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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 living in the immortal seed and power of God to achieve unity, peace, and dominion over spiritual enemies. He encourages believers to dwell in the life and peace of God, which transcends earthly troubles and promotes love among brethren. Fox highlights the royal command to love one's enemies and warns against favoritism, urging all to believe in the light for salvation. He calls for purity and holiness in relationships, likening the church to a pure bride awaiting her bridegroom. Ultimately, he encourages believers to remain steadfast in their faith, awaiting the everlasting joy and victory in God's kingdom.
Scriptures
Epistle 74
My dear friends, live in the immortal seed and power of the Lord God, that ye may meet in that, and in that feel one another. And live in the spirit, in which ye will have unity and peace [Eph 4:3], and the spiritual weapons, to cut down the spiritual enemies of your peace. And dwell in the life and power of God, that ye may have dominion, and come to witness that ye are the heirs of the power of an endless life [Heb 7:16], and of a world whereof there is no end; and so in this keep your meetings. And dwell in the peaceable seed, which destroyeth that which causeth troubles, wars, and fightings [James 4:1] ; in that dwell, which was before that was, in that will ye have life and peace everlasting. And living in the seed, ye will see the everlasting commander, that saith, ‘Swear not at all [Mat 5:34];’ and the witnesses of the true seed say the <85> same. And this is the command of the royal seed, which is the everlasting commander among the believers, and to all others [Isa 55:4]; and they that believe not in the light, it condemns them, being in the evil. The oath bound to God in the time of the law and the prophets; but Christ, the oath of God, the everlasting covenant [2 Sam 23:5], ends the law and prophets, who bringeth up to God, and destroyeth the devil [Heb 2:14], and endeth strife and oaths, and fulfils the law and the prophets. And the everlasting command of the royal seed is, to love enemies [Mat 5:44], (which the Jews were allowed to destroy,) for ye are all brethren [Mat 23:8], not ruling in lordship, like Jews and Gentiles, but the greatest shall be as the least among you Mat 23:11]; for the seed is one in all, and that is the master, who destroyeth the devil. And to respect men's persons is a transgression of the royal law [James 2:9]; let there be no such thing among you. But let every one believe in the light, and then in it see their salvation; [Isa 52:10] and ye will receive power to become the sons of God [John 1:12]. Let no one have but one wife, for Christ hath but one, his church, which is his people. So in the power and in the bed of purity, in the singleness of virginity, and in the beauty of holiness [Psa 29:2] live, where righteousness, and holiness, and truth dwell together, and peace in the kingdom of power, where is the everlasting joy, peace, and dominion, and victory, where the bed is not defiled, but the marriage that is honourable is known [Heb 13:4]; in that live. About am I compassed with the virgins pure, and the undefiled ones are my joy. The virgins trimmed with oil in their lamps, enter in with the bridegroom. [Mat 25:1-10] And all ye virgins pure, lose not the ornaments of the Lord, but wait, that ye may be married to the lamb in the everlasting marriage [Rev 19:7], and remain with him in the world that is without end. 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.