Epistle 335
The sermon emphasizes the importance of serving and honoring God in spirit and truth, and being reconciled to Him through His word.
George Fox preaches about dwelling in the love, power, and truth of God, emphasizing the importance of serving, honoring, fearing, and worshiping Him in spirit and truth. He encourages abiding in Christ, the heavenly vine, to bear heavenly and spiritual fruits for God's glory, and to be separated from the world by the eternal Word that reconciles all things to God. Through the glorious everlasting Word of life, believers are born again of the immortal seed of God, receiving wisdom, salvation, and justification as God's children.
Text
My dear friends,--All dwell in the love of God, and in his power and truth, that the presence of the Lord God you all may enjoy, who is the life of you all, and the length of your days [Deut 30:20], who hath the breath of all mankind [Job 12:10], and the spirits of all flesh [Num 16:2] in his hand; and in him you do all live, and move, and have your being [Acts 17:28], who is your rock and salvation [Psa 62:2], <127> and fountain of life [Psa 36:9], and of all your mercies, and of your water of life [Rev 21:6]: and therefore serve, and honour, and fear, and worship him in his spirit and truth [John 4:24]; and that you all may abide in the holy, heavenly and spiritual vine, and in him bring forth heavenly and spiritual fruits [John 15:4f, Gal 5:22], to the glory of God, who sent his son to be a leader [Isa 55:4], and the way to God [John 14:6], who draweth all men up to himself [John 12:32], where he is ascended, to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus [Eph 2:6], out of all sin and transgression, by which man was driven from God, that made him barren and unfruitful.
And therefore, be ye separated from the world to the Lord [Num 6:2, 2 Cor 6:17], by the word which was in the beginning [John 1:1], which divideth the precious from the vile [Jer 15:19]; that by that word ye may be reconciled to God [2 Cor 5:19]; which word reconcileth all things in heaven and in the earth in one [Eph 1:10/Col 1:20]; which word hammereth down that which made twain [Jer 23:29/Eph 2:15]; and so by the glorious everlasting word of life [1 Jn 1:1] you are born again of the immortal seed of God [1 Pet 1:23], and feed upon the milk of this everlasting word [1 Pet 2:2], which liveth, and abideth, and endureth for ever [1 Pet 1:23], and was in the beginning; by which word you have wisdom and salvation, by which wisdom all God's children are justified [Mat 11:19].
The Lord God in his immortal power preserve you, out of all evil, and out of the earth, and over your enemies, within and without, in his everlasting seed Christ, that is over all, to his glory, for ever. Amen.
G. F.
Sermon Outline
- The Presence of God
- The Power of God
- The Importance of Serving God
- The Separation from the World
- Be separated from the world to the Lord
- Be reconciled to God through the word
Key Quotes
“who is the life of you all, and the length of your days” — George Fox
“by that word ye may be reconciled to God” — George Fox
“which word reconcileth all things in heaven and in the earth in one” — George Fox
Application Points
- We must serve and honor God in spirit and truth, and abide in the holy vine to bring forth spiritual fruits.
- We can be reconciled to God through the word of God, which divideth the precious from the vile.
- We must be separated from the world to the Lord, and rely on the immortal power of God in His everlasting seed Christ.