Book: Primitive Christianity Revived

Overview
Primitive Christianity Revived (1696) is William Penn’s clear, compact defense of the faith and practice of the people called Quakers. He argues that Quakerism is not a novelty but a recovery of apostolic Christianity: the same life, power, and simplicity that marked the church in its first age. The book sets out core principles, answers common objections, and calls readers to test Quaker doctrine by Scripture and the inward work of Christ’s Spirit, not by custom or ecclesiastical prejudice.

God, Christ, and Scripture
Penn affirms one living God revealed in Jesus Christ, who truly came, suffered, died, rose, and now reigns. He insists that Christ’s saving work is both outward in history and inward by His Spirit, bringing people from sin to holiness. The Scriptures are owned as a faithful, divinely inspired record and the outward rule of doctrine and life; yet the Spirit who gave them is the first and principal guide. He avoids speculative creeds, preferring biblical language, but denies that Friends are Socinians or enemies of Christ’s divinity. The Word of God in its highest sense is Christ Himself, of whom the Scriptures bear true and subordinate testimony.

The Inward Light and Salvation
At the heart of Penn’s case is the universal Light of Christ that enlightens every person. This gracious manifestation reaches all, so that none perish for want of a Savior, but only for resisting Him. Salvation requires the new birth: repentance, living faith, and obedience to the inward Teacher. Justification is not a bare imputation without change but is joined to sanctification; the righteousness of Christ is accounted to believers and also wrought in them, producing victory over known sin and a holy life. This experiential, transforming knowledge of God is the essence of primitive Christianity.

Worship and the Sacraments
True worship is in Spirit and in truth, without dependence on set forms, ceremonies, or humanly composed liturgies. Friends gather and wait in reverent silence until the Lord moves to prayer or ministry, valuing the power and presence of God above words. Penn rejects outward rites as necessary Gospel ordinances: water baptism is fulfilled by Christ’s baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire, and the Lord’s Supper is an inward, spiritual communion with Him rather than bread and wine. These outward shadows gave way to the substance in the new covenant.

Ministry and Church Order
Ministry arises from Christ’s immediate call and gifting, not from human appointment, degrees, or pay. A true minister’s authority is life and power, not title. Friends therefore refuse tithes and a hireling ministry, and they acknowledge that women, as moved by the Spirit, may preach and pray. Church discipline is tender and practical, exercised in meetings for business that care for the poor, oversee marriages, restore the erring, and promote godly order. Plain speech, simplicity, and integrity are badges of this renewed life.

Ethics, Civil Life, and Peace
Penn commends truth-telling without oaths, refusing to swear because Christ commands simple yea and nay. Friends are peaceable, declining carnal weapons and wars, yet they honor magistrates, pay dues, and obey laws in all things consistent with conscience. Their testimony is moral reformation: temperance, justice in trade, charity, humility, and patience in sufferings.

Apologetic Aim and Appeal
Answering charges that Friends deny Christ or Scripture, Penn argues from the Bible and early Christian witness that Quaker principles restore apostolic purity against superstition and mere formalism. He urges readers to turn to the inward Light, where Scripture’s promise is fulfilled in power. Primitive Christianity, revived, is not a party name but a life in Christ that makes people new and keeps them so.