Blessed Are The Pure In Heart
by Lawrence Kelley
Matt 5:8
"We come to what is undoubtedly one of the greatest utterances to be found
anywhere in the whole realm of scripture. Anyone who realizes even
something of the meaning of the words, 'Blessed are the pure in heart: for
they shall see God,' can approach them only with a sense of awe and
complete inadequacy." (G.C. Morgan)
- Two key words: (Heart & Pure)
- Heart - the heart is used figuratively for the hidden springs of
the personal life. " "The heart, in its moral significance...
includes the emotions, the reason and the will." (Vine's) It is the
inner man viewed in its entirety.
- Pure - Free from every admixture of what is false, sincere
genuine (Thayer) The phrase pure in heart thus describes a
person who "does not bring mixed motives and divided loyalties
to its relationship with God. It is a heart of singleness in
devotion to God." (R. Hughes)
- Ill. w/ mining - Ore is mixed, must be crushed, washed, shaken
etc.
- This conflicts with our common assumptions about the heart.
- Our hearts are the cause of our troubles:
- A fallacy is to locate sin outside of man:
- "The source of man's troubles lies in his environment."
- "the source of man's problems lies in poor education."
- But scripture points us inward to find the source of man's evil.
- Matt 15:16-20 "Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. 17
"Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the
stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come
out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man
'unclean.' 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder,
adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20
These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with
unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.'"
- Jer 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And
desperately wicked"
- Yet pure hearts are prerequisite to seeing God.
- Matt 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
- Ps 24:3-4 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who
may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
- New hearts are a key characteristic of the new covenant - Ezek
36:25-28 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall
be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all
your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit
within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and
give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and
cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My
judgments and do them.
- So how do we acquire pure hearts?
- Ask God to bless you according to this promise. Like the
psalmist who prayed, Unite my heart to fear Your name (Ps
86:11).
- Submit to the washing of regeneration and renewing of the
Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through
Jesus Christ our Savior (Titus 3:5-6).
- Adhere to the truth that produces love - Now that you have
purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere
love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart (1 Pet. 1:22).
- Maintain a singleness of purpose - Come near to God and he
will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify
your hearts, you double-minded (James 4:8).
- Live daily in the hope of resurrection - Beloved, we are now
children of God; but it has not yet been revealed what we shall
be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him,
for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope
in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (1 John 3:2-3).
- They shall see God. We must remind ourselves of the greatness of
this promise.
- First, the very sight of God unveiled would kill anyone who
looked upon Him Ex 33:18-23 And he (Moses) said, "Please,
show me Your glory." 19 Then He said, "I will make all My
goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the
LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious,
and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."
20 But He said, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see
Me, and live." 21 And the LORD said, "Here is a place by Me,
and you shall stand on the rock. 22 So it shall be, while My
glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and
will cover you with My hand while I pass by. 23 Then I will take
away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall
not be seen."
- Second, God in His transcendence is invisible.
- In Col. 1:15, we are told that Christ is the image "of the
invisible God."
- In 1 Tim. 1:17, Paul makes the same thing clear "Now to the
King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be
honor and glory forev forever and ever. Amen."
- So, Will we ever see the invisible God with our eyes?
- No, we cannot."... who alone has immortality, dwelling in
unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to
whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen" (1 TIm. 6:16).
- But this does not mean that the physical eye is forever robbed
of a vision of the glory of God. We shall see everything that can
be seen, and we shall see it in Christ.
- Col. 1:15 says we see an image of an invisible God --
Christ.
- Heb. 1:3 says that Christ is the "brightness of His glory and
the express image of his person . . . ".
Christ, the eternal Son of God, is eternally one with us. We will be with
Him, and become like Him. And in seeing Him, we shall see the Father.
"He who has seen Me has seen the Father . . ."
L.K. 9-03-2006
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Sermons on:
Sermon On The Mount
Beattitudes
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