Fuller was born on August 28, 1925, in Los Angeles, California, the only child of Charles E. Fuller and Grace Payton Fuller. After graduation from
South Pasadena High School in 1943, Fuller enlisted in the
United States Navy and became a commissioned officer. He was discharged in 1946. He was ordained at Immanuel Baptist Church in
Pasadena, California. He served as Assistant Pastor at
Park Street Church, Boston, Massachusetts, from 1949 to 1950. Fuller held the title of Professor Emeritus of
hermeneutics at
Fuller Theological Seminary, where he taught from 1953 to 1993 and served as Dean of the School of Theology from 1963 to 1973. Additionally he served as President of the Gospel Broadcasting Association and the Fuller Evangelistic Association. Fuller was a graduate of the
University of California at Berkeley and Fuller Theological Seminary. He held the Doctor of Theology degrees from
Northern Baptist Seminary and from the
University of Basel in Switzerland. In 2005, Fuller was honored at an awards convocation for 50 years of service to the seminary. His papers from 1928 to 2000 are held in the archives and special collections of the Fuller Theological Seminary. Fuller was married with four children. He died on June 21, 2023, at the age of 97. ==Theology and influence==