Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
The verse blesses those who are inwardly pure and promises that they will see God. That purity is cleanness of heart, motive and thought rather than outward or ceremonial exactness, excluding selfishness, pride, envy and all that opposes God. The pure see Him now by faith, discerning Him in Christ, Scripture, creation and providence and living as in His presence, and they will see Him face to face in immortal life. This pure heart is given by Christ through faith in His merits and by the Holy Spirit cleansing through love and truth, received in lifelong obedience, confession of sin and surrender of the will. Only such purity fits a person for entrance into God's kingdom and city, for the character formed in this life after Christ's likeness is the character that endures into heaven.
Sermon Setting and Wording
Blessed are the pure in heart is one of the blessings Christ spoke on the mountain when His disciples came to Him before the multitudes, given from His longing to fill the world with the peace and joy of the heavenly world. It forms part of the soul-saving message of Matthew 5, to be received with a humble spirit that brings conversion and removal of rebuke for past wrongs. As the great Teacher and Medical Missionary Worker He spoke it in His sermon on the mount to the multitude of Jews and Gentiles and to the disciples in the inner circle as part of the call to heart-reformation. The words were taught to the disciples so the Holy Spirit could impress them on memory for them afterward to share with the world, defining blessings for the faithful and showing the work to be done to receive them. Its character of teaching is to be studied together with His conflict with Satan and victory in the wilderness in Matthew 4.
The Beatitudes state the principles governing Christ's kingdom of divine grace, rather than promising earthly glory or political deliverance, and were intended for both the disciples and the gathered crowd. The blessing on the pure in heart with its promise that they shall see God was among the very first sentences of the Sermon on the Mount, calculated to lay Jewish ambition for an earthly kingdom of power and glory low in the dust. It exalts a trait of character entirely opposite to the attributes cherished, corrects high imaginings, and presents a kingdom where human ambitions and earthly passions cannot find entrance. Entrance into that kingdom depends not on names, positions and titles, which are nothing, but on pure virtue and holy character, which heaven accounts as everything. It belongs to Christ's teaching on the conditions of entrance into God's kingdom, which corrects worldly ideas of greatness and gives a right conception of the kingdom and His character, with principles still important today.
The sermon was spoken plainly and simply with heaven's authority, every word from God, so simple that a child can study it without misunderstanding or being misled. The mount of beatitudes is a symbol of the spiritual elevation on which Christ ever stood. Its teaching is ennobling, saving truth beyond men's highest ambitions and most profound investigations, given by One who saw the terrible ruin hanging over the race and came to save souls by His own righteousness, bringing definite assurance of hope and complete relief. He spoke with an authority exclusively His own as the Word and the Wisdom of God, ever presenting truth with the authority of God, and the words He speaks are spirit and life. It contradicted the self-righteous doctrines and practices of the scribes and Pharisees, revealing God's character as compassionate, merciful, loving and paternal.
That teaching at the mount also broadens vision beyond territorial lines and human-made distinctions to include suffering people in distant regions. There He explains the far-reaching character of God's law, presenting obedience as more than outward conduct, for His followers are to seek to reflect God's character in their lives. Christ spoke the benedictions with clearness and power and abundant assurance, showing Him to be the fountain of all goodness with prerogative to bless and impress minds, with the treasures of eternity at His command and with unlimited authority to act in the office of God. In speaking before the great multitude with heavenly brightness in words entirely different from those of the scribes and Pharisees, He declared authority to dispense the treasures of eternity to whomsoever He willed, though His divinity was clothed with humanity. Those He called blessed were the very ones they would have denounced as cursed of God.
The benedictions are His greeting and blessing to the whole human family, blessing those who despite need are willing to receive His light and love and life. The verse specifies one of the traits of character that must be possessed by subjects of His heavenly kingdom, the peculiar people who will compose the royal family in heaven, receive Him as Saviour, trade upon His gifts, and become heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, united with Him in service and sharing blessing and glory and honor. In the benediction He embraced those who would compose His kingdom in this world and presented before a vast assembly the riches of the grace of heaven, every blessing essential to happiness and joy, with no flattery toward men of highest authority and worldly dignitaries whom He does not recognize. It describes the attributes of those who will share the eternal rewards, with special emphasis that those who suffer persecution for His name's sake will be richly blessed with great reward in heaven.
Matthew 5 is the gospel of Christ given from the mount of beatitudes, the same gospel He gave to the children of Israel enshrouded in the pillar of cloud. The Speaker is Christ, Captain of the Lord's host, whose manifestations of glory reveal His prerogatives, high authority and character, Himself the example of truth and purity, who in becoming flesh full of grace and truth gave the human race the perfect standard of practice in purity, righteousness and love, with the bright prospect of immortal life in the paradise of God. It presents God's law as the far-reaching, spiritual standard whose claims must be investigated and put into the heart, because the state of the heart regulates life and character. Unless converts are impressed with these principles as taught in the sermon on the mount, labor for them is lost. Its words are worth frequent reflection and are to be lived out through divine virtues in words, attitude and actions, representing Christ, bringing present blessedness with cheerfulness, peace and joy in work.
Purity of heart as part of that holy standard must be seen in honest dealings, since unjustly acquiring means and confusing right and holy business methods show the law has not been learned and the soul needs cleansing. Matthew 5:1-12 teaches who is blessed and calls those who claim to be God's children to learn from these blessings and live accordingly. The verse is among Christ's sayings to be believed and practiced as a way of life to study and follow, bringing divine principles into the heart, developing Christlike character, and giving evidence of being children of God. Receiving its blessing requires accepting the terms laid down and day by day accepting and following His teaching, receiving the Word into good and honest hearts. As one of the words of blessing it teaches the way to heaven and holds most precious lessons to be studied above all other knowledge, kept in place of light reading and stored in memory so that not human words but its Scriptural words can be repeated at the proper time to people of every temperament in trial and perplexity, especially where Christ is to be represented, shielding from temptation, making the speaker a savor of life unto life, and furnishing reasons for the faith in a manner that does not offend but glorifies God.
Nature of Heart Purity
Purity of heart is inward purity of motive and nobility of action, not exact outward or ceremonial observance, for selfishness, injustice and malice stain the soul while outward defilement rules miss the inward stain. It is wisdom from above that is first pure, the fitness required to dwell in the city where nothing defiling can enter, and it shows itself in a growing distaste for careless manners, unseemly language and coarse thought, with refinement of thought and manner. It goes deeper than the world's idea of freedom from sensuality and lust to truth in the hidden purposes and motives, freedom from pride and self-seeking, shown in being humble, unselfish and childlike in thought, speech and manners. Impure thought and speech defile the soul, weaken the moral sense, erase the impressions of the Spirit and dim spiritual sight so that spiritual truth cannot be discerned, and though the repentant sinner is forgiven the soul remains marred and hurt. Selfishness likewise bars the sight because the self-seeking heart judges God to be like itself, but by renouncing selfishness and shunning all impurity a person can understand His love, and the unselfish, humble, trusting heart sees Him as merciful, gracious, patient and abundant in goodness and truth.
Purity of both mind and conduct excludes impure thoughts, corrupt imagination and unchaste behavior, so that no unholy thoughts or actions are to be cherished, and the mind corrupted by romances and by associations that stir temptation and weaken modesty and virtue is to be cleansed by ceasing to dwell on them. It means walking uprightly and working righteousness and speaking the truth in the heart, having clean hands and a pure heart, not lifting the soul to vanity nor swearing deceitfully. Those who do so shall abide in the tabernacle and dwell in the holy hill, shall ascend into the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place, and shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of salvation, for the verse gives plain instruction on the duty of all who desire its blessing. It excludes all that is antagonistic to God, including selfishness, covetousness, bitterness, envy, jealousy, evil surmising, impatience, rivalry, strife, unholy speech and unsanctified action, and it requires thorough daily conversion and guarding of heart, mind and soul. Grace purifies every thought, regulates every desire and sweetens the disposition, giving a clear view and convincing knowledge of His character, while envy, pettishness, jealousy and evil surmisings shut out the sight and constant strife shows the want of sanctification by truth that should bear good fruit in a peculiar people zealous of good works.
It requires cleansing from hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong and from inherent sin, digging out by the roots the bitter root of selfishness, undue self-estimation and demeriting others, being rooted and grounded in the love of Christ and loving one another as He loved in entire sanctification, for without holiness no one can see God and where the heart is not purified He cannot enter and the work of grace cannot go on. Defiling sins, including impatience, stubborn independence, rivalry, discord and strife, are incompatible with seeing Him and receiving His favor, are seen and recorded in heaven to be revealed at judgment, dishonor Him by corrupting the thoughts of others, and call for turning from unrighteousness and confessing sin. God judges by this moral worth rather than outward appearance, wealth or praise, unlike those who judge by possessions, and a pure heart imbued with thankfulness and peace is more precious than gold, silver and diamonds. It brings right words and actions and true nobility, carries the holy principles of His religion into daily life, and possesses the peace of Christ as the gift of God that money cannot buy and talent and intellect cannot secure, with the meekness and lowliness of Christ as power more precious than all genius can create or wealth can buy, so that prayer for a clean heart and for words and inward thoughts to be acceptable is fitting. It belongs with holiness, righteousness and true godliness, without which no one will see the Lord, in purity of mind, soul, body and life, and in love to God and neighbor fully lived through grace that makes complete in Him.
The hope of seeing Him when He appears leads to purifying oneself pure as He is, cultivating the moral excellence heaven requires, so that the pure will then be like Him and see Him in the eternal life of His kingdom. It belongs to putting on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness, fashioned by the Holy Spirit making the person after Christ's likeness, not the person using the Spirit but the Spirit using the person. With mercy and peacemaking it is the inward character to be worked out with fear and trembling while God works to will and to do, seen in love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance, and not in a pompous, overbearing, dictatorial spirit. Those who are pure discern the truth as it is in Jesus, keep His principles, resist the corrupting attitudes and practices of the world, and represent Him in conduct, work and teaching, and the verse warns and appeals to develop that character now in probation because the heart is revealed by actions and there will be no later opportunity to make up what was left undone. The heart's condition is thus revealed by outward conduct, so pride shown in costly, needless adornment for display and love of worldly show proves inward corruption that must be cleansed before one can see God. That warning concerns vanity and adornment for show, not every collar or ribbon, for plain linen collars are not condemned.
It is practical holiness and Christlikeness, not empty profession, requiring truth inwardly, undefiled thought, guileless speech and upright conduct. It desires truth inwardly and receives the Word by coming to the light rather than choosing darkness or rejecting counsel because it conflicts with opinion. It excludes false motives and pretentious good works, honors God and gives Him glory by expressing His grace, love and goodness while putting self out of view, with humble faith shown in a life devoted to His service and reflecting His holiness, righteousness, forbearance and mercy. It is joined to right purpose, teachability, trust, sincerity, meekness, humility and obedience to conscience, faithfully using abilities in the assigned work without fear of opinion or anxious concern about results, in loving unselfish service that blesses others and in righteous deeds that are recorded and rewarded. It is essential for those who serve God and work for the good and salvation of others, and the closer Christ's purity and holiness are contemplated the more sinfulness is recognized and the less there is boasting of holiness.
Seeing God Now and Future
The pure in heart live even now as in the visible presence of God, keeping the unseen Lord ever before them and communing with Him in secret where no eye sees and no ear hears but His own. Silent earnest desire finds access to the Father, and God reveals Himself to them as a sin-pardoning Saviour whose mercy and goodness give help and encouragement. They feel His keeping power and carry an abiding Christ even in the busiest, most excitable crowd, in the marketplace and in crowded companies as well as in the chapel when duty requires them to be there. This is to abide always in His love, admitted as contrite, humble, meek and lowly lovers and servants of God into the audience chamber of the King of righteousness to converse with Him now, as standing before an earthly king and seeing his face means being in His favor with the throne of grace standing open. Purity so shown in a life of love toward all people brings a change from sin that appears in changed words and actions, and those who are pure see God dimly by faith while the corrupt have evil imaginings in all they look upon.
All wrongdoing is departure from God, for man is ever in the presence of the Lord God of hosts, and remembering that presence and cultivating the sense of standing before Him in every place doing His will upheld by His hand gives life meaning and sacredness revealed in good works. When the presence of the Infinite One is deeply felt, the thoughts of the heart, the words of the lips, and every plan and act of the outward life are made worthy, but God can do little for His people when hearts are full of corruption while lips utter sacred truths. Purity of heart therefore calls for a willing mind to walk in the way of the Lord, choosing influences that lead toward God and separating from associations that draw the heart away from truth and righteousness. It is lived as a practical following of Jesus who went about doing good, seeking the light and holy atmosphere that bring God nearer to the heart and carrying the lamp of life as a true receiver of Christ as personal Saviour.
Purity in thought and conduct clears spiritual sight, enabling discernment and valuing of God's character as represented in His law, and the pure behold God in Christ and by looking to Him become changed into His likeness. They recognize Him in His Son sent to save, in creation's beauty and grandeur, in every providence and in every part of true education, and in Scripture where precious truths are recognized only through the eye of faith. Those who search Scripture with deep desire to know God and Jesus Christ are rewarded with understanding, including understanding of Daniel's prophecies, for as the time of the end arrives the light given to Daniel is to reach the world more fully. The purified understand while the wicked do not, and near the close of earth's history those who walk in the light gain increased knowledge of Christ and the prophecies about Him, while impurity tarnishes everything a person sees. They are responsive to the first light from God and receive communications from heaven as they welcome the first gleams of spiritual knowledge.
They see God as sin-pardoning Saviour, friend and elder brother, discerning His merciful, gracious, patient character and His counsel as a friend shares with friends, constantly looking to Christ, praying sincerely for His Holy Spirit, and grieving when a cloud hides Him from sight. Their affections and minds have been prepared for heaven through faith that works by love, being dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ with the eye fixed on God's glory, so they can behold and appreciate His character and recognize Christ's preciousness. Those who trust Christ as personal Saviour and rely on Him as substitute and surety bear no guilt, for Christ who has no sin bears their guilt and through His merits and imputed righteousness they are accounted guiltless and free from sin's defiling influence. Their helpless souls rest on Christ so they endure as seeing the invisible God, and as selfishness is put away and God's character is revealed to the heart, unbelief gives way to faith, assurance and peace rather than fear or hopelessness. Beholding God leads to becoming like Him, for the Holy Spirit changes the heart and forms the character in Christ's likeness, and this deep heart-love for Christ removes selfish desire to be first and all hatred, bringing forth unselfish interest in others, loyalty that values souls, prayer with spirit and understanding, and true devotion to what is pure, honest, just and of good report.
While all people will at last behold Christ as judge, the pure in heart shall behold Him as friend and elder brother, and if they continue to trust in Christ they grow more and more like Him until God makes them precious as fine gold and as the golden wedge of Ophir. Meekness, hunger for righteousness, and mercy including mercy toward those who err precede this purity, and Israel would have received the blessing by living out God's revealed will in mercy, compassion and love toward others. This sight begins as soon as a person decides to die to self, when new light begins and grows stronger and more decided until he can endure seeing Him who is invisible. Sin clouds perception and separates the soul from God, so self-esteem, self-love and every form of selfishness must be swept away that the soul may feed on Christ the Word of God, and through regeneration by the Word light comes to the darkened understanding. Seeing God in clear spiritual light is salvation to every believer, fashioning character after the divine likeness so that words, attitude, spirit and actions in everything show clearness of judgment.
Spiritual force of character grows in proportion to this sight of God, and its result is full consecration to God of the life, time and powers of every converted person. Purity is the only safeguard in forming character, coming from doing the Word, walking in close companionship with Christ, being made like Him in character and complete in Him, putting away sin and raising the standard of character. Those who are pure are able to see what must be done to gain eternal life, and they endure now by seeing Him who is invisible in order to see God at last. Singleness of heart is required for this seeing, gained through correct faith and steady working upward toward the light with help from those who guide as far as they understand, as when Moses thus prepared had Jehovah revealed to him. As Enoch lived in God's presence and walked and talked with Him in a life of faith and fellowship, so the pure live in that presence now.
It is present revelation of His presence as help in every time of need to those who wake from spiritual lethargy, watch and are sober, see their need, ask for help, stand at duty ready to be sent, and are ready to receive, for the help they need is abundantly provided and waiting. Purity of heart is shown in an intense desire to know God and an earnest longing to do His will, and those who cultivate purity and simplicity receive a representation of God through His Word. Yet God's presence so revealed cannot be fully comprehended, for this knowledge is too wonderful to communicate, words are tame and inadequate, and human thought cannot take it all in because God's infinity lies beyond it. There is an infinity beyond human thought, bringing feelings that cannot be communicated and things that cannot be said.
They will also see God face to face in the future immortal state in the same way Adam walked and talked with God in Eden, enduring the sight as Moses did with assurance of the richest blessings both in this life and in the life to come. The pure are blessed now and not only in the future, for purity of mind, soul and body with no impurity of thought or action belongs to the highest education. This seeing takes place when Christ manifests Himself to those who love Him by having His commandments and keeping them and abiding in His love, requiring a heart purified from hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong and cleansed from inherent sin, rooted and grounded in the love of Christ so He can enter and carry on a work of grace within. Being pure means cleansed from all selfishness and covetousness, and those who are pure will see in God no corrupting principles but will see the Lord in His ways and in His works. When the church and its institutions are so cleansed great good will be done, His righteousness will go before them, and Christ as their righteousness will lead them in the path prepared for the ransomed to walk in.
Only the pure can so see, for Christ's sinless character shows the purity the blessing concerns, and choosing impurity by disobeying His words hardens the heart, making people insensitive to others' suffering and lacking tenderness and love. Those separated from God by wicked works do not love to behold God or retain Him in knowledge, and like Adam hiding from his heavenly Father they turn their face so they cannot see Him, though no one can hide from God for darkness is as light to Him and He knows every secret thing. Satan seeks to block this sight by casting his hellish shadow across the path, interposing himself between the soul and God, and substituting lies for a Thus saith the Lord, as he did with Adam to lead into transgression. In the setting of the earth lightened with God's glory and Christ's coming, the promise belongs to those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes, and they shall see God's glory.
How Hearts Become Pure
Purity of heart comes from Christ received by faith as personal Saviour and righteousness, who takes away sin and imputes His own righteousness to remedy defects of character and form overcomers as children of God and heirs of heaven. Those who look in faith and hope to the uplifted Saviour live through Him, for He joins His heart to humanity's and heals the heart thoroughly so evil does not return, purifying and refining it by His divine life and filling it with His joy that remains and becomes full. Cherished sin, self-love, self-esteem, self-righteousness and transgression leave no room for Him to be enthroned, so happiness and His righteousness cannot coexist with Satan's principles in the heart, and seeing God requires being made pure like His spotless character by renouncing self-trust and clinging to Christ as wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption while putting away sin to imitate His holy, spotless life.
The Spirit of God shapes the character so that faith works by love and cleanses the soul of hereditary and cultivated tendencies opposed to God, producing inward purity seen in humility joined with firmness and a tender, compassionate character. The Holy Spirit purifies the soul by love and by the truth, and dwelling in the heart transforms the whole person into Christ's likeness to know God as pure and holy. Only hearts thus purified by the truth can stand against Satan's wiles and deceptions.
The blessing describes the righteous character all ages and classes are called to form, taught as practical godliness whose practical purity is faith working by love to purify the soul, while claims of faith or sanctification contradicting Christ's teaching show need for conversion and cleansing from sin. Anyone can reach the standard set forth through faith in Christ the Life-giver and by living His life, yet attaining it calls for lifelong, untiring effort. Those who diligently listen to the Lord and fear Him by cheerfully keeping His commandments are among those who will see God, for obedience marks them, Christ separates the contrite from sin, and the Holy Spirit is provided to keep the repentant from sinning.
Purity is an undivided, unstained connection with God in which conscience awakened by divine light recognizes sin, confesses it and forsakes it by grace into a consecrated, self-forgetful, unselfish life free from guile. Keeping faith fixed on Jesus rather than dwelling on darkness changes the beholder toward the image beheld. In captivity it is shown in humbling proud hearts, confessing sin and turning from reliance on ceremonies to reliance on God, and even amid outward loss and discouragement those who make God their center can sing while He helps them, compensates loss and is glorified through obedience.
Seeing God is promised as an inheritance to those who submit to God and unite with Him in the molding and fashioning work with wills submitted to the divine will to become vessels He may mold. That submission means wearing the yoke with Christ and working in His lines as co-partner with Him in His sufferings and toils for lost humanity, becoming a wise instructor of souls. Purity is gained by looking to God as giver of all possessed and depending on Him for counsel in every line of work, for physicians, carpenters, blacksmiths and all workers receive touch, skill, strength, knowledge, inventions and improvements from Him, and when they acknowledge Him they use His gifts with unerring aptitude to do perfect, exact work to His glory as workers together with Him, thus purifying their souls by sanctification of the Spirit through the truth so the promise is fulfilled in experience.
Enoch sought purity of heart for three hundred years to be in harmony with heaven, and as he walked with God his communion grew closer until God took him to Himself. The walk pursued on earth continued as he entered the holy city, the first from among humanity to enter it, showing the promise fulfilled. His pure heart appeared in a holy life holding fast to faith in the triumph of righteousness amid a corrupt, scoffing generation.
Purity is bound up with recovering through Christ the divine likeness lost through sin, a lifetime work requiring thorough transformation of soul, body and spirit, in which God sends light to reveal the true condition and refusal to walk in it shows preference for darkness to avoid exposure of deeds. The pure heart is more precious than gold, a sacred dwelling for God and Christ and treasury of virtue whose thoughts, purposes and desires are devoted to godliness and glorifying God, rejecting unworthy thoughts and conflicting company, while the Holy Spirit renews the heart into harmony with God to fit the soul to do His will so the light of the Sun of Righteousness shines within and is shared. Sin has marred the divine image and even secret sinful practice is seen, but Christ can restore it, so those who serve must be free from guile and through earnest prayer and self-conquest become partakers of the divine nature toward perfection of character. It is joined to clearness of thought and clearer perception of truth, for dwelling on God's goodness, mercy and love and studying His word in communion with Him cultivates holy thought and transforms the soul into humility, kindness and love, since mere profession is insufficient without the Spirit of Christ working within and works done in God, to be sought until the Spirit witnesses that ways please God.
Entrance to Heavenly Kingdom
Purity of heart is necessary for entrance into God's kingdom and city, where nothing defiling can enter, and justice stands at the entrance demanding holiness and purity in all who would see God. No one defective in character can pass through the gates that mercy has opened to the obedient, and no human sagacity, prudence, foresight, pride, energy, self-importance, power, wealth or social position can recommend anyone to God or open those gates. God reads beneath the surface, and entrance belongs to those who come to Him in humility of mind confessing sins and who are pure in heart and life, merciful, kind, men and women of holy principles. A person cannot look upon God and enter heaven as he is while still stained by sin or lacking the character represented by the wedding garment, and the desire to be pure is joined with hope of receiving the crown of life. The change from earth to heaven does not change character, for the happiness of the redeemed results from character formed in this life after the image of Christ, so saints in heaven must first have been saints on earth.
The pure in heart are blessed now and receive a blessedness that is their reward, with cheerfulness, peace and joy in the present, and they are prepared for eternal life when they will see and know God and Jesus Christ. Purity of heart is a moral excellence and character that God and heaven require, cultivated as part of the character taught in the Bible, and this hope calls people to purify themselves. This teaching is to be given to children and youth as a divine disclosure that brings peace in the present and prepares them for eternal life, for appropriating Christ's words by faith makes Christ every possible thing needed as the bread of life who satisfies every craving. These blessings belong to those seeking the righteousness He alone can give, showing that the faithful receive heaven's treasures and are made heirs in keeping with Christ's character, with rewards to be enacted at the judgment. Developing the character needed for that reward is essential to realizing it, and glimpses of heaven can impress mind and heart with this need.
A pure heart is necessary to meet the Saviour in peace at His coming, and the expectation of His soon coming awakens people to recognize they are not ready, seek purity, and ask God for strength and grace. Those preparing for His coming are to be without spot or wrinkle and perfect before God in holy life, living in heaven's atmosphere through perfection of character by His grace and righteousness, with converting power upon the heart, passions subdued, and will brought into captivity to Christ's will. At His return the saints will receive the light of His appearing and see the glory of Christ the Redeemer, and those who have served Him will behold the King in His majesty. This comes by studying Christ's life, dwelling upon the perfection of His character, imitating the divine Pattern and being changed into His image, not being taken up with pleasure and amusement but fitting up for the glorious mansions, being faithful in seeking to bless others and patient in well-doing, so as to be prepared to meet Christ coming in the clouds and to enter the kingdom and receive glory, honor and immortality. The pure in heart will receive the prospect of Paradise restored to Eden's glory, for God will give it to them.
Those who inherit the heavenly kingdom must be transformed by divine grace and be pure in heart and life, with characters made whole and balanced, for only such purity can behold Christ's glory and live in heaven which is free from all sin, defilement and impurity. Only the pure in heart shall see God, and those who live selfishly, ignore God's warnings, and refuse to follow Christ in self-denial and self-sacrifice cannot endure God's purity and glory or enjoy heaven, so the verse calls for thorough preparation of the heart.
In the sealing time those who are pure in heart and decided on the truth are blessed and covered by God for protection in the time of trouble. A pure and holy heart is necessary for life in God's kingdom, for holiness fits people to be its subjects, and the pure in heart with the peacemakers and those persecuted for Christ's sake are the subjects of the Father's kingdom who love God sincerely and truly and will shine in the kingdom of their Father. Purity of heart is a character without fault, without spot or stain in the sight of a pure and holy God, required to stand acquitted before the judgment seat of Christ and be saved for the future destiny Christ contemplates for those He died for. The beatitudes are not only promises but a daily experience Christ Himself teaches to all who follow and cooperate with Him, doing the work God has given them, wearing His yoke and learning His meekness and lowliness, and those who do so are loved and ministered to by angels in every part of life. That character determines the sentence when the judgment sits and the books are opened, for every person is judged and sentenced according to deeds as written in the books, and choices in this life fix eternal destiny, so selfishness and covetousness contrary to sanctification by the truth blind people to duty to love God and neighbor and those refusing to reform will not see the King in His beauty.
The pure in heart receive treasures of immortal value and are made fit to stand before God, with pure character and life free from iniquity cleansed from every idol and joined to a clear conscience free from offense. The religion of Jesus makes people pure so they may see God and awakens an intense desire to become like Jesus, and this purity of heart and loveliness of spirit is more precious than gold. The righteousness of Christ is the garment in which people may be admitted into heaven, and clothed in it they do duties in this life that glorify God. Entrance into heaven belongs not only to the wise, influential or actively busy but to the pure in heart, shown in lips free from guile, a peacemaking spirit shaped by Christ's abiding presence, and humble service whose aim is to do God's will, and such receive an abundant entrance into the heavenly courts and see God. Such purity involves self-denial and loving God supremely and neighbor as oneself, preparing a person to remain faithful through life or death, trials and suffering, which strengthen rather than uproot faith.
Those with pure hearts are blessed and will see God, and purity of heart is an attribute God delights to see expressed in people and one of the virtues to be sought through faith, prayer and earnest study of Scripture. Those who pursue these virtues are distinguishable from those who walk outside the light.
Daily Life and Service
Purity of heart marks Christian service, for the truths of Christ are to be understood and practiced and this characteristic revealed in the work of His followers, shaped by the Holy Spirit within while ambition and desire to supplant others have no place in the divine character. In the home it is the work to be done that prepares the family to see God, with the father as priest and house-band binding the household together, keeping a clear mind free from tobacco, liquor and perverted appetite so he can distinguish right from wrong and a mistake from willful sin. The mother is never to be a slave, and children from childhood are to help her and do duty at their post as part of the family firm, all speaking pleasant words and putting away a cross, fretful temper, for no one with such a temper will enter the gates of heaven. Angels attend such a household, and this education in kindness and sweetness of disposition fits parents and children for the courts above as members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King. Those pure in heart have laid aside every weight and besetting sin so that sin no longer rules them and they love God with all the heart, a principle for guiding children in righteousness and helping them overcome wrongdoing and for impressing on them the image of God toward a higher object than self-pleasure.
Those who work for God must be converted and of sound, virtuous character, with no guile in words and no secret sinful practice, their conduct open before God with Christ by their side. God calls only those pure in heart and undefiled in thought, with eye single to His glory, because each has to do individually with a God who looks upon the heart. This purity comes through a new moral taste created by purification of the soul temple and moral renovation of ideas, making a person see things in an altogether different light, requiring ceasing to criticize others and magnify their defects while excusing one's own, without which one is unfit to remain connected with God's institution. Messengers who are pure and set a right example, joining purity of heart to purity of life and godly example, labor successfully and highly successfully in carrying truth to others. Purity also marks the servants with whom God works and through whom He gives success, and those pure in heart and life shall see God. A minister pure in heart and life is raised above earthly and sensual pleasures, shares the divine nature, escapes the world's corruption through lust, and through communion with God bears fruit in knowing His will.
With mercy and peacemaking, purity guides meeting others in trouble and difficulty or at enmity with one another, as words to remember calling for speaking words of peace when nothing else is known to do, which can stop complaining and prove a blessing. It stands alongside mercy and peacemaking with the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and working in harmony with fellow believers. Being pure in heart and life requires yielding corruption and sin rather than twisting Scripture to defend them, for God's law is a mirror that exposes sin and provides the standard by which hearts and characters are to be brought into line. Distorting Scripture to excuse sin does not make a person pure, but living connection with God and nearness to Jesus foster likeness to Christ's pure and holy character, so that as sin appears more offensive Christ's purity appears more desirable. True happiness springs from purity of heart in a religion entirely different from formalism and from rites and ceremonies, not mere theory but affecting the heart and expressed in life by good works. This heart-centered religion differs from the Pharisees' teaching and condemns their conduct, for faith without corresponding works is not the true religion Christ taught, and lack of hunger for Bible knowledge, purity and holiness leaves godliness misunderstood while pride, selfishness, hatred, envy and jealousy cloud perception and weaken truth's power to guide toward salvation.
The pure in heart find joy in Christ and in holy fellowship centered on Him, dwelling on redemption, Christ's love and grace, holiness and saving truth, with abiding truth in the heart refreshing and restraining vile thoughts and words. Christ abides in the humble, contrite heart, and a pure clean heart is essential to seeing God, so those who do not recognize their need for it should not be entrusted with sacred responsibilities. Purity of heart is kept by reserve joined with kindness and courtesy, surrounding a person with an atmosphere of purity that shields from improper familiarity, and strengthened by keeping the mind on themes that build purity, fortifying the mind against Satan's deceptions. Communion with God makes ministers fruitful in knowing His will and in presenting sacred truths that touch the heart and awaken moral feeling. Understanding the blessed character brings valuable experience as ministers of righteousness.
Purity requires dying to self and striving to overcome Satan's temptations, for pride, worldliness and ungodliness cannot stand when Christ appears and only the pure in heart shall see God. Disciples today must spend time learning the Saviour's lesson in the fifth chapter of Matthew, with unity and love and Christian fellowship prevailing, for failure to learn and obey brings condemnation since God cannot co-operate with those who deem their own way better than His and whose example contradicts the lessons given to aid formation of Christlike character. Receiving Christ as personal Saviour means doing His work and following His way to become members of the royal family and representatives of the Saviour, washing robes of character white in the blood of the Lamb and setting a Christlike example in word and deed instead of accusing, thinking and speaking evil, gathering evil and using speech to destroy confidence among believers. Being pure in heart, mind and soul means studying the Bible, spending time in most earnest prayer, taking Christ's yoke and making it one's business to serve rather than rule and bind other minds to fulfill personal will, and cultivating repentance, confession and reformation instead of passing on after doing wrong. It requires burning magical books of science kept to perfect education and obtain power over minds, because holding them while studying the Bible spoils the mind for faithful Christian duty, brings accountability for controlling others, and leaves a person unable to learn and see what God and Christ truly are, with only full surrender to Jesus and honest obedience to God's law saving the soul. Characters must be purified with all dross separated to reach a higher standard, for self-centeredness stands in the way of this purity.
Those who search Scripture to know God gain better understanding of Daniel and Revelation, giving glimpses of the open gates of heaven that impress heart and mind with what character must be developed, for blessedness is the reward of purity of heart. A pure and holy character is necessary to enter God's presence, involving a mind brought into harmony with God's mind through truth, with those formed as Christ's disciples ever learning and reflecting light by teaching others away from error. True happiness comes from possessing the grace of the Spirit, not from wealth, fame, human praise or religious status, and God's grace in the heart bears fruit in good and righteous actions, so those possessing these qualities are truly blessed. Purity of heart is one of the character qualities Christ calls followers to develop, and studying this blessing and living according to Christ's way of working gives evidence they are children of God. Purity of heart and innocence of mind are necessary to receive God's blessing, while cherished sin brings unhappiness, especially pride and absence of Christlike sympathy and love. Christ humbled Himself, took human nature, and suffered and sacrificed Himself so fallen people could rely on His merits and receive acceptance from God as they strive to keep His law, through Him seeking to become more pure and undefiled in the elevated holy life believers seek.
The religion Christ lived, born of love, is kind, courteous, just, pure and uplifting, seeking to please God through righteousness, and the Beatitudes represent His deeds whose lessons are to be practiced. Purity is one of the graces of Christ's Spirit pronounced blessed that disciples must exhibit by putting His teaching into practical use to be lights of the world, with Christ as Light illuminating minds, sweeping away traditions and man-made requirements, and enforcing the real principles of God's law. Accepting His light is essential for restoration to spiritual life, and exercising the best and noblest faculties in obedience gives a sound, healthful, happy experience and makes life pleasant and useful to others under Christ's safe direction. Purity excludes false motives and pretentious good works, honoring God and giving glory to Him by expressing His grace, love and goodness with self out of view, recognized by Christ in the humble believer whose faith shows in a life devoted to God's service reflecting His holiness, righteousness, forbearance and mercy. It is joined to right purpose, teachability, trust, sincerity, meekness, humility and obedience to conscience, faithfully using abilities in assigned work without fear of others' opinions or anxious concern about results, reflecting Christ in loving unselfish service that blesses others, with righteous deeds recorded and rewarded by God. Being pure in heart belongs with living in the world without belonging to it, keeping the way of the Lord and acting with kindness, justice, mercy and humility before God. Seeking that inward purity by faith in Christ, rather than trusting priests and the pope or relying on religious observances, is the way pardon and peace and salvation are received.
The verse blesses those who are inwardly pure and promises that they will see God.
That purity is cleanness of heart, motive and thought rather than outward or ceremonial exactness, excluding selfishness, pride, envy and all that opposes God.
The pure see Him now by faith, discerning Him in Christ, Scripture, creation and providence and living as in His presence, and they will see Him face to face in immortal life.
This pure heart is given by Christ through faith in His merits and by the Holy Spirit cleansing through love and truth, received in lifelong obedience, confession of sin and surrender of the will.
Only such purity fits a person for entrance into God's kingdom and city, for the character formed in this life after Christ's likeness is the character that endures into heaven.
Sermon Setting and Wording
Blessed are the pure in heart is one of the blessings Christ spoke on the mountain when His disciples came to Him before the multitudes, given from His longing to fill the world with the peace and joy of the heavenly world. It forms part of the soul-saving message of Matthew 5, to be received with a humble spirit that brings conversion and removal of rebuke for past wrongs. As the great Teacher and Medical Missionary Worker He spoke it in His sermon on the mount to the multitude of Jews and Gentiles and to the disciples in the inner circle as part of the call to heart-reformation. The words were taught to the disciples so the Holy Spirit could impress them on memory for them afterward to share with the world, defining blessings for the faithful and showing the work to be done to receive them. Its character of teaching is to be studied together with His conflict with Satan and victory in the wilderness in Matthew 4.
The Beatitudes state the principles governing Christ's kingdom of divine grace, rather than promising earthly glory or political deliverance, and were intended for both the disciples and the gathered crowd. The blessing on the pure in heart with its promise that they shall see God was among the very first sentences of the Sermon on the Mount, calculated to lay Jewish ambition for an earthly kingdom of power and glory low in the dust. It exalts a trait of character entirely opposite to the attributes cherished, corrects high imaginings, and presents a kingdom where human ambitions and earthly passions cannot find entrance. Entrance into that kingdom depends not on names, positions and titles, which are nothing, but on pure virtue and holy character, which heaven accounts as everything. It belongs to Christ's teaching on the conditions of entrance into God's kingdom, which corrects worldly ideas of greatness and gives a right conception of the kingdom and His character, with principles still important today.
The sermon was spoken plainly and simply with heaven's authority, every word from God, so simple that a child can study it without misunderstanding or being misled. The mount of beatitudes is a symbol of the spiritual elevation on which Christ ever stood. Its teaching is ennobling, saving truth beyond men's highest ambitions and most profound investigations, given by One who saw the terrible ruin hanging over the race and came to save souls by His own righteousness, bringing definite assurance of hope and complete relief. He spoke with an authority exclusively His own as the Word and the Wisdom of God, ever presenting truth with the authority of God, and the words He speaks are spirit and life. It contradicted the self-righteous doctrines and practices of the scribes and Pharisees, revealing God's character as compassionate, merciful, loving and paternal.
That teaching at the mount also broadens vision beyond territorial lines and human-made distinctions to include suffering people in distant regions. There He explains the far-reaching character of God's law, presenting obedience as more than outward conduct, for His followers are to seek to reflect God's character in their lives. Christ spoke the benedictions with clearness and power and abundant assurance, showing Him to be the fountain of all goodness with prerogative to bless and impress minds, with the treasures of eternity at His command and with unlimited authority to act in the office of God. In speaking before the great multitude with heavenly brightness in words entirely different from those of the scribes and Pharisees, He declared authority to dispense the treasures of eternity to whomsoever He willed, though His divinity was clothed with humanity. Those He called blessed were the very ones they would have denounced as cursed of God.
The benedictions are His greeting and blessing to the whole human family, blessing those who despite need are willing to receive His light and love and life. The verse specifies one of the traits of character that must be possessed by subjects of His heavenly kingdom, the peculiar people who will compose the royal family in heaven, receive Him as Saviour, trade upon His gifts, and become heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, united with Him in service and sharing blessing and glory and honor. In the benediction He embraced those who would compose His kingdom in this world and presented before a vast assembly the riches of the grace of heaven, every blessing essential to happiness and joy, with no flattery toward men of highest authority and worldly dignitaries whom He does not recognize. It describes the attributes of those who will share the eternal rewards, with special emphasis that those who suffer persecution for His name's sake will be richly blessed with great reward in heaven.
Matthew 5 is the gospel of Christ given from the mount of beatitudes, the same gospel He gave to the children of Israel enshrouded in the pillar of cloud. The Speaker is Christ, Captain of the Lord's host, whose manifestations of glory reveal His prerogatives, high authority and character, Himself the example of truth and purity, who in becoming flesh full of grace and truth gave the human race the perfect standard of practice in purity, righteousness and love, with the bright prospect of immortal life in the paradise of God. It presents God's law as the far-reaching, spiritual standard whose claims must be investigated and put into the heart, because the state of the heart regulates life and character. Unless converts are impressed with these principles as taught in the sermon on the mount, labor for them is lost. Its words are worth frequent reflection and are to be lived out through divine virtues in words, attitude and actions, representing Christ, bringing present blessedness with cheerfulness, peace and joy in work.
Purity of heart as part of that holy standard must be seen in honest dealings, since unjustly acquiring means and confusing right and holy business methods show the law has not been learned and the soul needs cleansing. Matthew 5:1-12 teaches who is blessed and calls those who claim to be God's children to learn from these blessings and live accordingly. The verse is among Christ's sayings to be believed and practiced as a way of life to study and follow, bringing divine principles into the heart, developing Christlike character, and giving evidence of being children of God. Receiving its blessing requires accepting the terms laid down and day by day accepting and following His teaching, receiving the Word into good and honest hearts. As one of the words of blessing it teaches the way to heaven and holds most precious lessons to be studied above all other knowledge, kept in place of light reading and stored in memory so that not human words but its Scriptural words can be repeated at the proper time to people of every temperament in trial and perplexity, especially where Christ is to be represented, shielding from temptation, making the speaker a savor of life unto life, and furnishing reasons for the faith in a manner that does not offend but glorifies God.
Nature of Heart Purity
Purity of heart is inward purity of motive and nobility of action, not exact outward or ceremonial observance, for selfishness, injustice and malice stain the soul while outward defilement rules miss the inward stain. It is wisdom from above that is first pure, the fitness required to dwell in the city where nothing defiling can enter, and it shows itself in a growing distaste for careless manners, unseemly language and coarse thought, with refinement of thought and manner. It goes deeper than the world's idea of freedom from sensuality and lust to truth in the hidden purposes and motives, freedom from pride and self-seeking, shown in being humble, unselfish and childlike in thought, speech and manners. Impure thought and speech defile the soul, weaken the moral sense, erase the impressions of the Spirit and dim spiritual sight so that spiritual truth cannot be discerned, and though the repentant sinner is forgiven the soul remains marred and hurt. Selfishness likewise bars the sight because the self-seeking heart judges God to be like itself, but by renouncing selfishness and shunning all impurity a person can understand His love, and the unselfish, humble, trusting heart sees Him as merciful, gracious, patient and abundant in goodness and truth.
Purity of both mind and conduct excludes impure thoughts, corrupt imagination and unchaste behavior, so that no unholy thoughts or actions are to be cherished, and the mind corrupted by romances and by associations that stir temptation and weaken modesty and virtue is to be cleansed by ceasing to dwell on them. It means walking uprightly and working righteousness and speaking the truth in the heart, having clean hands and a pure heart, not lifting the soul to vanity nor swearing deceitfully. Those who do so shall abide in the tabernacle and dwell in the holy hill, shall ascend into the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place, and shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of salvation, for the verse gives plain instruction on the duty of all who desire its blessing. It excludes all that is antagonistic to God, including selfishness, covetousness, bitterness, envy, jealousy, evil surmising, impatience, rivalry, strife, unholy speech and unsanctified action, and it requires thorough daily conversion and guarding of heart, mind and soul. Grace purifies every thought, regulates every desire and sweetens the disposition, giving a clear view and convincing knowledge of His character, while envy, pettishness, jealousy and evil surmisings shut out the sight and constant strife shows the want of sanctification by truth that should bear good fruit in a peculiar people zealous of good works.
It requires cleansing from hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong and from inherent sin, digging out by the roots the bitter root of selfishness, undue self-estimation and demeriting others, being rooted and grounded in the love of Christ and loving one another as He loved in entire sanctification, for without holiness no one can see God and where the heart is not purified He cannot enter and the work of grace cannot go on. Defiling sins, including impatience, stubborn independence, rivalry, discord and strife, are incompatible with seeing Him and receiving His favor, are seen and recorded in heaven to be revealed at judgment, dishonor Him by corrupting the thoughts of others, and call for turning from unrighteousness and confessing sin. God judges by this moral worth rather than outward appearance, wealth or praise, unlike those who judge by possessions, and a pure heart imbued with thankfulness and peace is more precious than gold, silver and diamonds. It brings right words and actions and true nobility, carries the holy principles of His religion into daily life, and possesses the peace of Christ as the gift of God that money cannot buy and talent and intellect cannot secure, with the meekness and lowliness of Christ as power more precious than all genius can create or wealth can buy, so that prayer for a clean heart and for words and inward thoughts to be acceptable is fitting. It belongs with holiness, righteousness and true godliness, without which no one will see the Lord, in purity of mind, soul, body and life, and in love to God and neighbor fully lived through grace that makes complete in Him.
The hope of seeing Him when He appears leads to purifying oneself pure as He is, cultivating the moral excellence heaven requires, so that the pure will then be like Him and see Him in the eternal life of His kingdom. It belongs to putting on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness, fashioned by the Holy Spirit making the person after Christ's likeness, not the person using the Spirit but the Spirit using the person. With mercy and peacemaking it is the inward character to be worked out with fear and trembling while God works to will and to do, seen in love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance, and not in a pompous, overbearing, dictatorial spirit. Those who are pure discern the truth as it is in Jesus, keep His principles, resist the corrupting attitudes and practices of the world, and represent Him in conduct, work and teaching, and the verse warns and appeals to develop that character now in probation because the heart is revealed by actions and there will be no later opportunity to make up what was left undone. The heart's condition is thus revealed by outward conduct, so pride shown in costly, needless adornment for display and love of worldly show proves inward corruption that must be cleansed before one can see God. That warning concerns vanity and adornment for show, not every collar or ribbon, for plain linen collars are not condemned.
It is practical holiness and Christlikeness, not empty profession, requiring truth inwardly, undefiled thought, guileless speech and upright conduct. It desires truth inwardly and receives the Word by coming to the light rather than choosing darkness or rejecting counsel because it conflicts with opinion. It excludes false motives and pretentious good works, honors God and gives Him glory by expressing His grace, love and goodness while putting self out of view, with humble faith shown in a life devoted to His service and reflecting His holiness, righteousness, forbearance and mercy. It is joined to right purpose, teachability, trust, sincerity, meekness, humility and obedience to conscience, faithfully using abilities in the assigned work without fear of opinion or anxious concern about results, in loving unselfish service that blesses others and in righteous deeds that are recorded and rewarded. It is essential for those who serve God and work for the good and salvation of others, and the closer Christ's purity and holiness are contemplated the more sinfulness is recognized and the less there is boasting of holiness.
Seeing God Now and Future
The pure in heart live even now as in the visible presence of God, keeping the unseen Lord ever before them and communing with Him in secret where no eye sees and no ear hears but His own. Silent earnest desire finds access to the Father, and God reveals Himself to them as a sin-pardoning Saviour whose mercy and goodness give help and encouragement. They feel His keeping power and carry an abiding Christ even in the busiest, most excitable crowd, in the marketplace and in crowded companies as well as in the chapel when duty requires them to be there. This is to abide always in His love, admitted as contrite, humble, meek and lowly lovers and servants of God into the audience chamber of the King of righteousness to converse with Him now, as standing before an earthly king and seeing his face means being in His favor with the throne of grace standing open. Purity so shown in a life of love toward all people brings a change from sin that appears in changed words and actions, and those who are pure see God dimly by faith while the corrupt have evil imaginings in all they look upon.
All wrongdoing is departure from God, for man is ever in the presence of the Lord God of hosts, and remembering that presence and cultivating the sense of standing before Him in every place doing His will upheld by His hand gives life meaning and sacredness revealed in good works. When the presence of the Infinite One is deeply felt, the thoughts of the heart, the words of the lips, and every plan and act of the outward life are made worthy, but God can do little for His people when hearts are full of corruption while lips utter sacred truths. Purity of heart therefore calls for a willing mind to walk in the way of the Lord, choosing influences that lead toward God and separating from associations that draw the heart away from truth and righteousness. It is lived as a practical following of Jesus who went about doing good, seeking the light and holy atmosphere that bring God nearer to the heart and carrying the lamp of life as a true receiver of Christ as personal Saviour.
Purity in thought and conduct clears spiritual sight, enabling discernment and valuing of God's character as represented in His law, and the pure behold God in Christ and by looking to Him become changed into His likeness. They recognize Him in His Son sent to save, in creation's beauty and grandeur, in every providence and in every part of true education, and in Scripture where precious truths are recognized only through the eye of faith. Those who search Scripture with deep desire to know God and Jesus Christ are rewarded with understanding, including understanding of Daniel's prophecies, for as the time of the end arrives the light given to Daniel is to reach the world more fully. The purified understand while the wicked do not, and near the close of earth's history those who walk in the light gain increased knowledge of Christ and the prophecies about Him, while impurity tarnishes everything a person sees. They are responsive to the first light from God and receive communications from heaven as they welcome the first gleams of spiritual knowledge.
They see God as sin-pardoning Saviour, friend and elder brother, discerning His merciful, gracious, patient character and His counsel as a friend shares with friends, constantly looking to Christ, praying sincerely for His Holy Spirit, and grieving when a cloud hides Him from sight. Their affections and minds have been prepared for heaven through faith that works by love, being dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ with the eye fixed on God's glory, so they can behold and appreciate His character and recognize Christ's preciousness. Those who trust Christ as personal Saviour and rely on Him as substitute and surety bear no guilt, for Christ who has no sin bears their guilt and through His merits and imputed righteousness they are accounted guiltless and free from sin's defiling influence. Their helpless souls rest on Christ so they endure as seeing the invisible God, and as selfishness is put away and God's character is revealed to the heart, unbelief gives way to faith, assurance and peace rather than fear or hopelessness. Beholding God leads to becoming like Him, for the Holy Spirit changes the heart and forms the character in Christ's likeness, and this deep heart-love for Christ removes selfish desire to be first and all hatred, bringing forth unselfish interest in others, loyalty that values souls, prayer with spirit and understanding, and true devotion to what is pure, honest, just and of good report.
While all people will at last behold Christ as judge, the pure in heart shall behold Him as friend and elder brother, and if they continue to trust in Christ they grow more and more like Him until God makes them precious as fine gold and as the golden wedge of Ophir. Meekness, hunger for righteousness, and mercy including mercy toward those who err precede this purity, and Israel would have received the blessing by living out God's revealed will in mercy, compassion and love toward others. This sight begins as soon as a person decides to die to self, when new light begins and grows stronger and more decided until he can endure seeing Him who is invisible. Sin clouds perception and separates the soul from God, so self-esteem, self-love and every form of selfishness must be swept away that the soul may feed on Christ the Word of God, and through regeneration by the Word light comes to the darkened understanding. Seeing God in clear spiritual light is salvation to every believer, fashioning character after the divine likeness so that words, attitude, spirit and actions in everything show clearness of judgment.
Spiritual force of character grows in proportion to this sight of God, and its result is full consecration to God of the life, time and powers of every converted person. Purity is the only safeguard in forming character, coming from doing the Word, walking in close companionship with Christ, being made like Him in character and complete in Him, putting away sin and raising the standard of character. Those who are pure are able to see what must be done to gain eternal life, and they endure now by seeing Him who is invisible in order to see God at last. Singleness of heart is required for this seeing, gained through correct faith and steady working upward toward the light with help from those who guide as far as they understand, as when Moses thus prepared had Jehovah revealed to him. As Enoch lived in God's presence and walked and talked with Him in a life of faith and fellowship, so the pure live in that presence now.
It is present revelation of His presence as help in every time of need to those who wake from spiritual lethargy, watch and are sober, see their need, ask for help, stand at duty ready to be sent, and are ready to receive, for the help they need is abundantly provided and waiting. Purity of heart is shown in an intense desire to know God and an earnest longing to do His will, and those who cultivate purity and simplicity receive a representation of God through His Word. Yet God's presence so revealed cannot be fully comprehended, for this knowledge is too wonderful to communicate, words are tame and inadequate, and human thought cannot take it all in because God's infinity lies beyond it. There is an infinity beyond human thought, bringing feelings that cannot be communicated and things that cannot be said.
They will also see God face to face in the future immortal state in the same way Adam walked and talked with God in Eden, enduring the sight as Moses did with assurance of the richest blessings both in this life and in the life to come. The pure are blessed now and not only in the future, for purity of mind, soul and body with no impurity of thought or action belongs to the highest education. This seeing takes place when Christ manifests Himself to those who love Him by having His commandments and keeping them and abiding in His love, requiring a heart purified from hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong and cleansed from inherent sin, rooted and grounded in the love of Christ so He can enter and carry on a work of grace within. Being pure means cleansed from all selfishness and covetousness, and those who are pure will see in God no corrupting principles but will see the Lord in His ways and in His works. When the church and its institutions are so cleansed great good will be done, His righteousness will go before them, and Christ as their righteousness will lead them in the path prepared for the ransomed to walk in.
Only the pure can so see, for Christ's sinless character shows the purity the blessing concerns, and choosing impurity by disobeying His words hardens the heart, making people insensitive to others' suffering and lacking tenderness and love. Those separated from God by wicked works do not love to behold God or retain Him in knowledge, and like Adam hiding from his heavenly Father they turn their face so they cannot see Him, though no one can hide from God for darkness is as light to Him and He knows every secret thing. Satan seeks to block this sight by casting his hellish shadow across the path, interposing himself between the soul and God, and substituting lies for a Thus saith the Lord, as he did with Adam to lead into transgression. In the setting of the earth lightened with God's glory and Christ's coming, the promise belongs to those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes, and they shall see God's glory.
How Hearts Become Pure
Purity of heart comes from Christ received by faith as personal Saviour and righteousness, who takes away sin and imputes His own righteousness to remedy defects of character and form overcomers as children of God and heirs of heaven. Those who look in faith and hope to the uplifted Saviour live through Him, for He joins His heart to humanity's and heals the heart thoroughly so evil does not return, purifying and refining it by His divine life and filling it with His joy that remains and becomes full. Cherished sin, self-love, self-esteem, self-righteousness and transgression leave no room for Him to be enthroned, so happiness and His righteousness cannot coexist with Satan's principles in the heart, and seeing God requires being made pure like His spotless character by renouncing self-trust and clinging to Christ as wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption while putting away sin to imitate His holy, spotless life.
The Spirit of God shapes the character so that faith works by love and cleanses the soul of hereditary and cultivated tendencies opposed to God, producing inward purity seen in humility joined with firmness and a tender, compassionate character. The Holy Spirit purifies the soul by love and by the truth, and dwelling in the heart transforms the whole person into Christ's likeness to know God as pure and holy. Only hearts thus purified by the truth can stand against Satan's wiles and deceptions.
The blessing describes the righteous character all ages and classes are called to form, taught as practical godliness whose practical purity is faith working by love to purify the soul, while claims of faith or sanctification contradicting Christ's teaching show need for conversion and cleansing from sin. Anyone can reach the standard set forth through faith in Christ the Life-giver and by living His life, yet attaining it calls for lifelong, untiring effort. Those who diligently listen to the Lord and fear Him by cheerfully keeping His commandments are among those who will see God, for obedience marks them, Christ separates the contrite from sin, and the Holy Spirit is provided to keep the repentant from sinning.
Purity is an undivided, unstained connection with God in which conscience awakened by divine light recognizes sin, confesses it and forsakes it by grace into a consecrated, self-forgetful, unselfish life free from guile. Keeping faith fixed on Jesus rather than dwelling on darkness changes the beholder toward the image beheld. In captivity it is shown in humbling proud hearts, confessing sin and turning from reliance on ceremonies to reliance on God, and even amid outward loss and discouragement those who make God their center can sing while He helps them, compensates loss and is glorified through obedience.
Seeing God is promised as an inheritance to those who submit to God and unite with Him in the molding and fashioning work with wills submitted to the divine will to become vessels He may mold. That submission means wearing the yoke with Christ and working in His lines as co-partner with Him in His sufferings and toils for lost humanity, becoming a wise instructor of souls. Purity is gained by looking to God as giver of all possessed and depending on Him for counsel in every line of work, for physicians, carpenters, blacksmiths and all workers receive touch, skill, strength, knowledge, inventions and improvements from Him, and when they acknowledge Him they use His gifts with unerring aptitude to do perfect, exact work to His glory as workers together with Him, thus purifying their souls by sanctification of the Spirit through the truth so the promise is fulfilled in experience.
Enoch sought purity of heart for three hundred years to be in harmony with heaven, and as he walked with God his communion grew closer until God took him to Himself. The walk pursued on earth continued as he entered the holy city, the first from among humanity to enter it, showing the promise fulfilled. His pure heart appeared in a holy life holding fast to faith in the triumph of righteousness amid a corrupt, scoffing generation.
Purity is bound up with recovering through Christ the divine likeness lost through sin, a lifetime work requiring thorough transformation of soul, body and spirit, in which God sends light to reveal the true condition and refusal to walk in it shows preference for darkness to avoid exposure of deeds. The pure heart is more precious than gold, a sacred dwelling for God and Christ and treasury of virtue whose thoughts, purposes and desires are devoted to godliness and glorifying God, rejecting unworthy thoughts and conflicting company, while the Holy Spirit renews the heart into harmony with God to fit the soul to do His will so the light of the Sun of Righteousness shines within and is shared. Sin has marred the divine image and even secret sinful practice is seen, but Christ can restore it, so those who serve must be free from guile and through earnest prayer and self-conquest become partakers of the divine nature toward perfection of character. It is joined to clearness of thought and clearer perception of truth, for dwelling on God's goodness, mercy and love and studying His word in communion with Him cultivates holy thought and transforms the soul into humility, kindness and love, since mere profession is insufficient without the Spirit of Christ working within and works done in God, to be sought until the Spirit witnesses that ways please God.
Entrance to Heavenly Kingdom
Purity of heart is necessary for entrance into God's kingdom and city, where nothing defiling can enter, and justice stands at the entrance demanding holiness and purity in all who would see God. No one defective in character can pass through the gates that mercy has opened to the obedient, and no human sagacity, prudence, foresight, pride, energy, self-importance, power, wealth or social position can recommend anyone to God or open those gates. God reads beneath the surface, and entrance belongs to those who come to Him in humility of mind confessing sins and who are pure in heart and life, merciful, kind, men and women of holy principles. A person cannot look upon God and enter heaven as he is while still stained by sin or lacking the character represented by the wedding garment, and the desire to be pure is joined with hope of receiving the crown of life. The change from earth to heaven does not change character, for the happiness of the redeemed results from character formed in this life after the image of Christ, so saints in heaven must first have been saints on earth.
The pure in heart are blessed now and receive a blessedness that is their reward, with cheerfulness, peace and joy in the present, and they are prepared for eternal life when they will see and know God and Jesus Christ. Purity of heart is a moral excellence and character that God and heaven require, cultivated as part of the character taught in the Bible, and this hope calls people to purify themselves. This teaching is to be given to children and youth as a divine disclosure that brings peace in the present and prepares them for eternal life, for appropriating Christ's words by faith makes Christ every possible thing needed as the bread of life who satisfies every craving. These blessings belong to those seeking the righteousness He alone can give, showing that the faithful receive heaven's treasures and are made heirs in keeping with Christ's character, with rewards to be enacted at the judgment. Developing the character needed for that reward is essential to realizing it, and glimpses of heaven can impress mind and heart with this need.
A pure heart is necessary to meet the Saviour in peace at His coming, and the expectation of His soon coming awakens people to recognize they are not ready, seek purity, and ask God for strength and grace. Those preparing for His coming are to be without spot or wrinkle and perfect before God in holy life, living in heaven's atmosphere through perfection of character by His grace and righteousness, with converting power upon the heart, passions subdued, and will brought into captivity to Christ's will. At His return the saints will receive the light of His appearing and see the glory of Christ the Redeemer, and those who have served Him will behold the King in His majesty. This comes by studying Christ's life, dwelling upon the perfection of His character, imitating the divine Pattern and being changed into His image, not being taken up with pleasure and amusement but fitting up for the glorious mansions, being faithful in seeking to bless others and patient in well-doing, so as to be prepared to meet Christ coming in the clouds and to enter the kingdom and receive glory, honor and immortality. The pure in heart will receive the prospect of Paradise restored to Eden's glory, for God will give it to them.
Those who inherit the heavenly kingdom must be transformed by divine grace and be pure in heart and life, with characters made whole and balanced, for only such purity can behold Christ's glory and live in heaven which is free from all sin, defilement and impurity. Only the pure in heart shall see God, and those who live selfishly, ignore God's warnings, and refuse to follow Christ in self-denial and self-sacrifice cannot endure God's purity and glory or enjoy heaven, so the verse calls for thorough preparation of the heart.
In the sealing time those who are pure in heart and decided on the truth are blessed and covered by God for protection in the time of trouble. A pure and holy heart is necessary for life in God's kingdom, for holiness fits people to be its subjects, and the pure in heart with the peacemakers and those persecuted for Christ's sake are the subjects of the Father's kingdom who love God sincerely and truly and will shine in the kingdom of their Father. Purity of heart is a character without fault, without spot or stain in the sight of a pure and holy God, required to stand acquitted before the judgment seat of Christ and be saved for the future destiny Christ contemplates for those He died for. The beatitudes are not only promises but a daily experience Christ Himself teaches to all who follow and cooperate with Him, doing the work God has given them, wearing His yoke and learning His meekness and lowliness, and those who do so are loved and ministered to by angels in every part of life. That character determines the sentence when the judgment sits and the books are opened, for every person is judged and sentenced according to deeds as written in the books, and choices in this life fix eternal destiny, so selfishness and covetousness contrary to sanctification by the truth blind people to duty to love God and neighbor and those refusing to reform will not see the King in His beauty.
The pure in heart receive treasures of immortal value and are made fit to stand before God, with pure character and life free from iniquity cleansed from every idol and joined to a clear conscience free from offense. The religion of Jesus makes people pure so they may see God and awakens an intense desire to become like Jesus, and this purity of heart and loveliness of spirit is more precious than gold. The righteousness of Christ is the garment in which people may be admitted into heaven, and clothed in it they do duties in this life that glorify God. Entrance into heaven belongs not only to the wise, influential or actively busy but to the pure in heart, shown in lips free from guile, a peacemaking spirit shaped by Christ's abiding presence, and humble service whose aim is to do God's will, and such receive an abundant entrance into the heavenly courts and see God. Such purity involves self-denial and loving God supremely and neighbor as oneself, preparing a person to remain faithful through life or death, trials and suffering, which strengthen rather than uproot faith.
Those with pure hearts are blessed and will see God, and purity of heart is an attribute God delights to see expressed in people and one of the virtues to be sought through faith, prayer and earnest study of Scripture. Those who pursue these virtues are distinguishable from those who walk outside the light.
Daily Life and Service
Purity of heart marks Christian service, for the truths of Christ are to be understood and practiced and this characteristic revealed in the work of His followers, shaped by the Holy Spirit within while ambition and desire to supplant others have no place in the divine character. In the home it is the work to be done that prepares the family to see God, with the father as priest and house-band binding the household together, keeping a clear mind free from tobacco, liquor and perverted appetite so he can distinguish right from wrong and a mistake from willful sin. The mother is never to be a slave, and children from childhood are to help her and do duty at their post as part of the family firm, all speaking pleasant words and putting away a cross, fretful temper, for no one with such a temper will enter the gates of heaven. Angels attend such a household, and this education in kindness and sweetness of disposition fits parents and children for the courts above as members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King. Those pure in heart have laid aside every weight and besetting sin so that sin no longer rules them and they love God with all the heart, a principle for guiding children in righteousness and helping them overcome wrongdoing and for impressing on them the image of God toward a higher object than self-pleasure.
Those who work for God must be converted and of sound, virtuous character, with no guile in words and no secret sinful practice, their conduct open before God with Christ by their side. God calls only those pure in heart and undefiled in thought, with eye single to His glory, because each has to do individually with a God who looks upon the heart. This purity comes through a new moral taste created by purification of the soul temple and moral renovation of ideas, making a person see things in an altogether different light, requiring ceasing to criticize others and magnify their defects while excusing one's own, without which one is unfit to remain connected with God's institution. Messengers who are pure and set a right example, joining purity of heart to purity of life and godly example, labor successfully and highly successfully in carrying truth to others. Purity also marks the servants with whom God works and through whom He gives success, and those pure in heart and life shall see God. A minister pure in heart and life is raised above earthly and sensual pleasures, shares the divine nature, escapes the world's corruption through lust, and through communion with God bears fruit in knowing His will.
With mercy and peacemaking, purity guides meeting others in trouble and difficulty or at enmity with one another, as words to remember calling for speaking words of peace when nothing else is known to do, which can stop complaining and prove a blessing. It stands alongside mercy and peacemaking with the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and working in harmony with fellow believers. Being pure in heart and life requires yielding corruption and sin rather than twisting Scripture to defend them, for God's law is a mirror that exposes sin and provides the standard by which hearts and characters are to be brought into line. Distorting Scripture to excuse sin does not make a person pure, but living connection with God and nearness to Jesus foster likeness to Christ's pure and holy character, so that as sin appears more offensive Christ's purity appears more desirable. True happiness springs from purity of heart in a religion entirely different from formalism and from rites and ceremonies, not mere theory but affecting the heart and expressed in life by good works. This heart-centered religion differs from the Pharisees' teaching and condemns their conduct, for faith without corresponding works is not the true religion Christ taught, and lack of hunger for Bible knowledge, purity and holiness leaves godliness misunderstood while pride, selfishness, hatred, envy and jealousy cloud perception and weaken truth's power to guide toward salvation.
The pure in heart find joy in Christ and in holy fellowship centered on Him, dwelling on redemption, Christ's love and grace, holiness and saving truth, with abiding truth in the heart refreshing and restraining vile thoughts and words. Christ abides in the humble, contrite heart, and a pure clean heart is essential to seeing God, so those who do not recognize their need for it should not be entrusted with sacred responsibilities. Purity of heart is kept by reserve joined with kindness and courtesy, surrounding a person with an atmosphere of purity that shields from improper familiarity, and strengthened by keeping the mind on themes that build purity, fortifying the mind against Satan's deceptions. Communion with God makes ministers fruitful in knowing His will and in presenting sacred truths that touch the heart and awaken moral feeling. Understanding the blessed character brings valuable experience as ministers of righteousness.
Purity requires dying to self and striving to overcome Satan's temptations, for pride, worldliness and ungodliness cannot stand when Christ appears and only the pure in heart shall see God. Disciples today must spend time learning the Saviour's lesson in the fifth chapter of Matthew, with unity and love and Christian fellowship prevailing, for failure to learn and obey brings condemnation since God cannot co-operate with those who deem their own way better than His and whose example contradicts the lessons given to aid formation of Christlike character. Receiving Christ as personal Saviour means doing His work and following His way to become members of the royal family and representatives of the Saviour, washing robes of character white in the blood of the Lamb and setting a Christlike example in word and deed instead of accusing, thinking and speaking evil, gathering evil and using speech to destroy confidence among believers. Being pure in heart, mind and soul means studying the Bible, spending time in most earnest prayer, taking Christ's yoke and making it one's business to serve rather than rule and bind other minds to fulfill personal will, and cultivating repentance, confession and reformation instead of passing on after doing wrong. It requires burning magical books of science kept to perfect education and obtain power over minds, because holding them while studying the Bible spoils the mind for faithful Christian duty, brings accountability for controlling others, and leaves a person unable to learn and see what God and Christ truly are, with only full surrender to Jesus and honest obedience to God's law saving the soul. Characters must be purified with all dross separated to reach a higher standard, for self-centeredness stands in the way of this purity.
Those who search Scripture to know God gain better understanding of Daniel and Revelation, giving glimpses of the open gates of heaven that impress heart and mind with what character must be developed, for blessedness is the reward of purity of heart. A pure and holy character is necessary to enter God's presence, involving a mind brought into harmony with God's mind through truth, with those formed as Christ's disciples ever learning and reflecting light by teaching others away from error. True happiness comes from possessing the grace of the Spirit, not from wealth, fame, human praise or religious status, and God's grace in the heart bears fruit in good and righteous actions, so those possessing these qualities are truly blessed. Purity of heart is one of the character qualities Christ calls followers to develop, and studying this blessing and living according to Christ's way of working gives evidence they are children of God. Purity of heart and innocence of mind are necessary to receive God's blessing, while cherished sin brings unhappiness, especially pride and absence of Christlike sympathy and love. Christ humbled Himself, took human nature, and suffered and sacrificed Himself so fallen people could rely on His merits and receive acceptance from God as they strive to keep His law, through Him seeking to become more pure and undefiled in the elevated holy life believers seek.
The religion Christ lived, born of love, is kind, courteous, just, pure and uplifting, seeking to please God through righteousness, and the Beatitudes represent His deeds whose lessons are to be practiced. Purity is one of the graces of Christ's Spirit pronounced blessed that disciples must exhibit by putting His teaching into practical use to be lights of the world, with Christ as Light illuminating minds, sweeping away traditions and man-made requirements, and enforcing the real principles of God's law. Accepting His light is essential for restoration to spiritual life, and exercising the best and noblest faculties in obedience gives a sound, healthful, happy experience and makes life pleasant and useful to others under Christ's safe direction. Purity excludes false motives and pretentious good works, honoring God and giving glory to Him by expressing His grace, love and goodness with self out of view, recognized by Christ in the humble believer whose faith shows in a life devoted to God's service reflecting His holiness, righteousness, forbearance and mercy. It is joined to right purpose, teachability, trust, sincerity, meekness, humility and obedience to conscience, faithfully using abilities in assigned work without fear of others' opinions or anxious concern about results, reflecting Christ in loving unselfish service that blesses others, with righteous deeds recorded and rewarded by God. Being pure in heart belongs with living in the world without belonging to it, keeping the way of the Lord and acting with kindness, justice, mercy and humility before God. Seeking that inward purity by faith in Christ, rather than trusting priests and the pope or relying on religious observances, is the way pardon and peace and salvation are received.