While up on a mountain in Matthew 5:8, Jesus teaches His disciples, “Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.” The amazing promise that Jesus makes in this verse is that the pure in heart will see God. It’s hard to even think about what God looks like, much less be able to see God.
In Ezekiel 1 and Revelation 4 we have descriptions of God using similes and illustrative language that challenge our imaginations. While Ezekiel and John both received visions of God and His throne, they did not see God face to face. The Apostle Paul explains one of the reasons why in 1 Timothy 6:16, telling us that the King of kings and the Lord of Lords “alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power.”
Roughly 1,400 years before Paul wrote to Timothy, Moses wanted assurance from God and pleaded to be able to see His glory. God tells Moses, and by extension us, in Exodus 33:20, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” The reason for this is because God’s majesty and glory is so great that no one can look upon Him. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).” No sin-stained soul is allowed in the presence of our most holy God (Isaiah 59:2). Yet, Jesus makes the incredible promise that the pure in heart will see God.
What we need to understand is what it means to have a pure heart. The heart that Jesus is talking about is not a blood pumping organ in our body or about the emotions people feel. The heart that Jesus is referencing has to do with our will, our desires, and our mind. In context, the heart is what controls us. In order to see God, our heart – or our will, desires, and mind – needs to be pure.
The problem with having a pure heart is that no one’s heart is pure. Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us that, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” Yet, Jesus makes the astonishing promise that the pure in heart will see God. What is needed is a pure heart. The solution is found in James 4:8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
Our heart can become pure (or cleansed) by drawing near to God through Jesus. We do that by seeing Jesus as our highest joy and by pursuing Him like the great treasure that He is. While this is something we do in order to have a pure heart, it is important to understand that we do not purify or clean our heart. You do not use something dirty in order to make something clean.
A pure heart is one that has been cleansed and justified through the redemption and forgiveness of sins by the blood of Jesus (Colossians 1:12-14). Afterward, a pure heart is demonstrated by a constant, steady pursuit of things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and of good report (Philippians 4:8). A pure heart is one that is set on things above, not on the things that are on earth (Colossians 3:1-2).
Jesus’ promise in Matthew 5:8 of a pure heart that will one day see God and be at home with Him in heaven is about a heart that is completely dedicated to Christ. If we want to see God, then we must be willing to commit our entire being, our entire life, and everything we have to our God.
