| That every man was enlightened by the Divine Light of Christ . . . and that they that believed in it came out of condemnation and came into the Light of Life, and became children of it. |
Through these experiences Fox received his life's mission, one centered in the living Christ. In the Old Testament, Fox had read of the prophets' expectation of Christ, and in the New Testament, he had learned of Christ's historical appearance. Now that which he had known by report became his own experience. He knew the Christ Within; he became Christ's disciple. He had come to know the same spirit that those who wrote the Bible had known:
| For though I read the Scriptures that spoke of Christ and of God, yet I knew him not, but by revelation, as He who hath the key did open, and as the Father of life drew me to His Son by His Spirit. |
This divine spirit, this inward light, was both illumination and inspiration, a voice to be heard and obeyed. Looking back upon his own experience, Fox declared that anyone who has not experienced the light stands in darkness, regardless of creed or moral righteousness. He preached that Christ had come to teach his people himself.
The mission to which he was called and upon which he entered in the year 1647 was, he wrote, "to turn people to that Inward Light, Spirit, and grace, by which all might know their salvation and their way to God--even that Divine Spirit which would lead them into all truth." His earliest associates were called Children of the Light. "I was sent to turn people away from darkness to the light that they might receive Christ Jesus; for, to as many as should receive him in this light, I saw that he would give power to become sons of God; which power I had obtained by receiving Christ."
The salvation to which he was calling others was not simply