USA > Indiana > Discipline of Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends : being the constitution and discipline of the American Yearly Meeting of Friends; with the additions adopted by Indiana Yearly Meeting > Part 3
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The whole spiritual life grows out of the soul's relation to God and its co-operation with Him, not from any outward or traditional observances.
Christ Himself baptizes the surrendered soul with the Holy Spirit, enduing it with power, bestowing gifts for service. This is an efficient baptism, a di- rect incoming of divine power for the transforma- tion and control of the whole man. Christ Himself is the spiritual bread which nourishes the soul, and
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He thus enters into and becomes a part of the be- ing of those who partake of Him. This participa- tion with Christ and apprehension of Him be- come the goal of life for the Christian. Those who thus enter into oneness with Him become also join- ed in living union with each other as members of one body.
Both worship and Christian fellowship spring out of this immediate relation of believing souls with their Lord.
The Holy Scriptures were given by inspiration of God and are the divinely authorized record of the doctrines which Christians are bound to accept, and of the moral principles which are to regulate their lives and actions. In them, as interpreted and un- folded by the Holy Spirit, is an ever fresh and un- failing source of spiritual truth for the proper guid- ance of life and practice.
The doctrines of the apostolic days are held by the Friends as essentials of Christianity. The Fa- therhood of God, the Deity and humanity of the Son; the gift of the Holy Spirit; the atonement through Jesus Christ by which men are reconciled to God; the Resurrection; the Highpriesthood of Christ, and the individual priesthood of believers, are most precious truths to be held, not as tradi- tional dogmas, but as vital, life-giving realities.
The sinful condition of man and his proneness to yield to temptation, the world's absolute need of a Saviour, and the cleansing from sin in forgiveness and sanctification through the blood of Jesus Christ,
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are unceasing incentives to all who believe to be- come laborers together with God in extending His kingdom. By this high calling The Friends are pledged to the proclamation of the truth wherever the Spirit leads, both in home and in foreign fields.
The indwelling Spirit guides and controls the sur- rendered life, and the Christian's constant and su- preme business is obedience to Him. But while the importance of individual guidance and obedience is thus emphasized, this fact gives no ground for license; the sanctified conclusions of the Church are above the judgment of a single individual.
The Friends find no scriptural evidence or au- thority for any form or degree of sacerdotalism in the Christian Church, or for the establishment of any ordinance or ceremonial rite for perpetual ob- servance. The teachings of Jesus Christ concern- ing the spiritual nature of religion, the impossibil- ity of promoting the spiritual life by the ceremonial application of material things, the fact that faith in Jesus Christ Himself is all-sufficient, the purpose of His life, death, resurrection and ascension, and His presence in the believer's heart, virtually de- stroy every ceremonial system and point the soul to the only satisfying source of spiritual life and power.
With faith in the wisdom of Almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and believing that it is His purpose to make His Church on earth a power for righteousness and truth, The Friends labor for the alleviation of human suffering; for
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the intellectual, moral and spiritual elevation of mankind; and for purified and exalted citizenship. The Friends believe war to be incompatible with Christianity, and seek to promote peaceful methods for the settlement of all the differences between nations and between men.
It is an essential part of the faith that a man should be in truth what he professes in word, and the underlying principle of life and action for in- dividuals, and also for society, is transformation through the power of God and implicit obedience to His revealed will.
For more explicit and extended statements of be- lief, reference is made to those officially put forth at various times, especially to the letter of George Fox to the Governor of Barbadoes in 1671, and to the Declaration of Faith issued by the Richmond Conference in 1887.
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SECTION 2.
EXTRACT FROM GEORGE FOX'S LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR OF BARBA- DOES, 1671.
We own and believe in God, the only wise, om- nipotent, and everlasting God, the Creator of all things in heaven and earth, and the Preserver of all that He hath made; who is God over all, blessed forever; to whom be all honor, glory, dominion, praise and thanksgiving, both now and forevermore; And we own and believe in Jesus Christ, His be- loved and only-begotten Son, in whom He is well pleased ; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the virgin Mary; in whom we have re- demption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins; who is the express image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature, by whom were all things created that are in heaven and in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, do- minions, principalities, or powers; all things were created by him. And we own and believe that He was made a sacrifice for sin, who knew no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth; that He was crucified for us in the flesh, without the gates of Jerusalem; and that He was buried, and rose again the third day by the power of His Father, for our justification; and that He ascended up into heaven, and now sitteth at the right hand of God. This Jesus, who was the foundation of the holy prophets and apostles, is our foundation; and we
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believe there is no other foundation to be laid but that which is laid, even Christ Jesus; who tasted death for every man, shed His blood for all men, is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world: according as John the Baptist testified of Him, when he said, "Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world !" (John 1: 29). We believe that He alone is our Redeemer and Saviour, the captain of our salvation, who saves us from sin, as well as from hell and the wrath to come, and destroys the devil and his works; he is the Seed of the woman that bruises the serpent's head, to wit, Christ Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. He is (as the Scriptures of truth say of Him) our wis- dom, righteousness, justification, and redemption ; neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we may be saved. He alone is the Shep- herd and Bishop of our souls: He is our Prophet, whom Moses long since testified of, saying, "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethern, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you : and it shall come to pass, that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people." (Acts 3: 22, 23). He is now come in Spirit, "and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true." He rules in our hearts by His law of love and life, and makes us free from the law of sin and death. We have no life, but by Him ; for He is the quickening Spirit, the
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second Adam, the Lord from heaven, by whose blood we are cleansed, and our consciences sprinkled from dead works, to serve the living God. He is our Mediator, who makes peace and reconcil- iation between God offended and us offending; He being the Oath of God, the new covenant of light, life, grace and peace; the author and finisher of our faith. This Lord Jesus Christ, the heavenly man, the Emmanuel, God with us, we all own and believe in; He whom the high-priest raged against and said, He had spoken blasphemy; whom the priests and elders of the Jews took counsel together against and put to death ; the same whom Judas betrayed for thirty pieces of silver, which the priests gave him as a reward for his treason; who also gave large money to the soldiers to broach a horrible lie, namely, "That his disciples came and stole him away by night whilst they slept." After He was arisen from the dead, the history of the acts of the apostles sets forth how the chief priests and elders persecuted the disciples of this Jesus, for preaching Christ and His resurrection. This, we say, is that Lord Jesus Christ, whom we own to be our life and salvation.
Concerning the Holy Scriptures, we believe they were given forth by the Holy Spirit of God, through the holy men of God, who, as the Scripture itself declares, (2 Pet. 1: 21), spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. We believe they are to be read, believed, and fulfilled; (He that fulfils them is Christ), and they are "profitable for doctrine, for re-
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proof, for correction, for instruction in righteous- ness, that the man of God may be perfect, thorough- ly furnished unto all good works," (2 Tim. 3: 16, 17); and are able to make wise unto salvation, "through faith in Christ Jesus."
SECTION 3.
DECLARATION OF FAITH ISSUED BY THE RICHMOND CONFERENCE IN 1887.
(N. B. It should be understood that the quotations from Scripture are made from the Authorized Version un- less stated to be from the Revised Version.)
It is under a deep sense of what we owe to Him who has loved us that we feel called upon to offer a declaration of those fundamental doctrines of Christian truth that have always been professed by our branch of the Church of Christ.
OF GOD.
We believe in one holy, (Isa. vi. 3, 1vii 15.) al- mighty, (Gen. xvii. 1.) all-wise, (Rom. xi. 33, xvi. 27.) and everlasting, (Ps. xc. 1, 2.) God, the Father, (Matt. xi, 25-27.) the Creator (Gen. i. 1.) and Preserver (Job vii. 20.) of all things; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, by whom all things were made, (John i. 3.) and by whom all things consist; (Col. i. 17.) and in one Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Son, (John xv. 26, xvi. 7:) the Reprover (John xvi. 8.) of the world, the Witness for Christ, (John xv.
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26.) and the Teacher, (John xiv. 26.) Guide, (John xvi. 13.) and Sanctifier (II Thes. ii. 13.) of the people of God; and that these three are one in the eternal God- head; (Matt. xxviii. 19, John x. 30, xvii. 21.) to whom be honor, praise, and thanksgiving, now and forever. Amen.
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
It is with reverence and thanksgiving that we profess our unwavering allegiance to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him (John i. 18.) In Him was life, (John i. 4.) and the life was the light of men. (John i. 4.) He is the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world; (John i. 9.) through whom the light of truth in all ages has proceeded from the Father of lights. (James i 17.) He is the eternal Word (John i. 1.) who was with God and was God, revealing Himself in infinite wisdom and love, both as man's Creator (Col. i. 13-16.) and Redeemer; (Col. i. 14.) for by Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible. Conceived of the Holy Ghost (Matt. i. 20.) born of the virgin Mary, (Matt. i. 23-25, Luke i. 35.) the word was made flesh, (John i. 14.) and dwelt amongst men. He came in the fullness (Gal iv. 4.) of the appointed time, being verily foreordained before the foundation of the world (I. Peter i. 20.) that He might fulfill (Isa. xi. 1-5, Isa lii. 13-15.) the eternal counsel of the righteous- ness and love of God for the redemption of man.
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(Isa. liii.) In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. (Col. ii. 9) Though He was rich, yet, for our sakes, He became poor, veiling in the form of a servant (Phil. ii. 7.) the brightness of His glory, that, through Him the kindness and love of God (Titus iii. 4) toward man might appear in a manner every way suited to our wants and finite capacities. He went about doing good; (Acts x. 38.) for us He endured (Isa. liii. 4, Luke xii. 50, Luke xix 41, xxii. 44.) sorrow, hunger, thirst, weariness, (John iv. 6.) pain, unutterable anguish (Luke xxii. 43, 44.) of body and of soul, being in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Heb. iv. 15.) Thus hum- bling himself that we might be exalted, He emphat- ically recognized the duties and the sufferings of humanity as among the means whereby, through the obedience of faith, we are to be disciplined for heaven, sanctifying them to us, by Himself per- forming and enduring them, leaving us the one per- fect example (I. Peter ii. 21.) of all righteousness (Matt. iii. 15.) in self-sacrificing love.
But not only in these blessed relations must the Lord Jesus be ever precious to His people. In Him is revealed as true God and perfect man, (Eph. iv. 13.) a Redeemer, at once able to suffer and almighty to save. He became obedient (Phil. ii. 8.) unto death, even the death of the cross, and is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world; (I. John ii. 2.) in whom we have redemption through his blood (Eph. i. 7.) the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of
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his grace. It is our joy to confess that the remis- sion of sins which any partake of is only in and by ยท virtue of His most satisfactory sacrifice and no otherwise. (Barclay's Apology, Propos. v. and vi., par. 15, p. 141.) He was buried and rose again the third day, (I. Cor. xv. 4.) according to the Scriptures, becoming the first fruits (I. Cor. xv. 23.) of them that sleep, and having shown Himself alive after His passion, by many infallible proofs, (Acts i. 3.) He ascended into heaven, and hath sat downat the righthand of the Ma- jesty on high, now to appear in the presence of God for us. (Heb. i. 3, ix. 24.) With the apostles who be- held His ascension, we rest in the assurance of the angelic messengers, "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." (Acts i. 11., and see v. 7.) With the apostle John, we would desire to unite in the words "Amen; even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Rev. xxii. 20.) And now, whilst thus watching and waiting, we rejoice to believe that He is our King and Savior. He is the one Mediator of the new and everlasting covenant, (I. Tim. ii. 5, Heb. ix. 15.) who makes peace and reconciliation be- tween God offended and man offending; (George Fox's Epistle to the Governor of Barbadoes.) the great High Priest .whose priesthood is unchangeable (Heb. iv. 14, vii. 24.) He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. (Heb. vii. 25) All power is given unto him in heaven and in earth. (Matt. xxviii. 18) By Him the world shall be judged in righteousness; (Acts xvii. 31.) for the
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Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father. (John v. 22, 23.) All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth, they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of judgment. (John v. 28, 29.) (R. V.)
We reverently confess and believe that divine honor and worship are due to the Son of God, and that He is in true faith to be prayed unto, and His name to be called upon, as the primitive Christians did because of the glorious oneness of the Father and the Son; and that we cannot acceptably offer prayers and praises to God, nor receive from Him a gracious answer or blessing, but in and through his dear Son. (Declaration of 1693, in Sewell's Hist., vol. II., 379.)
We would, with humble thanksgiving, bear an es- pecial testimony to our Lord's perpetual dominion and power in His church .. Through Him the re- deemed in all generations have derived their light, their forgiveness, and their joy. All are members of this church, by whatsoever name they may be called among men, who have been baptized by the one Spirit into the one body; who are builded as living stones upon Christ, the Eternal Foundation, and are united in faith and love in that fellowship which is with the Father and with the Son. Of this church the Lord Jesus Christ is the alone Head. (Eph. i. 22) All its true members are made one in Him. They have washed their robes and made
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them white in His precious blood, (Rev. vii. 14.) and He has made them priests unto God and His Fa- ther. (Rev. i. 6.) He dwells in their hearts by faith, and gives them of His peace. His will is their law, and in Him they enjoy the true liberty, a freedom from the bondage of sin.
THE HOLY SPIRIT.
We believe that the Holy Spirit is, in the unity of the eternal Godhead, one with the Father and with the Son. (Matt. xxviii. 19, II Cor. xiii. 14.) He is the comforter "Whom," saith Christ, "the Father will send in my name." (John xiv. 26.) He convinces the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. (John xvi. 8.) He testifies of and glorifies Jesus. (John xvi. 14.) It is the Holy Spirit who makes the evil manifest. He quickens them that are dead in trespasses and sins, and opens the inward eye to be- hold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. (Eph. ii. 1.) Coming in the name and with the authority of the risen and ascended Savior, He is the precious pledge of the continued love and care of our exalted King. He takes of the things of Christ and shows them, as a realized possession, to the believing soul. (John xvi. 14.) Dwelling in the hearts of believers, (John xiv. 17.) He opens their understandings that they may understand the Scrip- tures, and becomes, to the humbled and surren- dered heart, the Guide, Comforter, Support, and Sanctifier.
We believe that the essential qualification for the Lord's service is bestowed upon His children
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through the reception and baptism of the Holy Ghost. This Holy Spirit is the seal of reconcilia- tion to the believer in Jesus, (Eph. i. 13, 14.) the wit- ness to his adoption into the family of the redeemed ; (Rom. viii. 15, 16.) the earnest and the foretaste of the full communion and perfect joy which are te- served for them that endure unto the end.
We own no principle of spiritual light, life or holiness, inherent by nature in the mind or heart of man. We believe in no principle of spiritual light, life or holiness, but the influence of the Holy Spirit of God, bestowed on mankind, in various measures and degrees, through Jesus Christ our Lord. It is the capacity to receive this blessed in- fluence, which, in an especial manner, gives man pre-eminence above the beasts that perish; which distinguishes him, in every nation and in every clime, as an object of the redeeming love of God; as a being not only intelligent but responsible; for whom the message of salvation through our cruci- fied Redeemer is, under all possible circumstances, designed to be a joyful sound. The Holy Spirit must ever be distinguished, both from the con- science which He enlightens, and from the nat- ural faculty of reason, which when unsubjected to His Holy influence, is, in the things of God, very foolishness. As the eye is to the body, so is the conscience to our inner being, the organ by which we see; and, as both light and life are essential to the eye, so conscience, as the inward eye, cannot see aright, without the quickening and illumination of the Spirit of God. One with the Father and the
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Son, the Holy Spirit can never disown or dishonor our once crucified and now risen and glorified Re- , deemer. We disavow all professed illumination or spirituality that is divorced from faith in Jesus Christ of Nazareth, crucified for us without the gates of Jerusalem.
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.
It has ever been, and still is, the belief of the So- ciety of Friends that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament were given by inspiration of God; that, therefore, there can be no appeal from them to any other authority whatsoever; that they are able to make wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Jesus Christ. "These are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name." (John xx. 31.) The Scriptures are the only divinely authorized record of the doc- trines which we are bound, as Christians, to accept, and of the moral principles which are to regulate our actions. No one can be required to believe, as an article of faith, any doctrine which is not con- tained in them; and whatsoever any one says or does, contrary to the Scriptures, though under pro- fession of the immediate guidance of the Holy Spirit, must be reckoned and accounted a mere de- lusion. To the Christian, the Old Testament comes with the solemn and repeated attestation of his Lord. It is to be read in the light and complete- ness of the New; thus will its meaning be unveiled, and the humble disciple will be taught to discern
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the unity and mutual adaptation of the whole, and the many-sidedness and harmony of its testimony to Christ. The great Inspirer of Scripture is ever its true Interpreter. He performs this office in con- descending love, not by superseding our under- standings, but by renewing and enlightening them. Where Christ presides, idle speculation is hushed; His doctrine is learned in the doing of His will, and all knowledge ripens into a deeper and richer experience of His truth and love.
MAN'S CREATION AND FALL.
It pleased God, in His wisdom and goodness, to create man out of the dust of the earth, and to breathe into his nostrils the breath of life, so that man became a living soul; formed after the image and likeness of God, capable of fulfilling the di- vine law, and of holding communion with his Ma- ker. (Gen. ii. 7, i. 26, 27.) Being free to obey, or to disobey, he fell into transgression, through unbe- lief, under the temptation of Satan, (Gen. iii. 1-7.) and, thereby, lost that spiritual life of righteous- ness, in which he was created; and, so, death passed upon him, as the inevitable consequence of his sin. (Rom. v. 12.) As the children of fallen Adam, all mankind bear his image. They partake of his na- ture, and are involved in the consequences of his fall. To every member of every successive genera- tion, the words of the Redeemer are alike appli- cable, "Ye must be born again." (John iii. 7.) But while we hold these views of the lost condition of man in the fall, we rejoice to believe that sin is not
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imputed to any, until they transgress the divine law, after sufficient capacity has been given to under- stand it; and that infants, though inheriting this fallen nature, are saved in the infinite mercy of God, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.
JUSTIFICATION AND SANCTIFICATION.
"God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John iii. 16.) We believe that justification is of God's free grace, through which, upon repentance and faith, He pardons our sins, and imparts to us a new life. It is received, not for any works of righteousness that we have done, (Titus iii. 5.) but in the unmerited mercy of God in Christ Jesus. Through faith in Him, and the shedding of His precious blood, the guilt of sin is taken away, and we stand reconciled to God. The offering up of Christ as the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, is the appointed manifestation both of the righteousness and of the love of God. In this pro- pitiation the pardon of sin involves no abrogation or relaxation of the law of holiness. It is the vin- dication and establishment of that law, (Rom. iii. 31.) in virtue of the free and righteous submission of the Son of God himself to all its requirements. He, the unchangeably just, proclaims Himself the jus- tifier of him that believeth in Jesus. (Rom. iii. 26.) From age to age, the sufferings and death of Christ have been a hidden mystery, and a rock of offense to the unbelief and pride of man's fallen nature;
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yet, to the humble penitent whose heart is broker under the convicting power of the Spirit, life is re- vealed in that death. As he looks upon Him who was wounded for our transgressions, (Isa. liii. 5.) and upon whom the Lord was pleased to lay the iniquity of us all, (Isa. liii. 6.) his eye is more and more opened to see, and his heart to understand, the exceeding sinfulness of sin for which the Savior died; whilst, in the sense of pardoning grace, he will joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (Rom. v. 11.)
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