“Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8 NKJV).
The Attitude: Blessed Are the Pure in Heart
The “heart” is regarded as being the seat of the intellect, the feeling and the will. Out of the heart comes all the issues and actions of life (Proverbs 4:23; Matthew 5:18-19). An evil heart produces evil fruits; a good heart or pure heart produces good or pure fruit (Matthew 12:34-35; Proverbs 23:7). The Greek word for “pure” here means “clean, pure, free from corruption, sincere, genuine, blameless, innocent and guiltless.” The pure in heart are those who have pure, sincere, genuine or right motives. Those who “obey from the heart,” have a pure heart and comply with God’s will (Romans 6:16-18).
Paul is a good example of one who always displayed this attitude (Acts 23:1). The Christian must have a pure heart. He must love God with the heart (Matthew 22:37), believe with the heart (Romans 10:10), honor God with the heart (1 Peter 3:15) and do God’s will from the heart (Ephesians 6:6).
The Reward: They Shall See God
There is no doubt that the pure in heart will see God in the literal sense at the Day of Judgment and throughout eternity. Yet, I do not think this is what Jesus here had in mind. In the literal sense, no man can “see” God now (John 1:18). To “see” means to possess, to enjoy, to experience, to receive the full benefits from. We often speak of someone seeing prosperity, good health, peace of mind and etc. In John 3:3 Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” In John 3:5 Jesus presented the same idea but said, “enter the kingdom of God.” To “see” and to “enter” are used interchangeably and mean the same thing. It is in this way I am convinced that the pure in heart shall see God. To see, possess enjoy, experience, enter into, gain the full benefit from God is the reward of the pure in heart. A reward that is fully realized by the children of God begins here and now.
