Mat 5:8; What God Looks Like.

Thursday April 18, 2024

Mat 5:8

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

What does pure in heart mean? 

What does it mean to see God? Literally, in our minds, a theophany, what? 

It helps to look at the Beatitudes as a whole as well as their order. Jesus is never random when He is teaching truth.

The first three Beatitudes were concerned with our character as manifested by our need. 

We see our own need that only God can fill and so we are poor in spirit.

We see our own need for grace and mercy.

We see our own weakness and we are meek.

These first three give us a vital awareness of need and a gratefulness that the Lord fulfills it. 

Having realized our need we hunger, we hunger for the only thing that we know will sustain us - righteousness.

Righteousness is upright standing and walking in the norm or law of God. 

Now Lord, what would You have me do? 

Rom 12:1

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Intend to fulfill the needs of others and do so and you will receive mercy from me. Giving mercy is service of others in grace and love. That’s what the Master would have me do. 

Then, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” 

We are now back to you, the steward.

The serving steward, poor and weak, but rich and powerful in His Master’s things, must continually cleanse his own heart and as he does, the image of God becomes clearer and more focused in his heart. 

The word “pure” is katharos = pertaining to being free from moral guilt. Being clean or free from adulterating matter. 

There is a cleansing in position and experience, much like sanctification. 

It is certainly not outward or ceremonial purity. 

Mat 23:27-28

Luk 11:37-41

In this passage, we see rule before mercy again. The rule is their religion - an adopted method of washing before a meal that was added on to the Mosaic Law. 

“Within as charity” - eleemosune = a form of eleeo (mercy). 

Exercise of benevolent goodwill – alms.

If you gave the things you have as alms you would be clean. 

Purity follows from mercy (B5 + B6).

This makes perfect sense. 

Evangelism and discipleship are concrete expressions of love and purpose. Since the God-infused love of agape relates to the steady intention of one’s will toward another’s highest good, if chooses to seek the supreme good for both unbelievers and believers.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, is Jesus’ expression of “love your neighbor as yourself.”

The love of neighbor is like a bow that shoots the arrow of service towards another, for the unbeliever the gospel and for the believer to help him become a disciple. 

So then, if we don’t show mercy to others, we are not expressing agape love.

The truth of the matter is that if you do not minister to others, you are not going to purify spiritually (a clearer way of mature). If we don’t walk in love how could we mature in Christ. 

2Co 7:1. 

Psa 24:3-4. [The Lord ascends and enters through the ancient doors]

These Beatitudes are the stuff of Christ’s apprentices. 

Joh 13:12-20

We must learn the secret of ministering out of weakness and humility so that the power of Christ may dwell in us (2Co 12:7-10). And that power will move us to serve and our growth will purify our hearts more and more. 

Finally, we summarize the way of the steward in the Lord’s house: 

We will not continue to purify our hearts if we are not ministering to others in mercy and love.