Full Gospel

The term Full Gospel or Fourfold Gospel is an evangelical doctrine that summarizes the Gospel in four aspects, namely the salvation, sanctification, faith healing and Second Coming of Christ. It has been used in various Christian traditions, including Keswickian, Pentecostal, Anabaptist, and Baptist denominations.^[1][2]

History and usage

 

Alliance World Fellowship logo representing the four aspects of the Gospel.

This term has its origin in 1887 in a series of sermons called "Fourfold Gospel" by the Canadian pastor Albert Benjamin Simpson, founder of the Alliance World Fellowship, a denomination that teaches a form of Keswickian theology.^[3][4] According to him, this concept represents the 4 aspects of the ministry of Jesus Christ; Christ the Savior, Sanctifier, Healer and King who will soon return.^[5]

 

Foursquare Church logo representing the four aspects of the Gospel.

In October 1922, the Canadian evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, founder of the Foursquare Church, used the expression "Foursquare Gospel" referring to the doctrine in a sermon in Oakland, California, and stated that it will be the center of her teaching.^[6][7] According to her, this concept represents the 4 aspects of the ministry of Jesus Christ; Savior, Baptizer with the Holy Ghost, Healer and King. Various other Pentecostal denominations have been influenced by this doctrine which will be called the "Full Gospel".^[8] A variety of Pentecostals have further developed the motif of the full gospel, predominantly the five-fold theme of salvation, sanctification, Spirit baptism, divine healing, and the coming kingdom.^[9]

The Missionary Church, an Anabaptist denomination with Radical Pietist and Wesleyan influences holds a commitment to "A. B. Simpson’s fourfold emphasis on Jesus Christ as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer and Coming King".^[2]

See also

•  Christianity portal

• Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship
• Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International
• Christian and Missionary Alliance
• Foursquare Church
• Spiritual healing

References

1. Nel, Marius (27 December 2018). An African Pentecostal Hermeneutics: A Distinctive Contribution to Hermeneutics. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-5326-6086-3.
2. "Planting Churches and Making Disicples". The Missionary Church. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
3. George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 908 : "Fourfold Gospel and Full Gospel: The term "fourfold gospel" known for its four theological tenets-salvation or regeneration, sanctification, healing and the Second Coming (…)", p. 909 : "Other so-called "Full Gospel" denominations today adhere to the concepts of the fourfold gospel even though they express their views somewhat differently."
4. Daryn Henry, A.B. Simpson and the Making of Modern Evangelicalism, McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP, Canada, 2019, p. 168.
5. Bernie A. Van De Walle, The Heart of the Gospel: A. B. Simpson, the Fourfold Gospel, and Late Nineteenth-Century Evangelical Theology, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2009, p. 129
6. Matthew Avery Sutton, Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America, Harvard University Press, USA, 2007, p. 44
7. Allan H. Anderson, To the Ends of the Earth: Pentecostalism and the Transformation of World Christianity, OUP USA, USA, 2013, p. 97
8. George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 909 : "Other so-called "Full Gospel" denominations today adhere to the concepts of the fourfold gospel even though they express their views somewhat differently."
9. Thomas, John Christopher, ed. (2010). Toward a Pentecostal Ecclesiology: The Church and the Fivefold Gospel. Cleveland, TN: CPT Press. ISBN 9781935931003.