This post is an essay I wrote in seminary on, you guessed it, the Wesleyan Quadrilateral. This is the essay I submitted in a course titled Theology of John Wesley and has not been edited or updated since its original submission. It provides an introduction to and foundation for Wesley’s theology.
John Wesley had a unique approach to theology, and perhaps the most unique and misunderstood aspect of his approach is known as the Quadrilateral. The quadrilateral method is “the authority of Scripture understood in the light of tradition, reason, and experience.”[1] Each of the four parts work together as a cohesive unit; if one part is removed, the other three are incomplete. The metaphor of a quadrilateral has historical roots. It refers to four walls or bulwarks in defensive military strategy and has occasionally been interpreted as the four permissions or the four open doors.[2] This is the opposite of defense! A proper understanding of Wesley’s quadrilateral method, how the authority of Scripture is understood using tradition, reason, and experience, is crucial to understanding his systematic theology.
Authority of Scripture
To understand the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, it is imperative to begin with the authority of Scripture because it “is the fundamental premise of the other three.”[3] Without Holy Scripture, there is no way to compare Christian tradition, reason, and experience with that of first century Christianity. Scripture guides Christian tradition, reason, and experience. One cannot understand and apply Scripture without first reading and meditating on it.[4] “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). After one has read and understood Scripture in its context and applied reason to that understanding, their spiritual experience will further confirm or clarify that understanding. Wesley said, “When plain facts run counter to their predictions, experience performs what reason could not, and sinks them down into their senses.”[5]
Tradition
The next aspect of the quadrilateral is tradition. Scripture is confirmed by the apostolic tradition.[6] Tradition cannot be separated from Scripture. Wesley believed that the doctrine he taught could be proven by Scripture, reason, and antiquity because he viewed the original apostolic preaching in the New Testament as “awakening an ongoing tradition of accurate and reliable reconnection of the events of salvation surrounding the history of Jesus of Nazareth.”[7] In his sermon “The Way to the Kingdom,” Wesley says, “But true religion, or a heart right toward God and man, implies happiness as well as holiness. For it is not only ‘righteousness,’ but also peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. What peace? ‘The peace of God.’”[8] Wesley, in his concern with apostolic tradition, has as his goal to return to the “religion of the primitive church” as preserved in the New Testament and in the ancient Christian writers as well.[9]
Reason
After tradition is reason. John Wesley placed high esteem on man’s ability to reason. He said, “To renounce reason is to renounce religion.”[10] He believed it was impossible to prove or disprove anything without reason. It is God’s gift.[11] Reason works in conjunction with Scripture and in using both together, the Christian can find “the plain scriptural rational way.”[12] Even though reason and Scripture can be employed together, there is a chasm between rational and spiritual. Reason cannot directly lead one to faith, hope or love.[13] One can know Christianity to be true because of the authority of Scripture and reason. For example, Thomas Aquinas also believed that reason was a God-given instrument to be used, so he employed faith and reason to develop an explanation for the existence of God. It is known as his Five Ways.[14]
Experience
The final piece of John Wesley’s quadrilateral method is experience. Experience brings further validation to the authority of Scripture, tradition, and reason. In his sermon “The Nature of Enthusiasm,” Wesley states, “When plain facts run counter to their predictions, experience performs what reason could not, and sinks them down into their senses.”[15] Experience often completes what has already begun in one’s heart through Scripture, tradition, and reason. When a Christian experiences God’s love and grace in their life, even if they have read about it, practiced it in tradition (perhaps in the Eucharist), and reasoned that God must be full of love and grace, that it becomes more real. Oden notes, “Reason and experience work together inwardly to confirm saving faith.”[16]
In these four bulwarks, the authority of Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience, John Wesley’s systematic theology is defended against notions of unbelief. Each one of these four parts can be taken individually and in conjunction with faith, but it is when all four are taken together that they operate best.
[1] Thomas C. Oden, John Wesley’s Teachings, Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 107 iBooks.
[2] Ibid., 107-108.
[3] Ibid., 108.
[4] John Wesley, “The Nature of Enthusiasm,” The Wesley Center Online, last modified 1999, accessed January 22, 2015, http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872-edition/sermon-37-the-nature-of-enthusiasm/.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Oden, 109.
[7] Ibid., 110.
[8] John Wesley, The Way to the Kingdom,” General Board of Global Ministries, accessed January 22, 2015, http://www.umcmission.org/Find-Resources/John-Wesley-Sermons/Sermon-7-The-Way-to-the-Kingdom.
[9] Oden, 109.
[10] Ibid., 124.
[11] Ibid.
[12] John Wesley, “The Nature of Enthusiasm,” The Wesley Center Online, last modified 1999, accessed January 22, 2015, http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872-edition/sermon-37-the-nature-of-enthusiasm/.
[13] Oden, 133.
[14] William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth in Apologetics, 3rd ed. (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 208), 124 iBooks.
[15] John Wesley, “The Nature of Enthusiasm,” The Wesley Center Online, last modified 1999, accessed January 22, 2015, http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872-edition/sermon-37-the-nature-of-enthusiasm/.
[16] Oden, 152.
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