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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A54035	The flesh & blood of Christ, both in the mystery and in the outward briefly, plainly, and uprightly acknowledged and testified to, for the satisfaction and benefit of the tender-hearted, who desire to experience the quickning, healing, and cleansing vertue of it : with A brief account concerning the people called Quakers in reference both to principle and doctrine : whereunto are added some few other things which by the blessing of God may be experimentally found useful to the true pilgrim and faithful travellers out of the nature & spirit of this world / written in true love and tenderness of spirit by Isaac Penington.	Penington, Isaac, 1616-1679.; Hicks, Thomas, 17th cent. Continuation of the dialogue between a Christian and a Quaker.	1675 (1675)	Wing P1168; ESTC R7890	24,794	63

maketh his personated Quaker speak thus Thou sayest we account the blood of Christ no more than a common thing yea no more than the blood of a common Thief To which he makes his personated Christian answer thus Isaac Penington who I suppose is an approved Quaker asks this question can outward blood cleanse Therefore saith he we must enquire whether it was the blood of the Vail that is of the humane nature or the blood within the Vail viz. Of that spiritual man consisting of Flesh Blood and Bones which took on him the Vail or humane Nature 't is not the blood of the Vail that is but outward and can outward blood cleanse Now to satisfie any that desire to understand the Truth as it is and to know what the intent of my heart and words as spoken by me were I shall first say somewhat to his stating the question and then open my heart nakedly and plainly as it then was and still is in this matter First I answer these were not my words which he hath set down as mine but words of his own patching up partly out of several queries of mine and partly out of his own conceivings upon my queries as if he intended to make me appear both ridiculous and wicked at once For I no where say or affirm or did ever believe that Christ is a spiritual man consisting of Flesh Blood and Bones which took on him the Vail or humane Nature Thus he represents me as ridiculous It is true Christ inwardly or to his inward being was a Spirit or God blessed for ever manifested in Flesh which to speak properly cannot have Flesh Blood and Bones as man hath And then besides his alterations at the beginning putting in only four words of my query and leaving out that which next follows which might have manifested my drift and intent in them he puts in an affirmation which was not mine in these his own words 'T is not the Blood of the Vail that is but outward and then annexeth to this affirmation of his own the words of my former query Can outward Blood cleanse as if these words of mine can outward Blood cleanse did necessarily infer that the Blood of Christ is but a common thing Herein he represents me wicked and makes me speak by his changing and adding that which never was in my heart and the contrary whereto I have several times affirmed in that very Book where those several queries were put out of which he forms this his own query giving it forth in my name For in the Tenth page of that Book beginning at line 3. I positively affirm thus that Christ did offer up the Flesh and Blood of that body though not only so for he poured out his Soul he poured out his life a Sacrifice or Offering for sin a Sacrifice unto the Father and in it tasted death for every man and that it is upon consideration and through Gods acceptance of this Sacrifice for sin that the sins of Believers are pardoned that God might be just and the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus or who is of the Faith of Jesus Is this common Flesh and Blood can this be affirmed of common Flesh and Blood ought not he to have considered this and other passages in my Book of the same tendency and not thus have reproached me and misrepresented me to the world Is this a Christian Spirit or according to the Law or Prophets or Christs Doctrine Doth he herein do as he would be done by O that he had an heart to consider it I might also except against those words Humane Nature which he twice putteth in being not my words nor indeed my sense for by humane Nature as I judge is understood more than the body whereas I by the word Vail intended no more than the Flesh or outward body which in Scripture is expresly so called Heb. 10.20 through the Vail that is to say his Flesh Secondly I cannot but take notice of this That he hath not cited the place page or pages nay not so much as named the Book where those words or sayings which he attributeth to me are written whereby any persons that were not willing to take things upon bare Report especially in so deep charges reflecting not only upon one person but an whole people might consult the place and see whether they were my words or no and whether the queries I did put indeed to the hearts of people had any such drift or no and might compare the words if they were mine both with what went before and also followed after and with what was said in several other places of the Book which speak of Christ's Flesh and Blood as of no common thing but as that which God made use of toward the Redemption of Mankind Thirdly The drift of all those Queries in that Book was not to vilifie the Flesh and Blood of Christ by representing it as a common or useless thing but to bring people from sticking in the outward to a sense of the inward mystery without which inward sense and feeling the magnifying and crying up the outward doth not avail Indeed at that time I was in a great exercise concerning Professors Love was deeply working in my heart and I was in a very tender frame of Spirit towards them as any may perceive who in the fear of God and in meekness of Spirit shall read that Book It is Entituled A question to the Professors of Christianity whether they have the true living powerful saving knowledge of Christ or no c. And in this tender frame in the midst of my crying to God for them those Queries from a true sense and understanding sprang up in my heart even to necessitate them if possible to some sense of the mystery which there is an absolute necessity of unto true Christianity and Salvation This was the very intent of my heart in the several Queries which generally speak of one and the same thing under several Metaphors and Figures And that this was my intent these words following in the second page of my Preface to that Book do plainly express the words are these Now to draw mens minds to a sense of truth to a sense of that which is the thing that they might know the Bread indeed that they might know the living waters come to them and drink thereof and find Christ in them a Well of water springing up to eternal life therefore was it in my heart to give forth this Question and the ensuing Queries which he that rightly answers must know the thing and he that doth not know the thing by his inability to answer may find that he doth not and so may wait upon God that he may receive the knowledge of it and come to it for the eternal life which it freely giveth And that I did mean the mystery when I speak of Bread Water the Vine the live-coal from the Altar the leaves of the Tree of life the

the darkness from the bonds of sin and iniquity from the power of the Captiver and Destroyer and turned our minds inwardly towards our Lord and Saviour to mind his inward appearance his inward shinings his inward quicknings all which were fresh from God and full of vertue And as we came to be sensible of them joyn to them receive and give up to them we came to partake of their vertue and to witness the rescuing and redeeming of our Souls thereby So that by hearing the Sons voice and following him we came to find him the way to the Father and to be gathered home by him to the Fathers house where is Bread enough and Mansions of rest and peace for all the Children of the most High Now as touching the blessed principle of truth which we have had experience of and testifie to for how can we conceal so rich a Treasure and be faithful to God or bear true good will to men it is no new thing in it self though of late more clearly revealed and the minds of men more clearly directed and guided to it than in former ages It is no other then that which Christ himself abundantly Preached who Preached the Kingdom who Preached the truth which makes free and that under many Parables and Resemblances sometimes of a little Seed sometimes of a Pearl or hid Treasure sometimes of a Leaven or Salt sometimes of a lost piece of Silver c. Now what is this and where is this to be found What is this which is like a little Seed a Pearl c. And where is it to be found What is the field is it not the World and is not the World set in mans heart what is the house which is to be swept and the Candle lighted in Is it not that house or heart where the many Enemies are A mans Enemies saith Christ are those of his own house Indeed the testimony concerning this was pretious to us but the finding and experiencing the thing testified of to be according to the testimony was much more And this we say in perfect truth of heart and in most tender love to the Souls of people that whoever tries shall find this little thing this little Seed of the Kingdom to be a Kingdom to be a Pearl to be Heavenly Treasure to be the Leaven of Life leavening the heart with life and with the most pretious oyl and oyntment of Healing and Salvation So that we testifie to no new thing but to the truth and grace which was from the beginning which was alwayes in Jesus Christ the Lord and Saviour and dispenced by him in all all Ages and Generations whereby he quickned renewed and changed the heart of the true believers in his inward and spiritual appearance in them thereby destroying the Enemies of their own house and saving them from them For indeed there is no saving the Creature without destroying that in the Creature which brings spiritual death and destruction upon it Israel of old was saved by the destroying of their outward Enemies and Israel now the new Israel the inward Israel is saved by the destruction of their inward Enemies O that people could come out of their own wisdom and wait for Gods wisdom that in it they might come to see the glory the excellency the exceeding rich vertue and Treasures of life that are wrapped up in this principle or seed of Life and so might receive it give up to it and come to partake thereof And as touching Doctrines we have no new Doctrine to hold forth The Doctrines held forth in the holy Scriptures are the Doctrines that we believe And this doth farther seal to us our belief of this principle because we find it a Key by which God openeth the Scriptures to us and giveth us the living sense and evidence of them in our hearts We see and have felt in it to whom the curse and wrath belongs and to whom the love mercy peace blessings and pretious promises belong and have been led by Gods holy spirit and power through the judgments to the mercy and to the partaking of the pretious promises So that what should we publish any new faith or any new Doctrines for indeed we have none to publish but all our aim is to bring men to the ancient principle of truth and to the right understanding and practise of the ancient Apostolick Doctrine and holy Faith once delivered to the Saints Head-notions do but cause disputes but heart-knowledge heart-experience sense of the living power of God inwardly the evidence and demonstration of his spirit in the inward parts puts an end to disputes and puts men upon the inward travel and exercise of spirit by that which is new and living which avails with God Now whereas many are offended at us because we do not more Preach Doctrinal points or the History of Christ as touching his Death Resurrection Ascention c. but our ●eclaration and Testimony is chiefly concerning a Principle to direct and guide mens minds thereto To give a plain account of This thing as it pleaseth the Lord to open my heart at this time in love and good will to satisfie and remove Prejudices where it may be thus it is in brief FIrst that which God hath given us the experience of after our great loss in the litteral knowledge of things and that which he hath given us to testifie of is the mystery the hidden life the inward and spiritual appearance of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ revealing his power inwardly destroying Enemies inwardly and working his work inwardly in the Heart Oh this was the joyful sound to our Souls even the tydings of the arising of that inward life and power which could do this Now this spiritual appearance of his was after his appearance in flesh and is the standing and lasting Dispensation of the Gospel even the appearance of Christ in his spirit and power inwardly in the hearts of his So that in minding this and being faithful in this respect we mind our peculiar work and are faithful in that which God hath peculiarly called us to and requireth of us Secondly There is not that need of publishing the other as formerly was The Historical Relation concerning Christ is generally believed and received by all sorts that pretend to Christianity His death his miracles his rising his ascending his intercedeing c. is generally believed by all people but the mystery they miss of the hidden life they are not acquainted with but alienated from the life of God in the midst of their litteral owning and acknowledging of these things Thirdly The knowledge of these without the knowledge of the mystery is not sufficient to bring them unto God for many set up that which they gather and comprehend from the Relation concerning the thing instead of the thing it self and so never come to a sense of their need of the thing it self nay not so far as rightly to seek after it And so many

putting on Christ the Flesh and Blood of Christ c. is very plain to him that reads singly But to make it manifest particularly concerning the Flesh and Blood of Christ I shall recite one Query it is the 33. Query page 29. The Query is thus Is not the true Church Flesh of Christs Flesh and Bone of his Bone Is not the false or Antichristian Church Flesh of Antichrists Flesh and Bone of Antichrists Bone What is the Flesh of the spiritual Whore which is to be stripped naked and burnt with fire Shall ever the Church which is of Christs Flesh be stripped naked and burnt with fire Nay doth not his Flesh make able to abide the devouring fire and to dwell with the everlasting burnings Can this possibly be understood of outward Flesh and Bone is it not manifestly intended of Flesh and Bone in the Mystery yea that I did relate to the Mystery in that very Query out of which he takes the four first words and no more is very manifest by the following words of the same Query It is the 17. Query page 25. The Query runs thus Can outward Blood cleanse the Conscience ye that are spiritual consider can outward water wash the Soul clean ye that have ever felt the Blood of sprinkling from the Lord upon your Consciences and your Consciences cleansed thereby did ye ever feel it to be outward It is one thing what a man apprehends in the way of notion from the letter concerning the things of God and another thing what a man feels in spirit Is it not manifest by the express words themselves that I spake of the inward feeling of the Blood in the mystery Fourthly This Query Can outward Blood cleanse the Conscience c. doth not necessarily nor indeed at all infer that the Blood of Christ as to the outward was but a common thing or useless If I had been to answer this Query my self he doth not know what my answer would have been It was put to Professors to answer inwardly in their hearts who I did believe upon serious consideration could not but confess in way of answer thereto that outward Blood it self or of it self could not cleanse and purge away the filth that was inward but that must be done by that which is inward living and spiritual Then hereby they had been brought to see the necessity of the mystery the spirit the power the life of the Son to be inwardly revealed in them and then had I obtained my end Nor was I their enemy in desiring or aiming at this for them or in setting Queries before them which to my eye as in the sight of God seemed proper and conducible in themselves however they might fail as to them towards the obtaining of this end And if they could once come to this to own the Flesh and Blood in the mystery and so come to partake of its cleansing and nourishing vertue and not fix and appropriate that to the outward which chiefly belongs to the mystery I say if they could but go thus far with me in owning the inward life and power in the sensible feeling and operation thereof I could meet them a great way in speaking glorious things of and attributing a cleansing or washing vertue to the outward in and through and with the inward For I do not separate the inward and outward in my own mind but the Lord opened my heart and taught me thus to distinguish according to the Scriptures in love to them and for their sakes For that was not my intent to deny the outward or make it appear as a common or useless thing There was never such a sense in my heart nor was ever word written or spoken by me to that end which to make more manifest I shall now plainly open my heart how it hath been and is still with me in this respect since it pleased the God and Father of mercies to reveal the mystery of himself and of his Son in me In the first place I freely confess that I do own and acknowledge as in Gods sight Our Lord Iesus Christ his Flesh Blood in the mystery The Apostle Paul speaks of the mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ Colos 2.2 The Son was revealed in him Gal. 1.16 and so he knew the mystery of Christ and Preached the mystery of Christ Colos 4.3 He was made an able Minister of the new Covenant not of the Letter but of the Spirit or mystery and so he Preached the wisdom of God in the mystery or Spirit 1 Cor. 2.7 2 Cor. 3.6 Colos 1.25 26 27. and he had great conflict to bring people to the rich knowledge and acknowledgement of the mystery Chap. 2.1 2. He was sent to turn men from darkness from the power of Satan which is a mystery and works in mens hearts in a mystery to the light to the Spirit and power of God which is a mystery also and remission of sins is received in and through this mystery Act. 26.18 And I desire every serious and tender heart to consider whether this knowledge of Christ in the mystery was not that which he called the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ his Lord Phil. 3.8 Certain I am that the knowledge of God and Christ in the mystery is the most excellent knowledge and no less then life eternal inwardly revealed and felt from God in the heart And here no legal righteousness no self-righteousness can stand but the vertue and power of Christs Death and Resurrection inwardly revealed and felt in the mystery subdues and destroyes it all Indeed self-righteousness may be given up in way of notion or seemingly destroyed as to mens apprehensions without the revealing or working of the mystery but it cannot be destroyed in reallity but where this is felt But where the mystery is known is received and throughly works self-righteousness can have no place there Now the Apostle who was acquainted with the mystery of Christ he speaks of his Body Flesh and Bones in the mystery Eph. 5.30 And if there be Flesh and Bones in the mystery is there not also Blood in the mystery yea the Apostle John speaks of Spirit Water and Blood 1 John 5.8 Now consider seriously are all these of one and the same nature or are they of a different nature the Spirit of one nature the Water and Blood of another nature Blessed be the Lord the birth which is born of the Spirit and is spiritual knoweth the nature of the spirit which begat it and knoweth water which is inward and heavenly and blood which is not at all of an inferiour nature to it And Jesus Christ our Lord and Teacher speaketh of Flesh which came down from Heaven which Flesh is the Bread of life which he that lives feeds upon and none can feed upon but they that live And by this it is manifest to all to whom God hath given understanding in the mystery that his Flesh and Blood in the