Wesley Corpus

xii., a while since, I was struck with your exposition of the ninth verse: ‘Perhaps these expressions, fathers of our flesh and Father of spirits, intimate that our earthly fathers are only the parents of our bodies; our souls not being derived from them, but rather created by the immediate power of God, and infused into the body from age to age. But meeting with a curious old book, which asserts a contrary doctrine, I hope you will pardon my freedom in transcribing, and begging your thoughts upon it. “‘That souls are not immediately infused by God, but mediately propagated by the parent, is proved, 1. From the 154 REV. J. WESLEY’s [Oct. 1763. divine rest; And he rested on the seventh day from all the work which he had made : (Gen. ii. 2:) 2. From the blessing mentioned Gen. i. 28; And God blessed them, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply; for this does not relate to a part, but to the whole, of man: 3. From the generation of Seth; And Adam begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; (Gen. v. 3;) for this image principally consisted in the soul:4. From the procession of the soul from the parent, mentioned Gen. xlvi. 26; All the souls which came out of his loins: 5. From the very consideration of sin; for they are infused, (1.) Either pure, and then, (i.) They will either be free from original sin, the primary seat of which is the soul; and so God will be cruel in condemning the soul for what it is not guilty of; or, (ii.) We must suppose the impure body to pollute the soul, which is absurd: Or, (2.) They are infused impure; and, in that case, God will be the cause of impurity, which is impossible. This is further proved from the doctrine of regeneration; for that which is regenerated was also generated or begotten; but the whole man is regenerated, therefore the whole man is generated. Compare John iii. 6, That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit; and Eph. iv. 23, And be renewed in the spirit of your mind. “‘That the human soul is propagated by the parents toge ther with the body, is further proved, 1.