Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Psalm 24:3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Matthew 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Hebrews 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. (Also Hebrews 9:14.)

Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

I John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

MEMORY VERSE: And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. —Deuteronomy 30:6

CENTRAL THOUGHT: The blessed life of seeing the Lord—by the spiritual eye through faith here in this life and then “face to face” in the Resurrection—comes to those whose hearts have been made clean through Jesus’ blood and have a single, wholehearted love for God, untainted by sin, guile, or worship of any other god.

WORD DEFINITIONS

Matthew 5:8 “Pure in heart”: clean; unstained; guiltless; upright; unmixed; without undesirable elements; moral blamelessness of the inner life; clean because of being purged by God; free from contaminating influences. “See God”: “Through purity, singleness of mind, they are qualified for seeing, knowing, truly conceiving God and all that relates to the moral universe. It is the pure in heart who are able to see and say that ‘truly God is good’ (Psalm 73:1) and rightly to interpret the whole phenomena of life in relation to Providence. ‘They shall see,’ says Jesus…He means the pure are the men who see; the double-minded, the two- souled (James 1:8) man is blind…” (Expositor’s New Testament). “This is a Hebraism, which signifies, ‘possess God, enjoy his felicity’: as seeing a thing, was used among the Hebrews for possessing it” (Adam Clarke, Clarke’s Commentary).

Psalm 24:3 “The hill of the Lord”: literally, Mount Zion, where was the temple, the place where God dwelt; spiritually, the Church, which is the Zion where He dwells today. “His holy place”: the holy of holies, where was His Shekinah presence. It typified the church, the hearts of believers where His Spirit now dwells. “The men who shall stand as courtiers in the palace of the living God are not distinguished by race, but by character; they are not Jews only, nor Gentiles only, nor any one branch of mankind peculiarly, but a people purified and made meet to dwell in the holy hill of the Lord” (The Treasury of David).

Psalm 24:4 “Who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity”: one who has not devoted himself to the worship of an idol or set his affections on the vain things of this world. He sets his heart on that which is real and true.

Matthew 6:22 “Single”: unfolded, single –”literally, ‘without folds,’ referring to a single (undivided) focus, i.e. without a (secret) ‘double agenda’ which prevents an over-complicated life (becoming needlessly distracted)” (HELPS Word Studies).

James 4:8 “Double-minded”: of two souls, or two selves; wavering; vacillating (in opinion or purpose) like a spiritual schizophrenic.

LESSON BACKGROUND

One who has recognized his low estate, cried to God about it, laid down his defenses and accepted God’s way, sought earnestly for righteousness, and endeavored to be gentle and full of compassion and mercy toward his fellow is also happy and blessed because God has accomplished and is maintaining an inner purification of his heart. He recognizes that outward righteousness is of no avail, and it is for true holiness and purity that he seeks. A special blessedness comes from the ability he is given to see, perceive and know, and possess God in his life.

Speaking in prophecy, in Psalm 24 and in a parallel passage, Psalm 15, David named this quality of purity of heart as the qualification for dwelling in God’s presence.

Purity of heart is also closely connected with another concept—that of having a single heart, or a single eye, again referring to spiritual vision or perception. Jesus, when bringing this thought in the Sermon, also mentioned the negative implication. Not having a single eye, but having a divided focus, causes blindness, or darkness. James continues the thought as he charges, “Purify your hearts, ye double-minded.” John also mentions seeing God when he writes about purity from all sin.

The Hebrews writer alludes to the sanctuary, or holiest place of which David prophesied, reiterating the concept of a true heart and holy life being the requirement for dwelling there. “Let us draw near.” It’s in the holy place, the secret place, that we see His face and experience His nearness. Sin separates, but a heart made pure is privileged to be drawn in close. He also emphasized, “Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.”

Our memory verse is a promise from the covenant God made with the children of Israel; a second covenant given after the one He made in Horeb. In it He repeated the stern warnings He had given them if they forsook Him and the blessings that were promised if they were obedient. This promise put a deeper spiritual meaning to an ordinance that to them was only physical. It dealt with their heart. Later in the New Testament, Paul gave the Roman Christians (Romans 2:28-29) a description of a “true” Israelite: one whose heart had been circumcised, or made pure. He promised spiritual life, and thank God, by the blood of His Son, He delivered on His promise.

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck

DISCUSSION:

1. Who: What kind of person shall see God and stand in His holy place?
2. Vision: What kind of eye allows for good vision? Which causes blindness? How does thisconnects with “a pure heart?”
3. A Pure Heart: What brings that about? Give a Scripture.
4. Seeing God: Explain how we see God now and how it will be when He comes again. 

COMMENTS AND APPLICATION

Our lesson so clearly points out that it takes a pure heart to really see the Lord; both now and after this life. But what does it mean to see Him? One scripture tells us, “Every eye shall see him.” Even those who pierced Him will see Him. However, our text lets us know that there is something special for the pure in heart. We sing a song that says:

“Dwelling in the secret place, where I see my Father’s face, I have found a heavenly refuge and my troubles cease.”

There is special vision for the pure in heart, of “seeing Him Who is invisible”; of seeing God everywhere, in all things, in all circumstances. We see Him in the storm. We see Him in His Word. He is revealed in the common things of everyday life. We see Him in His people and in the outstretched, yearning hands of the minister delivering his burden to the lost souls. There may be special times of need where we are given a vision, a revelation, a dream. This is only “in part.” We know it is “through a glass darkly.”

But then—oh, then, it will be “face to face.” What will it be, when we see Him AS HE IS? How many songs have been written to describe the glory of that day? One of my favorites is:

“Oh, I want to see Him, look upon His face. There to sing forever of His saving grace. On the streets of glory, let me lift my voice. Cares all past, Home at last, ever to rejoice.”

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck

REFLECTIONS

What a blessing it is to be ever receiving new insights of God’s character as He continues to help us purify our hearts and natures by His shed blood. We are exhorted to “keep thy heart with all diligence.”

So long as we keep our desires fully in check to the wooing of His Holy Spirit, and let Him weigh us by His word, our eye will remain single and our body full of light. But, if we consistently resist admonition from God’s word or the Holy Spirit, our eye of light turns to darkness, which in turn blinds our entire spiritual body. It’s amazing how quickly a simple intentional twist of a scripture plunges the once honest soul into darkness.

Physically, some of us have experienced a parallel occurrence of blurred double vision peppered with sparkles and floating spots brought on by a dizzy migraine or by inflamed optic nerves. This disruption of visual focus disables us from driving and performing most tasks to the point we find it even hard to focus mentally. In this disoriented condition, we lose the distinction between objects being viewed.

Those who resist the gentle Holy Spirit and the revealings of the spotlight of God’s Word, will lose distinction between right and wrong. The bright sparkles will cause evil to appear as new light, and the floating spots will blur truth and right into insensible vagueness.

In summary, those who draw back become spiritually disoriented and fall headlong into Satan’s delusions. Thankfully, the pure in heart will never be subjected to this self-wrought darkness.

—Bro. Jeremy Booher