PURITY
OF HEART
In the sixth beatitude,
or what have often been called “the beautiful attitudes” listed in the fifth
chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus said, “Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” What is the underlying
principle our Lord wishes to convey to us when He speaks of the purity of
heart? It would be even more helpful to begin by asking a more fundamental
question – what is the real meaning of the biblical “heart”?
It is clear that most
of what we understand today about the human brain in terms of brain functions,
the Bible assigns to the human heart. It is imperative that we recognize the
fact that the Bible is not intended to serve as a science textbook. The Bible
is God’s revelation to men of who He is, and what His eternal purpose is in
Christ Jesus (Ephesians
It is clearly
understood at present that the heart is fundamentally a remarkable muscular
pump responsible for distributing blood throughout the body. The brain on the
other hand is a profoundly complex organ in which resides the seat of the
intellect – thought, reasoning, learning, decision-making, insight, memory,
language, etc., as well as the seat of the emotions – grief, sorrow, laughter,
love, anger, fear, etc. I suspect the family was much more relieved knowing
that the blackouts were the result of “a
broken heart” than if the doctor had told them their loved one was suffering
from “a broken brain!” There is something to be said for poetic
license!
Jesus said: “For from within, out of men’s hearts, come
evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice,
deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly” (Mark 7:21-22). On
another occasion Jesus taught, “The good
man brings good things out in his
heart. For out of the overflow of his
heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). Clearly, wherever behavior relating to
cognitive and/or emotional activity occurs in Scripture, it is the human mind
(brain) that is implicated.
Those who have truly
consecrated their lives to God, and have experienced a rebirth in the Lord
Jesus Christ, have received a biblical “heart
transplant”. Through the Prophet Ezekiel God says, “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I
will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then
they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my
people, and I will be their God” (Ezekiel
The Apostle Paul
reminds us of what God’s destiny is for each footstep follower of Jesus. “For those God foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn
among many brothers” (Romans
This is precisely what
Paul means when he says, “I have been crucified
with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in
the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for
me” (Galatians
When Jesus teaches us: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they
will see God,” He is assuring us of the blessedness of having the heart –
that is, the mind, of Jesus. To the extent that we are single-minded in purpose
as we run for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, and as we
seek to have our motives and desires fully under the control of Christ, we will
experience untold blessings in our present lives and have the full assurance
that we will see God in the life to come. How
can we achieve this state of blessedness?
1. First, we must
sincerely desire to be like the Master. We must realize that the more our
hearts conform to His heart, the more fully will our lives glorify God. We must
start, therefore, by seeking God’s power to emulate our Lord Jesus Christ in
humility. Paul says, “Let this same
attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus.
– Let Him be your example in humility – Who,
although being essentially one with God [possessing the fullness of the
attributes which make God God], did not think this
equality with God was a thing to be grasped or retained; But stripped Himself
[of all privileges and rightful dignity] so
as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was
born a human being. And after He had appeared in human form He abased and humbled
Himself [still further] and carried
His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross!
Therefore [because He stooped so low], God
has highly exalted Him and has freely bestowed on Him the name that is above
every name, That in (at) the name of
Jesus every knee should (must) bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
And every tongue [frankly and openly] confess
and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”
(Philippians 2:5-11 - The Amplified Version).
2. We must willingly
and joyfully submit to God’s workmanship, knowing full well that if we try to
go the course alone, we will fail miserably. Paul says, “For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by
works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”
(Ephesians 2:8-10). “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have
always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence,
continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who
works in you to will and to act according to his good pleasure” (Phil.
2:12-13).
Barclay’s Translation truly captures the full impact of
Philippians 2:13 – “For it is God who is
at work in you, to put into you the will to desire and the power to achieve
what his purpose has planned for you.”
3. We must realize that
the ultimate victory over improper thoughts and motives is to submit every
thought to the scrutinizing power of the Holy Spirit. This is indeed, the most
profound spiritually enabling and empowering work God can do in our lives! “For the
weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down
strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself
against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the
obedience of Christ …” (1 Cor. 10:4-5 NKJV).
4. We must appreciate
the fact that achieving God’s destiny for us – being conformed to the image of
Christ – will not be done overnight. It
is a process that takes a lifetime. Therefore, we should never become discouraged.
Nevertheless, how blessed it is to see the work in progress in the lives of
God’s saints! “But we all, with unveiled
face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed
into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2
Corinthians 3:18 NKJV).
5. As God does His work
in us, we need to avail ourselves of the two powerful implements He has given
us and expects us to use to full advantage. First,
we need to renew our minds (hearts) on a daily basis by being immersed in the
word of God. The scripture in 2 Corinthians 3:18 which was quoted above
clearly indicates that we are transformed in a stepwise manner – from glory to
glory – into the image of Christ, as we behold His glory “as in a mirror,” that is, in the word of God! The second implement
God has given us is equally as powerful. God
has given us the extraordinary privilege and pleasure of being in constant
communication and communion with him through
prayer. As a result of God’s loving work in us, our lives must be a
constant testimony of praise and thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father and to our
loving Savior, Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul, wanting the faithful ones in
Colosse to experience the fullness of God’s grace in their lives, stresses the
importance of God’s word and prayer in the following admonitions: “And
over all these virtues put on love, which
binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your
hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you
richly as you teach and admonish one
another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with
gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in words or deed,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father
through him” (Colossians 3:14-17).
6. And finally, let us bask in the sublime reality of our
Heavenly Father’s faithfulness! Paul reminds us: “…being confident of this, that he who began a
good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 1:6).
Praise God! It is that
same faithfulness that speaks to our hearts through His Son who has taught us, “Blessed are the pure
in heart, for they will see God.”
Andrew
Polychronis
MORE LIKENESS TO THEE
O for a heart more like my God,
From imperfection free;
A heart conformed unto thy Word,
And pleasing, Lord, to thee.
A heart resigned, submissive, meek,
My great Redeemer’s throne
Where only Christ is heard to speak,
Where Jesus reigns alone.
A humble, lowly, contrite heart,
Believing, true and clean,
Which neither life nor death can part
From Him who dwells within;
A heart in every thought renewed,
And full of love divine,
Perfect, and right, and pure, and good
A copy, Lord, of Thine.