ページの画像
PDF
ePub
[ocr errors]

P. And to prove that the blood of Christ was shed before the world was,' he brings a scripture, which saith, The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,' &c.

A. Here all may see, whether this be a fit man to teach, or whether he be not one of the novices, I leave it to all to judge, who have a just measure; for the scripture saith, since the world,' and thou sayst, before the world was.'

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

P. He saith, that the son of Mary, God-man, is absent from his church.'

A. Contrary to Christ's words, 'I in them, and they in me:' and, 'I will be with you to the end.' So one of the blind prophets, contrary to John, who saith, 'We are in him that is true;' and thou sayst he is absent from his church. And the apostle said he was the 'head of the church.' But of your church we believe he is not the head, but will grind you to powder. And thy words and thy doctrine are corrected by Christ and the scriptures. And Christ said, Where two or three meet together in my name, I will be amongst them,' and the saints were 'flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bone.'

P. He saith, To be justified by Christ, is not to be justified by the spirit within,' and that Christ within doth not work out justification for the soul, but we must look out for salvation unto that man, that is now absent from his saints on earth;' these are his words.

[ocr errors]

A. Corrected by the apostle, who saith, He works all in us, and for us;' and yet thou sayst that Christ is absent from his saints on earth, who art corrected again by the apostle, who saith, Christ is in you,' and contrary to Christ, who is the saviour of the soul. And men are justified through faith, and that is within, in the heart, which is held in a pure conscience. And Christ is in the saints, who is their justification; and the apostle preached Christ in them, and where he is, there is justification; and they who have his light and receive him not,

there is condemnation.

[ocr errors]

P. And he saith, The Quakers are deceived, because they say, Christ is within them, kept down by something within them.'

[ocr errors]

A. Corrected by the apostle, who saith to the saints, Christ in you the hope of glory;' and he was pressed down as a cart with sheaves.' And Christ was in prison, and they visited him not; and hungry, and ye fed him not; and thou never knew Christ formed in thee, nor the reigning of the seed, which is the heir of the promise of God. How was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, but among such as thou art? And reprobates may talk of justification, in whom Christ is not; ye who witness him not within, he is not your justification.

P. And his principle is, 'that the place where Christ shall come to judgment, is at the mount of Olives, on the east side of Jerusalem.'

A. Thou hast put him far enough off from thee, and hast not yet

[ocr errors]

judged thyself, (and Christ is come to judgment,) and so art one of the false prophets, who bid people look for him beyond the sea, Lo here, lo there:' but who are come to Christ, the light, the life, they need not go forth; they who abide here are sealed by the spirit, and put not off the good and evil day.

P. He saith, 'It is a delusion of the devil, and a dangerous doctrine, to bid people follow the light within them.'

[ocr errors]

A. They are in the dangerous doctrine, and the delusions of the devil, that draw people from the light within. And thus he opposes the foundation of God, the 'light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world,' and the doctrine of the apostle, who saith, the light that shines in their hearts' must give them the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus.' So he is one of the devil's ministers, opposing the foundation of God, drawing people from that the apostles drew them to; for no one comes to the kingdom, but who comes to the light within them.

P. He saith, that every man hath not the spirit of Christ within him.'

A. But John said, 'Every man that cometh into the world is enlightened.' And Christ said, 'I will send you the comforter, the spirit of truth, which shall lead you into all truth; and he shall take of mine, and give it unto you; and he shall reprove the world of sin;' the spirit shall. Mark! every man;' here are saints, disciples, and the world. Get from under this if thou canst, for under reproof thou art come, and that which doth reprove the world is manifest to them; and the wicked quench the spirit, but the saints are led by it; and here are all men.

P. And again thou sayst, that it is a filthy error to say, that that light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world, will lead man to the kingdom of righteousness and peace.'

A. Thus he is splitting himself against the rock, and striking against the foundation; for every man that cometh into the world is enlightened, that through the light he might believe, and believing in it, he might not abide in darkness; and this he makes insufficient, when he that doth not believe in the light is condemned. And thus the spiritual Sodomite and Egyptian is blind, raging about the door. And no man comes to the kingdom of righteousness and peace, but by the light within: and so he is in the filthy error himself, denying the light, and hating it. P. Thou sayst, 'Christ is the light of the world, and yet not in every one that cometh into the world.'

A. Corrected by John, who saith, he doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world.' And 'the light shines in darkness,' and the darkness cannot comprehend' it; and he that hates the light' is enlightened, and will not come to it because it will reprove him.' That

which doth manifest to man an understanding of reproof, is within him, and hating it, that condemns him. And the saints believed in the light, and they abode not in darkness, which unbelievers do, and stumble, which the others do not.

P. And he saith, 'Christ was not in his disciples when he said, I am the light of the world.'

A. And so is corrected by Christ, who saith, I in you, and you in me.'

[ocr errors]

P. He saith, They that will come to justification, must go to Christ's grave without, and to mount Calvary,' page 9.

A. The scripture saith, ye need not go up to heaven, nor say, 'who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us that we may hear it, and do it; but the word is nigh, in thy heart.' Deut. xxx. So corrected by the scriptures. And the angel said unto them that went to the grave without, Why seek ye the living among the dead, he is risen;' and the saints sit with him in the heavenly places,' and need not go to mount Calvary for him.

[ocr errors]

P. He saith, The light wherewith Christ doth enlighten every one that cometh into the world, is but a creature, and is not a spirit,' page 10.

A. John saith, 'All things were made by him, (made by the light,) in him was life, and the life was the light of men:' and this shines in darkness, and the darkness cannot comprehend it. The foundation of God, which was before any creature was made, is the power of God, Christ Jesus the light; and the prophets' and John's doctrine they stumble at, who say, the light by which all things were made and created is a creature, and so thou art corrected by the scripture.

P. He calls the light 'conscience,' and 'a poor dunghill creature that will convince of sin.'

A. Which light was before conscience was, or creature was, or created or made light was. He made the sun, the moon, &c. and the light which was before these were made; and he is life and spirit too. For that which convinceth of sin is above the creature; checks him, and reproves him, and lets him see when he goeth astray from the Creator, and that is the light of Christ, with which all men see their salvation, with that which lets them see their sin.

P. He saith, The law doth not lead men to Christ, but under the curse,' page 17.

A. That is to them that transgress it. Solomon said, "the law was light.' And David said, 'the law was a light unto his feet, and a lamp unto his paths,' and so led him, and will lead them that do it, from the curse, and redeems from under it, of which law Christ is the end.

P. He saith, It is not the faith and works together that justifies in the sight of God, but it is faith and good works that justifies in the

2

sight of men only;' and saith, 'Works will not justify in the sight of God.' And he saith, that works are only to justify so far as to show their faith to be true before men.'

A. Abraham was not justified to men only by his obedience, but to God, and where there is faith there is justification, which faith works by love. And the saints' faith and works were not only to justify them in the sight of men, for the work of God is to do what he saith, and his will; which they who do not are not justified, but to be beaten with stripes. And they who seek to be justified by their faith and works in the sight of men, are dead, faith and works both.

P. He saith, They are no christians that do not hold Christ absent from his church; but antichrists.'

[ocr errors]

A. Which is contrary to the scriptures, which say, they are flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bone,' and they are as nigh together as husband and wife. And thus he is ignorant of the great mystery, Christ and the church, which Christ is the head of.

[ocr errors]

P. He saith, that the light wherewith Christ (as he is God) hath enlightened every man that cometh into the world, is not the spirit of Christ,' page 19.

A. And so makes that which comes from God and Christ, not spirit, (as he is God,) and thus the man is beating the air. He saith, Christ was God that lighteth every man,' &c. And yet (saith he) not with the spirit!' How then come men to be condemned for not believing it? So thou hast reproved thyself, and art blind, and fallen into the ditch. P. And again thou sayst, Though Christ, as he is God, doth give every man a light, (which is conscience,) otherwise called nature!"

[ocr errors]

A. And so thou hast given those new names to the light of Christ, contrary to the apostles, as thou mayst read, John i. 2. John doth not tell us, that it is conscience or natural light, as thou dost; and the light which every man that cometh into the world is enlightened withal, was before all things, and by it all things were made. So it was before any naturals were, and is that which gives all men the wisdom of God to order the naturals; so by the scriptures thou art reproved.

P. And he saith, Christ will not give his spirit to the world.' A. But Christ said, he would send his spirit to reprove the world, and that is sent to them; and that which doth reprove them is manifest to them in the world, to their own understanding, and in them, which spirit leads the saints into all truth. There is no man reproved, but it is within him, manifest to his understanding. And if he quench the spirit that reproveth him, he is not lead by it, and that is the condemnation of the world, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness,' &c. And this thou calls not spirit. Now this is the condemnation of them whose consciences are seared, and of them who

have the created and natural lights, the sun, the moon, and stars; which light was before they were.

[ocr errors]

P. And thou sayst, The scripture plainly denies that conscience can justify, though it may condemn.' See page 23.

A. Which is contrary to plain scripture, where the apostle saith, Rom. ii. 15. Their consciences either accusing or excusing.' And again saith he, 'Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence towards God and towards men.' And the light condemns, which you call conscience.

P. He saith, that the gospel is called the ministration of life, but not of condemnation.' Same page.

A. But they are condemned that obey not the gospel of Christ. And the scripture speaks of a savour of death unto death, and a savour of life unto life, and the gospel is so, the power of God.

[ocr errors]

P. He denies that Paul bid the saints listen within,' &c. See page 25.

[ocr errors]

A. Whereas Paul said, that the light shined in their hearts, to give the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.' And it was the treasure in the earthen vessel;' and Christ was within them.' And the ingrafted word,' was able to save their souls: and the 'hidden man of the heart.' And he had revealed his son in them,' and many other scriptures. And he saith, he served the law of God with his mind.' And yet thou sayst, He did not bid any listen within.' And he said, the word was in their hearts to obey it, and in their mouths' and can they obey that, and not listen within,' and do that, and not have their minds staid upon the Lord?

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

P. He saith, The light doth not shine in the consciences of them that he lost.' See

page 26.

A. But John saith, the light shines in darkness, but darkness cannot comprehend it, and there is that of God in the children of disobedience, and reprobates, as in Rom. i. and ii. chap.

P. And he denies that every man hath the light.'

A. Contrary to John, who saith, That is the true light which enlighteneth every man that comes into the world.' John 1.

[ocr errors]

P. He saith, It is a counterfeiting of the new birth, for men to follow the light wherewith men coming into the world are enlightened,' &c.

A. None come to the new birth, but they who come to the light which every man that comes into the world is lighted withal; which believing in, they are children of the light. Believing and receiving it, they receive power to become the sons of God.

P. He saith, To say that Christ is risen within, there is no scripture to prove it.' See page 28.

« 前へ次へ »