The Cardinal Beatitude
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8)
Today as we look into the sixth beatitude, we come to the apex of these eight sayings of Christ. All of these sayings are critical, they go together, and are present in every true believer. This one, however, is the blessing from which all other blessings flow. We cannot possess any of the others inwardly or outwardly without purity of heart.
This beatitude speaks to the change in nature of the believer. We are all born in sin; we have a sinful nature that was passed on to us by our earthly father, Adam. This nature prevents any of the beatitudes from being a natural characteristic of humans. To realize poverty of spirit, to mourn because of it, to be meek and humbled by it, to seek to remedy it by pursuing righteousness, and to demonstrate with mercy that we have been changed from it, requires a new heart, a new nature that comes only from God above.
It is also a pure heart that enables believers to be peacemakers. We do this by giving others the only thing that will bring peace—the gospel of Christ. Strangely enough those with pure hearts are persecuted for it. It is precisely because our hearts are changed and we are different from the world that we are persecuted. Men need peace because their hearts are not pure, but they seek it in all the wrong ways for this very reason—they are not pure in heart. Do you see why this is the cardinal beatitude?
A pure heart is one that is as God, meaning it has been purified by the washing of regeneration by the Word of God. This is a heart that has been given the perfect righteousness of Christ through faith in Him. Essentially, we can say this is the person that has been justified by faith in Christ alone.
“They shall see God.” They see Him now in the Word. They realize His presence by faith, but they shall see Him face to face. As the hymn writer said, “And I shall see Him face to face and tell the story saved by grace!” If you have a pure heart, one cleansed by the blood of Christ, you shall see God!
Pastor V. Mark Smith