Specific Examples from John Nelson Darby’s Writings

John Nelson Darby’s writings, often derived from lectures and expositions, exemplify his dense, logical, and polemical style through extended sentences, scriptural integration, and doctrinal reasoning. Below are selected excerpts from key works, illustrating these traits. I’ve included brief context for each to highlight stylistic elements.

From Lectures on the Second Coming of Christ (Lecture 1)

This excerpt demonstrates Darby’s exploratory approach, with long sentences building theological arguments and weaving biblical references for emphasis on the church’s hope.

“What I would desire to bring before you is, the coming of the Lord as the proper hope of the church, and to shew you that it is constantly, increasingly brought before it as such by the Spirit of God. When once the foundation is laid of His first coming as that which brings personally peace and salvation (and even before it, so far as it is a means of awakening the conscience), the one thing the saints were taught to look for was the coming of the Lord. No doubt the first thing the soul needs to know is the ground of its salvation. When this is known, the Lord Himself becomes precious to the believer; and when the church was in a healthy state, we shall find that the hearts of the saints were altogether set upon Him, and looking for His coming. And now our hearts should understand (as I shall shew you from Scripture was the case then) that the coming of Christ is not some strange speculation, or the advanced idea of a few, but was set before the church as elementary and foundation truth, and formed a part of all their habits and feelings, and mingled itself with every thought. It was and is the keystone of all that keeps up the heart in this solitary place (looking at it as journeying through the wilderness). Thus with a heart full of love for God, and the desire to see Christ, we can appreciate the apostle’s prayer for us – ‘The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting* for Christ.’ We have not long to wait; and it is worth being patient for.” 16

From Lectures on the Second Coming of Christ (Continued)

Here, Darby contrasts the believer’s resurrection with worldly judgment, using concatenated reasoning and scriptural citations to underscore salvation’s completeness.

“We shall find, too, that the teaching of Scripture as to Christ’s second coming casts wonderful light on the value of His first coming. For His second coming, as it concerns the saints, is to complete as regards their bodies (so bringing them into the full result of salvation) that work of life-giving power Christ has already wrought in their souls, founded on the complete title in righteousness which He has effected for them on the cross. He comes to receive them to Himself, that where He is there they may be also – to change their vile bodies and fashion them like His glorious body. For the saints the resurrection is a resurrection of life, not of judgment. It is a raising in glory, or changing into it by the Lord’s power, those that are already quickened and justified. When people, Christian people too, are looking for judgment, and saying with Martha, ‘I know he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day,’ they forget the judgment of the quick – that then is the judgment of this world. They are to be all caught eating and drinking. ‘Sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.’ People do not like that. They put off God’s judgment to a vague and indefinite period, when they hope all will be well. They think that then will be decided their final state, they trust, for blessing. There is surely a judgment; but all their thoughts about it are a mistake. The matter is decided now: ‘He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already.’” 16

From Letters on the Revised New Testament

This section critiques biblical translations, showcasing Darby’s polemical tone, detailed grammatical analysis, and logical dissection of scriptural phrases.

“The definite article is put in, with no notice that it is not in the Greek, where it makes a very great difference. Thus Kurios (Lord), without the article for Jehovah following the LXX, and the Lord, for what the Lord Jesus became. God. hath made Him ‘both Lord and Christ.’ You have the two in Psalm He: ‘Jehovah said unto my Lord.’ The distributive article, ‘a,’ is put in where, without it, the word gives the character of the person or thing spoken of. Thus, ‘a righteousness of God,’ so that you might think there were several, whereas, ‘righteousness of God,’ is in contrast with righteousness of man. In some cases this only drops the true force. ‘Paul an apostle,’ as one of many, instead of, ‘Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ,’ simply what he was. So they have added pronouns, which destroy the whole force of the scriptural statement. Thus they have added ‘our’ to redemption—‘in whom we have our redemption’—instead of, ‘redemption.’ Now, ‘our’ redemption is our personal deliverance—a great and saving blessing surely—but redemption is the great and stupendous work of the Savior. I would add, before going further, that I can gather why they have used pronouns with it, namely, to distinguish it from the price of redemption, such as antilutron—ransom price. But this does not in the least authorize the use of the pronoun not in scripture, raising a question as to its limits, and making it solely something about us, which scripture does not. The thing itself is lost, in its application to us, whoever we are. They have in no way the force of the preposition en, in Greek. Thus, ‘hath at the end of these days spoken to us in his Son,’ but that is not the force of ‘in Son’; difficult it may be to translate into English, and the margin is worse—an example of their use of ‘a.’ ‘In Son’ is the character of the speaking, as contrasted with the prophets. The italics of this save the translation here a little; but it is as doing a thing (en pneumati), in Spirit—(en sarki), in flesh. The Greek en has a very varied force, from its abstract nature, especially when used anarthrously; i.e., without the article.” 17

From Letters on the Revised New Testament (On Romans 1)

Darby employs extended logical reasoning to argue against interpretive changes, integrating biblical verses with sharp critique.

“First, Rom. 1 ‘Therein is revealed a righteousness of God’—‘a righteousness of God’ I have already noted, it is as if there were several—but ‘a righteousness of God by faith unto faith.’ Now this changes the whole sense of the passage; the Greek has apokaluptetai ek pisteos, is revealed by faith, if ‘by’ be used, but that is nonsense; so, to use ‘by,’ they have transferred ek pisteos to ‘righteousness,’ separating it from ‘revealing.’ The point is, it is righteousness of God, hence clearly not man’s work—it is revealed already, of course, in existence to be so. Is it revealed on the principle of man’s works fitting him for it, or the means of getting it? Clearly not, or it would not be God’s righteousness. Is it proclaimed on the principle of faith? whoever believes, then, has it, be he Greek or Jew. The whole statement of what made Paul not ashamed of the gospel is lost; the very hinge of all the truth is broken, the foundation-statement of the gospel gone. The righteousness is a righteousness by faith, something realized in man, not simply ‘God’s righteousness.’ Verse 23. I object to ‘for,’ but it is of minor importance. Verse 28, ‘refused’ is false. Verse 32, ‘ordinance of God,’ very bad morally; and the verse very weak. So the instructive abstraction of chapter 2: 15 is taken away. ‘Therewith’ is not in the sentence, and mars it; and the sense of the closing phrase is lost by inserting ‘them’—it is not what is said. In chapter 1: 17, 18, ‘righteousness of God,’ and ‘wrath of God,’ may be a little bold, but alone give the sense and are in the fair analogy of the English language—not the abstraction of something known, but what can be known in its nature. Color is so, and so darkness causes fear; light saves from stumbling. Here ‘of God’ gives the character, but the subject is known.” 17

These examples capture Darby’s characteristic depth, where doctrinal precision unfolds through intricate prose and direct engagement with Scripture. For more from his Synopsis of the Books of the Bible or other works, additional specifics can be explored.