John William Fletcher
(September 12, 1729 – August 14, 1785), was born at Nyon in Switzerland, his
original name being de la Fléchère.
Fletcher was a
contemporary of John Wesley (the founder of Methodism), a key interpreter of
Wesleyan theology in the 18th century, and one of Methodism's first great
theologians. He sometimes preached with John Wesley and assisted him with clerical
duties in Wesley's London chapels. Of
French Huguenot stock, his given name was actually Jean Guillaume de la
Fléchère. Fletcher was renowned in the Britain of his day for his piety and
generosity; when asked if he had any needs, he responded, "...I want
nothing but more grace."
In 1757 Fletcher
was ordained as deacon (6 March 1757) and priest (13 March 1757) in the Church
of England, after preaching his first sermon at Atcham
being appointed curate to the Rev. Rowland Chambre in the parish of Madeley,
Shropshire, whom he succeeded as Vicar of Madeley.
“His prescription
for this success appears to have been a mixture of prevailing prayer, personal
devotion to the Person of Christ, intensive study of the Scriptures, social
concern for the flock, and a willing readiness to visit anyone who was in any
form of trouble. He had a special corner in his study which he favoured as a
place to pray; there he knelt for hours every day-the wall opposite bearing the
mark of his agonised petitions. For two evenings a week he sat up reading, in
order to obtain a better understanding of the Christian faith, until-just
before dawn and overcome with sleep-he retired for a few hours. He organised,
and played a large part in, care for the aged, the poor, the dying, widows and
orphans. He showed a typical evangelical compassion for the social needs of
those around him, and gave sacrificially in order that his vision might become
reality. His giving was so extensive that little was left of his stipend for
the maintenance of his house and for meals.” (An Appreciation of John Fletcher –
David R. Smith)
In theology he
upheld the Arminian doctrines of free will and unlimited atonement, against the
Calvinist doctrines of unconditional
election and limited atonement. His Arminian theology is most clearly outlined
in his famous Checks to Antinomianism. He attempted to confront his (and
John Wesley's) theological adversaries with courtesy and fairness, although
some of his contemporaries judged him harshly for his writings. His resignation
on doctrinal grounds of the superintendency (1768–1771) of the countess of
Huntingdon's college at Trevecca left no unpleasantness. Fletcher was
characterized by saintly piety, rare devotion, and blamelessness of life, and
the testimony of his contemporaries to his godliness is unanimous.
Fletcher became
the chief systematizer of Methodist theology. Addressing Wesley's position on
the sovereignty of God as it relates to human freedom, Fletcher developed a
particular historical perspective espousing a series of three dispensations
(time periods) in which God worked uniquely in creation. (This is not to be
confused with Dispensational theology, which was fashioned long after
Fletcher's death.) Through these dispensations, God's sovereignty was revealed
not in terms of ultimate power but in terms of an unfathomable love.
Fletcher sought to emphasize human freedom while connecting it firmly with
God's grace.
He typically
wrote of God in terms of divine moral qualities rather than in terms of power
or wrath. His themes were:
"1. Man is
utterly dependent upon God's gift of salvation, which cannot be earned but only
received; and
2. The Christian religion
is of a personal and moral character involving ethical demands on man and
implying both human ability and human responsibility."
John Fletcher himself summarized his
theological position thus:
"The error
of rigid Calvinists centers in the denial of that evangelical liberty, whereby
all men, under various dispensations of grace, may without necessity
choose life...And the error of rigid Arminians consists in not paying a cheerful
homage to redeeming grace, for all the liberty and power which we have to
choose life, and to work righteousness since the fall...To avoid these two
extremes, we need only follow the Scripture-doctrine of free-will restored and
assisted by free-grace."
