South African Bible Believers

ASSEMBLY HISTORY 2 - ANTHONY NORRIS GROVES

Purpose:

Passages: Rev. 3:7-13; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 10:16,17; Rom. 12:4-8; Eph. 4:11-16; Matt. 18:20; 23:8

THE BEGINNINGS

It was a movement involving many believers in small groups in diverse villages, towns, cities and countries, meeting simply and inconspicuously, spontaneously and simultaneously in many regions, each unaware of the existence of others, around the same period from as early as 1807.

"From about 1812 to 1820 there was a considerable correspondence between God-fearing men in these places who were concerned about the need of a demonstration of Scriptural fellowship among believers on the level of the local church" (J.W. Kennedy - The Torch of the Testimony).

Many names were remembered, still many unrecorded.  James Buchanan and 5 others met in Camowen Green in Northern Ireland in 1807 "to break bread" and later Buchanan met with other small groups in New York, U.S.A.

Duncan Mathieson, Donald Ross, John Smith, Donald Munro met with others in the north of Scotland.

Three separate groups met in Dublin, Ireland, from around 1825 onwards, each initially unaware of the others' existence but joined forces later - Edward Cronin, the Misses Drury, Edward Wilson, Mr Tims in Cronin's house in Lower Pembroke Street; J.G. Bellett, Francis Hutchinson, Anthony Norris Groves, John Nelson Darby and Edward Cronin in Hutchinson's house in Fitzwilliam Square; and W. Collingwood, another brother and two sisters, J.V. Parnell (Lord Congleton) and William Stokes in Aungier Street.

In southwest England a group comprising B.W. Newton, J.N. Darby, G.V. Wigram and Captain P.F. Hall met in Plymouth, whilst George Muller and Henry Craik and another small group met in Bristol, and Robert Chapman and Robert Gribble met with groups in Barnstaple.

In Geneva & Vaud, Switzerland, and Neuchatel & Lyons in France, in Guiana in the West Indies (Leonard Strong and others) other groups began meeting for "breaking of bread" to remember the Lord in simplicity.

It was not a mere revival, but the final step towards full recovery and restoration of New Testament principles and practices, beginning with the desire to remember the Lord simply as disciples in the breaking of bread, or the Lord's Supper, the most distinctive feature of the movement.

Clergymen, lawyers, dentists, doctors, educationists, other professionals, farmers, tradesmen, labourers, as well as businessmen and noblemen and noblewomen left the established and dissenting churches in large numbers in order to return to the simplicity of the New Testament Church, without unscriptural "clergymen" and "priests" with elaborate vestments and rituals, away from imposing and ornate buildings called "churches".  They simply gathered in the Lord's Name as disciples in homes of believers, in halls, and even in a stable.  Later becoming more distinct and establishing local testimonies they erected unpretentious buildings calling them simply "Gospel Halls" or "Gospel Chapels" not considering these as sanctuaries, the believers regarding themselves as "churches" or "assemblies".

The Lord blessed them, and the number of assemblies (people) and halls (places of meeting not regarded as sanctuaries) multiplied, missionaries in their thousands went abroad without human ordination but responding to the Lord's command depending for their support solely upon the faithfulness of God whilst other believers in their business and professional capacities travelled and witnessed for the Lord (Acts 1:8; 8: 4; 11:19), new assemblies were formed, and the movement reached to the uttermost parts of the earth even to the most inaccessible, remotest and perilous jungle and mountain fastnesses.  "The impact which has been made has been out of all proportion to their number or to the size and importance of the assemblies from which they went" (Dr F.A. Tatford - That The World May Know).

It became a well-defined movement (but never considered itself a denomination with hierarchical and clerical structures and a controlling headquarters, as each assembly is directly responsible to the Lord Himself, having fellowship with other autonomous and independent assemblies) from 1827 onwards when the Lord used four men to enunciate concrete, Scripture-based teachings which became the distinctive doctrines and practices of the newly-emerging assemblies of brethren.  These four men were Anthony Norris Groves, George Muller, Henry Craik, and John Nelson Darby.

We shall consider Anthony Norris Groves first.

ANTHONY NORRIS GROVES

Anthony Norris Groves, through profound study of the Scriptures, was led to discover and recover two great Scriptural truths-that

a)    Consecration to God

Born in 1795 in Hampshire, England, he was challenged at 13-14 years of age by a missionary, and determined to serve the Lord in India.  He was saved a few years later, and renewed his pledge but when he married (1817) his wife opposed his desire.  He had become a dentist by then (1814) and practised first in Plymouth, then in Exeter.

b)    Compassion for the poor

The Lord prospered him in Exeter, and he and his wife devoted themselves to helping the poor.  He gave 1/10 of his income to the Lord, distributing regularly among the needy. 

Later on he gave a quarter, then a half, then three-quarters and finally all his income to the Lord, retaining only what the family needed.

c)    Conviction from the Word

His wife later had a change of mind and supported him in his steadfast desire to be a missionary.  Being an Anglican he joined the Anglican Church Missionary Society to serve in Baghdad, taking up theological studies in 1826 to obtain a degree in order to be ordained as a clergyman.  For his quarterly exams he made trips to Trinity College in Dublin.

There in Catholic Dublin he met with a few Protestants on the evenings of the Lord's Day for prayer, Bible study and discussion in private houses.  He read the Bible passionately, for a time virtually to the exclusion of other books.

This discovery was soon observed by the small group with whom he gathered, and thus an important step towards separation from the existing churches was taken.

We shall discuss the impact of these discoveries under "Contribution".

Having been baptized as an infant he accepted believers' baptism in 1829 just before setting out on his life's work.

d)    Constancy in Mission

Freed from all ecclesiastical shackles, Groves and a number of others left for Baghdad.  Despite difficulties, disasters, dangers, and deaths they persevered and not a few were led to a new life in Christ.

Groves left Baghdad for India in 1833 and there in the Godavari district and the regions around he spent the rest of his life labouring for his beloved Master, Who called him Home in 1853 on a return trip to England.

Groves' Contribution

The following are the remarkable and dramatic changes in Christian testimony brought about by Groves' discoveries, and practised by assemblies of the brethren.

The professing Church had not known this truth for centuries, and so this return to New Testament principles and practices was a "church-quake".  "Stumbling blocks were removed, mountains were removed", as Anthony Norris Groves put it, and many believers grasping the significance of these teachings, left all the existing churches in droves.

There was no intention of beginning a new denomination with a particular emphasis on a pet doctrine, but to come together simply as disciples in unity out of love for the Lord, taking the whole Word of God as their guide, with no creeds, or confessions or articles of faith.

And so the assemblies of brethren emerged, beginning very simply - during the meetings for the Lord's Supper "each was free to read, to speak, to pray or to give out a hymn."  Later on other aspects of church life and order were studied and discoveries made with regard to eldership and exercise of gifts.  This would be the contribution from George Muller and Henry Craik, as we shall see in the next lesson.

   ASSEMBLY HISTORY 3

1991/PW