All Friends and brethren every where, in the life and power of the Lord wait, and from it none walk; but that to the light of Christ in every one ye may be made manifest, that the fear and dread of the Lord [Isa 8:13] may be in all your hearts, that nothing may reign but life [Rom 5:17] itself. And so, all your meetings in every place keep, waiting in the light, which from Christ doth come, the saviour of your souls; that his presence in the midst ye may all feel, who are gathered together in his name [Mat 18:20] and power in his light, (which is his name,) and from the world's <40> gatherings are turned. And if any be moved (who are turned to the light [Acts 26:18]) with the power which comes from him, to any service for the Lord, to it be obedient; and ye will see Christ with you to the end of the world [Mat 28:20]. But if any go, before they are moved, and so from the light walk, he is a stumbling block, and is to be judged and condemned by the light [John 3:19f]; and is out of the wisdom, and out of the fear, and soweth to the flesh, and reaps corruption [Gal 6:8], and by the light is condemned. For that answereth not the light in every man's conscience, neither doth it reach to the life, the spirit in prison [1Pet 3:19]; but it manifesteth weakness, and foolishness, and nakedness, which is from the light, and contrary to it. And such are stumbling blocks, and do not answer the witness of God in the conscience [Rom 2:15].
Therefore wait all in the light, for to receive the power from him who is not of the world [John 17:14], that ye may be preserved from nakedness and weakness. For that which goes from the light, and is not guided with it, runs into the lust; and there is the slothful, which is to be judged [Mat 25:26-30], and that that will offend, to which the wo is [Mat 18:7]; for it answereth not that of God in the conscience: neither is it honourable, nor of good report; for that which is honourable, and of good report, answereth that which is of God [Col 4:6/Rom 1:19], and answereth the light of Christ in every man in the world [John 1:9] with wisdom, which from the light doth come, even from him by whom the world was made.
Therefore all Friends, this is a charge to you all, and a command to you all in the presence of the living God: ‘In the light, life, and power, and wisdom of God walk,’ that to that of God in every one ye may be manifested in the sight of God, and it may be your witness, that ye are of God, in every man's conscience, which witnesseth against the world, and for him who is not of the world [John 17:14,16]. And wait all in the light for the wisdom by which all things were made [Wis 7:22], with it to use all the Lord's creatures to his glory, (and none to stumble one another about the creatures [Rom 14:21], for that is not from the light, ) for which end they were created, and with the wisdom by which they were made, ye may be kept out of the misuse of them, in the image of God, that ye may come to see, that the ‘earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof,’ [Psa 24:1] and the earth may come to yield her increase [Ezek 34:27], and to enjoy her sabbaths [Lev 26:34]; and all such that walk contrary to the light, may be turned to the light [Acts 26:18], that with the light they may see and condemn that which is contrary to it. So that in the wisdom of God ye may all be kept, and in the fear of the Lord and his righteousness established, which is far from oppression [Isa 54:14]; where all bonds of iniquity [Acts 8:23] are broken, and the prince of darkness judged out, and the Prince of peace [Isa 9:6] reigns, under whose dominion keep and walk. And all that cause strife, are to be condemned and shut out, <41> which have their eye without, and are condemned by the light, the god of the world having blinded [2 Cor 4:4] the eye of the unbeliever.
Therefore, ye believers in the light [John 12:36], wait in the wisdom, that with it and in it ye may be ordered to the glory of God [Wis 8:1], that among you nothing may reign, but light, and life, and wisdom, and power, the dread and fear of the Lord be among you, and truth and righteousness reign; which will answer the light of Christ in every man [Col 4:6]. And all that is contrary, let it be condemned with the light which comes from him by which the world was made [John 1:2], who was before the world was, who ‘lighteth every man, that cometh into the world.’ [John 1:9] Though they believe not in it, yet ye may answer the light in every man, though it be their condemnation [John 3:19f].
So being kept in the light, which cometh from him by whom the world was made, who was before it was made, ye come to receive the wisdom by which all things were made [Wis 7:22], and with it to order and use them to the glory of God [Wis 8:1, 1 Cor 10:31]. For that which is not from the light, nor from the wisdom, is the offender, which is to be condemned with the light which comes from the life; and to it in you all take heed, that your hearts may be joined together to God, and all that is contrary condemned. And so, the Lord God Almighty preserve and keep you all in wisdom!
P. S.—Friends, a warning from the Lord to you all, in wisdom to walk, that ye may adorn every one, what ye profess [Tit 2:10], that the measure of God's spirit in every one ye may answer. And know the Lord to guide your understandings, and let his wisdom be justified by you all [Mat 11:19], and ye in the measure of the spirit of God in unity kept; that ye may see righteousness spring and flourish among you, and no deceit stand, nor nothing that is deceitful; but with the eternal judge it down, and keep it down, that nothing may live that is for the sword, which would defile the land [Num 35:34]. Therefore in that which is eternal, dwell, as a royal priesthood [1 Pet 2:9], in that which comes from him by whom the world was made; who to all your souls is a Friend [John 15:15], from whence the refreshing is received. So the Lord God Almighty preserve and keep you all, that in his life, dread, and power ye may be preserved.
G. F.
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George Fox (1624 - 1691)
Was an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends. This was a group the Lord started through the ministry of George Fox. God called him apart from all other forms of Christendom in his day because of the lack of Biblical obedience and holiness.The emphasis in George Fox's ministry was firstly prophetic. He called out the people of God to show them that they had the Holy Spirit of God and could be taught of Him and not to solely rely on the teachings of ecclesiastical leaders. Secondly, he spoke directly to many ministers in his day to show them they were hirelings and did not have a true shepherds heart for the people of God rather they were seeking after financial gain.
Founder of the Society of Friends (Quakers). George Fox was born in Drayton-in-the-Clay, Leicestershire, England, the son of Puritan parents. Little is known of his early life, apart from what he wrote in his journal: "In my very young years, I had a gravity and stayedness of mind and spirit not usual in young children. Insomuch that, when I saw old men behave lightly and wantonly toward each other, I had a dislike thereof raise in my heart, and I said within myself, `If ever I come to be a man, surely I shall not do so, nor be so wanton.'"
At the age of 19, he gained deep, personal assurance of his salvation and began to travel as an itinerant preacher, seeking a return to the simple practices of the New Testament. He abhorred technical theology, and preached a faith borne of experience, freshly fed and guided by the immediate presence of the Holy Spirit.
Fox was persecuted almost daily, yet his power of endurance was phenomenal. He was beaten with dogwhips, knocked down with fists and stones, brutally struck with pikestaves, hard beset by mobs, incarcerated eight times in the pestilential jails, prisons, castles and dungeons--yet he went straightforward with his mission as though he had discovered some fresh courage which made him impervious to man's inhumanity.
He undertook as far as possible to let the new life in Christ take its own free course of development in his ministry. He shunned rigid forms and static systems, and for that reason he refused to head a new sect or to start a new denomination, or to begin a new church. He would not build an organization of any kind. His followers at first called themselves "Children of the Light," and later adopted the name "The Society (or Fellowship) of Friends."
Fox preached and traveled for 40 years throughout England, Scotland, Holland, and America. His life demonstrated the truth of his famous saying, "One man raised by God's power to stand and live in the same spirit the apostle and prophets were in, can shake the country for ten miles around."