TROUBLE IN PLYMOUTH # 2

1. TROUBLE IN PLYMOUTH # 2 The Great Divide

2. The Great Divide • . Important to understand this part of brethren history. • . Historically the brethren movement has fallen into three groups: . Exclusive Assemblies. . Open Assemblies. . Gospel Halls.

3. John Nelson Darby • . Key person in the major split in the movement. • . Darby came from nobility and wealth and spent most of his life in itinerant work. • . “Darby was the foremost founder of assemblies, the most respected teacher, and the source of a whole system of Biblical interpretation peculiar.” - My People by Robert Bayliss.

4. J.N.D’s View of the Church • . His fundamental view was that “the church was in ruins” (had become completely corrupt and apostatized.) It had lost its unity and purity and was no longer capable of witnessing to the world. • . All assemblies formed an outward unity. So all decisions made by one assembly is binding on all others. Denied the autonomy (independence) of each local assembly. Resulted in a circle of assemblies. This view has led to an incredible number of splits and divisions.

5. J.N.D’s View of the Church (cont.) • . Because the Church is in ruins believers must separate from all other church systems. The assemblies he started were considered to be the “true remnant” (C.H. MacIntosh taught this view.) • . Because there are no apostles there cannot be elders and deacons.

6. J.N.D’s View of the Church (cont.) • . He believed that separation from evil was the basis of unity. But ecclesiastical evil (practices that he did not consider right. His interpretation about the Church) • . Believers who “broke bread” in other assemblies became tainted with evil and could not observe the Lord’s Supper in his own assembly.

7. J.N.D’s View of the Church (cont.) • . If evil was taught in an assembly everyone in the assembly is defiled by the presence of error. If a person from that assembly visits another assembly, the latter also becomes defiled! • . Any assembly that disagreed with him was cut off from all other assemblies. • Those who held this view became know as “Exclusive” brethren.

8. TROUBLE IN PLYMOUTH • . 1830 – Three groups in Dublin began meeting together. JND met with them. • . 1831 – Darby visits Oxford and meets G.V. Wigram and B.W. Newton. At their invitation he goes to Plymouth. Assembly formed. • . 1832 - Darby leaves Plymouth and begins itinerant work. B.W. Newton was the prominent Bible teacher. • . 1832 – 1845 - Assemblies grew and God richly blessed them. Plymouth assembly grew (some 400). Newton had some differences of understand from Darby. Especially the “Church in Ruins” teaching.

9. Trouble in Plymouth (cont.) • . Some brethren write to Darby in Switzerland about Newton’s differences. • . 1845 - Darby returns to Plymouth. • . October 16, 1845 – Darby informs the assembly that he was leaving the fellowship. • . November 17, 1845 – Darby publicly questions Newton’s integrity.

10. Trouble in Plymouth (cont.) • . December 17, 1845 – Leaders investigated Darby’s charges and found Newton innocent. • . December 28, 1845 – Darby and Wigram leave the Plymouth assembly and start their own breaking of bread. Division was inevitable at this point. • . December 1845 to February 1847 – Newton continued teaching in Plymouth and Darby continued his itinerant work.

11. Trouble in Plymouth (cont.) • . February 1847 – Newton taught error in assembly from teaching in Psalm 6. Darby wrote a tract exposing the error. • . November 26, 1847 – Newton wrote a retraction of his teaching. • . December 8, 1847 – Newton left the Plymouth assembly and joined the Presbyterians.

12. Volcano Erupts! • . Though Darby was no longer in the Plymouth assembly he did not accept Newton’s retraction of the error. • . He believed all the believers in Plymouth were defiled by Newton’s teaching. • . April 1848 – Two men from Plymouth begin to fellowship in the Bristol assembly. • . April 20, 1848 - Darby visits Bristol and strongly objected to them receiving these two men from Plymouth.

13. Volcano Erupts! (cont.) • . June 29, 1848 – Bristol leadership did an investigation and issued what became known as “The Letter of Ten.” • . Darby is enraged and comes a second time to Bristol but he could not change their minds. He threatened to cut them off from other assemblies. He then traveled from place to place trying to get believers to agree with him. • . August 26, 1848 - Darby writes a circular letter cutting off the Bristol assembly and assemblies that received believers from Bristol. The die was cast and the division resulted in “The Great Divide.”

14. Afterwards • . October 31 to December 11, 1848. Bristol elders conducted a study of Newton’s tracts and concluded that anyone hold the views of Newton could not be received into fellowship. • . July 1849 - Darby visits Mueller at Orphan Homes. Never saw each other again in this life.

15. Open Assemblies • The fundamental difference between Open and Exclusive Brethren is not doctrinal but church order. • . (1) Believe in the autonomy of each local assembly. Each assembly is responsible to God for its reception of believers, church order and discipline. (2) Believe every believer is welcome to the Lord’s Supper. (if under discipline in another assembly, false doctrine and immoral living are exceptions.) (3) Fellowship is based on life not light. (4) Receive believers on the basis of their relationship to Christ and not what “circle” they are part of.