USA > Indiana > Discipline of the Society of Friends, Indiana Yearly meeting, 1878 > Part 2
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When the General Meeting of ministers trans- ferred much of its duties to the representative Yearly Meeting, of which they formed a part, there were some portions of the service of these meetings which more particularly belonged to the ministers. Although the power to approve and disapprove of ministers rested with the members of the church to which they respectively belonged, in the capacity of a Monthly Meeting, yet it was deemed fitting that the ministers should have an especial over- sight of each other, and that they should meet to- gether for mutual consultation and advice in regard to those of their own station.
George Fox, in 1674, writes thus: "Let your general assemblies of the ministers [in London, or elsewhere] examine, as it was at the first, whether
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INTRODUCTION.
all the ministers that go forth into the counties do walk as becomes the Gospel ; for that you know was one end of that meeting, to prevent and take away scandal, and to examine whether all who preach Christ Jesus, do keep in his government and in the order of the Gospel, and to exhort them that do not." Meetings for these purposes, in which Friends in the station of elder are now united, continue to be regularly held.
All the meetings which have been hitherto described were conducted by men; but it was one of the earliest features of our religious economy to elevate the character of the female sex, by recog- nizing them as helpers in spiritual, as well as in temporal things ; holding, in the former, as well as- in the latter, a distinct place, and having duties which more peculiarly devolved on them. For this purpose meetings were established among them, . with a special regard to the care and edification of their own sex. The views of George Fox in regard to the establishment of these meetings are conveyed in the following passages : " Faithful women, called to a belief of the truth, and made partakers of the same precious faith and heirs of the same everlasting Gospel of life and salvation, as the men are, might in like manner come into the profession and practice of the Gospel order, and therein be meet-helps to the men in the service of truth, and the affairs in the church, as they are outwardly in civil and temporal things; that so all the family of God, women as well as men, might know, possess and perform their offices and services in
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INTRODUCTION.
the house of God: whereby the poor might be better taken care of; the younger sort instructed, informed, and taught in the way of God; the dis- orderly reproved and admonished in the fear of the Lord : the clearness of persons proposing marriage more closely and strictly inquired into in the wis- dom of God; and all the members of the spiritual body, the church, might watch over and be helpful to each other in love."
Thus was a system of order and government, in conformity with the spirit of Christianity, estab- lised among us in early times ; and thus a field was opened for the exercise of the various gifts, by which the church, the body of Christ, is edified.
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SECTION I.
DECLARATIONS OF FAITH. CONCERNING GOD THE FATHER.
[Extract from George, Fox's Epistle to the Governor of Bar- badoes, 1671.]
WE do own and believe in God, the only wise, omnipotent, 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, do- minion, praise and thanksgiving, both now and for evermore !
JESUS CHRIST.
And we do own and believe in Jesus Christ, his beloved 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 redemption 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, or dominions, or principalities, or powers ; all things were created by him. And we do own and believe that he was made a sacrifice for sin, who knew no sin, neither was guile found in his
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DECLARATIONS OF FAITH.
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 we do believe 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 do believe there is no other foundation to be laid but that which is laid, even Christ Jesus ; who, we believe, tasted death for every man, and shed his blood for all men, and 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 sin of the world," John, i. 29. We believe that he alone is our Redeemer and Savior, 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; who 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 wisdom and righteousness, justification, and redemption ; neither is there sal- vation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Acts, iv. 12. It is He alone who is the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls ; He it is who is our prophet, whom Moses long since testified of, saying, " A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him
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DECLARATIONS OF FAITH.
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 des- troyed from among the people." Acts, ii. 22, 23. He it is that is now come "and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true." And 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 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, that makes peace and reconciliation 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. Now this Lord Jesus Christ, the heavenly man, the Emanuel, God with us, we all own and believe in ; Him whom the high-priest raged against and said He had spoken blasphemy ; whom the priest 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." And after He- was risen from the dead, the history of the acts of the apostles set forth how the chief priests and elders persecuted the disciples of this Jesus, for preaching Christ and his resurrection. This, we
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DECLARATIONS OF FAITH.
say, is that Lord Jesus Christ, whom we own to be our life and salvation.
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.
And as concerning the Holy Scriptures, we do believe that they were given forth by the Holy Spirit of God, through the holy men of God, who, as the scripture itself declares, 2 Pet., i. 21, spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. We believe they are to be read, believed and fulfilled (he that fulfills them is Christ) ; and they are " profitable for doc- trine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works," 2 Tim., iii. 16, 17; and are able to make wise unto salva- tion, " through faith in Christ Jesus."
So that we call the Holy Scriptures, as Christ and the apostles called them, and holy men of God called them-the words of God.
FAMILY WORSHIP.
We do declare, that we do esteem it a duty in- · cumbent on us, to pray with and for, to teach, in- struct, and admonish, those in and belonging to our families. This being a command of the Lord ; the disobedience whereunto will provoke the Lord's displeasure ; as may be seen in Jer., x. 25, " Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know Thee not, and upon the families that call not upon Thy name."
Now Negroes and Indians make up a very great part of the families in this island, for whom an
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DECLARATIONS OF FAITH.
account will be required by Him who comes to judge both quick and dead, at the great day of judgment, when every one shall be rewarded according to the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or whether they be evil ; at that day, I say, of the res- urrection both of the good and of the bad, of the just and of the unjust, " when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ ; who shall be punished with everlast- ing destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his Saints, and to be admired in all them that believe in that day." 2 Thess., i. 7-10. See also, 2 Pet., iii. 3, etc.
HOLY SCRIPTURES.
It has been, and still is, the belief of the Society of Friends that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament were given by inspiration of God ; that, therefore, the declarations contained in them rest on the authority of God Himself, and that there can be no appeal from these to any other authority whatsoever; that they are able to make wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus. "These are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and that believing ye might have life through His name." The Scriptures are the only divinely authorized record of the doctrines which we are bound, as Christians, to accept, and of the moral
A
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DECLARATIONS OF FAITH.
principles which are to regulate our actions. No one can be required to believe as an article of faith any doctrine which is not contained in them; and whatsoever any one says or does contrary to the Scriptures, though under profession of the imme- diate guidance of the Holy Spirit, must be reckoned and accounted a delusion of the Devil.
[Extracts from a Statement of Christian Doctrine, issued on behalf of the Society, in the year 1693.]
JESUS CHRIST.
[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 the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to be called upon, as the primitive Christians did; and that we cannot acceptably offer up prayers or praises to God, nor receive a gracious answer or blessing from Him, but in and through His dear Son.
RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD.
Concerning the resurrection of the dead, and the great day of judgment yet to come, beyond the grave, or after death, and Christ's coming without us, to judge the quick and the dead (as divers ques- tions are put in such terms) : what the Holy Scrip- tures plainly declare and testify in these matters, we have been always ready to embrace.
1. For the doctrine of the resurrection; if, in this life only, we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable, 1 Cor., xv. 19. We sincerely believe not only a resurrection in Christ from the
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DECLARATIONS OF FAITH.
fallen sinful state here, but a rising and ascending into glory with him hereafter; that when he at last appears, we may appear with him in glory. Col., iii. 4; 1 John, iii. 2.
But that all the wicked who live in rebellion against the light of grace, and die finally impenitent, shall come forth to the resurrection of condemnation.
And that the soul or spirit of every man and woman shall be reserved in its own distinct and proper be- ing, and every seed (yea every soul) shall have its proper body, as God is pleased to give it, 1 Cor., xv. . A natural body is sown, a spiritual body is raised ; that being first which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual. And though it is said this cor- ruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality ; the change shall be such as flesh and blood can not inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption, 1 Cor., xv. We shall be raised out of all corruption and corruptibility, out of all mortality ; and the children of God and of the resurrection shall be equal to the angels of God in heaven. And as the celes- tial bodies do far excel terrestrial, so we expect our spiritual bodies in the resurrection shall far excel what our bodies now are. Howbeit we esteem it very unnecessary to dispute or question how the dead are raised, or with what body they come : but rather submit that to the wisdom and pleasure of Almighty God.
2. For the doctrine of eternal judgment: God hath committed all judgment unto his Son Jesus Christ; and he is judge both of quick and dead,
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DECLARATIONS OF FAITH.
and of the states and ends of all mankind, John, v. 22, 27; Acts, x. 42; 2 Timothy, iv. 1; 1 Peter, iv. 5.
That there shall be hereafter a great harvest, which is the end of the world, a great day of judg- ment, and the judgment of that great day, the Holy Scripture is clear. Matt., xiii. 39, 40, 41; ch. x. 15, and xi. 24; Jude, 6. " When the Son of Man cometh in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory, and before Him shall be gathered all nations," etc. Matt., xxv. 31, 32, to the end, compared with ch. xxii, 31; Mark, viii. 38 ; Luke, ix. 26, and 1 Cor., xv. 52; 2 Thes., i. 7, 8, to the end, and 1 Thes., iv. 16; Rev., xx. 12, 13, 14, 15.
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
[Extract from the Minutes of the Yearly Meeting, 1829.]
We believe that the promise made after the trans- gression of our first parents, in the consequence of whose fall all the posterity of Adam are involved, that the seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent ; and the declaration unto Abraham, " In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed," had a direct reference to the coming in the flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ. To Him, also, did the prophet Isaiah bear testimony, when he de- clared, "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given : and the government shall be upon His shoulder : and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father,
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DECLARATIONS OF FAITH.
the Prince of Peace : of the increase of his govern- ment and peace there shall be no end." And again, the same prophet spoke of Him when he said, " Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows : yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted ; but He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed." The same blessed Redeemer is emphatically denominated by the prophet Jeremiah, " THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
At that period, and in that miraculous manner, which God in His perfect wisdom saw fit, the prom- ised Messiah appeared personally upon earth, when "He took not on Him the nature of angels ; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham." He "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." Having finished the work which was given Him to do, He gave Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God. He tasted death for every man. "He is the propitiation for our sins : and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." "We have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins." He passed into the heavens ; and being the brightness of the glory of God, " and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high ; " and ever liveth to make intercession for us.
It is by the Lord Jesus Christ that the world will be judged in Righteousness. He is the mediator of
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DECLARATIONS OF FAITH.
the new covenant; "the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature : for by Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers ; all things were created by Him, and for Him; and He is before all things, and by Him all things con- sist." "In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily," and to Him did the Evangelist bear testimony when he said, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life ; and the life was the light of men." He "was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."
Our blessed Lord Himself spoke of His perpetual dominion or power in His church, when he said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me ; and I give unto them eternal life ;" and, when describing the spiritual food which he be- stowed on the true believers, he declared, "I am the bread of life ; he that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." He spoke also of His saving grace, be- stowed on those who come in faith unto Him, when He said, "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life."
Our religious Society, from its earliest establish-
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DECLARATIONS OF FAITH.
ment to the present day, has received these most important doctrines of Holy Scripture in their plain and obvious acceptation ; and it is the earnest de- sire of this meeting, that all who profess our name may so live, and so walk before God, as that they may know these sacred truths to be blessed to them individually. We desire that, as the mere profes- sion of sound Christian doctrine will not avail to the salvation of the soul, all may attain to a living efficacious faith, which, through the power of the Holy Ghost, bringeth forth fruit unto holiness ; the end whereof is everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord. " Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever."
[Extract from the Epistle of the Yearly Meeting, 1830.]
We are again made sensible that we can not meditate on a subject more fraught with instruc- tion and comfort, than the coming of the Son of God in the flesh, and the many blessings which through him have been conferred on the hu- man race-the coming of Him who, being born of a virgin, "was made in the likeness of men; " "who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God ; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant." He "was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification." It is through Him whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in His blood, that we obtain pardon for sin.
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DECLARATIONS OF FAITH.
He ascended on high, he led captivity captive, he received gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. He " sitteth on the right hand of God," making inter- cession for us. He " is made unto us of God, wis- dom and righteousness, and sanctification, and re- demption ; " and unto Him we must look as our Mediator and Advocate with the Father. He em- phatically describes himself as the "good Shepherd." He is our Lawgiver; and solemn indeed is the declaration, that we must all appear before his judgment seat, to receive our reward, according to the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or bad.
We feel that it is not a light matter thus to advert again to the various offices of the Son and sent of the Father; and we beseech all whom we are ad- dressing, to contemplate these solemn truths with due reverence ; yet frequently to meditate thereon, seeking for the assistance of the grace of God to direct their understandings aright. As this is done with humble and believing hearts, the conviction will increase, and ultimately become settled, that it is a great mercy to know individu- ally that we have not a High Priest who can not be touched with a feeling of our infirmities, but who was in all points tempted like as we are, yet with- out sin.
THE HOLY SPIRIT.
We believe that the Holy Ghost is in the unity of the Eternal Godhead, one with the Father and
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DECLARATIONS OF FAITH.
the Son; that he is the promise of the Father, whom Christ declared He would send in His name ; that He is come and convicts the world of sin; that He leads to repentance toward God, and as the Gospel is known, to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Coming in the name and in the authority of the risen and ascended Savior, the Holy Spirit is the most precious pledge of His continued love and care. He glorifies the Savior and takes of the things of Christ and gives them as a realized pos- session to the believing soul. He dwells in the hearts of believers according to the promise of the Savior ; I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever. He opens to them the truths of the Gospel as set forth in Holy Scriptures, and, as they exercise faith, guides, sanctifies, comforts and supports them.
BAPTISM.
" One Lord, one faith, one baptism, John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose. He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire."
We believe the one baptism of the Gospel dis- pensation is that of Christ, who baptizes His peo- ple with the Holy Ghost. The ordinances insti- tuted by God under the law were typical. When Christ, the great Antitype, came and fulfilled the law, He took away the handwriting of ordi-
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DECLARATIONS OF FAITH.
nances, " nailing it to His cross ; " and since He opened the new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us through the vail, that is to say, His flesh, we have access by faith, and enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, without the inter- vention of priest or ordinance, or any mediation but that of Him, the one Mediator.
THE SUPPER OF THE LORD.
We believe that the true supper of the Lord is the communion which His believing children are enabled to hold with Him, through the realization of the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in their hearts, who hath cleansed them from all sin, through the offering of His body, and the shedding of His blood upon the cross. This communion is des- cribed by Him in the words : "Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with Me."
We believe this experience to be essential to the life of the Christian. It is only in the strength of this communion that he can pursue his heaven- ward journey, or bring forth fruit unto holiness ; for, saith our blessed Lord, "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you."
PUBLIC WORSHIP.
It is our fervent concern to press upon the con- sideration of our members the duty of public wor- ship. It is not enough that, after the example of
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DECLARATIONS OF FAITH.
our forefathers, we meet together in one place, re- jecting those forms and ceremonies which were in- vented by the wisdom of man, as well as that worship which is performed only in his will. Attending with commendable diligence all our religious meetings, we should wait in humble reverence for spiritual ability to worship acceptably the Lord of Heaven and Earth. May we, therefore, prayerfully seek that we may experience the influence of His spirit, to enlighten and quicken the soul to a true sight of its condition ; that feeling the spirit of supplication, we may approach the throne of grace; and under a renewed sense of the Father's mercy and good- ness, may be enabled to offer the tribute of worship, and the sacrifice of praise. This is the important purpose of our assembling together : and though at times there may be among us but little vocal ser- vice or even none, let not this produce any abate- ment of diligence in the duty. The ministry of the word in the life and power of the Gospel, is a great favor to the church; but the distinguishing excel- lence of the Christian dispensation, is the immedi- ate communication with our Heavenly Father, through the inward revelation of the Spirit of Christ. May, therefore, the deportment of our members, while engaged in this most solemn duty, be such as to demonstrate that they are earnest in the great duty of waiting upon, and worshiping God, in spirit ; that serious and tender-hearted inquirers may be encouraged to come and partake, in our as- semblies, of that inward and spiritual refreshment · and consolation, which the Lord is graciously pleas-
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