Wesley Corpus

‘All the holy nature, tempers, and Spirit of Christ lie hid as a seed in thy soul’ (Spirit of Prayer, Part I. p. 68). But are they active or inactive living and stirring or in a state of insensibility and death ‘Thou art poor, and blind, and naked, and miserable, while all the peace and joy of God are within thee’ (page 74). This is most wonderful of all! Are these within him who is ‘dead in sin,’ who is a ‘stranger to all that is holy and heavenly’ If they are, how can he be miserable who has ‘all the peace and joy of God within him’ Will you say, ‘They are in him, but he does not feel them’ Nay, then they are not in him. I have peace in me no longer than I feel peace; I feel joy, or I have it not. ‘See here the extent of the catholic Church of Christ! It takes in all the world.’ (Page 56.) So Jews, Mahometans, Deists, heathens are all members of the Church of Christ! Should we not add devils too, seeing these also are to dwell with us in heaven ‘Poor sinner, Christ dwelleth in the center, the fund or bottom, of thy soul’ (page 59). What is this What is either the center, the top, or bottom of a spirit ‘When Adam fell, this center of his soul became a prisoner in an earthly animal. But from the moment God spoke Christ into Adam, all the treasures of the divine nature, the light and Spirit of God, came again into man, into the center of his soul.’ (Page 60.) I cannot find in the Bible when that was, when ‘God spoke Christ into Adam.’ We come now to the proofs of these strong assertions. And (1) ‘No faith could ever begin, unless every man had Christ in him’ (Spirit of Love, Part II. p. 34). This proposition needs just as much proof itself as that which it is brought to prove. (2) ‘Unless the remains of the perfect love of God were in every man, it would be impossible he should ever love God at all’ (page 38). Why so Cannot God give His love this moment to one who never loved Him before