Saturday, April 27, 2013 Grace School of the Bible STS Meeting Origins of the Grace Movement in America: J.C. O Hair

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1 1 Saturday, April 27, 2013 Grace Schl f the Bible STS Meeting Origins f the Grace Mvement in America: J.C. O Hair Intrductin Let me begin by saying that what we are ging t d ver the next hur r s is nly scratch the surface f O Hair s thught develpment between 1920 and When all is said and dne we will have spent ver 10 hurs meticulusly dcumenting O Hair thught develpment as part f the Grace Histry Prject. Anyne interested in the cmplete analysis is encuraged t check ut ur nline classrm at Mr. O Hair presents a cuple f unique challenges fr the aspiring histrian. First, aside frm a tape recrded persnal testimny (1955) and ccasinal persnal accunts spread thrughut his writings, much f what we knw abut Mr. O Hair has been handed dwn either audibly r in written frm by thers. Secnd, Mr. O Hair dated very few f the ver 200 wrks that cmprise his vluminus writing ministry. This makes it very difficult t lay Mr. O Hair s writings n the table and read them in their chrnlgical rder and evaluate hw his thinking changed ver time. The fllwing is a shrt summary f the unique challenges t histrically analyzing O Hair s thught develpment. Few f the wrks are dated. N clear chrnlgy. Reliance n ral histry. Pssible tampering with sme f O Hair s writings that have been reprinted. This f curse means that step ne was t try and piece tgether a timeline f the rder in which O Hair s bklets were written. The Grace Histry Prject believes that the nly sure way t establish this chrnlgy was t rely n the written dcuments. Oral histries while interesting pse majr challenges: they are nt precise, and cannt be dcumented. As a student at Grace Bible Cllege in the late 1990s and early 2000s, I spent a cnsiderable amunt f time in the archives rm in the Bultema Library. As a result, I had firsthand knwledge f the bxes upn bxes f O Hair s writings and their cmpletely unrganized state. My gal with this lessn is t tell tw stries at the same time. First and mst imprtantly will be the stry f O Hair s thught develpment frm 1920 t Secnd will be the stry f my research and the methds I used t arrive at these cnclusins. Early Research and Cnclusins I began my research by searching the Online O Hair Library lcated n the Berean Bible Sciety s webpage fr any wrks that were clearly dated. While this did yield sme results the early n picture hazzy. Bryan C. Rss

2 2 One f the first bks t grab my attentin was The Accuser f the Brethren, which was written in 1945 based upn the internal evidence. One f the functins f The Accuser f the Brethren was t answer the charges f Bullingerite and heretic leveled at Pastr O Hair by W.A. Haggai (Pastr f Brkville Baptist Church, Brkville, Mass.) and David Otis Fuller (Pastr f Wealthy St. Baptist Temple, Grand Rapids, MI) in their bklet O Harisim! Under the Searchlight f the Wrd. In answering what he feels t be unfair characterizatins, O Hair sets frth sme f the early histry regarding his ministry and the resurgence f Pauline truth. Accrding t O Hair, he had already rejected water baptism fr the dispensatin f grace when he accepted the pastrate f the Nrth Shre Cngregatinal Church in July In July 1923, mre than twenty-tw years ag, I was called t be the pastr f Nrth Shre Church, 1011 Wilsn Ave., Chicag. When I was cnsidered at the cngregatinal meeting, Dr. Jhn C. Page, frmerly f Mdy Bible Institute, then a member f the Nrth Shre Church, tld the members in very plain language that Mr. O Hair did nt believe in, r practice, water baptism. I received the unanimus vte f the cngregatin, including the vte f Dr. Page. N ne has been baptized by me during these years. I have nt changed my mind during these twenty-tw years. On the cntrary, I am mre thrughly cnvinced than ever befre, that what I have believed fr mre than twenty tw years is in harmny with the Wrd f Gd rightly divided. (Accuser, 1-2) Later in The Accuser f the Brethren, O Hair infrms his readers abut hw he became cnvinced that water baptism is nt fr the church during the dispensatin f grace. This cnclusin was arrived at during 1920 accrding t the clues left by O Hair. Mre than tw years befre (1920) I became pastr f Nrth Shre Church (1923) I was teaching the Bible fr several weeks in the ld Empire Theater in Indianaplis. The wrk there had been almst wrecked by the Pentecstalists and their fanatical teaching. The pastr asked me if I wuld give a series f messages n the Bk f Acts, the dispensatinal place f tngues, miracles, sign healing, visins, angelic visitatins, laying n f hands, baptism f the Hly Spirit, the sign-gifts f I Crinthians 12:8 t The pastr f the assembly where I was teaching annunced that I wuld speak n the subject, Why Tngues and Signs and Visins Ceased After Paul Reached Rme. The Hly Spirit used that message t deliver many f the Pentecstalists, including tw f their preachers. One f them the fllwing night said, Brther, I am cmpletely delivered frm that fanaticism; but I was just thinking that the same dispensatinal explanatin yu gave fr the eliminatin f these sign miracles wuld d away with water baptism fr the dispensatin and age f grace. At first, I said I d nt agree with yu. But, after I searched and studied the Scriptures diligently and saw that in every chapter in the Bible where water baptism is mentined there is a Jewish feast, hly day, a miracle, r sign-gift, r healing, r tngues, I came t the cnclusin that water baptism stands r falls with tngues, signs, and visins. Any intelligent exegesis that rules ut ne must rule ut the ther. A few nights later, I stated my cnclusin t the cngregatin where I was teaching. A gentleman came frward and Bryan C. Rss

3 3 said, Brther, yu believe very much the same that is taught in this pamphlet published by the Mdy Bible Institute. He handed me a pamphlet, entitled Tngues, Signs; Nt Gd s Order Fr Tday. (Accuser, 2) Accrding t Mr. O Hair s testimny in The Accuser f the Brethren, after the clse f his ministry in Indianaplis, where he first came t understand the issue f ne baptism, he mved n t Grand Rapids, MI where he taught the same thing. Shrtly after I was in Indianaplis I went t Grand Rapids, Mich., and taught there what I taught first in Indianaplis. I made many return trips t Grand Rapids and always taught n water baptism in the dispensatin f grace. But never nce did I there r anywhere teach anything like the dispensatinalism f Dr. E.W. Bullinger. Dr. Fuller and Mr. Haggai knew this when they wrte O Hairism and they knw that after I began t teach in Grand Rapids, I never stepped aside frm what I was teaching when they first heard f me. They knw that I am teaching tday dispensatinally what I have taught fr many years. (Accuser, 3) At this pint in the research (Nvember/December, 2012) my chrnlgy had J.C. O Hair teaching mid-acts Pauline dispensatinalism frm his Indy Insight in 1920 till he wrte The Accuser f the Brethren in Abut this same time (Nvember/December, 2012) my father ntified me during a phne cnversatin that a frmer prfessr f mine (Dr. Dale Dewitt) frm GBC was ging t be giving a talk n J.C. O Hair at the March, 2013 GGF Leadership cnference in Grand Rapids, MI. In late December, just prir t Christmas and nly days befre my first lessn n O Hair, I acquired Dr. Dewitt s address frm the GGF ffice and send him a message. I explained what I was ding with the Grace Histry Prject and sent him my research n O Hair up t that pint. Dr. Dewitt and I quickly realized that we had cme t many f the same cnclusins abut O Hair independent f ne anther and this tuched ff an extensive, prductive, and nging cnversatin regarding J.C. O Hair thelgical develpment. New Infrmatin Leads t New Insights Early in ur crrespndence, Dr. Dewitt shared with me the cntents f an article he was drafting fr Truth Magazine, the peridical f the GGF titled: The Origins f the Grace Mvement: The Early Thelgy f Jhn Cwen O Hair. Three pints frm this article revlutinize the curse f my research and are abslutely necessary fr the infrmatin I am presenting this afternn. By adpting these pints int my research grid and applying them, I was able t make a significant enugh cntributin t Dewitt s article that he included me as a research cnsultant when it was printed in the Spring editin f Truth Magazine. Until this pint, I had nly been using the electrnic versins f O Hair wrk frm the Online O Hair Library. In cntrast, Dewitt had been wrking with the actual pamphlets themselves and was able t establish a general chrnlgy as well as date sme f the bklets. Dewitt s Bryan C. Rss

4 4 methdlgy fcused n identifying clearly dated bklets and then lking at what ther wrks were already available fr sale in the back. This allwed fr a general chrnlgy and publicatin rder t emerge. See PwerPint Salvatin The Elect r Whsever Which? (1925) Using this methd f dating, Dewitt was able t determine that after his Indy Insight f 1920, O Hair did nt g immediately g n a crusade against water baptism. It was nt until the end f the 1920s that O Hair began t write extensively n the subject f water baptism. See PwerPint Jesus Christ the Minister f the Circumcisin and The Twelve Apstles and Paul (1927) Hly Spirit Baptism True and False Divine Snship and Water Baptism See PwerPint Have Ye Received the Hly Spirit Since Ye Believed? (1929) Seven Questins Abut Water Baptism See PwerPint Unscriptural Cathedrals (dates frm after January, 1929) Have Ye Received the Hly Spirit Since Ye Believed? (1929) The Great Blunder f the Church Seven Questins Cncerning Water Baptism Buried With Him by Baptism All f this prves that water baptism did nt becme a prminent theme in O Hair s writings until the end f the 1920s. Thirdly, Dewitt s essay pinted ut that the 1920s were time f thelgical transitin fr O Hair. He did this by quting clear Acts 2 statements fund in Unscriptural Cathedrals. I have always believed and taught that the Church began at Pentecst, and while I knw with that view there arise many questins and prblems; the same is true, if we pstpne the beginning f the Bdy f Christ t the time that Paul reached Rme. (Unscriptural Cathedrals, 26) While Dewitt had nt clearly dated Unscriptural Cathedrals as f December, 2012 his research was enugh t prve that my initial thughts abut O Hair s thinking being unchanged frm his Indy Insight in 1920 till he wrte Accuser f the Brethren in 1945 were wrng. Unscriptural Cathedrals was written after 1920 but befre 1945 which means that fr a time after embracing a n-water psitin n baptism, O Hair still held that the church began in Acts 2. Bryan C. Rss

5 5 Using Dewitt s methdlgy, I was able t date Unscriptural Cathedrals and thereby place O Hair s Acts 2 statements int the chrnlgy. This in turn allwed Dewitt t amend the dating f UC in his article fr accuracy. We have already seen that UC was written smetime after the dated letter f January 1,1929 fund in Have Ye Received the Spirit Since Ye Believed because it is nt listed in the back as being available fr purchase. See PwerPint An Epistle t Mr. Albertus Pieters (December 1, 1931) Speaks f UC as already being in print: That was a thught-prvking questin, even prvking, me t write my bklet entitled, Unscriptural Cathedrals r Are We Children f the Cvenant? (19) This means that UC was written after January 1, 1929 but befre December 1, I believe it was written in late 1930 r early O Hair was still hlding a traditinal Acts 2 view as late as 1931 mre than ten years after his Indy Insight. Befre leaving the 1920s it is imprtant t nte that during this decade O Hair als came t understand sme things abut the difference between Peter s gspel f the circumcisin and Paul s gspel f the uncircumcisin. The distinctin is nted but nt fully develped in The Twelve Apstles and Paul (1927). It is nt until the first editin f The Blunder f the Church (1929/1930) written befre UC 1930/1931 that the distinctin received mre extensive treatment and develpment. In summatin f this pint, the 1920s were a time f maturatin and develpment in O Hair s dispensatinal thinking. The fllwing is a summary f his views frm Water baptism, tngues, signs have n place in this dispensatin. The church/dispensatin f grace began at Pentecst. The Great Cmmissin is nt fr this dispensatin. Difference between the gspel f the circumcisin cmmitted t Peter and the gspel the uncircumcisin cmmitted t Paul Thrugh 1935 As we have seen abve O Hair entered the 1930s hlding the traditinal view that the church began at Pentecst. The years between 1930 and 1935 wuld prve t be very tumultuus times fr O Hair as the baptism cntrversy f the 1930s brke ut in full frce. It was als during this time perid that O Hair began t questin his traditinal Acts 2 psitin. On March 6, 1933 J.C. O Hair addressed the President and Secretary f Illinis Christian Fundamentals Ministries Assciatin cncerning the baptism questin in letter titled Much Water Little Water N Water. See PwerPint Much Water Little Water N Water Bryan C. Rss

6 6 In this dated letter frm 1933, O Hair is still very unclear abut when the church the bdy f Christ began. He questins the traditinal belief that the church began in Acts 2 but des nt ffer and definite alternatives. Were nt all the apstles baptized befre Christ said, upn this rck I will build my church? Were they nt saved several years befre they became members f the Bdy f Christ, if they became members f that Bdy n the day f Pentecst? Accrding t I Crinthians 12:13, they became members f sme bdy. (Much, Little, N Water, 9) I am quite sure that mst f us, wh claim t be Dispensatinal Fundamentalists, realize that there was a transitin perid beginning with the Day f Pentecst, whether we believe that Gds dealing with the Natin Israel were suddenly cut ff with the message f Stephen, recrded in the seventh chapter f Acts, r that the withdrawal f Gd s Kingdm ffer t that peple was gradual and nt terminated until the clse f the Bk f Acts. But we ask the questin, what right has any ne t say that we are living in the dispensatin that began at the Day f Pentecst, and then qualify that statement by saying we shuld nt bserve the rder f the secnd chapter f Acts r the eighty chapter f Acts, but g n t the tenth chapter f acts, and frbid sme ther Christian t carry that prgress, by the same principle, n the clse f the Bk? (Much, Little, N Water, 17) Als in 1933, O Hair wrte Bullingerism, Pentecstalism, and the Plymuth Brethren (BPPB) in respnse t James M. Gray s series f articles in Mdy Mnthly titled Dispensatinalism Running Wild. (O Hair, Vagary, 38) BPPB is critically imprtant in terms f understanding the charges f Bullignerism that were leveled at O Hair during the 1930s and thereafter. Fremst in O Hair s mind during this perid was develping a cnsistent dispensatinal psitin that wuld answer the Pentecstal fanaticism affecting the bdy f Christ. In BPPB, O Hair summarizes the beliefs f what he calls Plymuth Brethren Dispensatinalists wh fllw the general teaching set frth by C.I. Scfield in his Reference Bible and Bullingersim r thse wh fllw the dispensatinal teachings f EWB. Generally O Hair views himself as having mre in cmmn with the dispensatinalism f JND (Acts 2): Except in ne r tw pints I wuld agree with Mr. Darby s Dispensatinalism rather than with that f Dr. Bullinger. (BPPB) While O Hair did reject much f Bulligner s teaching he did agree with EWB n the fllwing pint, I cannt accept much f the teaching f Dr. Bullinger, but I d accept this mst imprtant truth which bth Dr. Bullinger and Dr. Scfield accepted as Gd s truth, which every student f the Wrd f Gd must accept r cease t cndemn and criticize Pentecstalism namely, that a Dispensatinal change tk place with the clse f the Bk f Acts. O Hair viewed this aspect f EWB s dispensatinalism as the nly crrective fr the plague f Pentecstalism cnsider the fllwing statement fund in BPPB: Bryan C. Rss

7 7 If we have the curative fr this menace, shall we withhld it because f the fear f cntrversy? Where wuld we be tday, if men like Luther and Calvin and Darby had kept silent fr fear f cntrversy? Fanaticism is just as much a menace t Gd s truth fr this age as is Ritualism... S-called ultra-dispensatinalism is the nly such explanatin. Therefre ur chice is between the s-called Ultra-dispensatinalism and Fanaticism. If as a Dispensatinal student f Gd s Wrd, yu must take yur chice between n water baptism r Pentecstalism, what is yur chice?.. Israel was nt set aside until Paul prnunced that final judgment recrded in Acts 28:25 t even if we agree that the Church r Bdy f Christ began n the Day f Pentecst we must admit that there was the verlapping f the Kingdm dispensatin cntinuing beynd the death f the King until Israel was finally set aside. Right n t the clse f the Bk f Acts there is the mixture f Kingdm truths with the Grace f Gd... We must bear in mind that Paul had a peculiar tw-fld ministry, different in several respects frm the ministry f the Twelve. This tw-fld ministry was fulfilled by him until Israel was finally set aside with the clse f Acts. After that time Paul gave frth a message which was different frm any message Gd had ever revealed t and thrugh any f his servants. With this new revelatin Paul never again became a Jew t the Jews, fr his new message had chiefly t d with a mystery amng the Gentiles, and the prclamatin f the unsearchable riches amng the Gentiles, the flish natin by whm Gd was t anger Israel. (BPPB) These statements cmbined with O Hair s rejectin f water baptism it is easy t see why O Hair was being called a Bullingerite. Much f what he says at this pint in his ministry shares cmmnalties with the teachings f EWB. The Grace Histry Prject believes that the publicatin f BPPB in 1933 is what prmted H.A. Irnside t write Wrngly Dividing the Wrd f Truth in The first editin f Wrngly Dividing the Wrd f Truth by H.A. Irnside dates frm early On May 20, 1935, J.C. O Hair addressed a letter t H.A. Irnside that he titled, Wrngly Deriding Christian Brethren. The pening line reads, I have just finished reading yu new bk, Wrngly Dividing the Wrd f Truth, the reprint f yur Serving and Waiting articles, cncerning ultra-dispensatinalsim. (Wrngly Deriding, 4) When I first read Wrngly Dividing the Wrd f Truth I culd nt understand why O Hair respnded s harshly t what appears t have been a critique f Acts 28ism nt the mid-acts view. It has nly been in the past fur mnths (since late December, 2012) that I have cme t understand why. When O Hair began t questin the traditinal Acts 2 psitin he gravitated fr awhile twards Acts 28ism. During 1935, bth in Wrngly Deriding Christian Brethren and in the issues f Bible Study fr Bereans that began in August, O Hair makes many cmments that resemble the thinking f Acts 28ism. This wuld explain why O Hair tk such ffense t Irnside s publicatin. In shrt, when Wrngly Dividing the Wrd f Truth is read in its histrical cntext, rather than in islatin, a new understanding f the thught histry emerges. O Hair believed that Irnside was addressing his brand f dispensatinalism, in Is Water Baptism a Watery Grave Witness O Hair states: Bryan C. Rss

8 8 When the archbishp was writing a series f articles in Serving and Waiting, which he later printed in his pamphlet, Wrngly Dividing the Wrd f Truth, I heard that he remarked the bk was written against my dispensatinalism. (Watery Grace, 3-4) On May 20, 1935 O Hair addressed a letter t Dr. H.A. Irnside titled, Wrngly Deriding Christian Brethren in which he viced his many bjectins t the dispensatinal teaching fund in Wrngly Dividing the Wrd f Truth. As a general rule, the reasn why the tw men disagreed dispensatinally was because f their different views f when Israel was set aside. As I have said t yu befre, ur differences as t water baptism, the gifts f the Hly Spirit and the Dispensatin f the Grace f Gd and the Dispensatin f the Mystery, are because we d nt agree as t when the Natin Israel was set aside. (Wrngly Deriding, 11) In the fllwing qutatins O Hair makes statements in his respnse t Irnside that are very cnsistent with Acts 28 thelgy. Specifically he speaks f the dispensatin f the mystery nt having been revealed until the clse f the bk f Acts. I cannt definitely fix the time when the risen Lrd revealed the mystery f Ephesians and Clssians t the Apstle Paul but I d knw that there is n statement cncerning the Dispensatin f the Mystery during the Acts perid. There must have been sme reasn, in the mind f Gd, why He withheld the writing f Ephesians 3:8 and 9 until after He prnunced His judgment upn the Natin Israel in Acts 28:25 t 28. I believe that there is a very definite turning-pint with the clse f the Acts perid, whether r nt we call it the clse f the transitinal perid r the beginning f a new dispensatin. (Wrngly Deriding, 15-16) I believe that the Times f the Gentiles plitically r gvernmentally began with Nebuchadnezzar s siege f Jerusalem abut 606 B.C., and the Times f the Gentiles religiusly r spiritually began after Gd s judgment upn Israel prnunced in Acts 28:25 t 28. There is such a radical change in the prgram f the Church after the clse f the Acts perid that it might as well be cnsidered a different Church r a different dispensatin. The clse f Acts certainly clsed a transitinal perid, which was in the mind f the Lrd as well as in the mind f the apstles, r it marked the beginning f a new dispensatin. Frm my Bible study it is difficult fr me t make the New Testament (Cvenant) dispensatin and the Dispensatin f the Mystery ne and the same: T my mind I Crinthians 9:20 t 22, Acts 20:16, Acts 21:20, Acts 23:4, Acts 23:6, Acts 24:6, in the light f Philippians 3:6 t 12, prves that Israel was befre Gd as a natin until the qutatin f thse significant wrds frm Isaiah 6:9 and 10 after Paul reached Rme. That marks either the end f a transitin perid r the beginning f new dispensatin, with the revelatin f truths theretfre unknwn. (Wrngly Deriding, 17-18) These pr-acts 28 statements are nt an aberratin. O Hair cntinued t make such statements as well as prmte similar statements made by thers. Beginning in August f 1935, O Hair began publishing a mnthly Bible study magazine titled Bible Study fr Bereans. The magazine was issued frm August, 1935 thrugh July, Fr the histrian these magazines are a Gd send Bryan C. Rss

9 9 because they allw us t see mnth by mnth ver a tw year perid hw O Hair s thinking changed. Furthermre, they are dated s there is n questin as t where O Hair std thelgically within any given mnth. Lastly, an analysis f the cntents f these dcuments reveals a time f great changes in O Hair s thinking. In general we have bserved the fllwing perids f prgressin in O Hair s thinking thrughut the years cvered by Bible Study fr Bereans: Twards Acts 28 (August, 1935 December, 1935) this perid is characterized by pr- Acts 28 statements frm the pen f O Hair and his cmpanins as they seem t be wading thrugh their ptins after having largely rejected the traditinal Acts 2 psitin. Anit-Acts 2 and Anti-Acts 28 Perid (January, 1935 June, 1936) during this time perid O Hair and his cmpanins are clearly against the traditinal view f the church beginning at Pentecst. Likewise it becmes clear that O Hair and his cmpanins have read and rejected the teachings f Welch and Bullinger. Beginning with the January, 1936 issue an abrupt shift is bserved as O Hair takes a decided anti-acts 28 tne. Twards Mid-Acts (July, 1936-July, 1937) having rejected much f what Welch and Bullinger have t say, during this perid O Hair begins the prcess f transitining away frm Acts 28ism twards the Mid-Acts psitin. Twards Acts 28 (August, 1935 December, 1935) The fllwing is a sampling f the pr-acts 28 statements that appeared in the magazine between August, 1936 and December, Fr the Dispensatin f the Mystery special Divine chice was made f the instrument fr the revelatin and this peculiar ministry was cmmitted t the Apstle Paul. But it was nt made knwn until the crisis was reached, in Acts 28, by the setting aside f Israel... In this dispensatin hearings, tngues and ther signgifts have ceased. These passed away with the setting aside f the peple Israel (Acts 28:25 t 28) and cnnected with this distinct message, we are enjined t keep the sevenfld unity, Ephesians 4:4 t 6... It is a great blunder t have Israel set aside befre Acts 28:25 t 28 r t cnfuse the ne baptism f Ephesians 4:5 with Israel s water ceremny. Water culd never add a sinner t Christ. (Vincent Bennett, The Dispensatin f the Mystery Octber, 1935) NINTH IN EPHESIANS AND COLOSSIANS WE LEARN THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT SPEAKS OF THE MYSTERY IN CONNECTION WITH THE BODY OF CHRIST. THE WORD MYSTERY MEANS SECRET. IT IS APPARENT THEN, THAT UP TO THE TIME THAT PAUL WROTE EPHESIANS AND COLOSSIANS, GOD HAD KEPT THE TRUTH CONCERNING THE BODY OF CHRIST A SECRET. IT WAS GOD S SECRET. (J.C. O Hair, Sme Simple Thught Cncerning Bdy Truth Nvember, 1935) Bryan C. Rss

10 10 Paul s later Epistles have a distinct message fr this age. In them is fund truth fr us cncerning the Church which is His Bdy, as distinct frm kingdm truth fr Israel. May Gd reveal t us what is the hpe f ur calling, character and destiny! T this end we are ging t study the Epistle t the Ephesians which was written by the Apstle Paul during his imprisnment at Rme, after the final rejectin f Israel and the judicial sentence in Acts 28:27 and 28. (Vincent Bennett, Brief Studies in Ephesians December, 1935) The Octber issue all cntains extensive reprints frm D We Wrngly Divide the Wrd f Truth: An Open Letter t Harry A. Irnside by Otis Q. Sellers. O Hair qutes the fllwing sectins frm the Sellers letter in the Octber, 1935 issue f Bible Study fr Bereans: Did Israel Fall at the Crss, Cncerning the Actual Wrds f Christ, Cncerning Mark 16 and the Present Dispensatin, and Cncerning Miracles in Acts. Presently we have n ur desk a cmplete cpy f Brther Sellers letter t Irnside. An examinatin the Sellers letter reveals that it is very Acts 28ish in its thinking. Brther Sellers maintains the fllwing psitins: the dispensatinal bundary shuld be drawn in Acts 28, defends Bullinger s pstscript thery with respect t Rmans 16:25-27, and argues that the revelatin f the mystery cncerning the bdy f Christ was nt made knwn during the Acts perid. (Sellars, 16-26) 1936 Thrugh 1940 As nted abve, the January, 1936 editin f Bible Study Bereans cntains a mnumental shift away frm the Acts 28ism that O Hari prmted the previus year. I have tried t see a new Bdy beginning after that imprtant climax in Acts 28:25 t 28; but I have seen t much spiritual disaster result frm unsund exegesis and fanciful speculatin f well meaning brethren, wh have nt nly distinguished between things that differ, but between imaginary differences. Many f them begin by eliminating all that pertains t the New Cvenant and they prceed t eliminate sme things that they imagine are exclusively assciated with the New Cvenant, drpping the Lrd s Supper, the rapture f I Thessalnians 4:13 t 18, the judgment seat f II Crinthians 5:10 and Rmans 14:10, the believer s need f a high Priest, Intercessr, r Advcate. These eliminatins are nly stepping stnes tward ther eliminatins... Beginning the Bdy f Christ, f which we are members, this side f Acts 28:25 t 28, it leaves it ptinal with the individual member, accrding t his judgment r inclinatin, as t what rders he accepts frm Rmans, Galatians and Crinthians. The selectins and rejectins may be accrding t the peculiar fancies f the different individual Christians. By such an unwise, unsund and unscriptural prcedure many uncnsciusly and unintentinally use the pen-knife f s-called dispensatinalism jining with Jehudi. I am satisfied that the Enemy is respnsible fr these extremists t hinder the prgress that has been made in recent years t uncver the glrius message f salvatin by grace s lng cvered up in denminatinal creeds and religius traditins, and recver the blessed truth f the One Bdy. (O Hair, Is the One Bdy f Rmans the One Bdy f Ephesians January, 1936) Bryan C. Rss

11 11 T teach that all that the Hly Spirit wrte by the pen f the Apstle Paul in Rmans and II Crinthians was knwn t Mses and the prphets and is mentined in their writings, is certainly nt the mark f intelligent and careful Bible searching. And likewise, t agree that the mystery refers t that which was unprphesied but revealed by the risen Christ, and then teach that that mystery is nt fund in sme f Paul s Epistles, written during the Acts perid, is teaching whlly unwrthy f any Christian wh passes fr a cmpetent and spiritual Bible teacher. On the ther hand, t teach that there are nt glrius truths presented in Paul s prisn Epistles, nt fund in his ther Epistles, regardless f the time he received the revelatin f these truths is just as absurd. (O Hair, Is the One Bdy f Rmans the One Bdy f Ephesians January, 1936) That the Church f Christ, which existed befre Paul reached Rme, was called ne Bdy, n intelligent persn wuld think f denying; fr n language culd be mre simple than this statement fund in Rmans 12:4 and 5; Fr as we have many members in ne bdy, and all members have nt the same ffice: S we, being many, are ne Bdy in Christ, and every ne members ne f anther. But these brethren, wh fix the date f the beginning f the Bdy f Ephesians and Clssians after Paul s arrival at Rme, state that the Bdy f Rmans is a different Bdy, althugh it was the Church f Gd in Christ. N student shuld deny that in Ephesians and Clssians there is a psitin; that there are pssessins; that there are glries; that there is a ministry belnging t the Bdy f Christ, nt mentined in Paul s pre-prisn Epistles. But let us shw, by stating the blessings which are cmmn t the Bdy f the Acts perid and the Bdy f the later perid, that the tw Bdies are identical; at the same time agreeing with the later-date brethren that there is a new administratin and rder in the Pst- Acts Church. This is quite different frm teaching that there are tw separate, different, r distinct Bdies. (O Hair, Is the One Bdy f Rmans the One Bdy f Ephesians January, 1936) This article represents a drastic change in thinking when cmpared with the statements O Hair was making in O Hair cncluded this article by including a list f twenty reasns that prve that the bdy f Rmans 12:4-5 and Ephesians 4:5 are the same bdy. Frm January, 1936 till the publicatin ceased in July, 1937 O Hair and cmpanins argued against Plymuth Brethren Dispensatinalism and Acts 28ism. Beginning in abut July, 1936 they began a prcess f refinement in an attempt t answer the fllwing general questins: If the church did nt begin in Acts 2 (t early) and it did nt begin in Acts 28 (t late) then when did it begin? Bryan C. Rss

12 12 When circulatin f the magazine ceased in July, 1937 clear mid-acts statements had nt yet been written. Majr advancements had been made but the eventual cnclusin had nt yet been reached. See PwerPint: Bible Study fr Bereans (July, 1937) See PwerPint: Gd s Reign f Grace Fr the Human Race (Published after July, 1937) See PwerPint: The Dispensatinal Razzle-Dazzle (Published April, 1938) This f curse means that Gd s Reign f Grace was published during a rughly nine mnth windw between the final issue f Bible Study fr Bereans (July, 1937) and The Dispensatinal Razzle-Dazzle (April, 1938). The Grace Histry Prject believes that Gd s Reign f Grace cntains the first clear Mid-Acts statements available in print. Cnsequently, it was nt until smetime between July, 1937 and April, 1938 that O Hair finally came t a definitive psitin n when the bdy f Christ began. On page nineteen we find ur first clear mid-acts statement. It is here that O Hair argues that a dispensatinal change tk place between Acts 5:30 and Ephesians 1:19 t 22. Israel was set aside accrding t Rmans 11:15 pave the way fr Paul s ministry f recnciliatin utlined in I Crinthians 5:16 t 21, accrding t O Hair. Therefre, the bdy f Christ began befre Paul wrte I Crinthians. When we acknwledge that there is a great difference between Christ exalted t be a Prince and a Saviur t give repentance t Israel and Christ abve all principalities in the heavens, Head f the Church which is His Bdy, this questin must fllw: did a dispensatinal change take place between Acts 5:30 and Ephesians 1:19 t 22? The answer must be an emphatic Yes. It is absurd t say that Israel had been set aside when Peter prclaimed the message f Acts 5:30 and 31. It is als equally absurd t say that Israel had nt been set aside when Paul wrte Ephesians. Therefre, Israel was set aside sme time between the time these tw messages were given. The casting away f Israel brught the recnciling f the Gentiles. Rmans 11:15. This recnciliatin ministry is prclaimed in II Crinthians 5:16 t 21. Therefre Israel had been cast away befre that Epistle was written. Althugh the final dm was nt prnunced until Acts 28:25 t 28. (Gd s Reign f Grace, 19) Ultimately O Hair teaches that divine judgment fell upn Israel between the day f Pentecst and the year Rmans was written. In shrt, the bdy f Christ began during the Acts perid befre Paul wrte Rmans (Acts 20). Rmans tells the stry f the casting-away f Israel by Gd. It first tells the stry f the casting-away f the Gentiles by Gd. We qute part f these tw stries: Wherefre Gd als gave them up t uncleanness thrugh the lusts f their wn hearts, t dishnur their wn bdies between themselves. Fr this cause Gd gave them up Bryan C. Rss

13 13 unt vile affectins. And even as they did nt like t retain Gd in their knwledge, Gd gave them ver t a reprbate mind, t d thse things which are nt cnvenient. Rmans 1:24, 1:26 t 28. Gd gave them up Gd gave them ver. This is what happened t the natins. Gd cast them away. Nw let us nte what happened t Israel. Gd hath given them the spirit f slumber, eyes that they shuld nt see, and ears that they shuld nt hear; unt this day. Rmans 11:8. Let their eyes be darkened, that they may nt see, and bw dwn their back alway. Rmans 11:10. Fr if the casting away f them be the recnciling f the wrld, what shall the receiving f them be, but life frm the dead? Rmans 11:15. Fr if Gd spared nt the natural branches, take heed lest He als spare nt thee. Rmans 11:21. This awful Divine judgment fell upn Israel smetime between the day f Pentecst and the year Rmans was written. (Gd s Reign f Grace, 24-25) By 1939, thanks t the effrts f O Hair, Baker, and thers the mid-acts dispensatinal psitin had been identified and was in the prcess f being irned ut. It is imprtant t nte that O Hair did nt immediately begin the church in Acts 13 but befre Paul wrte Rmans r smetime befre Acts 20. In 1939 Mr. O Hair called an rganizatinal meeting at Nrth Shre Church fr the purpse f supprting these (F.E. Hlland and F.P. Pickett) and ther missinaries wh had r wuld take a stand fr the Grace Message. The name chsen fr the new missin bard was Wrldwide Grace Testimny, a missinary sciety fr the furtherance f the Pauline gspel. (Reich, 8) Shrtly after the frmatin f Wrldwide Grace Testimny (WGT) in 1939, Pastr O Hair drafted a bklet titled, Pentecstalism, Bullingerism and the Wrldwide Grace Testimny (prbably 1940). The purpse f this pamphlet was t address charges being leveled against missin by H.A. Irnside and thers that the WGT were Bullingerites. In defending the WGT against their attackers, O Hair clearly utlines the dispensatinal beliefs f the Missin and its supprters. An analysis f these statements clearly indicates that the WGT was a Mid-Acts institutin rganized arund a Mid-Acts dispensatinal apprach t Scripture. The Wrld Wide Grace Testimny teaches that the dispensatin f the grace f Gd did nt begin with Peter and Pentecst, but with the Apstle Paul after Israel had rejected Christ in resurrectin, as well as in incarnatin; but they teach that this was befre Paul wrte the Epistle t the Rmans, therefre befre the clse f the Acts perid... The Wrld Wide Grace Testimny... differ in their dispensatinalism frm ther Fundamentalists wh say that the dispensatin f the grace f Gd began with Peter and the Eleven n the day f Pentecst and with Dr. Bullinger wh taught that it did nt begin until after the clse f Acts. They agree with the Fundamentalist leader, referred t as the archbishp f fundamentalism, that it began after Israel rejected Christ in resurrectin. Every Premillenarian is a dispensatinalist and they all believe Rmans 11:30, Rmans 11:11 and Rmans 11:15, that the gspel f grace was sent t Gentiles by Bryan C. Rss

14 14 Paul when and because f Israel s unbelief and fall, when and because Israel was cast away. They differ as t the date f Israel s fall. The Wrld Wide Grace Testimny teaches that Acts 3:12 t 26, Acts 5:29 t 32, Luke 23:34, Acts 13:29 t 36, and Acts 13:45 and 46 prve that the fall f Israel did nt take place until after the ministry f Peter and the Eleven t Israel and the husehld f Crnelius, recrded in the first eleven chapters f Acts, that during the years cvered by thse eleven chapters the Twelve were using the keys f the kingdm f heaven. Certainly Acts 10:28 and Acts 11:1 t 4 and 19 prve that the Twelve had nt received the dispensatin mentined by Paul in Ephesians 3:1 t 4. (Bullingerism, Pentecstalism, and the Wrldwide Grace Testimny) Such was the beginning f the rganized Grace Mvement in the United States. J.C. O Hair was teaching n-water baptism fr the bdy f Christ fr almst 20 years befre he was able t articulate a clear mid-acts dispensatinal psitin. O Hair entered the 1930s hlding a traditinal Acts 2 view. As he became cnvinced that Acts 2 was nt the beginning f the bdy f Christ he migrated tward Acts 28ism fr a time. Eventually after much study, O Hair became cnvinced that Acts 28ism was als wrng and began a lengthy prcess f refinement. As O Hair mved backwards frm Acts 28 tward the middle sectin f Acts he first taught that the church began befre Paul wrte Rmans i.e., Acts 20. Later after further refinement, O Hair came t believe and teach that the bdy f Christ began in Acts 13, hwever, this insight lies beynd the cnfines f the 1930s. Wrks Cited Dewitt, Dale S. The Origins f the Grace Mvement: The Early Thelgy f Jhn Cwen O Hair. in Truth Magazine. Apr.-Jun. Spring Ed O Hair, J.C. The Elect r Whsever Which O Hair, J.C. Jesus Christ the Minister f the Circumcisin and The Twelve Apstles and Paul O Hair, J.C. Have Ye Received the Hly Spirit Since Ye Believed O Hair, J.C. Unscriptural Cathedrals O Hair, J.C. An Epistle t Mr. Albertus Pieters O Hair, J.C. Much Water, Little Water, N Water O Hair. Bullingerism, Pentecstalism, and the Plymuth Brethren Bryan C. Rss

15 15 O Hair, J.C. Wrngly Deriding Christian Brethren O Hair, J.C. Is Water Baptism a Watery Grave Witness O Hair, J.C. Bible Study fr Bereans. August, 1935 thrugh December, O Hair, J.C. Bible Study fr Bereans. January, O Hair, J.C. Bible Study fr Bereans. July, O,Hair, J.C. Gd s Reign f Grace fr the Human Race. Between July, 1937 and April, O Hair, J.C. The Dispensatinal Razzle-Dazzle O Hair, J.C. The Accuser f the Brethren Sellars, Otis Q. D We Wrngly Divide the Wrd f Truth: An Open Letter t Harry A. Irnside. Winnetka, IL: Bryan C. Rss