Issue 1, Spring 1999, Volume 17

PRIMITIVE METHODISM

and the

TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CHURCH

Vic Reasoner

An undisciplined Methodist is a contradiction in terms. Methodism is as much a spiritual discipline as it is a system of theology. Here are three priorities we can adapt from primitive Methodism in order to serve the present age.

CONNECTION

The body of Christ is a unit. Though it is made up of many parts, they form one body. Each one who is baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ is part of that one body, the Church (1 Cor 12:12-13; 27).

God did not intend for believers to live in isolation, but to be nurtured in a community of faith. God did not intend for congregations to exist in isolation, but to worship in connection with other assemblies of believers and minister to the society in which they exist.

The American Church has placed too much emphasis upon being "independent." Steve Harper wrote in Devotional Life in the Wesleyan Tradition

No one can develop a mature spirituality alone. To be a Christian is to be called into community. It is to become a functioning part of the body of Christ.

David wrote in Psalm 133, "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity." He then described the priest being anointed for ministry. The oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit. Today the Holy Spirit indwells all believers and all are priests unto God. When we come together in unity, the Spirit is poured out as anointing oil. But division grieves the Holy Spirit.

In this same psalm David depicts a second benefit of connection. Unity is like the dew of Hermon falling on Mount Zion. Mt. Hermon is over 9,000 feet above sea level. It is lush even in the dry summer months because of the dew that sustains growth there. During the summer months Jerusalem gets virtually no precipitation, but there is almost always snow on Mt. Hermon.

When everything around us is hot and dry, Christian fellowship should be cool and refreshing. People ought to anticipate the assembly for worship as a time when they leave the hot valley and climb up to the lush mountainside. When preaching becomes dry and boring, it may be because of division in the congregation.

Galatians 5:19-21 lists fifteen manifestations of the sinful nature. Half of the list are sins of divisiveness and sectarianism which are often prevalent within congregations. I am especially interested in a word Paul used in that list. Hairesis is translated "factions" by the NIV and "heresies" in the KJV. A study of this passage, along with Acts 24:14, 1 Cor 11:19, and Titus 3:10 will demonstrate the close connection between divisiveness and heresy. Many breaches of fellowship which ostensibly occur over doctrine actually take place because of selfish ambition.

Philippians 2 is the classic passage about Christ's attitude. He was willing to give up position, endure hardship, place himself at a disadvantage, and put the needs of our race above his own comfort. With His pattern before us we are admonished, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves" (v 3).

But then in verse 21 Paul complains that "everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ." What pastor has not encountered the same agenda at work Diotrephes was not the last man who loved to be first (3 John 9). Nor was he the last churchgoer to engage in malicious gossip.

The advancement of the Kingdom is more important than our personal promotion. William Sangster prayed, "Lord, we don't mind who is second, as long as Thou art first." The common good of the brotherhood takes precedent over our private agenda. If we understand the concept of connection, we will become a team player.

John Wesley once visited an area where the Methodist society had declined. He observed,

I was more convinced that ever, that preaching like an apostle, without joining together those that are awakened, and training them up in the ways of God, is only begetting children for the murderer. No regular societies, no discipline, no order or connection; and the consequence is, that nine in ten of the once-awakened are now faster asleep than ever.

CONFERENCE

John Wesley preached to the masses in fields and other open forums. This was the point of entry. The awakened were then invited to the local Methodist society. When Wesley met with the united society he started with Matthew 1:1 and proceeded to teach the Word of God until he had to leave. Then he left his Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament with the lay leaders and they carried on the exposition.

But spiritual formation also requires intimate fellowship, so the Methodist societies were divided into classes, bands, and select societies to promote spiritual growth. All that was necessary to participate was a desire to "flee the wrath to come." Most conversions took place in the small groups or alone as a result of the discipleship.

While the rules for the Methodist societies may sound rigid in our permissive age, no one willing to submit to the Methodist system of discipline was ever "kicked out" of the united society. The lapsed or backslidden who were penitent were reassigned to their proper group. There were classes for those seeking salvation, those who were justified by faith, those groaning after full redemption, and those who demonstrated Christian perfection.

Wesley taught this small group dynamic was a means of grace. The concept of the means of grace could be compared to a satellite dish. God is transmitting his grace continually. By turning toward God and tuning in, by utilizing the means of grace, we receive that grace. Wesley cited five instituted means of grace: prayer, searching the Scriptures, the Lord's Supper, fasting, and Christian conference. While the term conference can refer to an ecclesiastical governing body, it can also simply mean spiritual conversation.

The value of structured conversation within a small group has been rediscovered in our day. Those who are serious about spiritual growth recognize the need for the accountability and structure the small group provides.

But where does a pastor go for spiritual direction In the Methodist Discipline, a section entitled, "On the Duty of Preachers to God, Themselves, and One Another," raised this issue:

Do we sufficiently watch over each other We do not. Should we not frequently ask each other, Do you walk closely with God Have you now fellowship with the Father and the Son Do you use all the means of grace yourself

Preachers have a duty to watch over each other. They need Christian conference with others in ministry. In 1752 a group of early Methodist ministers signed a covenant which we should also adopt:

That we will not listen or willingly inquire after ill concerning one another; that, if we do hear any ill of each other, we will not be forward to believe it; that as soon as possible we will communicate what we hear by speaking or writing to the person concerned; that until we have done this, we will not write or speak a syllable of it to any other person; that neither will we mention it, after we have done this, to any other person; that we will not make any exception to any of these rules unless we think ourselves absolutely obligated in conference.

COMMUNION

Down through history there have always been those who equated spirituality with spontaneity. They frowned on structure in worship. They saw no need to keep a day of worship; for them every day was holy. They did not need to submit to water baptism; they had the baptism with the Spirit. They did not need the ritual of the Lord's Supper; they had communion with God every day. Yet in their quest for "super-spirituality" many have, in fact, become lawless. Since there are three separate commands given by the Lord Jesus regarding the sacrament of communion, surely we must conclude that much of the Church has neglected this means of grace instituted by Christ.

But if religious experience is regarded only as individualistic, personal piety will be emphasized at the expense of corporate worship. However, some means of grace can only be transmitted corporately. The sacraments were not designed for individual, but for corporate use.

Sacrament is a rich term, but often confused with sacramentalism, the notion that we are saved through the sacramental rituals. Mainline churches have frequently leaned toward sacramentalism and in reaction, conservative churches have tended to play down the importance of the sacraments.

Theologically, a sacrament is the use of a physical element as a symbolic statement of our faith. John Wesley defined a sacrament as "an outward sign of inward grace." He saw the Lord's Supper as communicating prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying grace to the believing communicant. We participate in this enactment because it is commanded and because Scripture promises blessing as we do so.

There may be nothing impressive about the worship service of a small congregation, but as we gather at the Lord's table, we are connecting with Christians all around the world and across the last two thousand years who have also been nourished at that same table. Christ is also present through the Spirit. Thomas Oden explained

The sacraments presuppose that God has met us in history and that this meeting calls us to regular recollection and re-enactment in order to experience God's real presence in our minds. The grace of God is offered to us in and through these sacraments in a way that we cannot grasp by our own moral efforts.

The bread and wine express promises, not that we make to God but that God makes to us, to which we may respond in obedient faith. They are signs of God's mercy to us and of God's immediate presence in our midst.

Some churches observe the Lord's supper every Sunday, but put little emphasis upon preaching the Word. Other pastors claim preaching to be their priority, but rarely ever obey the biblical imperatives to "do this in remembrance of me." But there is no need for any polarization over the sacraments. Not only do our ordination vows charge us with both preaching the Word and administering the sacraments, but in fact, the Lord's Supper is a form of preaching the Gospel. Katangello, the Greek word for "proclaim" in 1 Corinthians 11:26 can be translated "preach." Whenever we eat the bread and drink the cup, we preach the Lord's death until he comes.

We need to recover the New Testament pattern for the Church by devoting ourselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42). We also need to adapt the pattern of early Methodism which emphasized the priorities of connection, conference, and communion.

FROM OUR MAILBAG

10-08-98

Your response to Dr. Wood [see "John Fletcher Revised" in the previous issue] is both judicious and instructive. I'm not sure that anything further is needed. I do offer these thoughts:

There is a period of about ten years from 1770 to 1880 in which Joseph Benson is struggling to understand entire sanctification and even salvation. During this time, Benson also embraces a modified Arianism after reading Isaac Watts (it was rather fashionable to be Arian in the late eighteenth century). Clearly, this was a time of confusion and misunderstanding for Benson. As he grows older, he focuses away from pure theology to practical faith and it becomes rather difficult to pin him down on the issue of entire sanctification. Having read all of his letters, however, I would say that he eventually came to understand that the Holy Spirit was key to salvation and that entire sanctification was something very lofty that would only come after much growth and maturity. Furthermore, it would be difficult to base an argument on the use of "baptism of the Holy Spirit" or "filled with the Spirit" since Benson's ideas are in a state of flux during the seventies and it is not clear to me that he was sure what he meant about it at the time. What is relevant is what Benson, Clarke, Fletcher, and others came to expect in a Christian. Do they expect the behavior displayed by the apostles before the Day of Pentecost or after I would argue (and a little research would bear this out, it certainly does in the case of Benson) that none of them would ever describe the pre-Pentecost Peter as regenerate.

With best regards,

Marsh Jones, Ph. D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; dissertation title Pulpit, Periodical, and Pen: Joseph Benson and Methodist Influence in the Victorian Prelude (1995).

JOSEPH BENSON DESCRIBES JOHN FLETCHER

In his article "The Rediscovery of Pentecost in Methodism," Laurence Wood noted that Joseph Benson had added an appendix to the second edition of his biography, The Life of the Rev. John Fletcher. Benson's biography was first published in 1804 and drew upon material written about Fletcher from John Wesley and John Gilpin. However, Benson's biography received an unfavorable review in The Christian Observer, which occasioned Benson's appendix.

Wood asserts that "this appendix shows how deeply established Fletcher's concept of the baptism with the Spirit was and that even his non-Methodist detractors understood its significance for Methodism." Wood also claimed that "Benson defended Fletcher's link between Pentecost and perfection, and he showed that Fletcher encouraged others to experience this baptism for themselves."

Joseph McPherson recommended this biography to Allegheny Publications for reprint, and his father's copy was used for the 1984 reprint, but the appendix was not part of that edition. Upon receiving a copy of the appendix Mr. McPherson encouraged the section of the appendix to which Wood refers to be reprinted in The Arminian. Here, then, is section 6 of Benson's appendix in its entirety:

The consideration of two or three particulars more shall close these remarks. Speaking of "the promise of the Father," or the gift of the Holy Spirit, including that rich blessing of union with the Father and the Son, mentioned John xvii.21, they observe, "Upon this sublime and important subject, much occurs in the course of this volume. But though we think that in the present day it is not sufficiently considered, even by religious persons, we are clearly of opinion, that both as to his expectations and expressions, relative to the gift of the Holy Spirit, Mr. F. exceeded the boundaries which are prescribed to us in Scripture. It appears also, in fact, that he never did experience that fulness of manifestation which he seems to have looked for so earnestly for so many years. Indeed, to expect another Pentecost, as Mr. F. evidently did, is, as we conceive, wholly unscriptural, and can tend only to spiritual delusion." So far the Christian Observer: and as the subject is of peculiar importance, I must be allowed to dwell a little upon it. This is a point which I can speak upon with assurance, having frequently conversed and corresponded with Mr. Fletcher upon it, so that I knew his views thereon perfectly. Now the questions are, What did he expect himself What did he teach others to expect And what did he himself experience "He expected (say the conductors of that miscellany) another Pentecost." In some sense he did, but not in the sense they imagine. He expected a Pentecost, not literally, but figuratively speaking. Did he expect cloven or distinct tongues of fire to rest upon him, or the gift of tongues, or that of prophecy so called, or of healing Did he expect to be enabled to raise the dead with a word or a touch By no means; he looked for nothing of this kind. He expected only those ordinary operations and graces of the Spirit in a full and mature state, which the Holy Scriptures declare to be essential to the character of a true and perfect Christian. He expected "the spirit of wisdom and revelation, in and by the knowledge of Christ, that the eyes of his understanding being enlightened, he might know what was the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his (God's) inheritance in the saints, and what the exceeding greatness of his power towards those that believe." He expected that his "faith should grow exceedingly," that his "love should abound more and more in knowledge, and in all (αισθησει) sense and feeling," even the love of God, of his people, and all mankind, "shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost given unto him." He expected to "be filled with joy and peace through believing, and to abound in hope by the power of the same Holy Ghost." He expected to be stamped with that divine image of God, which he had lost by the fall, to be a partaken of a divine nature; to be sanctified wholly, to "grow up into Christ his living head in all things," and to arrive at the measure of the stature of his fulness, being "filled with all the communicable "fulness of God," and "conformed to the image of his Son." And what he expected himself, he taught others to expect and urged them continually to press to this "mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

Now who will take upon him to say that Mr. F. was in an error in this, and that we have no authority from Scripture to look for such things But, say these Christian Observers, "It appears, in fact, that he never did experience that fulness of manifestation, which he seems to have looked for so earnestly for so many years." No I think, on the contrary, it appears that he did experience it, at least in a very high degree. "As the Spirit gave utterance," says Mr. Gilpin; "he made his requests know unto God. There have been seasons of supplication in which he appeared to be carried out far beyond the ordinary limits of devotion; when, like his Lord upon the mount, while he has continued to pour out his mighty prayer, the fashion of his countenance has been changed, and his face has appeared as the face of an angel." Is this one of the passages from which these Observers have drawn their conclusion that, in fact, he never did experience the fulness of the Spirit which he looked for "His deepest and most sensible communications with God," proceeds Mr. G. "were enjoyed in those hours when the door of his closet was shut against human creatures, as well as against human cares: here he was privily hidden, as in the presence of God; here he would either patiently wait for, or joyfully triumph in the loving-kindness of the Lord; here he would plunge himself into the depths of humiliation; and from hence, at other seasons, as from another Pisgah, he would take a large survey of the vast inheritance which is reserved for the saints; here he would ratify his solemn engagements to God, &c." Is this passage also among the premises from which these gentlemen draw their inference

The family who gives an account of his marriage, having described his daily practice in the family, adds, "Thus did he walk with God, filled with the Spirit of his beloved Lord." "Union with Christ, observes Mr. G. "was enjoyed by this eminent servant of God, in a more than ordinary degree: it was intimate and constant. He experienced the fulfillment of that condescending promise, If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. He obeyed the summons, and received the promised visitant; and from that time his heart became the dwelling-place of Christ. There he experienced the teachings of uncreated wisdom, and held ineffable communion with the author and finisher of faith, imbibing abundantly the Spirit of divine instruction, and sitting under his shadow with great delight. By this sacred intercourse, continued from day to day, his union with Christ became so entire, that he was at length enabled to adopt the expressive declaration of the great apostle, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And yet to these Christian Observers, who judge, not from any personal acquaintance they ever had with this man of God, nor from any other documents wherewith they have been furnished, but from these very pages, "It appears, in fact, that he never did experience that fulness of manifestation which he looked for!"

Mr. G. proceeds in the same page, "The strictness of this union was evinced by his whole disposition and carriage. The mind that was in Christ was discovered also in him." -- "He copied the character of his Lord with so great exactness, that all men took knowledge of him that he had been with Jesus. Fellowship with Christ is, with the generality of Christians, a state of much uncertainty; but by this holy man it was well nigh uninterruptedly enjoyed, through all the different stages of the spiritual life. It was his consolation in the season of adversity, and his glory in the day of rejoicing: it sustained him in the hour of temptation, afforded him peace in the midst of trouble. At home or abroad, he was still sitting with Christ Jesus in heavenly places. In sickness or in health, he daily conferred with this Physician of inestimable value. In honour or dishonour, he still was dignified with the favour of this everlasting King." And is this another of the paragraphs in this memoir which support the conclusion drawn by these Reviewers

It is true, however, as a friend has observed, who was long in the same house with him, and daily observed his whole spirit and conduct, that "in his highest fervours of divine love, he always acknowledged that he wanted more." And who does not that has any experimental acquaintance with it Hence the following language in a letter to his parishioners, "Let not a drop satisfy you; desire an ocean, at least a fountain springing up to your comfort in your own souls, and flowing towards all around you, in streams of love and delightful instructions, to the consolation of those with whom you converse." And "Till the great outpouring of his love be come, we ought faithfully to stir up the gift of God which is in ourselves and others, and to supply, by the depth of our humility, and the ardour of our expectation, what is yet wanting to our experience." May, and even in the latter years of his life, when, as Mr. Gilpin testifies, "his heart was, as it wee, a vessel running over with Christian charity," still he longed for more. "I sometimes find," said he to Mrs. F. a little before his death, "such gleams of light and love, such wafts, as it were, of the heavenly air! so powerful as if they would just then take my soul with them to glory! But I am not filled: I want to be filled with the fulness of God." But even these his large desires seem to have been satisfied before his dissolution; for "when he was in his last illness," says Mrs. F. "he conveyed much to my mind, as I understood by it, the accomplishment of his large desires." As further proof of this, "On Wednesday," proceeds Mrs. F, "he told me he had received such a manifestation of the full meaning of those words, God is love, as he should never be able to express. "It fills my heart, said he, every moment; O Polly, God is love! Shout! Shout aloud! I want a gust of praise to go the ends of the earth." Sally coming in, he cried, "O Sally, God is love! Shout both of you! I want to hear you shout his praise." "A few days before his departure," adds she again, "he was filled with love in an uncommon manner, which he testified as long as he had voice, and continued to the end in a most lamb-like patience, in which he smiled over death, and set his seal to the glorious truths he had so long preached." So much for the correction of the unaccountable error of the Christian Observers, when they say, "It appears, in fact, that he never did experience that fulness of manifestation which he looked for so earnestly for so many years!"

Mr. McPherson recently wrote, "I have carefully read that part of the appendix in which Benson describes Fletcher's seeking after a filling of the Spirit. I agree with you that this great spiritual giant was seeking a 'deeper experience or a closer walk, not a subsequent work of grace.' Dr. Wood's asserting, on the basis of this reference, that Fletcher equated Pentecost with Christian perfection is definitely erroneous and therefore misleading. I further agree that Benson does not make reference to 'the baptism with the Holy Spirit' in this printed piece."

McPherson observed further that in Fletcher's "Discourse on the New Birth" is the statement, "Yes, you will be baptized by the Holy Ghost for the remission of sins, and justified freely by faith" (4:115). And in Fletcher's sermon fragments entitled, "The Tests of a New Creature: Or, Heads of Examination for Adult Christians," can be found the following statement:

This is certain, -too much grace cannot be desired or looked for; and to believer and obey with all the power we have, is the highway to receive all we have not. There is a day of pentecost for believers; a time when the Holy Ghost descends abundantly. Happy they who receive most of this perfect love, and or that establishing grace, which may preserve them from such falls and decays as they were before liable to" (4:270).

McPherson concluded, "In one passage, he extends to penitents the promise of being 'baptized by the Holy Ghost for the remission of sins and justified freely by faith' and in the latter passage, speaks of 'a day of pentecost for believers; a time when the Holy Ghost descends abundantly.' Do not these passages give added support to the conclusion we have been making that Fletcher took a 'holistic' view of the Holy Spirit's overall work in the hearts of believers"

Benson's description of Fletcher should make it clear that early Methodism was more interested in the fruit of the Spirit than with the gifts of the Spirit. Although John Fletcher used pentecostal language, his emphasis was neither that of the later American holiness movement nor the modern Pentecostal/Charismatic movement.

and feeling," even the love of God, of his people, and all mankind, "shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost given unto him." He expected to "be filled with joy and peace through believing, and to abound in hope by the power of the same Holy Ghost." He expected to be stamped with that divine image of God, which he had lost by the fall, to be a partaken of a divine nature; to be sanctified wholly, to "grow up into Christ his living head in all things," and to arrive at the measure of the stature of his fulness, being "filled with all the communicable "fulness of God," and "conformed to the image of his Son." And what he expected himself, he taught others to expect and urged them continually to press to this "mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."