Christ be not in you, your body is alive to sin;' and so you may call him Lord, and profess him without you, and say ye have preached in his name, but such workers of iniquity he will bid depart, that live in sin, and plead for it to the grave. But if the spirit of him, that raised Jesus from the dead, dwell in you, he that raises up Christ from the dead shall quicken your mortal bodies, because that his spirit dwelleth in you.' And this we witness.

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And must not people be made like to the image of the Son of God, who 'is the first born among many brethren.' 'For God who spared not his own Son, but gave him to death for us all, how shall he not with him give us all things? for Christ who is dead and risen again, who is at the right hand of God also making request for us.' Rom. viii. throughout. And Rom. ix. 33. as it is written, behold I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence, and every one that believeth in him shall not be ashamed.' And this is that Christ, that the wise master-builders did reject in their own wisdom (as you may read in the Evangelists,) that pretended to build people up unto heaven, as many do now without the life and spirit of the apostles. But Christ is the end of the law for righteousness sake, to every one that believes, but the righteousness which is of faith speaks on this wise, say not in thine heart who shall ascend into heaven, that is to bring Christ from above, or who shall descend into the deep to bring Christ again from the dead. But what saith it? the word is near thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart. This is the word of faith which we preach.'

Now we are come to this righteousness of faith's speaking, and to this word in our hearts which the apostle preached, and do confess with our mouths the Lord Jesus,' and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, who is the Saviour. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confesseth unto salvation. So this belief is beyond a pharisees' belief, for he that believeth is born of God,' and he that believeth in the light, is born of the light. Rom. x. 10. and 1 John v. 1.

And it may be said unto you professors, as David, and Christ and the apostles said to the professing Jews, 'let their table be made a snare, and a net and a stumbling-block, even for a recompence unto them, let their backs be bowed down always.' Rom. xi. 9, 10.

Now the church in the primitive times, which the apostles writes to, 'I beseech you brethren (saith he,) by the mercies of God, that ye give up your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service of him.' Rom. xii. 1. For as it is said, 1 Cor. vi. 20. 'know ye not that your bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost? for ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your bodies and in your spirits, for they are God's.

And what price was this they were bought withal? Is not this the blood of Christ Jesus? So it is not a puffed-up profession, nor serving God with your lips, but the offering up the body a living sacrifice, and a glorifying God with body, soul and spirit, which are his.

For none of us is to live to himself, nor to die to himself, saith the apostle, for whether we live, we live unto the Lord, or whether we die, we die unto the Lord;' or whether we live or die, we are the Lord's: 'for Christ Jesus, therefore, died and rose again and revived, thathe might be Lord both of the dead and the quick.'

So no true christians must live to themselves, but to him that died for them. Rom. xiv. 7, 8, 9, &c. And the saints are to receive one another, as Christ also received us,' saith the apostle Rom. xv. 6, 7. to the glory of God;' and to be like-minded one to another according to Christ Jesus,' and 'that with one mouth they may praise God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.' ver. 5. And ver. 18. the apostle saith, 'I dare not speak of any thing which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient in word and deed. Mark this, ye professors, if ye durst speak no more but that Christ works by you or in you, ye would have little to say, and ye would not find fault with the people of God. called Quakers, who speak as Christ hath wrought in them.

And Rom. xvi. 25. To him now that is of power to establish you, according to my gospel and preaching of Jesus Christ, by the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began.' Now ye professors cannot know this mystery, nor this secret, but by revelation, which ye deny.

And 1 Cor. i. 2. there ye may see how they were sanctified in Christ Jesus, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, v. 6, 8. and the testimony of Jesus Christ hath been confirmed in you; (mark,) in you for God is faithful by whom ye are called, unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I beseech you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak one thing.' Then ye must come out of the many things, which make divisions. And the Jews,' saith the apostle, 'require a sign, and the Grecians seek after wisdom.' And are not you professors of the same spirit, like the Jews and Grecians? Do not you cry for signs and miracles and seek after wisdom? But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling-block and to the Greeks foolishness.' 1 Cor. i. 22. But ye are of him in Christ,' saith the apostle, ver. 30.who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption,' which we witness, blessed be God før ever. But the natural man, saith he, 1 Cor. ii. 14. perceiveth not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.' And this we witness, which you professors deny any one having the spirit as the apostles had. VOL. V.-13

So you are not like to know the things of God, but run into strife and contention about them, with your natural men's perceivings.

And the apostle saith, I esteem not to know any thing amongst you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified; for we speak the hidden wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God hath determined before the world unto our glory, which none of the princes of the world hath known, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.' 1.Cor. ii. 2. And the apostle saith, Be ye followers of me, as I am of Christ.' 1 Cor. iv. 26. and ix. 1. So we cannot follow you, but as ye follow Christ. For the kingdom of God (saith he,) is not in words, but in power. 1 Cor. iv. 20. And God hath raised up the Lord Jesus, (saith he,) and shall raise us up by his power, and we do know that our bodies are members of Christ, and he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit.' 1 Cor. vi. And the apostle saith, neither thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners, nor adulterers, &c. shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus, and by the spirit of our God.' 1 Cor. ix. 10, 11. Mark, are washed, are sanctified, are justified.' But for covetous ones, adulterers, drunkards, thieves and railers to make a profession of Christ's death and resurrection, and live in their sins; this is to profess him with the lips, but deny him in their works, not being washed. For Christ comes to call sinners to repentance, and he died for their sin, not that they should live in it, and plead it for term of life.

And 1 Cor. vii. 23. it is said, Ye are bought with a price, so come to be the Lord's freemen; and as Christ saith, if the truth hath made you free, ye are free indeed.' For truth makes free from the devil, who is out of truth. And the apostle saith, 1 Cor. viii. 6. To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him. (Mark,) We in him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.' This we witness. And the apostle saith, 1 Cor. x. 9. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted him, and were destroyed of the serpents.' And therefore ye professors, take heed of tempting him in a profession without possession of him, least ye be found mockers of him.

Likewise the apostle saith, what he received from the Lord, that he delivered unto them.' 1 Cor. xi. 23. Now do not you deliver any thing to the people, but what you receive from the Lord? Then ye must deny your own principle, who say, there is no hearing the voice of God now a-days. And doth not the apostle tell you, 1 Cor. xiii. 1. ' that you have nothing if ye have not love; if ye have faith, and gifts, and prophecies, and tongues, and give your bodies to be burnt, and your goods to the poor, if ye have not love, ye are but like tinkling cymbals, and sounding

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brass. Where is all your profession then of God and Christ, and what good doth it you, who make but a tinkling as with your cymbals, and sounding as with your brass, whilst you are out of love, and in a persecuting spirit?

And 1 Cor. xv. the apostle saith, 'first of all I delivered unto you that which I received, [mark,] how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve, and after he was seen of more than five hundred brethren, &c. And after that he was seen of James, then of the apostles, and last of all he was seen of me, as one born out of due time. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and is made the first fruits of them that slept. For as in Adam all died, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. The first man is of the earth earthly, the second man, (mark, man,) is the Lord from heaven;' as it is also written,' the first Adam was made a living soul, the second Adam a quickening spirit.'

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So here is the heavenly man, here is the earthly man, here is the spiritual body, here is the natural body, and as we have borne the image of the earthly, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly.' So it is the second man the Lord from heaven that redeems the earthly man, and the just that suffered for the unjust. And thanks be unto God,' saith the apostle, which giveth us victory through Jesus Christ our Lord' and thus we declare and witness that which the scripture doth declare, and can say, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all that love him.' And 2 Cor. i. 5. where the apostle saith, the sufferings of Christ abound in us.' Have ye known this, ye professors? And ye are our epistles written in our hearts,' 1 Cor. iii. 3. ' written not with pen and ink, but with the spirit of the living God, in the fleshly tables of the heart, in that ye are manifest to be the epistles of Christ.' Mark, this epistle was written with the spirit of God in the table of the heart, these are manifest to be the epistles of Christ, which ye cannot read without the spirit of God, which ye have often denied to have as the apostles had. And the apostle saith, who hath made us able ministers of the new testament, not of the letter, [mark,] but of the spirit, for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.' For it is said, Moses put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel should not look unto the end of that, which was to be abolished, which veil in Christ is put away. But a worse veil you have put over your faces, that make a great bustle about the scriptures, and are not in the spirit that gave them forth.

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Now the Lord is this spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, and where it is not, there is imprisonment, persecution and bondage. But we all behold as in a glass, the glory of God, with open face, and are changed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the spirit of the Lord,' and this we possess and witness, who preach not

ourselves, but the Lord Jesus Christ, and ourselves your servants for Christ's sake. For God that commanded light to shine out of darkness,' is he which hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power might be of God, and not of us. 2 Cor. iii. 18.

'And we are afflicted on every side,' that witness this, and persecuted, but not forsaken, every where we bear about in our bodies, (mark, in our bodies,) the dying of our Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus might also be made manifest in our bodies. (Mark, in our bodies.) For we which live are always delivered unto death, for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus might be manifest in our mortal flesh,' 2 Cor. iv. 10. 11. because we have the same spirit of faith, as it is written, I believe, and therefore have I spoken, we also believe, and therefore speak, knowing that he who hath raised up the Lord Jesus, shall also raise up by Jesus Christ,' and with our hearts we believe this, and with our mouths make confession unto salvation.

And 2 Cor. v. we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every man may receive the things which he hath done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether they be good or evil.' Knowing therefore, the terrors of the Lord we do persuade men to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and to turn from sin and evil, and obey him; for the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge, that if Christ died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live to themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again.' So here is a living to Christ, it is not only a mouth-profession, and an outward belief; for the devils believe and tremble,' for he that believes in the light, becomes a child of the light. And the apostle saith, wherefore, henceforth know we no man after the flesh, yea though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him [so,] no more. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.' And 2 Cor. v. all things are of God which hath reconciled us to God by Jesus Christ: for God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their sins unto them, for he hath made Christ to be sin for us, which knew no sin, that we should be made the righteousness of God in him,' (mark in him,) and who are in Christ are new creatures. Now the old creatures and such as are out of Christ, do make a profession without the possession, that is but like the pharisees' profession. 2 Cor. vii.

So consider all ye professors, are ye new creatures? are ye made the righteousness of God in Christ? do you begin to cleanse yourselves from the filthiness of your flesh and spirit, and grow up unto perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord? is your warfare spiritual, and not carnal, casting