Godhead is dead because thou saist it is revealed in every man so then if that spirit in that body be not Christ without that body but both body and spirit make that man Christ Jesus And thou ownest salvation by that spirit onely without that body thou ownest not salvation by Christ O Jeffery why wilt thon deny the Lord that hath bought thee with his own blood and bring upon thy self destruction for the Godhead dyed not as I have told thee but that body was made a curse by dying that cursed death upon the Tree to take off the curse from them that believe that sacrifice for sin which was a sweet smelling savour to the Lord. By which body offered up he hath for ever perfected them that are sanctified which sacrificed body and offered up bloud if thou reject how canst thou have thy cursed sins pardoned thy defiled conscience purged for without shedding of bloud there is no remission But I will tell thee my Faith I do own salvation cometh alone by that man Christ Jesus the only Son of God who was born of that Espoused Virgin Mary who was Crucified at Jerusalem by which cursed death he did there make an attonement for all and full satisfaction to God the Father for the sins of all that believe in him from the heart and obey his holy will revealed in his word the holy Scriptures of truth that are able to make the man of God wise unto salvation 1 Pet. 2.24 Heb. 10.14 Joh. 20.31 Mat. 7.24,25 Gal. 3.13 I could mind thee with many more Scriptures if thou wouldst hearken thereunto The holy Spirit of God I own and esteem for it is that which First made me to see into my sins and my cursed estate by sin according as is made known in the Scriptures of truth 2ly It did shed the love of God abroad in my soul how that Christ had dyed for my sins 3ly He did help me to lay hold upon the hope set before me without whose help I can do nothing 4ly He did work in my Soul a cruel hatred against all known sins in thoughts words and works 5ly He did work in my Soul a great love to my God and to his Son Jesus to his Children to all known good in words and works in my self and others 6ly He did assure me of redemption of my soul and forgiveness of my sins through the bloud of my Lord Jesus that was shed upon the Cross for me 7ly He did seal home the promises of Eternal Glory to my Sonl promised in the Scriptures of truth to the Sons of God 8ly He did work in my Soul holy reformation and godly resolutions to do and obey whatever my God shall make known unto me to be his will and mind by his spirit and word the Scriptures and that unto death 9ly It did fill my Soul with praises to the God of my life night and day praising him in the spirit admiring his love to my soul in redeeming it with so great a price as the blood of his own Son 10ly The holy spirit did also comfort me and quicken me and made me greatly to rejoyce with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory the which spirit of my God still is with me and giveth me that peace no man can take from me by whose help my desire is to my God I might still be preserved and hold fast the precious faith which I have attained through the Grace of God and my Lord Jesus Christ until he shall come in flaming fire to render vengeance upon the wicked and punish with everlasting destruction from his presence them that obey not the Gospel of Christ and be admired of them that believe Thomas Manning This Testimony of mine is owned by God the Father by his Son Jesus by the holy Spirit by the holy Scriptures by the holy Prophets by the holy Apostles Thou provest thine by two of thine own Friends God the Father I know his Son Jesus I know his holy Spirit I know the holy Scriptures I know to be the mind and will of God but who these thy Witnesses be I know not but if they be Angels come from Heaven if they despise the blood of my Lord Jesus Christ or declare any thing contrary to his will revealed in the Scriptures of truth I do not own them Thomas Manning I received thy paper and thou saist as soon as thou hadst looked on a few words thou saidst thou soon espied my subtilty Friend I had no subtilty in my heart but I plainly wrote the things I own thou askest me how I can prove Christ in that body to be Christ without that body I can prove it both by Pauls testimony and also by the same spirit of God the which Paul did prove it by who told the Corinthians the Fathers drank of the Rock that followed them and that Rock was Christ and he also told the Colossians that the mystery which had been hid from ages and generations past was Christ within the hope of glory and also Christs visible appearance came in that present age but his invisible appearance had been hid from ages and generations past for Christ was with his Church in the Wilderness Again thou saist that body and spirit in that body maketh that man Christ Jesus Now the spirit in that body was the Godhead and thou saist that the Godhead dyed not and thou speakest true for so say I so then it was only that part which the Holy Ghost took from the woman the which died and not the Godhead which both was and is the spirit of God for it was God and the Woman that made the visible man Christ for he was made of a Woman made under the Law as saith the Scripture for Mary she knew no visible man Now cursed be that spirit that shall deny the blood of Christ or the end for which Christs body was offered up and blood was shed for I do believe that all the world were reconciled to God by the death of his Son and that all men were freed from their outward offerings for sin by that one offering and that after the shedding of the blood of that visible man Christ upon the Cross there was to be no more outward killing the sacrifice nor yet shedding of blood for remission of sins But this was not the flesh and the blood which Christ speaks of when he was upon the earth when he said He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood he dwelleth in me and I in him and he was then upon the earth as a man like one of us sin only excepted when he spake these words So Friend if thou knowest no other body nor blood to feed upon but that which dyed and was shed out of Christs body without the gates of Jerusalem thy Soul may perish for all the knowledge which thou hast of the Scriptures Now Christ in the days of his flesh exhorted people to believe in the Light and to bring their deeds
And that Giles Barnardistons Wife did tell Dr. Bucher further that the blasphemy that I held she trembled to hear it This Dr. Bucher told me so I rest your Friend Jeffery Bullock Friends What you have written in contradiction to my words it is both Romish and Antichristian Doctrine and contrary to the Scriptures of truth and form of sound words For it is no where written in the Scriptures that we shall be either justified or condemned by that Christ which dyed without the Gates of Jerusalem but it is written by Grace ye are saved and by Grace ye are justified and it is also written by the Light of the world ye are condemed and not by Christ that dyed without the Gates of Jerusalem Now that there is two Christs it is plain according to the Scriptures for there is both the true Christ and Antichrist Now Christs visible appearance among the Jews he was called Christ who through the eternal spirit in offering up his body he ended all the visible dispensations among the Jews but it was Gods invisible appearance throughout all ages the which brought unto the Sons and Daughters of men salvation to their Souls and he is called Christ within the hope of glory and the mystery that had been hid from ages and generations past Now the Prophets they did foresee the coming of that body which was the Son of God who was to be the end of all those bodily sacrifices by which the Jews did expect remission of sins Now the same God that raised up Lazarus when he was dead and also raised up Jesus or the body of Jesus do I own to be both my God and Saviour Now as concerning the Law of Moses it did not at all belong to the Gentiles but the Gentiles were justified by the Law written in their hearts and so must we or else we must be condemned for the Law made nothing perfect as to the Jews who had a command for it therefore the Gentiles could have no advantage by it who had no command for the observing of it but on the contrary they were reproved by Paul for observing the Jewish Ceremonies but where the Dispensations began there they also ended Now we do no where read of the name Christ before that visible appearance came into the world but God said look unto me all ye ends of the earth and be saved for I am be that shews unto man his thoughts and he did not bid them look unto him that was to come and this was God who prepared a body for himself the which was the Son of God by generation from God and as a Son he was obedient to the will of his Father even unto the death Now Christ he neither came of David nor yet of Israel not according to the flesh not as to his outward appearance as he was a visible man but he came of David and Israel both according to the spirit and this is the spirit whom God hath exalted both as a Prince and a Saviour first as a Prince to manifest his power to condemn both man and woman because of their sin and rebellion and disobedience against him and secondly as a Saviour both to redeem them and justifie them and also to save them if they come to have their minds turned to him and to believe in him and obey him for the Virgin Mary knew no visible but now far be it from me and cursed be that spirit that shall undervalue the sufferings death and blood of that holy just and innocent Lamb of God but yet I do not believe that ever any were redeemed from sin or purified cleansed purged sanctified or saved by that visible body that dyed or blood which was shed without the Gates of Jerusalem Now Paul he that was the Apostle of the Gentiles he defired to know no Christ after the flesh Now the Jews in the days of Christs flesh said that they were Moses his Disciples but as for this fellow we know not whence he is Now in the Apostles dayes there was certain Pharisees that had believed who taught the Brethren that except they were circumcised and kept the Law of Moses they could not be saved Acts 15. Now the Church of Rome saith that we must be justified and also saved by that Christ that dyed at Jerusalem and so saith the Priests of England and so also saith the body of the Quakers And Friends Antichrist he strives to bring in his Doctrine and also to be head over all those invisible appearances that comes from God but the spirit of truth saith that Condemnation Justification Redemption and Sanctification and Salvation it is by God alone who is Light and sheweth unto man his thoughts Now Pauls testimony was in the spirit and not in the letter but the Pharisees the life of their testimony it was in the Letter or Law of Moses who with their Doctrine bewitched the Churches and led them into errour as you may read Paul to the Galatians and also to the Corinthians how he tells them that Satan was transformed in his Ministers for the Book of the Scriptures both was and is the fruit which the tree of knowledge bears both in their days and also in ours they being opened by the spirit of truth Friends it behoves us all to look to our standing for Antichrist is already come in amongst us and Satan is already transformed into an Angel of Light amongst some of our Ministers as certainly as ever he was amongst the false teachers in the Apostles days and if you will not believe what I have written then mind well the writing of those Brethren which call themselves the Eleven Elders to the Churches called Quakers and see if they do not put themselves into equal power and authority with God Friends first the form and then Antichrist appears in the form but if there be no conformity to the form then there is no unity to be enjoy'd with them that uphold the form So Friends my dear love is remembred unto you all who expect life and salvation from God who is Light and is invisible and not from any visible appearances although they were good in their time I have written you an answer to a paper that was given me by Giles Barnardiston in short and I have also sent you another more at large The Answer from the quarterly meeting at Ipswich the 28 th of the first Month 1676. In the Quarterly Meeting the papers sent by Jeffery Bullock of Sudbury were publickly read and the meeting of Friends did unanimously own the paper given thee by Giles Barnardiston and also subscribed by other Friends to be sound and according to the Scriptures and Doctrine of truth held forth by us but as to thine in answer to it the whole Meeting did unanimously judge it to be erronious and contradictory to it self and full of Confusion and Darkness and thy spirit manifest to be wrong Given forth from the Quarterly Meeting to be sent to Jeffery
and a Saviour Acts 5.30,31 And God will judge the the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained Acts 17.31 So we must confess with the Apostles that to us there is but one God the Father of whom are all things and we in him and one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things and we him And further we cannot own any such Doctrine or Words by whomsoever spoken as tend to undervalue the sufferings death and blood of Christ Rom. 5.10 for not only a reconciliation was declared and made through his death but all his suffering and his being the one universal Offering and Sacrifice did contribute to mans redemption and the salvation to all that truly believe in his Name Heb. 2.17 though without the washing of regeneration and being born again of the living word and spirit of life none do really partake of eternal salvation or that redemption which is obtained through the blood of Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity This is a true Copy Giles Barnardiston John Cutler William Welch Joseph Ridlesdale Samuel Cooper John Cornwell Friends What you have written in contradiction to my words it is both Romish and Antichristian Doctrine and contrary to the Scriptures of truth and form of sound words Now it is no where written in the Scriptures that we shall either be Justified or Condemned by that Christ which dyed without the Gates of Jerusalem but it is written by Grace ye are saved and by Grace ye are justified and it is also written by the Light of the world ye are condemned and not by Christ that dyed without the Gates of Jerusalem Now the same spirit which quickned that body of Jesus when it lay under the earth yea and the same God that raised up that body do I own to be both my Justifier and also my condemner if I sin against him Yea the same God which raised up Lazarus out of the Grave who dwelt in Christs Temple when it was upon the Earth the same God do I own salvation by that is he the which both did and doth shew unto man his thoughts who said look unto me all ye ends of the Earth and be saved for I am God and there is none else and he did not bid the ends of the earth look to him that was to come but unto him who was already in them and did shew them their thoughts and this was not Christs outward visible appearance but it was Gods invisible power which was in the Sons and Daughters of men the fulness of which power and spirit dwelt in Christs body when it was upon the Earth And this is God who was in the beginning and also before the beginning and also without beginning of dayes or end of life and this is the salvation of the ends of the earth who never dyed otherwise you must conclude the Godhead dyed as well as the visible man Christ the which is blasphemy for any to affirm and it is quite contrary to the Scriptures the which saith that he through the Eternal Spirit offered up himself a sacrifice once for all and he also gave up his Soul an Offering for sin And I do also believe there is something of God in me that is both without beginning of days or end of life and this is a measure or manifestation of the Spirit of God the fulness of which dwelt in Christs body when it was upon the Earth and this is both my God and Saviour and Justifier if I obey him and also my condemner if I sin against him Now the Law of Moses that was never written to the Gentiles neither had the Gentiles any command from God for the observation of it therefore the Gentiles they could never be Justified by it because they had no command for the keeping of it but on the contrary the Gentiles were reproved by Paul for the observation of it Now God was in all those visible appearances amongst the Jews yet it was by his invisible power by which he wrought those signs and wonders amongst the Egyptians and it was by his invisible power by the which Aarons rod budded the pot of Manna was preserved And it was the Lords invisible Glory which filled the Tabernacle and unto Israel he appeared as a Fire by night and as a cloud by day and after this God spake to Moses within the cloud and after these things he invisibly appeared ond dwelt in Solomons Temple and then at last the Holy Ghost overshadowed the Virgin and God prepared a Temple for himself by his invisible spirit and power the which Temple was the Son of God by generation from God in which Temple there dwelt the fulness of the Godhead bodily and when the Son of God or the Lamb of God had finished his testimony in this world he then did through the Eternal Spirit which dwelt in his Temple offer up himself a sacrifice once for all Then was all outward Temple worship ended for the glory of God out of Solomons then departed For then the Vail of the Temple was rent in twain and also the worship was ended although the Lord once gave the Jews a command for the observing of it But as for the Gentiles they never had no command from God for the practising of those things therefore what they did they did it by imitation and not by commandment Now Christ he was not the Son of David as by generation from David as he was a visible man for Mary she was a Virgin and knew no visible man but Christ he was the Son of David by generation from God he being begotten by the spirit of God in the Womb of the Virgin and this was the spirit of God in David from which spirit David received power to be regenerated and born again and this was the flesh of David and this was Davids Lord. For Christ he was not the Son of a visible man but he was the Son of a visible woman he being begotten by an invisible power and spirit now if salvation be by that Christ that dyed without the Gates at Jerusalem then are all the Gentiles perished that were in the world before that body came into the world for I do not read that ever any of the Gentiles saw the coming of that visible man Christ whenas the world had continued near four thousand years before he came into the world yea all the Jews that were in the world before that body came and did not see the coming of that body nor own it when it did come they likewise are perished yea all both Jews and Gentiles the which have been in the world since those dayes who have not owned him to be the Christ and the Saviour of the world who dyed without the Gates of Jerusalem they likewise are all perished but and if salvation be by him that shews unto man his thoughts and reproveth man and also convinceth him and condemneth man and woman for