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George Fox

George Fox (1624 - 1691). English Dissenter, founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), born in Drayton-in-the-Clay, Leicestershire. Apprenticed as a shoemaker, he left home at 19, seeking spiritual truth amid Puritan and Anglican tensions. In 1647, after visions and direct experiences of God, he began preaching an “inner light” accessible to all, rejecting clergy and formal worship. By 1652, he gathered followers in northern England, forming the Quakers, known for pacifism and simplicity. Fox traveled across England, Ireland, the Netherlands, and America, enduring eight imprisonments for his beliefs, including at Lancaster Castle. He wrote Journal (1694) and numerous letters, shaping Quaker theology with calls for equality and justice. Married to Margaret Fell in 1669, a key Quaker leader, they had no children, but she had eight from her prior marriage. His 1660 Declaration rejected violence, influencing conscientious objection. Fox’s emphasis on personal revelation transformed Protestantism, and his writings remain central to Quaker thought.
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Sermon Summary
George Fox emphasizes the importance of dwelling in the life and power of God, which serves as a firm foundation for believers. He encourages the faithful to recognize Christ as their salvation and wisdom, assuring them that they are preserved in sincerity and integrity through God's power. Fox highlights that true freedom is found in Christ, who has triumphed over darkness and offers life and immortality to His followers. He reassures believers of their identity as children of God and heirs to His everlasting kingdom, filled with joy and peace. Ultimately, he calls for a life of praise and glory to God, who is eternal.
Epistle 213
Dear friends,—In the life and power of God dwell, by which ye were raised, and by which ye are nourished and refreshed; it is the sure foundation [Isa 28:16] which shall never be raced out, for it is laid of God, and no man can lay another [1 Cor 3:11]. And ye that feel the life and power of God in yourselves, ye feel Christ the salvation, righteousness, and wisdom of God [1 Cor 1:24], and so ye by the power and wisdom of God are kept and preserved in sincerity and integrity to God; and thereby come to be established upon the rock, which the gates of hell cannot prevail against [Mat 16:18], nor all <213> the fiery darts of the wicked [Eph 6:16] touch. And in the power of God, ye being gathered and established, ye stand and live in that which scatters the clouds [Job 37:11], and keeps your eye clear to the Lord God; by which power ye see him (in measure) with a good understanding, through all the evil powers and spirits which work in the darkness against him, and by the power of God are preserved out of them, and set above them, where ye reign as kings [1 Cor 4:8] in the immortal seed of God, by which the serpent's head is broken, and his seed destroyed [Gen 3:15]. For the true freedom is in the son [John 8:36], who suffered and died, and is risen again [Rom 8:34] in life, and hath brought life and immortality to light [2 Tim 1:10] again; in which life and light ye are the children of the Most High God [Psa 82:6], and heirs of the everlasting kingdom [James 2:5] of God, where ye have a sure portion in the joy, and peace, [Rom 14:17] and blessing of God, in which sit ye down and keep your habitation. And the God of life and peace, and endless love be with you all, and clothe you with the garment of everlasting praise [Isa 61:3]; that in all things ye may give him the glory who lives for evermore. G. F.
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George Fox (1624 - 1691). English Dissenter, founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), born in Drayton-in-the-Clay, Leicestershire. Apprenticed as a shoemaker, he left home at 19, seeking spiritual truth amid Puritan and Anglican tensions. In 1647, after visions and direct experiences of God, he began preaching an “inner light” accessible to all, rejecting clergy and formal worship. By 1652, he gathered followers in northern England, forming the Quakers, known for pacifism and simplicity. Fox traveled across England, Ireland, the Netherlands, and America, enduring eight imprisonments for his beliefs, including at Lancaster Castle. He wrote Journal (1694) and numerous letters, shaping Quaker theology with calls for equality and justice. Married to Margaret Fell in 1669, a key Quaker leader, they had no children, but she had eight from her prior marriage. His 1660 Declaration rejected violence, influencing conscientious objection. Fox’s emphasis on personal revelation transformed Protestantism, and his writings remain central to Quaker thought.