This work offers a window into the shape of the thought of the Anglican priest and eighteenth-century revivalist John Wesley. Knight uncovers the peculiar theology of the Great Awakening pioneer, illuminating his passion for the gospel and vision for church renewal. Knight is an ordained United Methodist Church elder and the Donald and Pearl Wright Professor of Wesleyan Studies and E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at the Saint Paul School of Theology.

The book journeys through Wesley’s main contribution to Christian thought, his soteriology. Knight considers Wesley’s thought in light of the Moravian and Calvinist controversies, his unique emphasis on the restoration of the imago Dei, theology of grace, practical ethic of love, and later controversies (such as the nature of Christian perfection and view of the church). Concluding chapters explore Wesley’s theology of revival, eschatology, and the heart of his soteriology—the reality of renewing grace through divine love.

Wesley’s legacy endures as an architect of the Great Awakening and one of the foremost theologians of the eighteenth century. He adopted an Arminian soteriology in a revival championed by new light Calvinists like Jonathan Edwards. Wesley conceded the Augustinian principle of original sin and total depravity (or deprivation); however, his concept of prevenient grace underscored the reality of a moral conscience whereby one possessed the ability to cooperate with God’s saving grace. His cooperationist perspective allowed him to circumvent the deterministic implications of predestination. As Knight describes, Wesley’s salient soteriological contribution remains his “optimism of grace,” rooted in the transformative character of the Spirit’s work from conversion through the entire way of salvation. Wesley’s optimism allowed him to move from original sin to the often-controversial concept of “Christian perfection” (or “entire sanctification”). Knight underscores the nuances of Wesley’s view of Christian perfection, consisting in the synthesis of “instantaneous” and “gradual” sanctification. If early on in his career Wesley admitted one could achieve absolute perfection (“as an angel”) and “immunity from both error and temptation” in this life, his thinking subsequently matured, transcending the dualism that pitted direct experience against means of grace (108–9).

The intellectual legacy of Wesley is accented by the way he suspended inherited dichotomies. Alongside his synthesis of instantaneous and gradual sanctification, he reconciled the antinomian opposition between Christ’s imputed righteousness and practical holiness in addition to conflicting theologies of revival. In response to antinomian dualism, Wesley advocated the living out of saving grace; accordingly, one is “justified by faith alone, but genuine faith is given to those who have repentant hearts and lives” (113). While Wesley was concerned with the goal of personal salvation, it was only of initial consequence—he constantly looked beyond individual justification to sanctification and the “spreading of holiness throughout the earth” (127). Similarly, Wesley’s theology of revivalism hinged on a sovereign work of God that is both precipitous (“sudden”) and measured (“gentle”). Quoting from Wesley’s “The General Spread of the Gospel,” a revival might begin as “a shower, a torrent of grace” but more generally will “silently increase wherever it is set up” (in Knight, 128).

Among the principal contributions of the book is Knight’s pneumatological reflection on Wesley’s soteriology. Wesley’s goal of a new creation and restoration of the imago Dei in every believer was achieved by the perfecting (renewing) work of love through the Spirit. As Knight describes:

That our renewal in love is a work of divine power led Wesley to develop a more dynamic theology of the Holy Spirit than his Protestant predecessors. Grace for Wesley was much more than divine favor, which then and now is often construed in such a way as to leave persons fundamentally unchanged rather than as entry into a transformative relationship with God. Grace at its heart is the power of the Holy Spirit; thus, we can approach God with an expectant, although not a presumptive, faith (143).

While Wesley admitted that divine power is expressed in the miraculous, its foremost purpose was renewal—transformation and perfecting, through relationship, into the likeness of God. John Wesley: Optimist of Grace is a first-rate introduction into the theology of the revivalist and founder of Methodism. This work will appeal to scholars and laypersons alike interested in the heart of Wesley’s thought and Wesleyan theology.

Reviewed by Paul J. Palma

Publisher’s page: https://wipfandstock.com/9781625648389/john-wesley/

This is a very fine book about Charles Wesley. Yes, I did say “Charles Wesley”. As author Gary Best points out, there have been many books written about John Wesley, but his brother Charles has not been so fortunate. This biography seeks to address that imbalance and in the process reveal Charles Wesley to be much more than a hymn writer, though his hymns and other poetry are scattered throughout the book’s pages. Best argues that Charles has not been given the credit due to him for his important part in the founding of Methodism.

Charles, like his brother, was a traveling preacher for many years. Some contemporaries regarded him as a better preacher than John. It could be said that John’s preaching was logical, Charles’s was passionate, and their contemporary George Whitefield’s was dramatic and dynamic.

Charles Wesley was born prematurely and nearly did not survive. Probably partly because of that, in later life he suffered from a range of medical conditions, which limited his outdoor ministry from late middle age. His happy marriage to Sally Gwynne also contributed to his giving up the life of a traveling preacher, though this did not stop him ministering in London and Bristol in the south of England.

He was four years younger than John, and usually bowed to his older brother’s authority. Yet it was Charles, not John, who started the Holy Club at Oxford, though when John moved back to Oxford he took on its leadership. It was even Charles who first experienced his heart being warmed by God’s Holy Spirit in May 1838. That is, Charles was converted a few days before his older brother (assuming that the experiences of God that they had at that time were their conversions).

One mistake, I think, the Wesley brothers made was to insist on Methodism remaining in the Church of England. With the benefit of hindsight, it appears to have always been a vain hope. John insisted that the movement remain in the Established Church, though he occasionally wavered; Charles insisted on it and never for one moment doubted the correctness of his belief and actions. Yet when both were dead Methodism drifted from the Anglican Church.

At times the brothers clashed. One area of dispute was over the issue of Christian Perfection. Both Charles and John believed that a Christian could be perfect in this life (though there is disagreement about what they meant by that). John wrote a book about it, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, and Charles, inevitably, wrote hymns that taught it. One of his hymns on perfection is “God of all power and truth and Grace”. It has such lines as “perfect holiness in me”, “Purge me from every evil blot”, “cleanse me from every sinful thought”, “Give me a new, a perfect heart”, and, in case those prayers might be thought to refer to our existence in heaven, he says “O that I now, from sin released…”

But while the brothers agreed on the teaching they did argue on its outworking. John was more ready than Charles to regard some fellow Christians as having reached perfection. Charles warned his brother that many of those who were claiming to be perfect were boasting about the fact. In other words, not unreasonably, Charles thought that the boasters were far from perfect. John disagreed and this did cause tension between them.

There is, I believe, one major problem with this book. Best gives what I think is an unfair picture of John Wesley. He makes a lot of criticism of him and offers too little praise. It is true that John wanted to be boss, made sure that he was boss, and made it clear to everyone, including Charles, that he was boss, but there was a better side to him. He was often compassionate and caring, and he had a wonderful rapport with the poor that few, if any, well-educated men of his time could match.

Having offered that criticism let me make it clear that this is a fine book and well worth reading. It is also an important book because of the lack of other material on the life of Charles. Gary Best captures Charles Wesley as a man of courageous action as well as a thoughtful churchman, theologian and poet. He also gives some wonderful insights into early Methodism. Make sure you read it.

Reviewed by David Malcolm Bennett.

Part 1 of a conversation between Lawrence Wood and Frank Macchia on the link between Wesleyan and Pentecostal traditions. Originally posted by the Asbury Theological Seminary.

Frank D. Macchia, ThD (University of Basel, Switzerland) is professor of theology at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California. He has served as president of the Society of Pentecostal Studies and is a member of the Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches. Frank is senior editor of Pneuma: The Journal for the Society of Pentecostal Studies.

Daniel R. Jennings, The Supernatural Occurrences of John Wesley (Oklahoma City: SEAN Multimedia, 2005), 155 pages.

This is a book I wanted to write but never did. In seminary in the 80s, I realized with increasing clarity and conviction contemporary Pentecostalism’s unspeakable debt to the incredible career of the Rev. Mr. John Wesley. I determined then to someday identify and extract from his amazingly exhaustive Journals occurrences of Pentecostal-like phenomena in his meetings and ministry. Alas, but other things crowded out this well-conceived intention and I failed to follow through. Rev. Daniel R. Jennings, a graduate of John Wesley College and theological student at Liberty University, a church planter and campus pastor as well as an international speaker, has succeeded in succinctly summarizing “supernatural occurrences” that Wesley reports over the course of his protracted and prolific ministry at the center of one of the greatest revival movements in Christian history. How enriching and uplifting to discover that the Oxford don intellectual and able organizer of Methodism was also intimately acquainted with the inner workings of the spiritual realm and the trans-natural world. Supernatural Occurrences will be a boon to all students of revival, Wesley, and Wesleyanism as well as those who simply desire a practical and proven pattern for powerful ministry.

Jennings’s approach is simple and straightforward. After the briefest introduction to the life and career of Wesley, he immediately proceeds to list extraordinary phenomena from Wesley’s Journals. A chapter each is dedicated to spiritual warfare, miraculous healing, slaying in the Spirit, holy laughter, speaking in tongues, and other “unusual manifestations” of the Spirit, as well as prophecy, visions and dreams, divine retribution against enemies, experiences with angels, and supernatural answers to prayer. Generally, Jennings lets Wesley speak for himself, himself only extracting and organizing for readers the relevant material. Wesley, himself an adept editor and extractor of others’ writings, would probably be pleased. Occasionally, Jennings adds concise and non-cumbersome footnotes for explanatory purposes where modern readers benefit from attention to historical context. Sometimes Jennings includes his own non-intrusive interpretative analysis. The clear consequence of reading Supernatural Occurrences is an unmistakable impression that Wesley’s revivalist ministry was commonly characterized by what are today almost universally recognized as charismatic type encounters, events, and experiences.

The cover from the 2012 reissue of The Supernatural Occurrences of John Wesley.

Jennings continues with chapters surveying Wesley’s interpretation of baptism with the Holy Spirit and his opinion on miracles. Setting Wesley’s views on Spirit baptism in an Anglican hermeneutical context, Jennings argues that he thought of it in terms of conversion-initiation with an emphasis on sanctification. Recent dialogue in Pneuma: the Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies,between acknowledged Wesley experts Donald Dayton and Larry Wood, each taking opposite sides in this discussion, should warn readers against oversimplifying or underestimating Wesley’s belief and experience on Spirit baptism. Personally, I probably favor the view that Wesley’s dynamic and developmental pneumatology encompassed conversion-initiation with a focus on sanctification along with space for subsequence and empowerment themes. Of course, Jennings is correct that Wesley supported the possibility of speaking in tongues but never taught the doctrine of initial evidence.

Discover the heritage of John Wesley that runs deep in Holiness and Pentecostal movements.

Pentecostalism is what some might call the forgotten legacy of John Wesley. In nearly 100 years the movement has become the fastest growing body of Christians on the face of the planet. Pentecostalism is growing at a rate of 13 million a year, 35,000 a day, and has nearly a half billion followers. It is the second largest Christian group after Roman Catholicism. There are Pentecostals in almost every denomination and every part of the world. The largest Protestant church in the world is a Pentecostal church in Korea, the Yoido Full Gospel Church, which has over 240,000 in weekly attendance. All of this would not have been possible without their theological and ministerial connection to John Wesley. This article will attempt to briefly discuss the historical development of Pentecostalism by making a special application of John Wesley’s contribution.

There has been a lot of research that has shown the connection between the Wesleyan-holiness movement and Pentecostalism. ¹ Much of this research has attempted to show that John Wesley is the grandfather of Pentecostalism.² Wesley placed a strong emphasis on the person and work of the Holy Spirit. He believed that the Spirit played a unique role in entire sanctification. Wesley’s doctrine of Christian perfection was crucial to the theological roots of Pentecostalism. It was the idea of a second work of grace (sanctification) that opened the door for theological discussion about the possibilities of a third work of grace: the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Wesleyan Sanctification