Quakers have a Spirit beyond all their forefathers since the days of the Apostles

Pr. He saith, ‘The Quakers know a man whether he be a saint or a devil, as soon as they see him, or hear him speak, or act, and they are beyond all our forefathers. And the apostle saith, “What man knoweth the things of a man, saving the spirit of a man that is in him,” so ye are not as Christ in this respect.’ And thou sayst ‘thou art as Christ in this present world: and no man can be without sin in this house of clay.’ And sayst, ‘ I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me; and my flesh is sin’s freehold;’ &c. pages 94,95.

Answ. Here thou hast showed that the Quakers have a spirit given to them beyond all the forefathers (which we do witness) since the days of the apostles, in the apostacy. And they that are in the power and the life of truth, can discern who are saints, who are devils, and who are apostates, without ever speaking a word. And the natural man knows not the things that are in another man; but with the spirit within him may know what is in himself: but the spiritual man searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God. Here thou hast made no distinction betwixt the spiritual and natural. And as Christ ‘is, so are we in this present world;’ and where Christ is manifest, he destroys sin in the flesh ; here they come to be as he is, they come to be above clay and mortal, and fading, and so the flesh, which thou calls sin’s freehold, comes to be put off, and the body of it, and they come to be made free from the law by the body of Christ. And the creature comes into the liberty of the sons of God. And this the saints witnessed while they were on earth. And as thou wast born in iniquity, thou showest thou wast born in the unregeneration; there were some sanctified from the womb, there are some children clean, who are believers. He that can receive it, let him. So thou art an ignorant man, not able to divide the word aright, nor canst minister unto the people, not knowing the condition they are in, unless they tell thee, and so art apostatized from the apostles, and not one of the ministers of the spirit, that minister to the spirit; for could not the apostles preach and speak to the Jews and Gentiles, unless they came and told them what condition they were in? or did all the Jews and Gentiles come and tell the apostles what condition they were in before they preached to them?

Source: The Great Mystery of the Great Whore pg. 89 London. 1659.