readiness to receive and enter into the perfect work of the day, whenever it shall be manifested to them.

CHAPTER IV.

The Manifestation of Christ in the Female.

MANY objections have been raised against the doctrine of the appearance of Christ in the female, the principle ground of which seems to be, that it is not warranted by scripture, nor consistent with reason. To obviate these objections and confirm the doctrine, both by scripture and reason, is the design of this chapter. In searching the records of scripture we find that, on many extraordinary occasions, in past ages, there were females, as well as males, raised up and qualified to do the will of God and to accomplish his work. There were prophetesses, as well as prophets, in those days; which evidently shows that women, as well as men, were not only designed to enjoy the special favor of God; but also that they were originally designed to have a correspondent share in teaching and guiding the human race, in directing the destinies of nations and governing the world, which is composed of females as well as of males, who certainly stand in need of instruction, direction and government.

It appears evident that Miriam the prophetess had a share with Moses and Aaron, in delivering the children of Israel from the bondage of Egypt, and in leading them through the wilderness: for thus saith the Lord; "I brought thee up out of the land of "Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I "sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam."* Esther was also raised up, as an instrument in the hands of God, to deliver the Jews from destruction, when no man was found able to do it.

Deborah the prophetess was also raised up, in the days of the Judges, and set over Israel; and, through her instrumentality, a very great deliverance was wrought for that nation. This appears the more extraordinary, as being a deliverance from their bondage to the original inhabitants of the land of Canaan, whom they had been commanded to cast out and destroy; and it appears to be the only time that they, as a nation, were ever brought into bondage to these natives of the land. "And the hand of the children of Israel prospered and prevailed," under the ministration of Deborah, until they destroyed the power of the Canaanites, so that they never obtained any dominion over Israel afterwards. Thus the work which had been begun by Joshua, (who was a type of Jesus,) was at length completed by a female.

Herein was typified the work of God in Christ's first and

Micah vi. 4

† See Judges, chap. iv.

second appearance, as it respected the warfare of christians against their spiritual enemies. The Canaanites prefigured the carnal passions of human nature, which God had commanded his people to cast out, and against which Jesus Christ began the warfare. But by leaguing with them, as the Israelites did with the Canaanites, the primitive Christians, in process of time, lost their power and their order, and were overcome and held in bondage by these carnal passions, until the way was opened for a final deliverance, through the instrumentality of a female.

The song of Deborah, after this extraordinary victory, is worthy of remark. "They ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel." If then a mother was raised up in Israel to deliver that nation from their bondage to the Canaanites, and to destroy their power and dominion over Israel, why should it be thought inconsistent for God to raise up a mother in the spiritual Israel, to deliver them from their bondage to the spiritual Canaanites, and to destroy their power and dominion, and thus to complete the work which Jesus began?

The many instances recorded in the sacred writings, prove beyond dispute, that in past ages, God did condescend to reveal his mind and will to females, who were then commissioned, by Divine Authority, to bear testimony thereof to man. And the two signal instances of deliverance effected through the instrumentality of Deborah and Esther, are sufficient to show that God did, on each of these extraordinary occasions, raise up and empower a female to accomplish an extraordinary deliverance, which was beyond the power of man to effect without their assistance.

If then, God has, in these last days, raised up a female to reveal the true testimony and Spirit of Christ, and endowed her with power to effect the deliverance of lost man from the bondage of sin, and to usher in the latter day of glory, shall man reject the work on that account? Is it too debasing to the pride and haughtiness of fallen man? If so, let it be remembered that, "The Lord "of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to "bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth. And the "loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of 66 men shall be made low; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in "that day.”*

It is well known that when souls come to be awakened to a feeling sense of their need of salvation, their general cry is, "What "shall we do to be saved?-Lord, send by whom thou wilt send-"Work by means of thy own chusing; only show us thy will"bring us salvation from the bondage of sin." It is on these conditions we are willing to receive Christ, tho revealed in a manner contrary to every feeling of a fallen nature. We are determined

Isa. ii, 17, and xxiii. 9.

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. 32.

2 Cor. iii. 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 reither 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