Leaving unity and the power of God leads to judgment, confusion, and emptiness.
George Fox preaches about the consequences of straying from the light, spirit, and power of God, leading to a departure from unity and true forms into confusion and emptiness. Those who reject the will of God and follow their own wills are led astray by a perverse spirit, denying the power of godliness and quenching the spirit. By rejecting the form of godliness and sound doctrine, individuals risk being condemned by the light of God and falling into a state of confusion and emptiness.
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Concerning Those That Go Out of Unity
Those that are gone from the light, from the spirit and power of God, and so from unity, buy the light, and by the spirit, and by the power are judged; and the power, and light, and spirit are over them. And they being gone into their own wills, and into a perverse spirit, then they say, they will not be subject to men's will, nor to the will of man; and that spirit leads them out of the bonds of humanity. When they are thus gone from the light, and the power and spirit of God, they go out of all true forms, into confusion and emptiness, without form; then they say, they will not be subject to forms, and cry down all forms with their darkness and a perverse spirit, and so mash all together.
for there is a form of godliness. And there is a form of sound words; many have a form. All creatures have a form, the earth hath a form, and all things were brought into a form by the power of God; for the earth was once without form, and was void, and empty and confused.
So they that be gone out of the covenant of God and life, and out of the power of God, are gone into a confused condition without form, a state which is out of the bond of civil men and women. And so such are confused without the right form; for the form that God hath made, viz. the form of the earth, the form of the creatures, the form of men and women, the form of sound words, the form of godliness,nor the form of sound doctrine, was never denied by the men and women of God. But such as got the form only, and denied the power of godliness, those were denied, for they deny the power; an do not only so, but quench the spirit, and grieve and vex it, and hate the light; by which light they are condemned.
G.F.
Sermon Outline
- The Consequences of Leaving Unity
- Judgment from the Power, Light, and Spirit of God
- The Perverse Spirit Leads to Rebellion Against Humanity
- Leaving True Forms Leads to Confusion and Emptiness
Key Quotes
“When they are thus gone from the light, and the power and spirit of God, they go out of all true forms, into confusion and emptiness, without form;” — George Fox
“for the earth was once without form, and was void, and empty and confused.” — George Fox
“But such as got the form only, and denied the power of godliness, those were denied, for they deny the power;” — George Fox
Application Points
- It is essential to remain in unity and the power of God to avoid judgment and confusion.
- True forms and godliness are not just about appearance, but about the power of God working in our lives.
- Denying the power of godliness and quenching the spirit can lead to severe consequences.
