But the question arises, whether, when their eyes are open, they shall see Him with the bodily eye? If the eyes of the spiritual body have no more power than the eyes which we now possess, manifestly God cannot be seen with them.They must be of a very different power if they can look upon that incorporeal nature which is not contained in any place, but is all in every place.
For though we say that God is in heaven and on earth, as He, Himself says by the prophet, "I fill heaven and earth,"(3) we do not mean that there is one part of God in heaven and another part on earth; but He is all in heaven and all on earth, not at alternate intervals of time, but both at once, as no bodily nature can be.The eye, then, shall have a vastly superior power,--the power not of keen sight, such as is ascribed to serpents or eagles, for however keenly these animals see, they can discern nothing but bodily substances,--but the power of seeing things incorporeal.
Possibly it was this great power of vision which was temporarily communicated to the eyes of the holy Job while yet in this mortal body, when he says to God, "I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth Thee: wherefore I abhor myself, and melt away, and count myself dust and ashes;"(4) although there is no reason why we should not understand this of the eve of the heart, of which the apostle says, "Having the eyes of your heart illuminated."(5) But that God shall be seen with these eyes no Christian doubts who believingly accepts what our God and Master says, "Blessed are the pure in heart:
for they shall see God."(6) But whether in the future life God shall also be seen with the bodily eye, this is now our question.
The expression of Scripture, "And all flesh shall see the salvation of God,"(7) may without difficulty be understood as if it were said, "And every man shall see the Christ of God." And He certainly was seen in the body, and shall be seen in the body when He judges quick and dead.And that Christ is the salvation of God, many other passages of Scripture witness, but especially the words of the venerable Simeon, who, when he had received into his hands the infant Christ, said, "Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word: for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation."(8) As for the words of the above-mentioned Job, as they are found in the Hebrew manuscripts, "And in my flesh I shall see God,"(9) no doubt they were a prophecy of the resurrection of the flesh; yet he does not say "by the flesh." And indeed, if he had said this, it would still be possible that Christ was meant by "God;" for Christ shall be seen by the flesh in the flesh.But even understanding it of God, it is only equivalent to saying, I shall be in tile flesh when I see God.