They Shall See God

In His famous Sermon on the Mount Jesus gave the disciples a list of beatitudes. The sixth one on the list is this: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). What does it mean to see God? Does this passage mean that you and I can get some glimpse of God if we are pure in heart?

That would contradict God’s own words to Moses in Exodus 33:20, “You cannot see my face, for no man shall see me and live.” What did Jesus mean if we cannot see God?

This was a reference to the policy practiced by ancient kings. Far from the fashionable photo ops we see in Buckingham Palace, kings in those days were kept hidden away from commoners. Seeing the king was reserved for special people. We get a glimpse of this in the Old Testament when even Queen Esther was hesitant to approach her husband when she had not been summoned by him (Esther 4:11), an offense she knew could be punished by death. God is not like those ancient kings. Even though we cannot get a physical glimpse of His face this side of eternity, Jesus was letting us know that God is approachable. That is why the author of Hebrews said we can boldly approach the throne of grace (4:16), which happens whenever believers pray. 

So how can we have access to God? We must be pure in heart. The Jews were used to being purified physically to be ceremonially clean as part of their law, but Jesus wanted them to purify their hearts—their inner person—by removing the filth of the flesh. Jesus’ half brother James would later write, “purify your hearts, you double-minded (James 4:8).”

The pure in heart, and only the pure in heart, can talk to God now and will get to see Him in heaven. Are you pure in heart?