The Fourfold Gospel

I consider The Fourfold Gospel one of A. B. Simpson’s best books. It is short, direct, and full of conviction. I think every Christian should read it. I would also like to put its ideas into the hands of people exploring Christianity, although its older language would benefit from a modern English treatment.

“Fourfold” refers to four aspects of Jesus’ work: Saviour, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming Lord. In everyday language, Simpson is writing about how Jesus saves people, changes their character, heals, and will return. These emphases are central to the Christian and Missionary Alliance, the church tradition in which I grew up.

The book ends with two further chapters about living like Jesus and trusting God to keep us. Those chapters matter as much to my response as the four better-known themes.

Christ our Saviour: a message worth sharing

Simpson explains why people need salvation, what it means to receive it, and why Jesus is at its centre. Salvation is the Christian word for being rescued from sin and brought into a restored relationship with God. Simpson refuses to treat that as a small thing.

I love his matter-of-fact style. He approaches the subject from several angles until the point is hard to miss. He wants the reader to understand, but he also wants the reader to respond.

This section did not overturn my understanding of salvation. I had grown up hearing much the same message. What it gave me was a clear resource to share with someone asking what Christians mean by being saved. It also challenged me to be more willing to speak about my faith. A message I believe matters this much should not stop with me.

Christ our Sanctifier: change and the freedom to begin again

Sanctification means being made holy: learning to live in a way that reflects God’s character. Simpson explains both what it is and what it is not. I found those distinctions especially useful because religious appearances can be mistaken for genuine change.

I initially questioned his claim that we need God to reveal our need for sanctification before we will seek it. As I tried to put my objection into words, I came to understand his point and found that I agreed.

What stayed with me most was his gentleness about failure. He encourages the person who has stumbled to return to Christ and begin again, rather than decide that growth is impossible. Dependence on Jesus is learned even through our failures.

That is an encouragement I want to remember for myself and offer to others. Failure does not have to end the pursuit.

Christ our Healer: strength as well as recovery

Simpson is one of my favourite writers on divine healing, the belief that God can heal people through his power. What particularly caught my attention was his understanding of healing as more than recovery after sickness.

He also writes about God sustaining the body and renewing its strength. That broadened the way I wanted to pray. I could ask for help in illness, but also for the health and energy to do what God was asking of me.

I think this emphasis deserves more attention. My response was to seek Christ’s help for body, mind, and soul, and to trust him for sustaining strength as well as restoration. That is a statement of my faith and my response to Simpson, rather than a promise that believers will never become ill.

Christ our Coming Lord: hope that asks something of us

Simpson writes about Jesus’ return with the same confidence he brings to everything else. He explains his understanding of the millennium, the “thousand years” in Revelation 20, and how it relates to Christ’s coming.

I appreciate his willingness to state his position clearly. I was less comfortable defending it myself, because I had not studied the subject enough. At that point, understanding the exact sequence seemed less urgent to me than living faithfully in the light of Jesus’ return.

I also thought Simpson’s emphasis on carrying the Christian message overseas went too far at times. I admire his commitment to reaching people who have not heard it, but his call to put everything into foreign missions left me with questions about that concentration.

Even with those reservations, the chapter stirred two desires in me: to share the gospel, the good news about Jesus, with greater commitment, and to study the millennium well enough to have an informed understanding of the different views.

Walking with God without becoming bitter

The chapter on living like Jesus may be the most important in the book for Christians. Simpson draws attention to Jesus’ character and asks us to desire that character for ourselves. Admiring Jesus should shape what we aspire to become.

His discussion of being willing to stand apart from others was especially personal. Changes I had made to follow Christ had strained some friendships. I understood how painful it could be to become unpopular because of a conviction.

Simpson’s challenge has two sides: do not be afraid of disapproval, and do not let it make you bitter. I needed both. I wanted to become bolder in loving people without becoming hardened by their response.

This chapter also helped me form a mission statement, a sentence expressing the purpose I wanted my life to serve. It moved the discussion from admirable qualities to choices I needed to make.

“Kept”: what have I actually entrusted to God?

Simpson closes with reassurance about God’s ability to keep those who trust him. I found that deeply encouraging because I had misunderstood this for much of my life. When I stumbled, I sometimes took it as evidence that God was punishing me or did not love me.

I had treated the promise of God’s help as though it meant failure should be impossible. Simpson helped me approach it differently: trust God’s ability to hold me, and actively seek his help in the next step.

His final challenge was harder. How much of my life had I really entrusted to God? There were things for which I had asked a blessing without being willing to surrender control.

That question had practical consequences. Some of those things were jobs. I needed to spend time in prayer deciding what to release and what to commit more fully. The book ends with comfort, but it does not let me remain passive.

Book discussed

A. B. Simpson, The Fourfold Gospel. Scripture reference: Philippians 2:13.