More commonly known as A. B. Simpson, he was born on Prince Edward Island in Canada on December 15, 1843 to James and Janet Simpson. He was the fourth child, with one sister. His family was strict Calvinist Scottish Presbyterian with some Puritan principles.
In 1859, an evangelist from Ireland visited his area, during the time of widespread revival. The messages of Henry Guinness began a new understanding for Simpson.
Simpson moved to Ontario for a time, and attended Knox College, University of Toronto for theological training. He graduated in 1865 and went on to be ordained by the Canada Presbyterian Church. He began to pastor Knox Presbyterian Church in Hamilton, Ontario at age 21.
When Simpson was 30, in December of 1873, Simpson became the pastor of Chestnut Street Presbyterian Church, the largest church of its denomination at the time in Louisville, KY. While he was pastoring there, he began to consider reaching common men by using a simple tabernacle. The people of the Chestnut Street church were unwilling to accept this vision for evangelism.
He left in 1880 to take over the pastorate of the Thirteenth Street Presbyterian Church in New York City. He began a ministry to the world, and after just under two years there, Simpson resigned the church and dedicated himself to reaching the masses. He wrote and published a missionary journal called The Gospel in All Lands which included pictures. He founded an illustrated magazine which he published weekly called The Word, Work, and World that changed names in 1911 to The Alliance Weekly and then Alliance Life.
Simpson began teaching informally in 1882, training people to reach the “neglected peoples of the world with the neglected resources of the church.” This developed into a formal program by 1883, and this became Nyack College and Alliance Theological Seminary. The New York Tabernacle became the church’s home base and also the base for Simpson’s evangelism and worldwide mission outreach.
Simpson was instrumental in the setup and management of two societies dedicated to evangelization: The Christian Alliance and The Evangelical Missionary Alliance. The “Fourfold Gospel” he taught speaks of Jesus as Savior, sanctifier, healer, and coming King, which are symbolized by the cross, the laver, the pitcher, and the crown which can be found in the logo of the CMA, which became a formal organization in 1897, when the two societies merged.
Simpson spent much of his young life dealing with illness. In 1881, he began to see God’s hand in healing. He was relaxing in Maine, during a time when a convention was being held by Dr. Charles Cullis. He attended a few of the meetings but was focused on rest. Several testimonies he heard attested to the healing power of God. He began to search the Bible for God’s words on this. As he studied, he determined that God is a Healer, and committed himself to the belief that God does heal, that his physical health was best handled by Christ, and that he would tell others about God’s healing and minister as God directed. He felt that there was a change and found that his heart disorder was healed that summer.
Because of this, he often emphasized the healing portion of the fourfold gospel, which caused him to be someone isolated from most of the common churches, who did not believe that healing is part of the gospel. Simpson believed very strongly in this aspect and did not hold any malice toward those who disagreed with him.
Simpson was also a prolific writer, penning over 120 hymns, over 70 books, and many articles. Many of his hymns are included in the hymnbooks used by the Presbyterian churches.
Missionary Messages
This book contains eight mission-minded missives to encourage evangelism.
The Fourfold Gospel
This book defines Christ as the Saviour, the Santifier, the Healer, and the Coming King.
The Lord for the Body
Discovering God’s Plan for Divine Health and Healing is the focus of this book by A. B. Simpson.
The Gospel of Healing
This book compiles several of Simpson’s tracts about healing into book form, and adds more information in later chapters.
The Names of Jesus
Simpson preached a set of sermons about the names of Christ that are collected into this book.
The Cross of Christ
Simpson’s focus on the cross of Christ may offer new insight into this age-old doctrine.
Wholly Sanctified
Simpson writes about sanctification and how we relate to Christ in the realm of being sanctified.
The Life of Prayer and the Power of Stillness
This primer on prayer starts with the example Jesus gave to the disciples and goes on to share God’s promises regarding prayer. Simpson also discusses hindrances and how to remove them. The second part discusses allowing God to do His work in one’s life.
The Self Life and the Christ Life
Learning how to live the Christian life focused on Christ is not always easy. Simpson offers some truth and encouragement to stay the course.
Days of Heaven Upon Earth
This daily devotional centers on Christ and teaches one to look higher.
Life More Abundantly: A 31-Day Study of God’s Greatest Gift
This devotional studies the meaning of life and encourages believers to learn more about Christ and how He works in the Christian life.
When the Comforter Came
Thirty-one devotionals teach Christians more about the Holy Spirit and His work in the Christian life.
Hymns and Songs of the Fourfold Gospel and the Fulness of Jesus
These songs written by Simpson were compiled and reproduced from the original.
Songs of the Spirit
This book contains some favorite songs and also some poetry that was not published prior to the original publication of this book.
Hymns of the Christian Life
First published in 1897, this is the first hymnbook put together that includes many of Simpson’s hymns among the 336 hymns inside. This replica is as close to the original as possible.