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A Critical Examination of the Ecclesiology of John Nelson Darby

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A Critical Examination of the Ecclesiology of John Nelson Darby A Critical Examination of the Ecclesiology of John Nelson Darby By Matthew Austin Clarke A thesis submitted to the University of Gloucestershire in accordance with the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities. May 2009 A Critical Examination of the Ecclesiology of John Nelson Darby A PhD thesis submitted in May 2009 Abstract This thesis examines the ecclesiology, or doctrine of the church, of John Nelson Darby (1800-1882), who was one of the leading and most prominent members of the Plymouth Brethren in the nineteenth century. The thesis systematically outlines the structure of Darby's thought on the subject of ecclesiology. It explains how Darby defined the church and understood its nature. His ecclesiology is shown to be foundational to the system of Dispensationalist theology in that the church is seen in occupying a period of time unforeseen in biblical prophecy. Darby's ecclesiology is also shown to be an ecclesiology of crisis in that he believed that the church had fallen into such a state of ruin that no bodies existed that could truly be described as churches. The thesis considers Darby's solution to the ruin or failure of the church found in 'meeting in the name of the Lord.' It examines how Darby's view of how the church should meet successfully synthesized the conflicting concepts of unity and separation. It suggests that other writers have not always recognized how Darby distinguished between separation from individuals and separation from institutions. Nevertheless while arguing that Darby's ecclesiology achieved a stable synthesis between unity and separation, it presents a number of practical problems with Darby's ecclesiology. Attention is given to Darby's teaching on discipline, ministry, church government and sacraments. The thesis considers his ecclesiology within a number of contexts. First, its place within the development of ecclesiology in theological history and in relation specifically to modem ecclesiologies. Second, in his life and involvement with the Brethren movement. Third, his role in the development of American fundamentalism, a major proportion of which has adopted significant aspects of his theology, particularly Dispensationalism, a form of millennial theology that makes a strong distinction between the church and the nation of Israel within salvation history. This thesis argues that while some American fundamentalists adopted Darby's dispensational views, they found very different practical applications for them in their ecclesiastical activity. A number of reasons are considered as to why they did not adopt Darby's ecclesiology in its entirety. Fourthly, the thesis considers the place of Darby's ecclesiology in relation to other ecclesiastical movements in nineteenth century Britain. It argues that Darby's ecclesiology shared similar themes to three ecclesiastical movements, Evangelicalism, the Oxford movement and Edward Irving's restorationist movement. This thesis is entirely the student's own work. It has not been submitted for any degree other than that of Doctor of Philosophy. The thesis has not been presented to any other educational institution in the UK or Overseas. Any views expressed are those of the author and in no way represent those of the University. Signed Table of Contents 1. Introduction to Ecclesiology 1 1.1 Towards an understanding of ecclesiology 1 1.2 Ecclesiology in history 3 1.3 Ecclesiology in the modern era 6 1.4 Karl Barth (1886-1968)- The Church as the Bearer of the Word of God 6 1.5 Jurgen Moltmann (b.1926)- The Church as the Citizens of the Kingdom of God 9 1.6 Wolfhart Pannenberg (b. 1928)- The Church as a Sign ofthe Kingdom 13 1.7 Karl Rahner (1904-1984)- Christianity as Church 16 1.8 Hans Kung (b. 1928)- The Church as the People of God 24 1.9 Avery Dulles (b.l918)- Models of the Church 31 1.10 Modern ecclesiologies in relation to J.N. Darby 34 1.11 Evaluating Ecclesiologies 36 1.12 Historical contexts for studying Darby's ecclesiology 38 2. The Life of John Nelson Darby and its influence on his Ecclesiology 41 2.1 Biographies of John Nelson Darby 41 2.2 Darby's Early Life 46 2.3 Darby as a Clergyman 48 2.4 The Beginning of the Brethren 50 2.5 Conflict at Plymouth 61 2.6 The Controversy over Newton spreads to Bristol 67 2.7 After the division 70 3. Darby's views on the Nature and Ruin of the Church 76 3.1 Church and churches 76 3.2 Darby's Definition of the Church 79 3.3 Biblical Metaphors for the Church 82 3.4 Introduction of the Dispensational View of the Church 91 3.5 The Church and the Kingdom of God 103 3.6 Anglican Influence on Darby 105 3.7 The Problem of Unity 106 3.8 The Doctrine of Ruin 107 3.9 The Development of the Doctrine of Ruin in Darby's Thought 115 3.10 Conclusion 132 4. Praxis in Darby's Ecclesiology 135 4.1 Centrality of the themes of Unity and Separation 135 4.2 Meeting in the Name of the Lord 136 4.3 The Practice of Excommunication 153 4.4 Opposition to Independence 157 4.5 Ministry and Gifts 161 4.6 Church Government 173 4.7 The Ordinances of Baptism and the Eucharist 186 4.8 A High Church Ecclesiology? 189 4.9 Conclusion 191 5. Darby's Influence on American Fundamentalism 194 5.1 Introduction 194 5.2 Fundamentalism in America 195 5.3 Darby and American Fundamentalism 199 5.4 Darby in America 200 5.5 C.l. Scofield 205 5.6 L.S. Chafer 207 5.7 Similarities and Differences between Darby's Ecclesiology and American Dispensational Ecclesiology 210 5.8 Factors that may have affected the deviation from Darbyism 220 5.9 Conclusion 227 6. Darby's Ecclesiology in its Nineteenth Century Context 231 6.1 Introduction 231 6.2 The Pan-Evangelical Movement 233 6.3 Edward Irving and Restorationism 240 6.4 The Oxford Movement 244 6.5 Darby's Interaction with his Opponents 251 6.6 Conclusion 254 7. Conclusion 256 7.1 A Crisis Ecclesiology 256 7.2 Dispensationalism 256 7.3 The Problem of Methodology 258 7.4 The Visible/ Invisible distinction 259 7.5 Meeting in the Name of the Lord 260 7.6 Consistency of Darby's Ecclesiology 261 7.7 Lack of Missio10gy 262 7.8 Lack of Cultural Engagement 263 7.9 A Trinitarian Ecclesiology 265 7.10 The Creedal Marks 266 7.11 Influence on American fundamentalism 267 7.12 Ecclesiastical context in 19th century Britain 268 7.13 Contrast with Later Sectarian Development in Exclusivism 269 7.14 Resonance of Darby's Ecclesiology 269 7.15 Final Evaluation 273 7.16 Avenues for Further Research 276 Bibliography 278 ii Chapter 1: Introduction to Ecclesiology Jesus said "I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Since then, many leading theologians in the history of Christianity have articulated an understanding of the church, among them Cyprian of Carthage, John Calvin, Richard Hooker and Hans Kung. This thesis concerns John Nelson Darby, a figure who is not often considered in any list of leading theologians, but who is justifiably well known for two reasons. The first is his role in shaping the history of the Plymouth Brethren movement' worldwide and the second is his role in developing a system of Premillenniaf theology that became known as Dispensationalism, a theology that has enjoyed much support amongst American fundamentalists. Particularly with regard to the latter, Darby is better known for his views on eschatology; his theology of last things. However, his ecclesiology or doctrine of the church was of equal importance within his thought and had an impact on both the Brethren and Dispensational theology. Towards an understanding of ecclesiology The word ecclesiology comes from the Greek word ekklesia, which means assembly, a word frequently translated as 'church' in English Bibles. Ecclesiology is that part of theology that deals with the subject of the church or the Christian community. In whatever place Christianity is found, it is accompanied by some form of church. 1 The Plymouth Brethren are a movement of conservative Protestant Evangelicals who began in Dublin in the I820s. They are characterised by a lack of formality in their meetings and a refusal to accept denominational structures. The Brethren are divided into two main groups, the Open Brethren and the Exclusive or Closed Brethren (who are themselves divided into different parties). The Open Brethren sided with George Muller in the 1849 Bethesda controversy (see chapter two) while the Exclusive Brethren took the side of John Nelson Darby. 2 Holding that Christ's coming precedes the establishment of a thousand-year kingdom. 1 Ecc1esiology concerns itself with the nature, purpose, government and activity of the church. This does raise the question of what is meant by the church. The definition of the church is in itself a key question of ecclesiology. What will suffice for the purpose of this introduction is S.J. Grenz's fairly basic definition: Fundamentally, the church of Jesus Christ is neither a building nor an organisation.' Rather, it is a people who see themselves as standing in a relationship to the God who saves them and to each other as those who share in this salvation." This definition captures the notion of the church as a community of people who belong to Christ and share in a common salvation. While the student of ecclesiology will look into the theology of Old Testament and God's relations with the nation of Israel and may see a good deal of continuity between that and the church, he or she is chiefly concerned with the Christian church that is found in the New Testament and which had continued into church history.
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