Written by Paul J Bucknell on February, 26, 2025
Matthew 5:8 How to Have a Pure Heart and See God
“Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)
Are you longing to see God more clearly in your life? In Matthew 5:8, Jesus declares, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” But what does it truly mean to have a pure heart? How can we cultivate spiritual purity in a world full of distractions and temptations? In this powerful teaching, we’ll dive deep into the meaning of Matthew 5:8, exploring what it means to be pure in heart, why it matters, and how God’s Word guides us toward a life of holiness and righteousness. Whether you’re struggling with purity in thoughts, actions, or motives, this message will provide biblical wisdom, encouragement, and practical steps to grow in your faith.
1. The Description of ‘Pure in Heart’
When I started thinking about purity, I couldn’t help but think of my computer’s hard drive. You are probably scratching your head wondering-hard drive? Purity? Did my hard drive crash while I was preparing for my Sunday message? No, but I have had some problems with my hard drive. The hard drive is simply a place to store information. While researching, I noticed two synonyms for the Greek word ‘pure.’ One of them, katharos, is used here in Matthew 5:8 (used in the NT).
The Definition of Pure
One program scans the hard drive to identify storage locations. It offers both fast and slow methods, but I regret choosing the fast option. Although it scans quickly, it fails to verify good spots and inaccurately rejects some bad ones. Confirming each suitable location would take hours, and since I had work, I opted for the quick method. Consequently, some information was misplaced, resulting in lost documents and a malfunctioning hard drive. The term for purity or sincerity (eilikrines) appears five times in the New Testament, indicating freedom from defects. It signifies being free from falsehoods. The program sincerely indicated that the designated storage areas were safe, to the best of its knowledge, yet acknowledged that the more extensive scan was thorough.
Another word for pure is used in Matthew 5:8. We want this for our hard drives and hearts. The first scan would only find the impaired areas and skip over them. But would it be better to eliminate all the defects, whether great or small or start with one with no imperfections: it would be pure. It would not need to scan and detect anything if the hard drive were pure; it could rely on a perfect hard drive.
The word ‘katharos’ appears here and in over fifty places in the NT. Katharos means pure, clean, or clear and is used in various contexts such as purged, clean in a Levitical sense, pure in an ethical sense; free from corrupt desire, sin, or guilt; absent of any mixture of what is false, sincere, genuine; blameless, innocent; unstained by the guilt of anything. There is a sense of purity in sincere perspective or clear understanding, a purity that is perceived or comprehended. Additionally, there is the more fundamental term for purity, which denotes being free from defects, the purity referred to here.
The Definition of Heart
The word ‘heart’ is not always rightly understood. Sometimes, we confuse it with our emotions or feelings as if someone was being consistent with what they thought–authentic, transparent, or genuine. If we interpret it in this sense, its meaning would differ from what Jesus was conveying. If it meant our feelings, we could say,
- “Happy are those who feel great for they shall see God.”
- Or even worse, “Happy are those who feel great about themselves, for they shall see God.”
This focuses on feelings. We should be thankful this isn’t what Jesus meant; otherwise, we’d have no hope. Emotions can overwhelm us, but the Lord promises joy beyond our circumstances and peace that surpasses understanding. We must not be ruled by our feelings. Emotions are easily influenced, leading people to seek temporary boosts through parties, concerts, and other events. When the excitement fades, they are left facing their challenges again. Many avoid confronting personal crises and feel overwhelmed by life's pressures, unsure of how to make decisions or cope.
Biblical purity is not about what we feel is good about ourselves but reflects God’s holiness in our lives and hearts. Have you ever seen a mountain reflection in a lake? A genuine image is displayed in the lake. Similarly, as we live in God’s presence, we possess a purity that comes from shedding sin and allowing His image to be reflected in us.
When we observe Christ Jesus’s life, we do not find Him choosing the more ‘fulfilling’ way but mirroring His Father’s will.
- When Satan tempted Jesus with essential needs like food, He chose not to turn rocks into bread.
- When Satan tempted Jesus with the feeling of importance, Jesus chose not to jump and make the angels rescue him, opting instead not to command the world.
Each time, Jesus focused on God’s will rather than His preference. He waited for God’s will to direct and care for Him. This path eventually led to physical pain and death, as well as outright rejection.
Application
Are we so busy that we do not take time to reflect on our lives? Are you pleasure-oriented or resolved to do God’s will in every situation?
A Biblical Understanding of Pure Heart
But if the heart is not emotion or feelings, what is it? The heart is a person’s resolve, incorporating our mind, feelings, and will. The heart is our true selves. It is not what we feel about ourselves but is ourselves.
“In the heart dwell feelings and emotions, desires and passions.”
The heart is the seat of understanding, the source of thought and reflection.
The heart is the seat of the will, the source of resolves.
Thus the heart is supremely the one centre in man to which God turns, in which the religious life is rooted, which determines moral conduct. ... stand (s) for the whole of the inner being of man in contrast to his external side, the προσωπον (the face).
Luke 21:34 says, “Be on guard, that your hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day come on you suddenly like a trap.” Mark 7:21 continues, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries.”
But what does it mean to be pure in heart? Jesus most likely was responding to the two popular thoughts of His day. There was a formal discussion or disagreement between the School of Shammai and the School of Hillel. The former teaching said guilty thoughts constitute sin, while the latter expressly confines sins to guilty deeds.” But what is it that Jesus said? He said that we were obligated to be pure in heart. By focusing on the heart, Jesus was going beyond both schools. Jesus agreed that sin includes thoughts and deeds, but by including the phrase “pure in heart,” Christ went beyond the simple thoughts to the motives. Jesus often rebuked the Israelites for evil motives.
The kingdom of God differed from how the Jewish people typically viewed it. Christianity was a realm where we pursued the will of God with our hearts. Many people have deliberately lowered the standards of the kingdom of God to fit in and feel comfortable. Sometimes, they rely on theological arguments; sometimes, they lean on strong personalities; sometimes, they do it in secret, but usually, it revolves around self-righteousness. Jesus shattered the bottle of self-righteousness into pieces.
Jesus’ Meaning of Pure in Heart
It would be impossible to put it back together because of the unbelievable depth of Jesus’ statement, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” It immediately identifies the problem, destroys our self-confidence, and directs us on the right path.
* Identify our problems
It is not just our thoughts or actions that are wrong. God is challenging us in our motivations and the reasons we do things.
* Destroys our self-confidence
We can pretend to be good yet still not be pure. Some people speak so openly about their sins. If you, like me, are one of those silent ones, you are shocked by their transparency. However, there exists another level of sin called self-righteousness that masks the sins of the quiet ones. But who dares to feign a pure heart?
* Directs us on the right path
Jesus has set a new standard of pure motives that will affect what we think, do, and say. He is not interested in conforming us outwardly—that is just a culture. And if that religious culture exists, it will be founded upon self-righteousness.
Application
Are you pure of heart? Are you serving God or yourself? What is the actual reason you care for your home, have a job, study, eat, and so on?
2. The Difficulty of Gaining a Pure Heart
You may wonder about your heart's purity. This is Jesus’ point; Christianity is a supernatural religion, not of human works. While parents, schools, and governments can help cultivate good qualities, they differ from what God can do in a person. Schools should teach good qualities, but the gospel reminds us that following these standards is insufficient.
Jesus stated we needed a pure heart before we could see God. The standard is unbelievably high. But note that by saying ‘pure in heart,’ Jesus was not asking what things you must do but why you do them. The cults require their members to do certain things. When God’s acceptance relies on our actions rather than our intentions, many feel inadequate and rejected. The remarkable deeds of the saints often go unnoticed. Many of God’s children lack wealth or opportunities due to slavery, but God knows their hearts. Achieving purity in the heart requires a miraculous change. Some pretend to be Christian or simply believe they are due to cultural influence. They think it’s merely about adhering to church standards. However, without a pure heart, you cannot see God. This explains why many shout ‘Lord, Lord’ yet are rejected because they never truly knew Him.
Can we have a pure heart? Not naturally.
“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10)
The case study on man’s natural heart, the one he is born with, is closed. It is desperately sick. There is no hope for this heart; it’s terminal. It is dead.
God’s law is written on his heart, and although he somehow knows the right thing to do, he doesn’t do it. They have unrepentant hearts and are awaiting judgment.
“For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened” (Rom 1:21).
“In that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them” (Rom 2:15).
“But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Rom 2:5).
If you hope the Christian religion can reform your heart for God’s acceptance, you’re mistaken, like those trusting other faiths. The heart is spiritually dead. The cure isn’t being a vegetarian, isolationist, or great volunteer. Many haven’t faced this decision about their bad heart since they never believed in it. But scriptures clearly state that from the heart arise foolish and lustful thoughts.
God has offered us the opportunity to get a new heart, not just to have a heart transplant. We need to be born again to get this heart.
“But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God” (Rom 2:29).
“And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom 5:5).
Listen to these Old Testament verses speaking of a new heart,
“And I shall give them one heart, and shall put a new spirit within them. And I shall take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh” (Eze 11:19).
“Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why will you die, O house of Israel?” (Eze 18:31)
“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Eze 36:26).
With a new heart, we can worship Him. God wants a ‘pure heart.’ He doesn’t want one where we are just sincere. We cannot inspect our hearts rightly; we say they’re pure, but they are not. God has told us in the scriptures that our natural hearts are impure.
The Pure in Heart and Other Beatitudes
This beatitude is not placed in isolation here. It is built on the previous ones. Step by step, Jesus leads us along the path of life. We start as beggars recognizing our spiritual bankruptcy before God. We mourn our sins because we have grievously offended Him and hurt others. We are meek; peace in serving comes to our hearts. We need His righteousness to seek Him. Our hearts are not focused on how much better we are than others but on how far we have fallen before God. You pray and help others. By being merciful, you will not oppress others. Your heart has been perfectly cleansed with the blood of Christ. Defects have been wiped away. He has given you a pure heart. Our job is to maintain its cleanliness through 1 John 1:9: confession. We must love Him with our whole heart and all our strength. Partial love is no good. No wife would be satisfied with only part of her husband’s love. God desires all of your love, untainted by the adoration of other things. Anything else that you focus on becomes a foul idol. This is why the Ten Commandments says,
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth” (Ex 20:2-4).
This is also why the Lord genuinely hates compromise with the world’s ways. If He gives us a new heart, then He expects us to love Him fully with that heart. But if we put our affections on other things, we do not have a pure heart. “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
Application
Have you walked through these steps of repentance? Remember, Jesus uses these words to show us what He expects. Maybe you think the scripture says only believe. But I ask you, what do you think? Have you been broken before God so that you give Him your whole heart? If not, why not? Are you pure in heart?
3. The Promise: “They shall see God”
You might think that whatever “seeing God” means is unimportant. But let me share how crucial it is. “Seeing God” is equated with “going to heaven.” It only makes sense that if you go to heaven, then you will see God. We want to think that the pureness of the heart has to do with the future. This is partly true. 1 John 3:2 says there is a further change when we see God. “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is.”
However, we must not neglect Jesus’ words. There is a purity asked of us now. It is not enough to say we do not have sins in this area or that area. He desires a pure heart from us. Only those who are pure in heart will see God. 1 John 2:29 confirms this: “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.” Our faith should rightfully signal a change in our hearts. Perhaps some remain unsure about the seriousness of Jesus’ words. Let us examine Paul’s words together.
“The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed–for our testimony to you was believed.” (2 Thess 1:7-10)
Note that some will not be in the presence of the Lord. Verse 9 says they will “pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” The saints, though, are described differently in verse 10. They will marvel at His glory. They shall see His glory, and what has been held back for ages will be revealed.
Conclusion
The Christian life can be summarized as the persistence with which we direct our love and devotion to the Lord. Do you need help focusing? Why? As we become genuine with the Lord, He draws closer and closer to us.
- Religion is marked by efforts to purify our lives by eliminating excessive flaws.
- We earnestly need a new heart from God to desire the things of God.
- We train ourselves through God’s Word to respond appropriately to the promptings and desires of this new heart, protecting ourselves from temptation.
Bible Study Questions On Matthew 5:8
Understanding a Pure Heart
1. What does it mean to be pure in heart according to Matthew 5:8?
2. How does scripture define the heart beyond just emotions, as mentioned in Luke 21:34 and Mark 7:21?
3. Why is partial devotion not enough to see God, according to the teaching in the presentation?
4. What does Martin Lloyd-Jones say about the Christian faith being more than doctrine or intellect?
The Difficulty of Gaining a Pure Heart
5. What do Old Testament verses like Ezekiel 18:31 and Jeremiah 17:9-10 reveal about the need for a new heart?
6. How does the analogy of marriage and faithfulness illustrate the concept of purity in heart?
The Promise for Those Pure in Heart
7. What does "seeing God" mean in both a present and eternal sense?
8. According to 2 Thessalonians 1:9-10, what happens to those who are not pure in heart?
9. How can focusing our love and devotion on God help us develop a pure heart in our daily walk with Christ?
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Tags: Matthew 5:8, pure in heart, seeing God, biblical purity, Christian encouragement, how to be pure in heart, Christian motivation, spiritual growth, faith in God, Christian life, how to see God, biblical teaching, Jesus’ teachings, holiness, righteousness, Christian living, Sermon on the Mount, purity of heart, Christian discipleship, Christian faith
