Workshop 13 : Perfection Part 2 - 08/02/2026
Instructor :
Karen Tibbles
Theme: Perfection , Our Life is Love, by Marcelle Martin
Marcelle Martin has done a deep dive into Quaker writings, both early and recent and categorized the process of obtaining perfection into ten stages. They are:
Longing
Seeking
Turning within
Openings
Refiners Fire
Community
Leadings
The Cross
Abiding
Perfection
The third stage, Turning within, is unique to Quakers. Instead of looking for what others have come to believe, it leads to an opening to God (or whatever word you choose) for what you believe.
Openings: The Inward Light revealed how thoroughly each person had been under the influence of spiritually oppressive forces. For many of the first Quakers, revelations took the form of “openings in Scripture,” in which the meaning of a particular Bible passage was revealed by the Holy Spirit in a way that spoke to each person’s particular life situation and experience.
“When all my hopes in them and in all men were gone, so that I had nothing outwardly to help me, nor could tell what to do, then, oh then, I heard a voice which said, “There is one, even Christ Jesus, that can speak to thy condition”, and when I heard it, my heart did leap for joy.” (George Fox)
The first openings of most early Friends revealed that God’s ways are different from the ways of the world. Marcelle puts the Quaker “quaking” at this stage.
This stage is similar to what is called conversion in other religions.
Refiner’s Fire: The name of this stage comes straight from the Bible: “But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.” Malachi 3: 2-3
It refers to the time when the Light of Christ illuminates those things in your life that are not consistent with God’s will.
“Pay attention to whatever makes your conscience uneasy, and the Light will illuminate how you resist God. For many, it was a surprise to discover uncontrolled desires, deceitful manners, unjust social practices, greed, pride, and fear within themselves. Early Friends spoke of “temptations,” “the pollutions of the world,” or “the wiles of Satan.””
“A person became a convinced Quaker after being shown the errors of his or her ways, admitting them, surrendering to God’s judgment, and becoming liberated for a new kind of life.”
“Many contemporary Friends prefer psychological explanations for what is morally wrong in humanity. The power of God that is released within those who seek to be guided by the Light of Christ reveals everything within and without that impedes the movement of the Spirit.”
Community: “Most early Friends opened to the divine Presence within while in the company of others. In such cases, the surrender to God by a whole group was a great aid to each person. Together they experienced the Light and the direct teaching of the Spirit of Christ. At the same time, they were knit together as a people of God.”
Community today: “During what Friends call a “gathered” meeting, there is a feeling of spiritual power and a sense of Presence. Many present may simultaneously become aware of having been gathered spiritually, as if into one body. The sense of separateness diminishes or even vanishes, and Friends feel united, in God, with everyone else around them. Minds are hushed and hearts expand.”
Leadings: “Those on whom a concern has been placed may experience God leading them to take some particular action. Early Friends usually experienced promptings, first of all, to faithfulness in the particulars of daily life.”
“Seventeenth-century Quakers read stories in Scripture of prophets, saints, and holy people with the understanding that God wanted to work in their lives in the same way. As they surrendered to divine promptings and responded faithfully to the calls and leadings they received, they learned to let God—through Christ—be the initiator of their actions and also the power that made everything happen. In this way, they gradually allowed God to incarnate more fully in the world.”
“Leadings can be part of the work we do day by day and are often expressed in our relationships with the people we know. They can take the form of single actions prompted by the Spirit or be part of a larger call on our lives. When Friends commit to a life of faithfulness, they may be led into a new profession or line of work in which ministering to others has a wider scope. Or, they may find ways in their current occupations to bring more and more of God’s Love and Truth to others.”
The Cross: “Following the leadings of the Light ultimately brings joy and great blessing, but early Quakers referred to following God’s promptings as “living in the cross.” The power they found in practicing their faith came from surrendering their own wills to the Love and Truth and Power of God, to the inward Guidance of Christ. Rather than worship crucifixes or other images of what Jesus suffered long ago, they urged people to attend to the way that the living Christ, the Light within, was calling people to take up their own cross every day.”
“Patiently enduring the Refiner’s Fire, on God’s timetable instead of one’s own, was part of surrendering to God’s will and living in the cross for the early Quakers. Isaac Penington noted that people are eager to receive power from God as quickly as possible. Instead, one must first endure the humbling sight of all the ways that one has followed what is contrary to God. This requires patience.”
“Early Friends contended that most people “fly the cross” and ignore difficult truths revealed by the Light rather than accept painful revelations about themselves. The experience of accepting humbling truth about oneself and enduring the process of purification feels like a kind of death. In modern psychological terms we might say that the false self is dying or the ego is losing its overriding control. Our prior ways of thinking and behaving, the person we have known ourselves to be, and the ways we have exercised control in the world—all of this is being transformed and coming to an end. In surrendering to God’s will and guidance, we surrender control of our lives.”
“Parenting is a way many people surrender their own wills. Raising children reveals to parents behaviors and motivations in themselves that are not meeting their standards of truth and love; this is part of the Refiner’s Fire. Raising children also involves a profound experience of living in the cross. Parents daily sacrifice their time, energy, comforts, and preferences in order to nurture and support their children. They also suffer when their children experience misfortunes, make mistakes, or follow different paths than the parents would have chosen.”
“To be faithful, we must only accept the cross to our wills that God gives us, not one that we devise for ourselves, not one forced on us by society, not one urged by family or culture. The death of the false self that comes eventually as the result of surrender to God’s will is, paradoxically, a death that leads to a greater, more abundant life, a life lived in the love and power of the Light.”
Abiding: "Many early Friends who made sacrifices and suffered as a result of carrying out God’s leadings had deeply consoling experiences of heavenly love, accompanied by an awareness of God’s overriding, ultimate power. Barbara Blaugdone, for example, recounts numerous experiences when divine Love and Power enabled her to be faithful in hardship. During moments of physical attack, the love that filled her subsumed her fear and physical pain.”
“In his Pendle Hill pamphlet Four Doors to Meeting for Worship, Taber gives guidance not only about how to enter into that living stream during a period of worship, but also suggests daily practices that can help Friends learn to enter that “altered state of communal consciousness” at any time, day or night. Like many Friends before him, he recommends taking a period of “daily retirement” from the outward activity and business of one’s life. During such a daily period, Friends contemplate a passage of the Bible, rest silently “in the eternal arms,” meditate, appreciate beauty, or pray for themselves and others. Taber also recommends sharing with spiritual friends about our life with God and taking time with these Friends for spontaneous opportunities to worship together. Such practices help us to “re-awaken to our rich inborn capacity to be alive to the spiritual dimension.” They help us abide in the living Presence during the activities of our days, even while engaging in conversation or going about our work.”
Perfection: “Preachers in seventeenth-century England insisted that nobody could attain perfection or be freed from sinning while still alive. The first Quakers were convinced, however, that Jesus would not require something of his disciples that was impossible, and they did not want to postpone perfect faithfulness until after death. Paradoxically, the first step toward perfection, after discovering the Light of Christ Within, was to become aware of how thoroughly one was failing to live according to God’s ways and how insignificant and powerless one was apart from God. Perfection as a separate self was impossible. Perfection was only possible for those who surrendered their small selves and united with the divine Fountain of Love. For early Friends, perfection was not about appearances, performance, or worldly standards. Christian perfection does not gratify a controlling ego but instead crucifies it. They endured the purifying rigors of the Refiner’s Fire, dedicated their lives to following the will of God in all things—big and small—and consented to live in the cross. Friends experienced the inward Spirit of Christ teaching them, step by step, how to become perfectly responsive to God’s will. Gradually, as a Friend surrendered to God, the individual’s will became wholly united with the divine will. Then it was possible to enter into a different state of consciousness. Early Quakers often referred to this condition as returning to the state of “innocency” in which human beings were originally created before the fall. Innocent and trusting, Adam and Eve had at first perfectly heard and obeyed God’s guidance and commands on a daily basis.”
Today’s understanding of the Greek words in the commandment to be perfect is perhaps better understood as “whole” or “mature”.
“Wholeness comes when something larger and wiser than the self has taken control, when God becomes the active force in a person’s life and any goal other than loving faithfulness has fallen away. It may be impossible to know who has entered into a state of perfect faithfulness or true spiritual maturity.”
“As a teacher, writer, speaker, retreat leader, and spiritual nurturer, Bill Taber touched the lives of many, including Quakers of all theological sorts. Many Friends who had been wounded by their experience of an exclusive Christianity found themselves healed by Bill’s generous understanding of the gospel. Bill was deeply gifted in worship, not only in vocal ministry and prayer, but also in a radiant silence that drew others into a greater sense of the Divine Presence. His gentle, centered spirit invited all around him to turn inward and encounter God afresh.“