On Being Pure in Heart and Perfect
“Blessed are the pure
in heart, for they shall see God.”
Purity of
heart and Christian perfection are not so much about producing perfect people
(though they are). They are about maintaining perfect relationship with the
perfect God. Only through this relationship can we be pure, and perfect as God
is perfect. All qualities in the Sermon on the Mount are aspects of life
here-and-now, although some mean to relegate “pure in heart” to a future
Kingdom Age. But note that Jesus says blessed are the pure in heart, not will
be in the future. This purity is not a new idea, but appears the Old
Testament in scriptures such as Ps 24:4 and Ps 51:10.[1]
There are two sides to “pure in heart”: holiness and the idea of being unmixed, undivided.[2]
For example, Joseph took Jesus’ body and wrapped it in a “clean” linen cloth.
This undoubtedly was made from only one material.[3]
However, just as holiness is not primarily characterized by a lack of certain
activities, but by faithfulness, active graciousness, unexpected kindness,
ethical living, etc.,[4]
neither is purity of heart simply being free from impurity. It means a complete
pureness, utterly sincere, single-minded, willing one thing. The opposite of a
pure heart is a divided heart trying to serve two masters.[5]
R.V.G. Tasker describes people with such a heart as being “free from the
tyranny of a divided self, and who do not try to serve God and the world at the
same time. From such it is impossible that God should hide Himself.”[6]
The connotation here is not faultlessness, but blamelessness. Jesus said, “He
who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean.”[7]
Though the feet do need to be washed, the one bathed is still “completely
clean.” This purity describes both a sublimation of, and an integration of, all
other things in one’s life due to the desire to live for the glory and kingdom
of God.[8]
Neither
objects nor people are in this state because of themselves, they have been made
so. “Pure in heart” speaks only of those whom God has purified. John Wesley
illustrates how this particular characteristic is a culmination of other
beatitudes:
“The pure in heart...God hath ‘purified
even as He is pure’...through faith in the blood of Jesus, from every unholy
affection…‘cleansed from all filthiness of flesh and spirit perfecting holiness
in the [loving] fear of God.’ They are, through the power of His grace,
purified by pride, by the deepest poverty
of spirit; from anger, from very unkind or turbulent passion, by meekness and gentleness; from every
desire but to please and enjoy God, to know and love Him more and more, by that
hunger and thirst after righteousness,
which now engrosses their whole soul: so that now they love the Lord their God
with all their heart,...soul, and mind, and strength.”[9]
These are
blessed in their ability to see God. This is not reserved for eternity, but
occurs in the now as well. God reveals Himself to the pure in heart in a way
not common to others. Additionally, such people see God in everything. They
perceive His hand guiding and providing for them, and see God especially in His
ordinances. These are they that with a “single eye,”[10]
see God due to their seeking His Kingdom and His glory first, above all else.[11]
They, like the kingdom of Heaven in the parable of the merchant, seek one
thing, a single thing, priceless above all else.[12]
Again, purity in heart pertains to motive, a perfection in heart, even though
fallible in behavior.
“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Jesus
proclaims the blessedness of the pure in heart, but He commands[13]
His followers to “be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”[14]
This perfection is not an absolute perfection in being an exact duplicate of
what God is. It is a perfection concerning the fullness of a thing in
proportion to its capacity and the purpose for which a thing exists. For example, all animals
acceptably sacrificed in Old Testament were “perfect.” People, such as Noah,
were described as perfect as well. Paul presumes such perfection even now in
statements like, “Let us therefore, as many as are perfect...”[15]
However, to expect finite humans to be perfect in every way that the infinite
God is would be illogical and unrealistic. Furthermore, God’s holding people
responsible for such perfection and punishing them for not attaining what is
not possible would cast Him as an unreasonable tyrant, not the holy, loving God
He is. God is perfect in all that He is to be; and we are to be perfect in all
we are to be.
Leo G. Cox summarizes this in noting significance in Jesus’
description of God here: “Father.”
“[Jesus] knew we could not be as God in
His absolute attributes...Jesus was not meaning this kind of perfection.
“But He said, ‘as your Father.’ The
fatherhood of God means He is forgiving, kind, loving, and forbearing. He turns
the other cheek, goes the second mile, is good to evil men as to the good ones.
It is clear from the context of this verse that Jesus is talking about love,
especially for those who wrong us. In this aspect we are to be as perfect as
our Father.”[16]
Being
perfect, in a Christian sense, and “pure in heart” are very similar. Both
pertain to the heart, not necessarily the head or hand. It has to do with
deliverance from sin, not from misunderstandings, temptations, mistakes, or
infirmities. Nor does it absolve one from the necessity to guard one’s heart,
pray, and obey in order to maintain one’s walk with God.[17]
This perfection is a result of a Divine healing of the heart and an empowerment
of righteousness by grace through faith, that ,by the Spirit, one has power
over and freedom from volitional sinning. Christian perfection is not
sinlessness, but blamelessness. Unknown violations, errors, incapacities, etc.
are atoned for by Christ’s work on the cross. John Wesley called this
perfection a “perfection in love.” And, the Bible is replete with illustrations
and teachings that reveal the inseparableness of love and obedience.[18]
People
perfect before God are pure in heart, and walk in what the Bible calls a
“straight way,” free from trickery and perversion. These are perfect in a
dynamic way, relative to their capacity, who are pleasing to God―even though
they fall short of perfect conformity to His law and practical perfection in
the eyes of others.[19]
To be perfect is to live a life from a pureness of heart. Such people hunger
and thirst for righteousness, partly because of mourning over their sin and
understanding their poorness of spirit. They also understand the grand mercy
they have received, despite their mistreatment of God, and so can offer such
mercy to those who wrong them. These are the peacemakers, the salt of the
earth, the light of the world. These are the meek whose power is under the
control of and empowered by the Holy Spirit, who seek first the kingdom of God
and His righteousness. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God; be
perfect therefore, as your Father in Heaven is perfect.
[1] W.T. Purkiser, Exploring
Christian Holiness volume 1: The Biblical Foundations (Kansas City: Beacon
Hill, 1983), 81.
[2] David Swartz, The
Magnificent Obsession: Seeking First the Kingdom of God (Colorado
Springs:Navpress, 1990), 126.
[3] Matt 27:59 (See Leviticus 19:19).
[4] See John N. Oswalt, Called
to Be Holy (Nappanee: Evangel Publishing house, 1999).
[5] Eugene Boring in William M. Greathouse, Wholeness in Christ: Toward a Biblical
Theology of Holiness (Kansas City: Beacon Hill, 1998), 181.
[6] quoted in Purkiser, 82.
[7] John 13:10
[8] Swartz, 126-127.
[9] John Wesley, Wesley’s
Doctrinal Standards Part 1: The Sermons, ed. by N. Burwash (Salem:Schmul
Publishing Co., Inc., 1988), 228. (emphasis mine).
[10] Matthew 6:22.
[11] Ibid., 6:33.
[12] Ibid., 13:45.
[13] This is not a prediction, gnomic future, or effect from a
cause, but an emphatic, imperatival future tense having a “universal, timeless,
and/or solemn force to it.” See Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics - Exegetical Syntax of the New
Testament (Zondervan Publishing House and Galaxie Software, 1999; 2002),
569.
[14] Ibid., 5:48.
[15] Philippians 3:15
[16] Leo G. Cox, Insights
into Holiness, ed. Kenneth Geiger (Kansas City:Beacon Hill Press, 1963), p.
181 quoted in Purkiser, 83.
[17] Purkiser, 85.
[18] See especially 1 John.
[19] William M. Greathouse, Wholeness
in Christ: Toward a Biblical Theology of Holiness (Kansas City: Beacon
Hill, 1998), 31.
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