In Which Seed Shine
George Fox emphasizes the importance of living in the Seed of God to achieve unity and peace among friends.
George Fox emphasizes the importance of unity among believers, urging them to avoid worldly wisdom that creates division. He advocates for innocence, truth, and simplicity as the foundation for genuine unity, where love prevails over evil thoughts. Fox expresses his grief over anything that hinders this unity and encourages friends to focus on the Seed of God within themselves, which has the power to heal and bring peace. He calls for believers to keep their earthly weaknesses under control and to elevate the Seed of God above all enmity, as it is the source of true unity and eternal good.
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AND Friends, keep out of the Worldly-Wise Part, for that will never let People joyn and unite together (in Truth) which enters into the Earth and the Apprehensions of Words; but let Innocency be the Garment, and Truth and Simplicity the Covering. Then in the Innocency ye will have Unity, where there is no Evil Thought, but Love, that thinks no Evil. . . . And let the Weight and Preciousness of Truth be . . . esteemed above all things by you.
For here is my Grief, when I hear anything among Friends that hinders their Unity, and makes a Breach, (whereby the Wrong gets Ground) who should love in the Seed, which breaks the Bond of Iniquity, and makes up all Breaches; in the Seed shine, answer the Witness of God in every one, which bruises the Earthly Part under, that brings forth Briars and Thorns, and spreads over the World, and all the contrary. Therefore all ye, which have known the Power of the Lord God, and have tasted of the Seed of God, Live in that, in which ye come to have Unity; that that Part may be kept down:
And the Wrong Eye, that looks out at one anothers Weaknesses, that must be kept under, even that, where the Heat, and the Burnings and the Enmity is; the Seed of God a-top of all that must be set, in which is the Unity. Therefore . . . come all to the Seed of God in your own selves; for in that is the Vertue to heal, yea all Nations, Slaughterings, Wounds and Cuttings are the other Weapons in the other Part, which is out of the Seed of God, whose End is Peace; in which is the Unity, which is the Top-stone over all the Enmity, and a-top of it is laid, and bruiseth it all down.
I am a Lover of your Soul's Eternal Good, Peace and Unity, in the Kingdom, that stands in the Power, which hath no end.
G.F.
Sermon Outline
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I
- Importance of Innocency
- Unity through Truth and Simplicity
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II
- Grief over Division among Friends
- The Role of the Seed in Healing Breaches
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III
- Keeping the Wrong Eye Under Control
- The Power of the Seed to Heal
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IV
- The Nature of True Unity
- The End of Enmity through the Seed
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V
- The Call to Live in the Seed
- The Virtue of the Seed for All Nations
Key Quotes
“let Innocency be the Garment, and Truth and Simplicity the Covering.” — George Fox
“the Wrong Eye, that looks out at one anothers Weaknesses, that must be kept under.” — George Fox
“the Seed of God a-top of all that must be set, in which is the Unity.” — George Fox
Application Points
- Seek to embody Innocency and Truth in your interactions with others.
- Focus on the Seed of God within yourself to foster unity and overcome divisions.
- Recognize and suppress the tendencies to judge others, promoting a spirit of love instead.