Pure

Happy May!


Last night I decided to look into a certain word--pure--that had been coming up for me in several verses I was reading. I was really curious about the roots of the word and what exactly it means in the Bible.


First, the definition of the word has many possible meanings, but two that I particularly found interesting were


 without any discordant quality; clear and true

being that and nothing else

free from adulterating or extraneous matter.

But, I still wasn't sure which--or all--could be what the Bible meant when it used it.  I also looked at the root of the word...and I was really surprised to see the earliest possible meaning was "unmixed." 

Unmixed.  Unpolluted.  Free from anything that disturbs clarity.  Nothing but itself.

I moved on to see how exactly the Bible treats the word "pure" throughout.

"pure"

occurs 108 times in 103 verses in the NIV

It's in there SEVERAL times.  Scanning the list of verses, I found lots of verses that I had been familiar with but had never connected them, as I do now, because of the word pure in each.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. ~Psalm 51:10

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. ~Psalm 119:9

To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. ~Titus 1:15

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ~James 1:2

                    Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life--in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. ~Philippians 2:14-16

                    The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but those of the pure are pleasing to Him. ~Proverbs 15:26

We're called to have undivided hearts (Ps. 86:11). Purity is focusing on Him and Him alone.

I hope you found this nerdy word examination as intriguing as I did!  It's amazing to think about the weight of importance that every single sentence in God's word holds :).

~Elissa

Zeph 3:17