Fundamental Beliefs of Conservative Friends #23 Early Friends’ Beliefs of Jesus Artwork

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This is a podcast of Ohio Yearly Meeting. We are a collection of Conservative Quaker Meetings based primarily in Ohio. By conservative, we do not mean politically conservative. Conservative Friends are known for their commitment to conserve the Original message of the first generation of Quakers. These Quakers, in turn, saw their movement as a revival of primitive Christianity. We hope the installments of our podcasts will present the understandings of Conservative Quakerism.

So, if thee is interested in learning the differences between Conservative Quakers and other Quakers, or would like to understand differences between Quakers and other Christians, thee may well be at the right place. On the other hand, the Conservative Quaker perspective is so strikingly unique in contemporary society, that it will be a balm to many seeking spiritual fulfillment. To assist these seekers is the true intent of publishing our podcast.

A good many of the podcast installments will be presented by Henry Jason. Henry is knowledgeable in the Greek of the New Testament and has a fascinating way of tying the meaning of the original words with the writings of early Friends. Listening to him provides a refreshing view of scripture and is an excellent way to learn about original Quaker theology. Henry's podcasts are usually bible classes and so they are often interspersed with discussions, questions and insightful comments by his students.

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Ohio Yearly Meeting's Podcast

Fundamental Beliefs of Conservative Friends #23 Early Friends’ Beliefs of Jesus

November 12, 2022 • Henry Jason

Using the Journal of George Fox, Volume II, 1891 edition (as it is excerpted in “A Brief Synopsis”) and the Holy Scriptures, the podcast discusses early Friends’ beliefs of Jesus.

[Quoting George Fox from his Journal] “We [Friends] desire also to affirm our belief in the virtue of His atoning sacrifice on Calvary for the sins of all mankind, as through the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts we are led to repent of and forsake our sins. So it is clear that the eternal, invisible and incomprehensible God was not, nor cannot be crucified. But Christ, the Son of God suffered according to the flesh, not in His godhead. So Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive, and that Christ, by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”

Jesus, while on earth, was both fully human and fully divine.

The name, Jesus Christ” is not like a first and last name. Rather, it is much more like a title: Jesus (from the Hebrew, “Joshua” which means deliverer) and then Christ, which from the Greek means messiah, or holy, anointed one.

“Lord” in the Greek (kurios) means owner/master. Thus, Jesus is our Lord, or Owner.

Philippians 2:5-11, is meant to be a parallel to the fall of Adam and Eve (in Genesis 3), where the man, Adam (and Eve) sought to become equal with God, and be totally in control. (In the Hebrew, the word for “Adam” means “man”.) Instead, Jesus, as a man on earth, had no desire to grasp His right to be equal to God. Instead, Jesus humbled Himself by emptying Himself of His ego, renouncing Himself, taking on the form of a slave, to become a man. The ultimate of this humility was Jesus’ death on a cross. This humility meant that God raised Jesus so that Jesus became Lord (kurios)/Owner. These understandings of Jesus were found repeatedly in the writings or early Friends writings.

When one puts them all together, it becomes: Lord Jesus, the Christ . . . our owner (Lord), who is our deliverer (Jesus), and the only holy, anointed one (Christ).

References:

“A Brief Synopsis of the Principles and testimonies of the Religious Society of Friends”
Philippians 2:5-11
The William Penn quote in our introduction was paraphrased from his 1668 letter to the minister Jonathan Clapham. References and the original quote can be found on the Wikipedia entry on Penn’s book No Cross, No Crown and the William Penn entry in the website The Diary of Samuel Pepys.

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