Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God
What higher state can one aspire for their heart but to be pure? Yet, what a state so high indeed! Consider the natural state of man’s heart. The very first mention in the word of God concerning the heart of man states that “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Then, the word of God goes on through the ages to describe the heart of man:
abominable, astonished, backsliding, beastly, bitter, covetous, crying, dead, deceitful, deceived, declining, departing, despairing, despising, destructive, discouraged, disquieted, divided, double, envious, erring, evil, exalted, failing, fainting, far, fearful, foolish, fretting, froward, grieved, hardened, hasty, haughty, heavy, idolatrous, imperfect, iniquitous, lifted up, mad, melted, naughty, noisy, obstinate, overwhelmed, pained, panting, perishing, plagued, presumptuous, prideful, proud, rebellious, removed, smitten, smoting, snaring, sorrowful, stony, stout, subtil, terrified, trembling, troubled, uncircumcised, unprepared, vexated, whorish, wicked, wounded
How can your heart be pure if just one of these words pricks your conscience? How can we hope to see God with hearts so desperately wicked? Will all these still remain in the heart? For I know that in me dwelleth no good thing (Rom 7:18). You may be the temple of God, the Holy Ghost abides with you, but so do all those other things (if you’re honest!). How can we stand before a holy God, with such a heart?
John said, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” (1 John 3:2,3) What a blessed thought that the sight of our blessed hope also secures the state of our heart. How unattainable and far a pure heart may be, we are assured of it by the word of God. God can purify a heart. O how God has changed us! In Christ, we are a new creature: old things are passed away and all things are become new. (2 Cor 5:17) We have been born of God. How glorious to know him. By the grace of God, we have come this far. Praise the Lord! But hold on! It doth not yet appear what we shall be. Oh no! The best is yet to come. IT DOTH NOT YET APPEAR WHAT WE SHALL BE. Bless the Lord! I declare, by the word of God, WE SHALL ALL BE CHANGED! (1 Cor 15: 51)
1 Cor 15:52,53 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality
David asked, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?” And he answered as Jesus answered, “He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.” (Psalm 24:3,4) We can trust and believe that God will make it so. And we can say as Job, “And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” (Job 19:26)
Now we understand that there is an element of all this that is true now in Jesus Christ. By faith, we are clothed in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ; washed in the blood of the Lamb. We have faith that somehow by God’s amazing grace, he has made us whiter than snow. We can come boldly to the throne of grace. All that is wonderful and not to be diminished. But one day, it will be diminished. One day, faith will be no more. One day our faith will be turned to sight. Jesus asked, “Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?” (John 11:40)
Yes, we shall see God.
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