At least Mr. Barclay has proved that Fox was acquainted with these views, though possibly he may not have known their source. But it is evident that they were not received by him mechanically. They were assimilated, not swallowed; that which seemed to him chaff being separated from the wheat with intelligent appreciation, and such variations being introduced as his own experience and conscience indicated.
The Apology develops with systematic thoroughness, the doctrine of the "Seed" or "Light within." The "Light within" is given to every man in measure, whether he be born in Christian or heathen lands; and so has been given since the Creation. It manifests his sins with kindly severity. As it is attended to, it grows in clearness, more light is given until the whole soul is filled with light, and joy, and peace. At first, the "seed" lies all but dormant in the human soul, until its faint impulses are recognised, accepted and honoured. Then it grows in power, it subdues the corruptions of the flesh, it spreads its influence throughout the whole nature and the whole life. Its power is sufficient for every duty and for all righteousness. But the early Friends are not at all careful to maintain unity of idea and congruity of figure with regard to the terms "Light" and "Seed." They use them indiscriminately to describe the Divine In-dwelling in all its stages. They are the secret of man's capacity for salvation. Through the "Universal Light" all men may be led to a saving knowledge of God. It prepares the way for those "Immediate Revelations" of divine truth, which Barclay declares to have been the formal objects of faith in all ages. By these "Immediate Revelations" or discoveries of vital truth to the soul, and by these alone, every Christian becomes savingly acquainted with the things of God.
Like the Mennonites, the Quakers did not believe the Seed to have any vitality apart from the Spirit of God. Neither the early Friends nor any of their successors have ever believed in any natural power in man, by which he could savingly know God, or work out his soul's salvation. The seed or light was the gift of God; it was not the soul, as Barclay is careful to explain, but a "substance"[31] divinely given to every man, not naturally, but by grace. The seed was not separable from Christ, and when it was quickened, Christ was formed in the heart, and became the life of the soul.[32]
[31] Barclay uses the term in its scholastic sense as opposed to "attribute."
[32] The following extract will assist in correcting one mistaken idea of the "Light within." It is from a speech made in the Yearly Meeting of 1861, by my respected former tutor, Isaac Brown, whose solid learning and sound judgment have won him the greatest confidence amongst Friends. The notorious "Essays and reviews" were under discussion, and he said, "Some thought the work ought to be hailed by our Society, because of the views it advanced on the doctrine of the 'inward light.' He believed this idea was a misconception. The opinion of the Essayists appeared to coincide rather with those of the Hicksite body in America, than with those preached by George Fox and now held by our Society. It was not the 'inward light' (by which our early Friends clearly stated that they meant nothing else than the light of the Spirit of Christ) to which these writers referred us, but the 'enlightened reason.' He thought it was time for us to discontinue the use of this term 'the inward light,' as it had been grievously misinterpreted out of the Society, and was not found in Scripture."
Let me here say that any one may find the essentials of Quakerism without the Platonising doctrine of the "Seed," in J. J. Gurney's "Distinguishing Views and Practices of the Society of Friends."
Another peculiar feature of the Quaker view of the Divine In-dwelling is developed by Barclay in his chapter on Perfection. He has before claimed that justification is all as one with sanctification; he now explains that, in the view of Friends, regeneration implies the possibility of perfection in this life. He contends earnestly for a lofty view of the power of Christ in the believer. His proposition runs thus:—"Proposition VIII. In whom this pure and holy birth is fully brought forth, the body of death and sin comes to be crucified and removed, and their hearts united and subjected to the truth, so as not to obey any temptation or suggestion of the evil one, to be free from actual sinning and transgressing of the law of God, and in that respect perfect; yet doth this perfection still admit of a growth, and there remaineth always in some part a possibility of sinning, where the mind doth not most diligently attend unto the Lord."
From these and other teachings it has been inferred that the Friends did not believe in the earthly life and sacrificial death of our Lord; that they knew no Christ but the Christ within. This is a great mistake.[33] That they received and held these truths is a point easily proved, and Barclay distinctly affirms that they must be preached, or the believer will not become a complete Christian. But they argued that there might be Christian life without the knowledge of these truths. In their teachings the Christ within was prominent, and the death of Christ filled a less prominent position as the ground of God's mercy, the meritorious cause of the gift within.
[33] See the valuable letter, quoted p. [70].
But in perusing Barclay, the reader will of course remember the controversies out of which his works sprung, and will make allowance for the strain of debate. Points on which disputants are agreed will always be passed over slightly; points that have been overlooked or challenged will be emphasised, and dwelt on so largely as to seem out of proportion. But undoubtedly, when amongst the Friends of the next century these controversial works became the staple reading of an age of declining piety, the mischief done by this disproportion was great. Quakerism, contrary to the designs and aspirations of its early leaders, became almost synonymous with mysticism and quietism, and little better than theism. The objective facts of Christianity were neglected, and subjective experiences were everything. For instance in all the writings and Journal of John Woolman, admirable as they are in many respects, there is hardly a single statement of the atoning work of our Lord and Saviour.