- Home
- Speakers
- George Fox
- Epistle 259
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.
Download
Sermon Summary
George Fox emphasizes the importance of living in the truth and power of God, which grants believers dominion over the devil and darkness. He encourages his listeners to walk in the light, fostering fellowship with one another and with God, while remaining vigilant against evil. Fox highlights the significance of the ingrafted word and faith that leads to victory and access to God. He calls for unity among believers, urging them to dwell in the seed of Christ, which transcends suffering and brings eternal life. Ultimately, he stresses the necessity of gathering in the name and power of Jesus Christ, who reigns eternally.
Epistle 259
My dear friends,—Be faithful in the truth which the devil is out of [John 8:44]; in which truth you have dominion over him. And live in the power of God, which was before the devil was; in which power of God, which is the gospel [Rom 1:16], is your fellowship [Phil 1:5]. And live in the light, which was before darkness was, and the power of it: in which light is also your everlasting fellowship; and in this you will know God's dwelling, which is in the light. And dwell in the life, which was before death was, and the devil, the power of it; and in this life you will have dominion over death and the power of it. And so you do well that take heed to the light, and walk in it; and they that do evil do not take heed to the light. And so walk in the light [1 Jn 1:7], as children of the light [Eph 5:8], and that ye will have fellowship one with another [1 Jn 1:7], and with the son and the Father [1 Jn 1:3]. And so mind the ingrafted word, which is able to save your souls [Jas 1:21]; and that will keep your eyes and minds over all that which is not able to save, and keep your feet on the top of that. And so be of that good faith which gives you victory [1 Jn 5:4] and access to God [Rom 5:2], in which you do all please God [Heb 11:6], and have unity one with another [Eph 4:13]. And so mind the seed of Christ, which is over all that which makes to suffer, and was before that was, and will stand when that is gone that makes to suffer; in that seed live, and know it your crown and life [Rev 2:10], and in that you will be one another's crown and joy in the Lord [Phil 4:1] God blessed for ever. And so keep your meetings in the name and power of the Lord Jesus Christ that never fell [1 Pet 2:22]; and the seed Christ [Gal 3:16] reigns, in whom you have life, that was with the Father before the world began. [John 17:5] G. F.
- Bio
- Summary
- Transcript
- Download

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.