Godbey's Commentary - Acts - Romans - Enter His Rest

sanctification, which is indispensable to prepare them for glorification. Thus they vainly congratulate
themselves that sanctification will come at death without an effort on their part, which is a dangerous
delusion, and will turn them over to the devil world without end. It is true that glorification comes
in death irrespective of our volition, wrought by the Holy Ghost on the human spirit and mind
simultaneously with the evacuation of the body. You have frequently seen an unearthly radiance
lingering in the face of the dead in the coffin. This is the splendor of the glorified soul reflected back
on the vacated tenement as it retreated away; as the setting sun ever and anon throws back the
thousand variegated tints and hues bespangling the firmament far over to the eastern horizon
simultaneously with his retreat through the gates of Hesperus. We have a most wonderful Savior.
He is going to clear up everything, making a full and final restitution, not only restoring the body to
heavenly glory, but even this earth is to be sanctified by fire (2 Peter 3:10), made new again and
restored to heaven, where it belonged before the devil broke it loose in view of adding it to hell. Thus
earth and firmament made new (Revelation 21), inhabited by glorified saints and angels like all other
heavenly worlds, will shine and shout forever. When you die, your soul and mind will be glorified
by the Holy Ghost simultaneously with the evacuation of the body, so that you actually go to heaven
in the glorified state. All the saints living on the earth when the Lord returns will be glorified, soul
and body simultaneously, and caught up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4). God has two
methods of glorifying the body, i.e., translation, for which I, along with the apostles and their
contemporaries, am on the daily outlook. The other method is the resurrection. We must all be
transfigured into the similitude of our Savior’s glorified body, soul and spirit. This may come any
moment by translation. If our Lord tarrieth till we die, then we will waive the glorious transfigured
body until the resurrection, our soul and mind being glorified when we die. The apostles and saints
lived and died looking for the Lord to come and translate them (2 Corinthians 5). We are eighteen
hundred years nearer His coming than they were. Hence we should certainly be on the constant
outlook. The most glorious privilege of the ages is to be living on the earth sanctified and ready for
the Lord to come and translate us. In that case we will never see death, and never evacuate the body,
but be transfigured and glorified, soul, mind and body simultaneously, when our Lord calls us to fly
up and meet Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Entire sanctification is the only qualification we
need. The Holy Ghost will attend to all the balance, miraculously glorifying us, soul, mind and body.
This is the grandest conceivable inspiration to a holy experience and life. Oh, that the preachers
would all hold it up before the people. It would stir heaven, earth and hell.
18. “For I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared to the
glory that is about to be revealed in us.” He means the glorification of soul, mind and body, about
which I have written. Such is the grandeur that the sufferings of this life go into eclipse as we
contemplate the glory liable to reach us any moment. What a wonderful mitigation of all worldly
woes and sorrows! Yet the masses of Christendom are about as destitute of it as the heathens. Oh,
how we need armies of heralds to proclaim this inspiring truth!
19. “For the earnest expectation of the creature awaiteth the revelation of the sons of God.” This
means our bodies patiently waiting and longing to put off mortality and put on the transfiguration
glory.