Wesley Corpus

“God then divided the human nature into a male and female creature: Otherwise man would have brought forth his own likeness out of himself, in the same manner as he had a birth from God. But Adam let in an adulterous love of the world: By this his virginity was lost, and he had no longer a power of bringing forth a birth from himself.” (Page 75.) We have no shadow of proof for all this. “This state of inability is called his falling into a deep sleep.” (Page 76.) How does this agree with, “The Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam?” (Gen. ii. 21.) “God took his Eve out of him, as a lesser evil, to avoid a greater. For it was a less folly to love the female part of himself, than to love things lower than himself.” (Page 77.) Who can extract this out of the words of Moses? Who can reconcile it with the words of our Lord? “He who made them at the beginning ” (not a word of any previous fall) “made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and cleave unto his wife.” (Matt. xix. 4, 5.) Is here any intimation, that for a man to love his wife is only less folly than to love the world? “A man ought so to love his wife, even as Christ the Church.” Is there any folly in the love of Christ to the Church 7 “Marriage came in by Adam’s falling from his first per fection.” (Page 88.) Does this account do honour to that institution, any more than that memorable saying of an emi nent Mystic, “Marriage is but licensed whoredom?” “Had Adam stood, no Eve would have been taken out of him. But from Eve God raised that angelic man, whom Adam should have brought forth without Eve, who is called the Second Adam, as being both male and female.” (Page 79.) Many things herewant proof. How does it appear, (1.) That Eve would not have been, had Adam stood? (2.) That had he stood, he would have brought forth the Second Adam without Eve? (3.) That Christ was both male and female? and, (4.) That he was on this account called the Second Adam?