“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)
Blessedness or true happiness of the soul requires purity of heart. We might prefer to simply say that true blessedness flows in and through the heart that is pure. In other words, blessedness is not the result of works, but a state of the soul that flows from a pure heart. We can see how this fits with the previous beatitudes. A pure heart must be a heart that is poor in spirit and so emptied of self-righteousness. A pure heart is one that would mourn for the sins of others and for how God’s name is so misused. A pure heart is meek and gentle and self-centeredness and self-love is absent. A pure heart is one that longs for purity in life and so hungers and thirsts for righteousness. A pure heart is merciful because it has been shown mercy and desires the glory of God above all.
The term “purity” seems rather self-evident to mean a heart that is free of sin. Maybe it would mean a heart that has been cleansed by the blood of Christ. Without doubt those things are true in some sense. But are they true in this text and in this context as to the meaning? We know that a person is blessed if his or her heart has been cleansed by the blood of Christ. We also know that a person is blessed if his or her heart is free (not perfectly) of sin. But is that what is meant in this context? We can even know that a person will never be blessed unless his or heart has been cleansed by the blood of Christ, but are we sure that is all that is meant in this context? If that is all that was meant, he could have simply said that. I think something else is going on here.
The New Testament has different words for “pure.” The verses that I use will be focused on the Greek word (katharos is the transliteration). It is translated in various ways such as unclean, pure, clear, innocent, purification, cleanse, cleaning, and cleansed. The first example is this: “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (I Tim 1:5). A pure heart in the context of I Timothy is closely linked with Matthew 5:8 and clearly means something apart from initial salvation or justification. In this verse we have Paul telling Timothy of the goal of instruction. The goal of instruction is not in order to stock the brain with things that will make it swell with pride, but love. That love is not just to be things that a person does, but is to come from a pure heart. In fact, there is no such thing as love from an impure heart. Only those that have purified hearts truly love. We can see how this would certainly be true of a blessed person.
At the moment we can see one reason for a pure heart. It is from that heart that true love flows from. But II Timothy 2:22 gives us another reason. “Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” A pure heart is what we call on the Lord from. This tells us that it takes a pure heart to call upon the Lord in truth. This is also another reason that a person would be blessed as the possessor of a pure heart. It is only from a pure heart that a person calls upon the Lord with. Still another type of use is seen in Titus 2:14: “who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.” In this case a pure heart is linked with the positive actions of the believer. Christ gave Himself to redeem us from every lawless deed. But He also gave Himself “to purify for Himself a people for His own possession” who are “zealous for good deeds.” This is an utterly vital point. It is the blood of Christ that cleanses from sin and removes the wrath of God, but it is also Christ who gave Himself in order to purify a people for Himself who are also zealous for good deeds. To be cleansed from past sin is also to be set apart for present and future use.
The same point is also made in Hebrews 9:14: “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Here again we see that it is Christ who gave Himself for a purpose. That purpose was to cleanse the conscience from dead works with the purpose that the one cleansed would serve the living God. The atoning blood of Christ is not just for the purpose of saving people from hell, it is also to cleanse and set apart a people who are able to serve God. Dead works are of no use at all, but a person that is cleansed by Christ can be set apart to serve the living God according to the pleasure and glory of God. Why did Christ die? Let 2 Corinthians 5:15 drive the point home: “and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” Christ not only died to deliver from hell, but so that His people would no longer live for themselves but for Him. Once again: “For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; 8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Rom 14:7-9).
Without quoting the text of other Scriptures, one primary meaning of the Greek word translated as “pure” in our text is that of cleansing such as from leprosy (Mat 8:3; 11:5). Being cleansed from leprosy implies the result of pure skin. When something impure is truly washed away, what is left is pure or clean. The idea of purity, then, is something that is not mixed with sin or impure things. This is seen in Revelation 21:21: “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.” The gold is pure in the sense that it is not mixed with parts that make it impure and so make it of less value. It is pure in the sense that it is not mixed with things that are not gold. Hebrews 10:22 also points to this meaning of pure: “having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” It is pure water in that it is not mixed with that which is dirty or unclean.
What we are faced with as we examine what “pure” means, is that Scripture sets out purity in at least two ways. One, there is the aspect of being cleansed from that which is unclean. Two, there are the actions that flow from that which has been purified and cleansed. We know that the blood of Christ cleanses us from sin, but it is so hard to get at the second part of what we are cleansed and purified for. James 1:27 gets at this meaning as well: “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. This is seen by the terms “pure” and “undefiled.” These either mean the same thing or he is using one to build on the other. Either way, what we are left with is an unselfish religion that is concerned with the glory of God by helping those that cannot help themselves. An impure and defiled religion would be to do things out of selfish motives and an impure heart.
Now let us draw some of this together. While I am not denying that a pure heart is one that has been cleansed of sin by the blood of Christ, I am trying to point that the context of this beatitude is not salvation alone. It is about sanctification or growing in a pure life. The term “pure” in this context seems to be focused more on the idea of what a heart is like after it has been cleansed by the blood of Christ. This would then be a heart that is pure in the sense of that it is singular in its focus and is one in what it intends. To the degree that gold is not mixed with other metals is the degree of its purity. To the degree that the heart is not mixed with pride, self, and the world is the degree that it is pure. A pure heart is one that is singular and fixed on what it is doing and is to be doing.
Soren Kierkegaard wrote a book entitled Purity of Heart. He defined a pure heart as a heart that willed one thing. In other words, it was purified from all other things in order to be devoted to the one thing. He said that variety and great moments are not one thing. Doing things for rewards is not to will one thing. Doing things out of fear of punishment is not to will one thing. Doing things out of service to ourselves is not to will the one thing. A commitment to only a certain degree is a barrier to willing one thing. Without commending all that the book says, there is a great point in what he is saying. A pure heart is indeed a heart that is focused on one thing and is not mixed with the impurities of half-heartedness and some commitment. It is committed with everything. Psalm 86:11 teaches much the same thing in terms of a pure heart: “Unite my heart to fear Your name.” It is a heart that is united rather than divided. It is a heart that is united on loving God. It is a single heart in its devotion. A heart that is united is not fragmented with some going after the world and some going after this and that. A pure heart and a united heart are the same in that they are focused, intent, and undivided in seeking God out of love for His glory.
As you meditate on what it means to have a pure heart, don’t just think that it consists in what is not there. We tend to think that as long as we don’t do certain things we are pure. But in this case the concept of pure points us to utter devotion and a single heart and mind. A pure heart is not only one that wants to be free from outward and inward things that defile, but it wants to be focused on the one thing necessary. Martha was distracted with so many things that she forgot her real purpose. So many people today are so distracted with the things of life that they forget that they are here for one real purpose. Even religious things and family things can distract us from pure hearts. Church and family are to be done out of pure hearts as well. To the degree our heart is pure is the degree that we are free from pride, self-centeredness, and other focuses. Then we can be intent on and devoted to one thing in all that we do. Being cleansed from sin and having a unified heart that wills one thing describes a pure heart.
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