to exalt the Lord alone-to know none but Christ, wherever manifested and in whomsoever found, and to bear the cross, tho it crucify us to the world, and the world to us.

Altho it was necessary that the Spirit of Christ should be manifested in both male and female; yet no man nor woman that ever appeared on earth, could ever be a proper object of divine worship. "God is Spirit; and they that worship him, must worship in spirit “ and in truth."* God is therefore the only proper object of divine worship; and no one can ever worship in the spiritual work of God, unless called and directed by the Spirit of Christ: for according to his own testimony, "No man cometh unto the Father but by me." Therefore no man can worship God, but through Christ; and the only true worship that we can render to God, is to honor and glorify him by yielding obedience to his will. And tho a portion of the Spirit of Christ must be in every soul, in order to unite them to his body; yet the manifestation of the will of God for the guide and direction of souls, in his true spiritual work, must be revealed in the order of God's appointment, through those witnesses whom he sends for that purpose.

As the Divine Spirit and Will of God, in these last days, has been manifested in Christ, through the two first messengers of salvation; so the same Spirit continues to manifest his will, through the same line and order, in the church of Christ, and will ever continue so to do, as long as Christ shall continue to have a true church on earth. Therefore, as the ancients worshipped the God of their fathers; so worship we that God who has been revealed to us by our spiritual parents in the gospel, whom God hath raised up, and sent to open the way of salvation to us. We worship neither man nor woman; but we honor and obey the Spirit of Christ, whether revealed in man, woman or child.

The natural creation, and the things therein contained, are figurative representations of the spiritual creation which is to supersede it, as we have already shown. The first parents of the natural world were created male and female. The man was first in his creation, and the woman was afterwards taken from his substance, and placed in her proper order to be the second in the government and dominion of the natural world; and the order of man's creation was not complete till this was done. For it must be acknowledged by all, that without male and female, the perfection of man, in his natural creation, must have been less complete than that of the inferior part of the creation, which was evidently created male and female. Hence it must appear obvious, that in the spiritual creation, man and woman, when raised from a natural to a spiritual state, must still be male and female: for the spiritual state of man, which is substantial and eternal, cannot be less perfect in its order, See Part iii, chap iii. p. 116.

* John iv. 24.

† John xiv, 6.

than his natural state, which is but temporal, and figurative of the spiritual.

As the true church of Christ, which is his body, is composed of male and female, as its members; and as there must be a correspondent spiritual union between the male and female, to render the church complete, as a spiritual body; so it is essentially necessary that such a spiritual union should exist in the head of that body, which is Christ; otherwise there could be no source from which such a correspondent, spiritual union could flow to the body. It must be admitted by every reasonable person, that the order of man cannot be complete without the woman. If so, then the church cannot exist, in its proper order, without male and female members: for, "neither is the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man, in the Lord."* And it would be very unreasonable to suppose that the body of Christ should be more complete and perfect, in its order, than the head. This would give the body a superiority over the head.

This spiritual union between the male and female, in the body and in the head of the church, is that which the apostle calls a great mystery.† And indeed it is a great mystery to the lost children of men, who seem to have no conception of any other union between the male and female, than that which is natural, according to the order of the flesh. Nor do they seem to know any other design in the creation of the female, nor any other essential use for her than that of carnal enjoyment in a sexual union, and the production of offspring through that medium. But the work of Christ, being a spiritual work, the union must therefore be spiritual; and it is impossible for souls to come into this work, and enjoy this union, unless the Spirit of Christ become their life.

Since then, Christ must appear in every female, as well as in every male, before they can be saved; and since that Divine Spirit has appeared in one man, whom God has chosen as the Captain of our salvation, and an example of righteousness to all men; is it not reasonable and consistent that the same anointing power (which is Christ) should also appear in a woman, and distinguish her as a leader, and an example of righteousness to all women?

It may be asked, How can Christ appear in a woman? With the same propriety we might ask, how can Christ appear in a man? Christ is a Spirit: "The Lord is that Spirit." In that Spirit is contained the only power of salvation. If Christ could not appear in a man, then no man could be saved; so also, if Christ could not appear in a woman, then no woman could be saved. Christ first appeared in Jesus of Nazareth, by which he was constituted the head of the new and spiritual creation of God. The Spirit of Christ was in the primitive church; and the Spirit of Christ is also in

* 1 Cor. xi. 11.

† Eph. v. 2.

¥2 Cor. ii, 17.

every one of his true and faithful followers. The Spirit of Christ is the same, whether revealed in man, woman or child.

It may perhaps be urged, by way of objection, that if a female was to be raised up, to stand in a correspondent connection with the first-born Son of God, in order to usher in the latter day of glory, and bring about the regeneration of a lost world, it would appear reasonable that she also, as well as he, should have been brought forth by a miraculous birth. But a little reflection will show the impropriety of this. Such a birth would not have corresponded with the figure given in the creation of the first man and woman. Adam was called "the figure of him that was to come. He had a miraculous creation, being formed out of the dust of the earth. Jesus had also a miraculous birth, being born of a virgin without the co-operation of man. But this virgin, being a natural woman, a daughter of Adam, her body was of the earth; and in this sense, she was as the dust of the earth, tho in its highest state of natural perfection under the fall, as was needful it should be, when designed for such an extraordinary purpose.

Eve, who was "the figure of her that was to come," was not created out of the dust of the earth, as Adam was, but was formed of his substance, and taken from his body; therefore she was dependent on him, and it was her duty to be subject to him as her head and lord. Had the woman been created in the same manner that the man was, there would have been two separate heads of the creation; and as neither of them could have had the pre-eminence; so neither of them could have been placed in a state of subordination to the other. So also, agreeable to this figure, the second Eve was not brought forth in the same manner that the second Adam was; but, as to her person, she came into the world as all other women do. But as the substance of the first woman was taken from the body of the first man; so that Divine Spirit with which the second woman was endowed, and which constituted her the second Eve, was taken from the Spirit of the second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ; therefore she was necessarily dependent on him, was subject to him, and always acknowledged him, as her head and lord.

It was absolutely necessary that the human tabernacle of Jesus should not only be created in a supernatural manner, by the immediate operation of the Eternal FATHER and MOTHER; but also in a state superior to that of the first Adam; otherwise he could never have had the pre-eminence, as to the superiority of his origin. As no stream can rise higher than its fountain; so no being could proceed from the loins of Adam with a life superior to that which he possessed: for he was formed of the elements of temporal life,

* Rom. v, 14.

U

and not of the elements of eternal life.* Therefore, had Jesus been begotten of the seed of Adam, his life could not have been superior to the life of Adam; nor could he have had superior power: hence he could not have been the first to possess eternal life; and therefore the source of eternal life could not have been in him; consequently it could not have been brought to light by him.

But Jesus being created in a state superior to that of the first Adam, he was the first who received the elements of eternal life from his Eternal Parents. His heavenly descent was announced by the message of the angel to Mary: "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow "thee."+ Here was plainly manifested the operation of the ETERNAL Two, the HIGHEST and the HOLY GHOST, by whom the Son of God was created. And as the human race, in their fallen and lost state, are composed of male and female; so it is necessary that the Spirit of Christ, in which is the only power of salvation, should be manifested in both male and female, in order to complete the work of regeneration and salvation.

But it may still be urged, that if it was necessary for God to endow a female with the spirit of eternal life, to make her a partaker with Jesus Christ, in the power of salvation, and to co-operate with him in the work of regeneration, it would at least have appeared more reasonable and consistent, had she been a virgin character. But it ought to be considered that mankind are lost in the works of generation; and that it was therefore necessary that one who was actually under that loss, should first set the example and take the lead in coming out of it. Therefore, had a virgin character been chosen, tho she might have been a pattern of righteousness; yet she could not have set the example of coming out of a state into which she had never entered. Jesus Christ himself never went into the work of generation; therefore he could not set the example of coming out of it; but he could, and did set the example of abstaining from it, as well as from all manner of evil.

As the first Eve, through the deceitful influence of the power of evil, was the first to violate the temple of chastity, and to lead mankind into the work of generation, in actual disobedience to the positive command of God, and by this means corrupted the work at the very fountain; so a female, who was the natural offspring of the first Eve, and under the same loss, was the proper character

* Had Adam been formed of the elements of eternal life, he could not have died: for that which is eternal can never die. But when God spake to Adam concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he said, "In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." This was fulfilled.

† Luke i. 35.

It is proper to remark here, that in all languages, the term Holy-Ghost is the same as Holy Spirit, and is generally expressed by a substantive in the neuter gender, which, of itself, implies reither male nor female The application of masculine or feminine terms to the Holy Spirit, must depend on its relative manifestations, and its operation in the line of male or female.

to be empowered to break the charm which binds mankind under that loss, and to take the lead in coming out of it.

Ann Lee was the distinguished female who was chosen for that purpose; and being wrought upon by the power of God, she actually took up a final cross against that nature, and against all those propensities which lead to the gratification of it. And having received the Spirit of Christ, by the operation of which her soul was purified from the fallen nature of the flesh, she rose superior to it, and by her example and testimony, she actually led the way out of that nature and all its works, and was prepared to stand in a proper order to manifest the Spirit of Christ in the female line. Hence the image and likeness of the Eternal Mother was formed in her, as the firstborn Daughter, as really as the image and likeness of the Eternal Father was formed in the Lord Jesus, the firstborn Son. Thus was she constituted the second heir in the covenant of promise, and was placed in a correspondent connection with Jesus Christ, as the second pillar of the church of God in the

new creation.

We would by no means be understood to apply this character to the human tabernacle of Ann Lee; that tabernacle was but flesh and blood, like those of all other women; but it was a chosen vessel, occupied as an instrument, by the Spirit of Christ, the Lord from Heaven, in which the second appearance of that Divine Spirit was ushered into the world. It is this Spirit which has constituted her immortal part the second pillar in the new and spiritual creation; it is this Spirit which is the image and likeness of the Eternal Mother, and which is, in reality, the true Bride of the Lamb, and the first Mother of all the children of Christ. The apostle saith, "We preach Christ the Power of God and the Wisdom of God." But the Spirit of Wisdom in Christ, could not be manifested in her true character on earth, as the Mother Spirit in the work of regeneration, until she was revealed in the female, as a Mother in Christ.

It may perhaps be further objected that, according to the testimony of the apostle, Jesus is "the author and finisher of faith ;" that his mission into the world was to "save his people from their sins”—to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself;" and that “there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved;" and therefore we must be saved by his power alone, if saved at all. But, as we have already said, Christ is a Spirit; and it is by this Spirit only that salvation is wrought. It is this Spirit in the male and female, by which souls are begotten and born in the regeneration. And as this Spirit is Christ, and whether it be revealed in male or female for salvation, it can never be separated from Christ; therefore it is by this Spirit of Christ only, that salvation and final redemption can be wrought in any soul