We have seen how the Beatitudes are progressive in nature, beginning with our gaining the proper perspective on salvation, which leads us to mourn over personal sin, which leads us to an attitude of humility with regards to self and a deep desire to be like Jesus. This is work of God in our life is manifested in service to others and a pure walk before God.
Jesus says here that if we would be happy, we must pursue purity, we must gain the proper perspective on sanctification - the process whereby we grow to become more like Him. Notice what we can learn from this Beatitude about sanctification:
1. The process of sanctification - v. 8a
Sanctification is a process whereby we pursue purity of heart. As we think about purity, it is helpful to note four types of purity mentioned in the Bible.
A. Original purity - When God created man, man was pure in every way. However, that purity was forsaken as man chose to go his own way rather than God’s way. Thus was man fallen from that which God had in mind for him. God wanted man to walk in obedience, fellowship, and purity before Him, knowing happiness for ever and ever. And though man had changed as a result of his fall into sin and impurity, God’s desire and God’s standard hadn’t changed.
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” - Matthew 5:48 (NIV)
So it was that God had to restore man to the status of purity before He could once again have fellowship with man and man with Him, so that God’s desire for man to be happy might be fulfilled.
Which brings us to the second type of purity mentioned in the Bible.
B. Positional purity - God came in the flesh in order to take care of the problem of man’s impurity. He did so in the person of Jesus Christ, who bore the penalty for man’s impurity on the cross. Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven, where He ever lives to intercede on behalf of all who trust Him as their personal Savior.
“He is able also to save to the uttermost (completely, perfectly, finally, and for all time and eternity) those who come to God through Him, since He is always living to make petition to God and intercede with Him and intervene for them.” - Hebrews 7:25 (Amplified)
When I confess Christ before men as my Savior, He confesses me before the Father as one that He now represents (Matthew 10:32).
When that happens, I am seen by the Father as being “positionally pure.” The heavenly Father, who Matthew 5:48 says will not me acceptable if I am not perfect even as He is perfect, now sees me through the One who now represents me and intercedes for me in heaven - Jesus - who is perfect, and acceptable, and pure. Through Christ, I am now in the position of being seen as pure in the eyes of the Father, and thus, I am acceptable to Him. I can now commune with Him, I can now walk with Him, I can now look forward to spending eternity in His holy presence; and as a guarantee of this, He has come to live within me through the person of the Holy Spirit.
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” - Ephesians 1:13-14 (NIV)
C. Ultimate purity - The fact that God now sees me as pure in Christ means that I am not only accepted by God; but that I will one day be made pure for all eternity, for I will be like Jesus.
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son . . .” - Romans 8:29 (NIV)
In eternity, we will dwell in that place which John describes by saying: “Nothing impure will ever enter it . . .” - Revelation 21:27a (NIV).
D. Practical purity - John speaks about how what we have just mentioned should motivate us to practice purity in our daily lives.
“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” - 1 John 3:2-3 (NIV)
What am I to do between the time I am declared positionally pure through accepting Christ and am made ultimately pure when I enter into His presence? I am to seek to be practically pure.
Purity was the essential ingredient in man’s experiencing happiness in the garden; purity will be the essential ingredient in our experiencing happiness in eternity; and purity is the essential ingredient in our experiencing happiness in daily life.
Through faith in Christ, I have been declared positionally pure before God, which means I am now in a position to fellowship with God and be led by God, and thus, blessed by God. But to experience the benefits of salvation in my daily life, I must pursue practical purity.
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we havefellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:5-9 (NIV)
Jesus says that purity begins in the heart. Thus, it must be our daily practice to ask God to search our hearts to reveal any impurity, so that we might confess sin and be in a position to be led by Him.
“Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” - Psalm 139:23-24 (Amplified)
This should be a daily process that we submit to all our lives, for we will never arrive at ultimate purity this side of heaven.
Several centuries ago, a Japanese emperor commissioned an artist to paint a bird. A number of months passed, then several years, and still no painting was brought to the palace. Finally the emperor became so exasperated that he went to the artist’s home to demand an explanation.
Instead of making excuses, the artist placed a blank canvas on the easel. In less than an hour, he completed a painting that was to become a brilliant masterpiece. When the emperor asked the reason for the delay, the artist showed him armloads of drawings of feathers, wings, heads, and feet. Then he explained that all of this research and study had been necessary before he could complete the painting.
In a sense, Christians are similar to that piece of art. We are “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13), and predestined by God “to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). But this process takes time. The “artist” is the Holy Spirit - sent by the Lord Jesus at Pentecost to indwell believers. Slowly but surely He leads us to spiritual growth and maturity. Our transformation requires years of patience and will not be finished until we enter the presence of our King.
Yes, the day is coming when all Christians will be like Christ. But now we are in a time of growth and preparation. As we follow the Spirit’s guidance through one ex¬perience after another, we become more and more like the masterpiece we will be someday in Glory.
2. The promise of sanctification - v. 8b This promise is two-fold:
A. The ultimate promise - Only those who are declared positionally pure
through faith in Christ that will one day see God in glory.
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” - John 14:6 (NIV)
B. The immediate promise - Though this promise is in the future tense, it is also in the continuous tense. In other words, the privilege of seeing God is something we need not wait for eternity to enjoy. We can see God now.
Yes, it is only in eternity where we will see him face to face, and yes, we see now only as “a poor reflection in a mirror” (1 Corinthians 13:12), but we can, nevertheless, see God at work in our lives if we walk before Him in purity. For as we walk before God in purity, we will walk with Him in unbroken fellowship and communion, which will enable us to be led by God and to recognize how and where he is working so that we might join Him and thus, see His purposes worked out in our lives. We can see God in our daily lives.
A man shared how the summer before he entered 6th grade, he joined several other boys at a friend’s house to view the total eclipse of the sun which was to occur that afternoon. It was a beautiful day - bright and sunny, a gentle breeze was blowing, the birds were singing.
As they watched the eclipse of the sun, and it seemed funny, he said, that as vividly as he remembered the event, he didn’t remember what that eclipse looked like. What He does remember is how a bright and beautiful day suddenly turned windy and cold and dark. The birds stopped singing.
It wasn’t that the sun stopped shining. It was just that something had gotten in the way.
Sin can get in the way of our recognizing the presence and working of God in our lives.
God is at work in each of the lives of His children. It is only by recognizing how and where He is working and joining with Him there that we can experience true fulfillment and happiness in life and live as Jesus did, for that’s how Jesus went about living for the Father.
“Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.’” - John 5:17 (NIV)
As we seek to walk in purity before God, we will be able to recognize His presence in our lives, be led by Him and live like Jesus.
“There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.” - Philippians 1:6 (The Message)
Conclusion: The Apostle Paul is a good example of what Jesus is talking to us about here.
In Matthew 5:48, we are told that God calls us to be perfect, as He is perfect. Paul told the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 13:11, to “Aim for perfection ...” and His own testimony concerning this pursuit is in Philippians 2:12-14: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”- Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV)
Through faith in Him, Christ has taken hold of me to make me positionally pure and to one day make me ultimately pure. Now, I am called to take hold of purity in my daily life. “The prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” is the purity associated with my being eternally like Jesus. Paul says, I don’t want to wait until heaven, I want to be as much like Christ today as I possibly can and I am daily pressing on toward that goal.
It is only by living with this kind of passion for purity that we can be led by God to experience true happiness in life.
Purer in heart, O God, Help me to be; May I devote my life Wholly to Thee; Watch Thou my wayward feet, Guide me with counsel sweet; Purer in heart, help me to be.
Purer in heart, O God, Help me to be; Teach me to do Thy will Most lovingly; Be thou my friend and guide, Let me with Thee abide; Purer in heart, Help me to be.
Purer in heart, O God, Help me to be; Until Thy holy face One day I see; Keep me from secret sin, Reign Thou my soul within; Purer in heart, Help me to be.
