrote “all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure” (1 John 3:2-3). Therefore let us pursue peace with all people and holiness without which no one will see the Lord (Heb.12:14).

Let us “commend ourselves in every way... in purity, understanding, patience and kindness...in sincere love; in truthful speech... with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left” (2 Cor.6:3-7). ”Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God (2 cor. 7:1). Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God (Matt.5:8).