SAME FAITH IN ALL HISTORY

Robert Barclay (1648-1690) early Quaker theologian wrote:

“The testimony of the Spirit is that alone by which the true knowledge of God hath been, is, and can be only revealed.” As such, in the past, “God hath manifested himself all along unto the sons of men, both patriarchs, prophets, and apostles,” and “these revelations of God by the Spirit, whether by outward voices and appearances, dreams, or inward objective manifestations in the heart, were of old the formal object of their faith, and remain yet so to be, since the object of the saints’ faith is the same in all ages.”
(From: ‘Apology for the True Christian Divinity,’ printed 1676)

The significance here to me is that often we only speak of hearing and knowing God by reading the Bible. Of course, we can read the text, but Barclay and the early Quakers, (and I include myself) believe that, “The testimony of the Spirit is that alone by which the true knowledge of God hath been, is, and can be only revealed.” We must seek what the Spirit says as we read what the Word says… they will not be conflicted. Just as critically, we must listen and hear God’s voice speak to us as children… giving instruction and telling us good jokes.

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”
Jesus