It has been charged that we have changed - that we are not advocating now what we advocated a few years ago. We publish the article below to show that we have not changed - that we believe now just exactly what we did when the following article was written by our father, Elder S. F. Cayce, and published in THE PRIMITIVE BAPTIST of August 19, 1892. C. H. C.

We have been requested to write our views as to the inner and the outer man, also to state when it is that the children of God partake of flesh and blood. And in attempting to do so we feel our inability to write anything that will be of any benefit to God's humble poor, and especially so when it comes to writing upon any subject that is not alike understood by the household of faith. But in the fear of God and with a desire to see the children of God more united and more of one mind I will offer such thoughts as I have, hoping that the good Lord may bless the same to the benefit of His dear people.

The text which speaks of the children being partakers of flesh and blood will be found in Hebrews ii. 14. But before quoting this I would first call attention to verses 9 13: "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He that sanctifleth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren saying I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee And again, I will put my trust in Him. And again, behold I and the children which God hath given me." All this shows that Jesus tasted death for His people, tasted death for "every man;" that is to say, every one that lives (eternally), or has eternal life, has that life through Jesus Christ. And the expression: "Behold and the children which God hath given me," shows very conclusively who are embraced in the expression "every man." Not only so, but the connection shows that the mission of Christ was to save sinners, sons and daughters of Adam by nature, but as they were the chosen of God, the elect of God, and had eternal life treasured in the Lord Jesus Christ for them, it became necessary that Jesus Christ suffer in their room and stead and meet the demands of the law in their behalf; and to do that He had. to take upon Him a body of flesh and blood His elect were sons and daughters of Adam, and in that sense were partakers of flesh and blood, and as such Jesus, their surety, their Redeemer, had to appear in the world as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." The term, "partakers of flesh and blood," then, has no reference whatever to the work of regeneration nor to anything done at that time, but is only expressive of the kind of characters Jesus came to Save - not eternal spirits but Sinners, "partakers of flesh and blood," those embraced in the covenant of grace and heirs according to promise. And as they are under the law and under its curse, it was necessary that Jesus Christ, their surety, come under the law in order that He meet the demands of the law, in all its requirements, and thereby release them from all the demands of the law, yea, redeem them from all iniquity. Hence the Apostle Paul would say, in the language of the text (v. 14): "Forasmuch then as the children are (not that they become, but are) partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil." This certainly shows that the term "partakers of flesh and blood" is only expressive of the kind of characters Jesus came to save, those who are "by nature children of wrath, even as others," and that to do so He appears, too, in a body of flesh and blood; and so the Apostle Paul. continues: "And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." Having shown that we understand this term, "partakers of flesh and blood," to be expressive of the kind of characters Jesus came to save, or of the condition His covenant people are in, or who they are, I will next give the three places in which Paul uses the expression "inner" or "inward" man, in one of which it will be observed that he also uses the term "outward" man, and of course the idea of such a term (outward or outer man) is conveyed in the other quotations also, as the inner or inward man is mentioned. "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man." --Romans vii. 22. "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day."  --2 Corinthians iv. 16. "That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man." -- Ephesians iii. 16. A careful reading and examination of these verses, and their connection, will certainly show that Paul was referring to two natures, or two principles, possessed by the child of God, one of which he calls the inner or inward man and the other the outward man. Not that there are two persons (or men) dwelling in the body, it (the body) being only a hull. or dwelling place for the two; that is not it at all. But the child of God, having been born of the flesh first, born of Adam, has a nature or principle about him that is of the flesh or of Adam, and this Paul calls the outer man, and as he has been born of God, born again, he has also another principle, nature, or disposition about him, which Paul calls the inner or inward man. Especially does the apostle make it plain in Romans vii. (entire chapter) that this is what he means by the expressions, inner, or inward, man and outward man. Having been born of Adam and afterwards born of God, Paul, like all others who have been born again, was a complex being - had a principle or disposition that was common to his nature as a child of Adam and also another principle or disposition that was the result of "being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." Paul not only calls these the inner, or inward, man and the outward man, but he also denominates them the "old man" and the "new man." He says in Colossians iii. 9, 10: "Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge? After the image of Him that created him." No one Will assume that Paul meant to teach or say that they had put off their natural bodies, their flesh and blood, but that they had put off that old principle or disposition Of living after the flesh, living in the love and practice of sin and had put on the new man, that new principle or disposition which they had received in being born of God. They had done according to the teaching of the apostle in Romans viii. 13: "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the; Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live."  And as such Paul would admonish them (Colossians iii. l2—17):


"Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longSuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, If any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with. grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him."

All this shows that Paul not only calls that new principle or disposition which we receive in being born of God the new man, but he admonishes us to live after, or follow, its leading's or promptings and to keep in subjection the leading's or promptings Of the Old principles or disposition, the leading's of the outward And Peter also would teach the same lesson in his instruction to the sisters of the church, l- Peter iii, 8, 4: "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price."

We would love to see the dear brethren and sisters everywhere endeavoring to observe these admonitions and laboring to keep the unity of the spirit in bonds of peace, instead of caviling and contending; about words to no profit. Brethren sometimes fail to consider the connection of a text, or the subject that is being treated upon, and in that way draw a wrong conclusion, or make an erroneous deduction from the text, though they are sound in the faith of the gospel; but another brother, who sees the text in a different light, having, perhaps, noticed more carefully the subject treated upon, will discover the mistake, but instead of obeying the injunctions of the apostle himself he brands his brother (because of his mistaken view of the text) as believing in two seeds in the flesh, or of being an Arminian, and in his zeal to prove that such is the case, he will make an explanation of some other text that is just as foreign from the idea intended to be conveyed by the writer as is the opinion of the other brother in regard to the text explained by him.

Hoping that the good Lord may bless these hastily written thoughts to the good of His people and that the time is not far distant when the dear saints of God, who profess to be members of the true church of Christ, Primitive Baptist, will not be so much disposed to cavil and speculate over deep, mysterious and unrevealed things, but seeing eye to eye, loving, and esteeming one another better than themselves and watching over each other for good, will all pull together as a band of brethren and sisters in the Lord. I submit the same to their consideration. And would also beg to be remembered in their prayers and that they remember our dear loved ones at home while the humble editor is, at this time, on a tour trying to preach the gospel of the Son of God to the dear brethren and sisters in the state of Ohio.  [S. F. Cayce]