Bob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Matthew 5:8

Bob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Matthew 5:8 - 5:8

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Bob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Matthew 5:8 - 5:8

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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_5:8

⁸"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

Mat_5:8 "pure in heart" Our attitudes are crucial (cf. Tit_1:15). Priorities are equally crucial (cf. Heb_12:14). From Psa_24:4; Psa_73:1, "pure" can mean (1) single-minded, (2) focused, or (3) cleansed (cf. Heb_12:14). This term was used in the OT for ritual washings. Notice the focus is on the heart, the center of the individual's being, not the intellect or ritual actions. The central aspect of personhood in the OT was the "heart," while in Greek thought it was the "mind."

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▣ "shall see God" To the pure in heart, God can be seen in all creation and in every situation. Purity opens the spiritual eyes. In the OT to see God meant to die (cf. Gen_16:13; Gen_32:30; Exo_20:19; Exo_33:20; Jdg_6:22-23; Jdg_13:22; Isa_6:5). This statement, therefore, would probably refer to an eschatological setting.