Prince of Puritans-John Owen

8/16/2019 Prince of Puritans-John Owen

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John Owen is widely hailed as one o thegreatest theologians o all time. His manyworks—especially those encouragingChristians in their struggle against sin—continue to speak powerully to readers today,

offering much-needed spiritual guidance orollowing Christ and resisting temptationday in and day out. Starting with an overviewo Owen’s lie, ministry, and historicalcontext, Michael Haykin and MatthewBarrett introduce readers to the pillars oOwen’s spiritual lie. From exploring hisunderstanding o believers’ ellowship with

the triune God to highlighting his teachingon justification, this study invites us to learnabout the Christian lie om the greatest othe English Puritans.

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THE 5 SOLAS SERIES

500 YEARS

AFTER THE REFORMATION

WE NEED TO RECOVER

THE 5 SOLAS

AND RESTATE

THEM FOR A

NEW GENERATION

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6 | CREDO MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2015

Church hisory maters. By looking o hose gians of he faih in he

hisory of he church, no only do we avoid falling prey o he heresies

of he pas, bu we also sand firmly on he shoulders of ohers so ha

we persevere in sound docrine (Tius 2:1).

One se of broad shoulders belongs o he seveneenh-cenury PurianJohn Owen. I is hard o exaggerae he imporance and influence of

Owen’s life and wriings. His books were and sill are some of he bes

works in heology ha we have, sanding alongside hose of Augusine,

Luher, Calvin, and many ohers. The Chrisian oday will benefi in

counless ways from works like On Communion with God, The Doctrine

of Justification by Faith, On the Mortification of Sin, and Of Indwelling

Sin in Believers.

Wha is so remarkable abou Owen, however, is no merely he robus,

biblical naure of his wriings, bu his insisence ha heology affecs

he Chrisian life. In oher words, Owen refused o separae head and

hear. Docrine mus lead o doxology every ime, oherwise we have

no ruly undersood is purpose. Therefore, Owen is he Docor who

looks ino he human soul in order o diagnose our spiriual disease and

offer us a cure in Jesus Chris. If read carefully, i is hard no o finish a book by Owen wihou feeling a desire o know God more.

The upcoming year, 2016, will be he four hundredh anniversary of

Owen’s birh. So wha beter iming for an issue of Credo Magazine ha

aims o inroduce some of Owen’s heology and wriings. Bu as much

as we love you reading Credo Magazine, his issue would be a failure if

you did no sudy and read his Prince of Purians for yourself.

Mathew Barret

Execuive Edior

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Mathew Barret

STAFF EDITORS

Mat Manry

Timohy Raymond

Mathew Claridge

Gary Seward

Joshua Greever

Caharine Clayon John Ferguson

David Livernois

Theodore Lee

Ryan Modisete

Chris Holmes

Seve Lee

Jake Grogan

DESIGN DIRECTOR

Lee Comings

EDITORIAL COUNCIL

Thomas Schreiner

Fred G. Zaspel

Ardel B. Caneday

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FROM THE EDITOR


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FEATURES

A FAITH WE CAN CONFESS

J.V. Fesko Introduces

The Westminster Confession of Faith

DOES THE TRINITY REALLY MATTER?

A Layman’s Guide to John Owen’s

Communion with God

by Ryan M. McGraw

KILLING SIN BY THE POWER

OF THE SPIRIT

John Owen’s Approach to Mortifying

Remaining Sin

by Geoff Thomas

CHRIST’S GIFT TO THE CHURCH:

PRAYER

John Owen on Public Prayer

by Daniel R. Hyde

MY TOP TEN PURITAN AUTHORS

by Joel R. Beeke

8. TEN QUESTIONS WITH

LEONARDO DE CHIRICO

Leonardo Speaks About the Papacy and

Why Italy Needs Gospel Churches Today

12. WHO IS JOHN OWEN?A Timeline of John Owen’s Life

14. THE REFORMED PASTOR

My Top Three Books by John Owen

by Kelly M. Kapic

57. NO COOL RATIONALISM

John Owen’s Pursuit of God

by Matthew Claridge

60. OLD PURITANS WITH

NEW DUST JACKETS

Puritans Every Christian

Should Read

by Matthew Barrett

62. FIRST PRINCIPLES

Learning From a Giant:

Three Reasons to Read John Owen

by Matthew Barrett

& Michael A.G. Haykin

26

48

32

38

16

CONTENTS


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Leonardo De Chirico is he pasor of Breccia di

Roma, a church ha he helped plan in Rome in

2009. Previously, Leonardo planed and pasoredan evangelical church in Ferrara, Ialy, from 1997

o 2009. He earned degrees in Hisory (Universiy

of Bologna), Theology (ETCW, Bridgend, Wales)

and Bioehics (Universiy of Padova). His PhD is

from King’s College (London); i was published

as Evangelical Theological Perspecives on

Pos-Vaican II Roman Caholicism. In 2015, he

published A Chrisian Pocke Guide o he Papacy(Chrisian Focus). He is a lecurer of Hisorical

Theology a Isiuo di Formazione Evangelica e

Documenazione in Padova, Ialy. Addiionally,

Leonardo is he Direcor of he Reformanda

Iniiaive, which aims o equip evangelical leaders

o beter undersand and engage wih Roman

Caholicism, and he leader of he Rome Scholars

Nework (RSN).Did you grow up in he Caholic Church? If

so, wha drew you o become an evangelical

Chrisian?

My amily was an ordinary Ialian amily,

nominally Chrisian and devou o Sain Anony,

bu wih litle grasp o basic gospel ruhs. One

day we were visied by a Swiss couple rom helocal evangelical church ha was going door

o door. They asked i we were Chrisians. The

answer was “yes, o course.” They urher asked i

we had ever read he Bible. The answer was “no.”

Caholics were no supposed o read he Bible.

10 QUESIONSWIH LEONARDO DE CHIRICO

Leonardo speaks his mind abou he papacy and whyIaly needs gospel churches oday.

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They hen replied, “How can you be Chrisian i

you don’ read wha Chris has done or you?” I

was as i a ligh was swiched on in he darkness.

I was he beginning o a journey ha led myaher o become a believer, hen he res o he

amily ollowed a differen sages o lie.

Wha is he main docrinal divide, in your

esimaion, beween Roman Caholics and

Proesans?

In Roman Caholicism he endency is o idolize

he church. The disincion beween Creaor andcreaure is blurred by way o conerring o he

church wha ulimaely belongs o he riune God

alone. The church is elevaed o a posiion ha

makes i an idol, semming ou o a non-ragic view

o sin, he convicion ha in significan ways he

church coninues he incarnaion o Jesus Chris

resuling in an abnormally conflaed ecclesiology.The grea bulle poins o he Proesan

Reormaion, i.e. Scripure alone, Chris alone,

grace alone, are all biblical remedies agains he

idolarous endency o a sel-reerenial church,

which sadly have been rejeced so ar.

In your ongoing ineracion wih Roman

Caholics in Ialy, wha approach have you

aken and found o be effecive when winessing

o hem?

Exposing hem o Scripure as much as possible

and no assuming hey already grasp he basics

o he gospel. They may know some Chrisian

vocabulary, bu i is generally marred, disored

by radiions and devian culural baggage. Mos

Caholics in Ialy are o he “pick-and-choose”

variey and so hey blend unbiblical radiionsand secular unbelie. I is also imporan o show

he personal and he communal aspecs o he

aih in order o embody viable alernaives or

heir daily lives.

You have writen a very helpful litle book on

he papacy. So ell us, wha are posiive and

negaive aspecs of his new pope Francis?There is much senimenalism abou Pope Francis.

He is a champion o he gospel o “welcoming all”

and “showing compassion.” Many secular people,

as well as many evangelicals, are ascinaed

by i. We should ask: Wha abou

repenance and aih in Chris alone?

Wha abou urning back rom idolary

and ollowing Chris wholehearedly?

Wha abou puting he Word o God

firs? Some o he language o he Pope

seems o resemble gospel emphases,

ye he subsance o i is sill heavily

sacramenal and Marian, leaning

owards a liberal orm o Caholicism.

He is he firs Jesui o become Pope andwe should never orge ha he Jesui

order was ounded o figh agains he

Proesan Reormaion by learning is

secres and using hem agains i.

SOME OF THE LANGUAGE OF THE POPE

SEEMS TO RESEMBLE GOSPEL EMPHASIS,

YET THE SUBSTANCE OF IT IS STILL HEAVILY

SACRAMENTAL AND MARIAN, LEANING

TOWARDS A LIBERAL FORM OF CATHOLICISM.

HE IS THE FIRST JESUIT TO BECOME POPE AND

WE SHOULD NEVER FORGET THAT THE JESUIT

ORDER WAS FOUNDED TO FIGHT AGAINST THEPROTESTANT REFORMATION BY LEARNING ITS

SECRETS AND USING THEM AGAINST IT.

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Le’s address he elephan

in he room: Is he Pope he

Ani-Chris?

Luher, Calvin, he seveneenh-

cenury Proesan conessions,

he Purians, Wesley, Spurgeon,

e al., believed ha he papacy

(no his or ha Pope) is he

insiuion ou o which he

Ani-Chris will evenually

come. I share his broadproesan consensus. The

papacy claims chrisological

and pneumaological iles

and prerogaives (e.g. vicar

o Chris, inallible eacher,

supreme head o he church wih ull, immediae

and universal power), coupling hem wih

earhly poliical power. Remember ha Popesare monarchs o a sovereign poliical sae. In he

papacy wha belongs o God and wha belongs

o Caesar ragically inermingle. This poisoned

mixure is he poenial milieu or he Ani-Chris

o rise rom.

You are a pasor of a Reformed Bapis Church

in Rome. Is a church like yours exremelyrare? How has he culure perceived your

congregaion?

Evangelicals are 1% o he populaion in Ialy and

Rome is no differen rom he res o he counry.

We sill sruggle wih he cenuries-long prejudice

o evangelicals being perceived as a cul. Wha

makes our church disinc is ha i is conessional(holding o he 1689 London Conession o Faih

and belonging o a Reormed Bapis associaion

o churches), urban (impacing he culural,

poliical, media, and academic insiuions o

he ciy wih he gospel), and missional (living o

he glory o God in all vocaions and iniiaives).

Unlike culs, we cherish church hisory and claim

o belong o he caholic (no necessarily RomanCaholic!) church. Unlike culs, he gospel we

believe in is or he whole o lie. Unlike culs,

we encourage consrucive and criical culural

engagemen. Thankully, here is a growing

number o churches like ha.

Tell us abou his new piece of propery your

church is purchasing. Why is his so exciing?Because o he presence o he Vaican, Rome

ciy cener has been, unil recenly, a “heresy

ree-zone.” Non-Caholic iniiaives were no

welcomed, i no orbidden. The las propery

ha evangelical churches bough in he cenral

area daes back o 1920. Afer nearly 100 years we

are sending he message ha we love he gospeland we love he ciy. We wan o be a gospel

communiy righ a he hear o i. Apar rom

hosing he aciviies o he church, he propery

will also uncion as a heological sudy cener.

Wih IFED (a Reormed heological insiue:

BECAUSE OF THE PRESENCE OF THE VATICAN,

ROME CITY CENTER HAS BEEN, UNTILRECENTLY, A “HERESY FREE-ZONE.” NON-

CATHOLIC INITIATIVES WERE NOT WELCOMED,

IF NOT FORBIDDEN. THE LAST PROPERTY THAT

EVANGELICAL CHURCHES BOUGHT IN THE

CENTRAL AREA DATES BACK TO 1920. AFTER

NEARLY 100 YEARS WE ARE SENDING THE

MESSAGE THAT WE LOVE THE GOSPEL ANDWE LOVE THE CITY. WE WANT TO BE A GOSPEL

COMMUNITY RIGHT AT THE HEART OF IT.

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www.iedialia.org) we are providing ousanding

heological raining o los o sudens. In Rome

we will ac as an oupos o evangelical heology,

nex o he Jesui and he Dominican universiies

which are locaed around he corner! The space

has he poenial o become a springboard or

gospel work in he ciy and beyond. For example,

he Reormanda Iniiaive has jus been launched

(www.reormandainiiaive.org). I aims a

helping he world-wide evangelical church o

relae biblically o Roman Caholicism.If our readers ge he chance o visi Rome, wha

wo places mus hey see?

Evangelical ouriss should see he “dark” sides

o Rome as ar as religious reedom is concerned.

For insance, Campo dei Fiori is a beauiul square

nex o he baroque Piazza Navona where Popes

burn hereics o all ypes, Proesans included.In he middle o Campo dei Fiori is an impressive

bronze saue o Giordano Bruno recalling his

execuion ha happened here in 1600 because

he was a “ree hinker” in an age and place where

oal submission o he power o he church was

imposed. A number o Evangelical maryrs ound

he same desiny here.

Anoher place o visi is Pora Pia where he Ialian

army enered he ciy and conquered i in 1870,

hus ending he hisory o he Ponifical sae. The

Bible in Ialian was orbidden in Rome up o 1870.

I was hrough he breach o Pora Pia ha

he firs Bibles prined by he Briish and

Foreign Bible Sociey were smuggled ino

he ciy and reely disribued o he people.The ragic irony o Rome is ha she is known

as one o he cradles o Chrisianiy, bu he

realiy is ha he Bible was a orbidden book

or cenuries. Generally, no our guide ells

you hese sories or shows you hese places.

Le’s ge down o he imporan suff: which

fooball eam should we be rooing for (ha is,“soccer” for our American readers!)?

In Rome here are wo op eams: Roma and Lazio.

People end o be very passionae abou one

or he oher or – should I say – one agains he

oher! People sop alking o you i you happen o

suppor he oher eam. I was no born in Rome, so

I am excused o suppor Torino FC, which is noperceived as a rival o mos Romans. In his way, I

don’ run he risk o losing a riend or supporing

he wrong ooball eam!

If I have jus one meal in Ialy, wha auhenic

dish should I order?

Try “srozzaprei” (lierally “pries sranglers”!).

I’s a savory pasa dish, like hick and wisedmacaroni. I can have various combinaions

wih differen omao-based sauces. In popular

culure, Roman Caholic counryside priess were

eased because o heir voracious appeies and

impressive bellies. So his pasa was supposed o

“srangle” hem because o is hickness. The grea

Dane used he law o realiaion o punish people

in he Inerno. Popular culure made a kind opasa o punish greedy priess. A asy reminder

ha no gluton will inheri he kingdom o God!

THE GREAT DANTE USED THE LAW OF

RETALIATION TO PUNISH PEOPLE IN THE

INFERNO. POPULAR CULTURE MADE A KINDOF PASTA TO PUNISH GREEDY PRIESTS. A

TASTY REMINDER THAT NO GLUTTON WILL

INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

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John Owen is born to

Rev. Henry Owen andhis wife, Hester.

James is succeededby Charles .

Owen begins

grammar school.

Owen enters Oxford

University.

Charles

I

dissolves

Parliament.

William Laudbecomeschancellor of

Oxford.Puritans leave

for New Englandand are led by

John Winthrop.

Owen graduates

with a BA.

Laud is appointedarchbishop of

Canterbury.

The Westminster

Confession of Faith

is completed.

The First Civil War

comes to an end.

The English Civil War begins;

Owen moves to London and gains

assurance of salvation.

Owen leaves

Oxford University.

The Long Parliament

(1640–1653)

convenes.

Owen takes up a pastorate

in Fordham, Essex; Owen

marries Mary Rooke (c.1618–1676). The Westmin-ster Assembly convenes.

The Solemn League andCovenant is signed.

Owen preaches

before Parliament

(April 29).He is inducted as vicar

of Coggeshall, Essex.Owen becomes aCongregationalist.

Parliamen-tarians gainan importantvictory at

the Battle of

MarstonMoor.

Owen is awarded anMA; begins a seven-n-year BD program.

1637 1635164016421643

1645 1646 1647 1648 1649

Charles I is executed;

England is declared acommonwealth.As Oliver Cromwell’s

chaplain, Owentravels to Ireland.

1 6 3 2

1633

1 6 4 4

Laud is executed;

the decisiveBattle of Nasebyis fought.

John Owen (1616-1683) is widely regarded as one o the most influential English Puritans. As a pastor, helonged to see the glory o Christ take root in people’s lives. As a writer, he continues to encourage us toward

discipline and communion with God. His high view o God and deep theological convictions flowed natural-ly into practical application and a zeal or personal holiness. Here are some quick acts about his lie:

Who is John Owen?

ll

http://www.https//www.crossway.org/books/owen-on-the-christian-life-tpb/http://www.https//www.crossway.org/books/owen-on-the-christian-life-tpb/http://www.https//www.crossway.org/books/owen-on-the-christian-life-tpb/


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The Toleration Actreceives royal assent.

Owen is appointeddean of ChristChurch, OxfordUniversity.

Owen is appointed

vice-chancellor of

Oxford.

Owen’s church uniteswith that of Joseph Caryl;the congregation nowmeets in LeadenhallStreet, London.

Owen is appointed preacher tothe Council of State and achaplain to Cromwell with theexpedition to Scotland.

Limited religious

freedom is granted by

the Declaration of

Indulgence.

Owen marriesDorothy D’Oyley.

The Act of Uniformity seeks to

impose Anglican uniformity; two

thousand Puritan ministers areejected on St. Bartholomew’s

Day (August 24); Owen moves to Stoke Newington.

The Great Plague kills manyin London; the Five Mile

Act prohibits Nonconform-ist ministers from returning

to parishes.

Cromwell dissolves

Parliament and is

appointed Lord Protector.Owen is awarded anhonorary DD from Oxford.

The Conventicle Actprohibits Nonconformistpastors from preaching.

Owen takes a

leading role at

the Savoy

Assembly.Cromwell dies

(September 3).

OwendiscussesNonconform-ist unity withRichardBaxter.

The Great Fire in

London destroysmuch of the city.

The monarchy is

restored under

Charles II.Owen leaves ChristChurch and Oxford

(March); he lives at

Stadhampton.

1650 1651 1653 1657

1662166416651666

1672 1673 1675 1676 1683

Owen dies (August 24);he is buried in BunhillFields (September 4).

1660

1 6 5 8

1652

1 6

6 9 -1 6 7 0

1689


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Picking just three books by John Owen to

recommend is such a difcult task when there are

so many good ones. Nevertheless, here are three

that have profoundly shaped my own thinking

and living:

Communion with the Triune God

While the recent edited version of this classic

work was titled Communion with the Triune God,

the original volume was called Of Communion

with God the Father, Sonne, and Holy Ghost, each

person distinctly in love, grace, and consolation,

or, the Saints Fellowship with the Father, Sonne,and Holy Ghost, unfolded (1657).

That full title explains the goals Owen has in

mind for this book, and in my mind, the results are

fresh and lled with vitality. In this profound and

pastoral work, Owen unpacks the benediction of

2 Cor. 13:14 with theological skill, psychological

insight, and pastoral passion. Probably, no work

has had a greater inuence on all of my theology

and life than this single volume. If you can onlyread one Owen book, without reservation this is

the volume I would suggest to you.

A Discourse on the Holy Spirit

While in reality he published 5 “books” on the

Holy Spirit over the years, it is reasonable to treat

these as a whole, which turns out to be over 1100

tightly printed pages in volumes 3 and 4 of thestandard 19th century edition of Owen’s Works.

It has been argued that Owen’s work on

Pneumatology is the most exhaustive (and

exhausting!) treatment on the person and work

Te Reormed Pastor

MY OP HREE BOOKS BY JOHN OWENby Kelly M. Kapic

1

2


15/64


CONTENTS

of the Holy Spirit ever to have been published

by that time in the history of the Church. Owen

brilliantly draws on early Church Fathers

widely known (e.g., Augustine, Tertullian) andothers less known but deeply insightful on this

subject (e.g., Didymus the Blind). He covers

areas expected and unexpected. For example,

his treatment on the Spirit’s work in the life of

Jesus is helpfully suggestive and constructive.

Throughout this work readers will stumble upon

stunning Trinitarian insights, surprising pastoral

applications, and careful navigation between theextremes of his day (“rationalists” on the one

hand, and “Enthusiasts” on the other). Following

this Puritan you will nd yourself in the hands of

a faithful guide.

Overcoming Sin and Temptation

For the third spot, I am torn. I would like to

pick one of his celebrated works that deal withovercoming sin and temptation since I believe in

those books Owen shows striking psychological

understanding and fruitful proposals for living

in the midst of the ongoing struggle with sin.

However, I will instead use this last selection to

draw attention to one of his fantastic volumes

on Christology: On the Person of Christ or his

Meditations and Discourses on the Glory of

Christ.

The Person of Christ is a masterful example of

a Protestant scholastic treatment of Christology,

lled with careful distinctions and wise reections

even while not forgetting to display pastoral

connections. Yet his Meditations and Discourses,

representing the last work he actually worked on

before his death, is lled with a sense of wonder,warmth, and hope. Here is someone who sees

Jesus not as a theological abstraction, but rather

as the Lover of his Bride. By slowly working

through these volumes one cannot help but grow

in his or her reverence and love for the incarnate

Son of God.

Kelly M. Kapic is Professor of TheologicalStudies, Covenant College. He is the editor of

Overcoming Sin and Temptation and the author

of Communion with God: The Divine and the

Human in the Theology of John Owen.

3

PROBABLY, NO WORK HAS HADA GREATER INFLUENCE ON ALLOF MY THEOLOGY AND LIFE THANTHIS SINGLE VOLUME. IF YOUCAN ONLY READ ONE OWENBOOK, WITHOUT RESERVATIONTHIS IS THE VOLUME I WOULD

SUGGEST TO YOU.


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CONTENTS

CONTENTS


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CONTENTS

The Wesminser Confession is arguably he mos

imporan Reformed confession. Writen by some

of he mos ousanding heologians of he sev-

eneenh cenury, his summary of docrine sillspeaks oday! Mathew Barret, execuive edior of

Credo Magazine, alked wih J. V. Fesko, academ-

ic dean and professor of sysemaic heology and

hisorical heology a Wesminser Seminary Cali-

fornia, in order o undersand jus how imporan

his confessional saemen is for he church oday.

Fesko is he auhor of Jusificaion: Undersand-

ing he Classic Reormed Docrine, A Chrisian’sPocke Guide o Growing in Holiness, and The

Theology o he Wesminser Sandards.

John, you’ve been sudying The Wesminser

Confession for years, bu for some of our

readers his may be he firs ime hey have ever

heard of i. Briefly, can you ell us who wroe

his confession and why?

In he middle o he seveneenh-cenury, he

poliical siuaion in England was quie volaile.

The English king, Charles I, waned o bring

all worship in his kingdom ino conormiy

wih The Book of Common Prayer (TBCP). He

unsuccessully ried o impose TBCP upon he

Scotish churches. Iniially he Scos creaed heirnaional covenan in 1638 by which hey sough

o esablish heir churches in he Reormed aih.

This covenan was essenially a declaraion o war

agains King Charles. The king was he head o he

church and o rejec his auhoriy in he church’s

affairs was o rejec his auhoriy as king. The king

unsuccessully ried o approach Parliamen oraise money and an army o figh he Scos. Long

sory shor, Charles and Parliamen wen o war.

A he oubreak o he civil war, he English and

he Scos made an agreemen, he Solemn League

and Covenan (1643), by which hey sough o

promoe and esablish he Reormed aih in

England, Ireland, and Scoland. Par o heir effors

included having Parliamen call an assembly oheologians o wrie a new conession o aih and

caechisms o propagae he Reormed aih and

uniy he hree counries under he same docrine

and pracice. In one sense, he Wesminser

Assembly was a ailure—Presbyerianism ailed

o gain a srong oohold in England or Ireland;

alhough, i was firmly esablished in Scoland.Bu rom anoher vanage poin, he Assembly’s

success was ar greaer han hey could have ever

imagined. Alhough he Wesminser Sandards

never ook hold in England and Ireland, many

THE DIVINES WANTED TO ENSURE

THAT WORSHIP WAS SCRIPTURALLY

SOUND, UNFETTERED BY HUMAN

TRADITIONS, SO THAT THE GLORY OFTHE TRIUNE GOD AND THE GOSPEL

OF CHRIST WOULD STAND OUT. IF

YOU WALK INTO A ROMAN CATHOLIC

CHURCH, CHANCES ARE YOU’LL

BE DAZZLED BY GOLD, OPULENT

VESTMENTS, PICTURES OF SAINTS,

AND PERHAPS EVEN STAINED GLASS

WINDOWS. BY CONTRAST, IF YOU

WERE TO WALK INTO A SEVENTEENTH-

CENTURY SCOTTISH CHURCH, IT

WOULD LOOK NAKED—NOTHING ON

THE WALLS, A SIMPLE PULPIT, AND

SOME PEWS. THE DIVINES BELIEVEDTHAT IN SUCH A SEEMINGLY AUSTERE

SETTING, ONLY THE GLORY OF CHRIST

WOULD SHINE FORTH.

CONTENTS

CONTENTS


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CONTENTS

churches hroughou he world now use hem as

heir conessional sandards.

The Wesminser Confession has much o

say abou he docrine of jusificaion. How

is Wesminser’s saemen on jusificaiondisincively Reformed in conras o, say,

Roman Caholicism and Arminianism?

By he ime he Wesminser divines wroe he

Conession, much heological waer had passed

under he bridge—here had been a number

o significan debaes over he docrine o

jusificaion, as well as debaes conemporarywih he Assembly’s work on he conession.

Righ off he ba, he Conession makes several

imporan qualificaions abou jusificaion.

Jusificaion is no by “inusing righeousness

ino” he elec and “no or anyhing wrough in

hem, or done by hem” (WCF XI.i). Boh o hese

saemens presen objecions o wo differenheological errors—views promoed by he

Roman Caholic Church and Luheran heologian

Andreas Osiander (1498-1552). Rome augh ha

God inused his grace ino a person by means o

his bapism and he work o he Holy Spiri. On

he basis o God’s grace wrough

by Chris, he believer hen

sough o mainain and secure

his jusificaion. The Councilo Tren amously promoed

he idea ha believers would

seek heir iniial jusificaion

by bapism and heir second

or final jusificaion by heir

Spiri-wrough works. The

divines rejec boh o hese

ideas by objecing o inusedrigheousness and arguing

ha jusificaion is no based

upon anyhing done by he

believer. Anoher error hey rejeced was he

view o Andreas Osiander, a Luheran heologian

who augh ha believers share in he divine

righeousness o Chris. In oher words, we are nojusified by Chris’s impued righeousness bu

by being in union wih Chris and sharing in his

own personal divine essenial righeousness. The

divines rejec his by saing ha jusificaion does

no res upon anyhing “wrough in” he believer.

In addiion o rejecing hese errors, he divines

also sae ha believers are no jusified by God“impuing aih isel, he ac o believing, or any

oher evangelical obedience o hem, as heir

righeousness” (WCF XI.i). They do no menion

him by name, bu he divines rejec he views o

Jacob Arminius (1560-1609). Arminius believed

ha God looked upon he aih o believers as i

i were righeousness. The Reormed, by conras,

augh ha aih was insrumenal and laid hold oChris’s righeousness. For Arminius, jusificaion

ress upon aih, whereas or he divines,

jusificaion ress solely upon he obedience and

saisacion o Chris.

UNION WITH CHRIST, AS JOHN OWEN

(1616-83) FAMOUSLY WROTE IN HIS

WORK COMMUNION WITH GOD, PROVIDES

THE FOUNDATION FOR THE BELIEVER’S

COMMUNION WITH THE TRIUNE GOD AND

HIS FELLOWSHIP WITH THE BODY OF CHRIST,

THE CHURCH. THE DIVINES WROTE OF THIS

DOCTRINAL NEXUS BEFORE OWEN WROTE HIS

FAMOUS WORK IN 1657.

CONTENTS


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CONTENTS

Rome and Arminius were cerainly key errors he

divines waned o avoid and proscribe, bu here

were oher docrines hey also sough o exclude.

On he one hand, hey waned o address he

concerns o aninomians—hose who believed

ha he moral law was compleely eliminaed

or believers. The divines, hereore, augh ha

God expeced good works rom believers, bu

hese good works were no he ground o heir

jusificaion bu insead is rui. Faih does

indeed work by love, bu no or jusificaion(WCF XI.ii). In jusificaion, he principal acs o

saving aih are receiving, resing, and acceping

Chris’s work—hese are all passive elemens

(WCF XIV.i). Relaed o his is he rejecion o

jusificaion rom eerniy. The moderaor o he

Assembly, William Twisse (1578-1646), was par

o a small minoriy o Reormed heologians who

believed ha God jusified he elec in eerniy. When a person made his proession o aih he

merely discovered his already jusified saus.

The divines rejeced jusificaion rom eerniy

and insead disinguished beween God’s decree

o jusiy he elec and heir acual jusificaion in

ime (WCF XI.iv).

On he oher hand, he divines were also keen orejec errors o Neonomianism, he idea ha God

lowered he demands o he law hrough Chris’s

work. The new sandard was sincere obedience.

Richard Baxer (1615-91) laer amously augh

a woold jusificaion, one where a person was

iniially jusified by aih, which was hen ollowed

by a second jusificaion a he final judgmen. A

person could, in heory, ail o be jusified a he

final judgmen because o his lack o piey and

good works. In conras o he views o Baxer,

he divines asser ha he elec can never ruly

all away, hough hey can and do all under his

aherly displeasure (WCF XI.v).

The las wo errors hey address are worh

noing. Again, he divines being ever so polie

do no menion anyone by name. Neverheless,

hey affirm he impuaion o he acive and

passive obedience o Chris when hey say ha

God impues his “obedience and saisacion”

o believers (WCF XI.iii). When we read he

Conession, we migh be emped o look or hese

docrines under conemporary labels, such as heimpued acive obedience o Chris. Ye, we mus

read he Conession in is seveneenh-cenury

conex and recognize ha he divines use

phrases and erms common o heir own period.

THEY DO NOT MENTION HIM BY

NAME, BUT THE DIVINES REJECT

THE VIEWS OF JACOB ARMINIUS

(1560-1609). ARMINIUS BELIEVED

THAT GOD LOOKED UPON THE

FAITH OF BELIEVERS AS IF IT WERE

RIGHTEOUSNESS. THE REFORMED,

BY CONTRAST, TAUGHT THAT

FAITH WAS INSTRUMENTALAND LAID HOLD OF CHRIST’S

RIGHTEOUSNESS. FOR ARMINIUS,

JUSTIFICATION RESTS UPON

FAITH, WHEREAS FOR THE DIVINES,

JUSTIFICATION RESTS SOLELY

UPON THE OBEDIENCE AND

SATISFACTION OF CHRIST.


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20 | CREDO MAGAZINE | APRIL 2015 www.credomag.com | 20

I. Tose whom God effectually calls, He alsoeely justifies; not by inusing righteousnessinto them, but by pardoning their sins, andby accounting and accepting their persons

as righteous; not or any thing wrought inthem, or done by them, but or Christ’s sakealone; nor by imputing aith itsel, the act obelieving, or any other evangelical obedienceto them, as their righteousness; but byimputing the obedience and satisaction oChrist unto them, they receiving and restingon Him and His righteousness by aith; which

aith they have not o themselves, it is the gio God.

II. Faith, thus receiving and resting onChrist and His righteousness, is the aloneinstrument o justification: yet is it notalone in the person justified, but is everaccompanied with all other saving graces, andis no dead aith, but works by love.

III. Christ, by His obedience and death, didully discharge the debt o all those that arethus justified, and did make a proper, realand ull satisaction to His Father’s justice intheir behal. Yet, in as much as He was givenby the Father or them; and His obedienceand satisaction accepted in their stead; andboth, eely, not or any thing in them; their justification is only o ee grace; that boththe exact justice, and rich grace o God mightbe glorified in the justification o sinners.

IV. God did, om all eternity, decree to justifall the elect, and Christ did, in the ullnesso time, die or their sins, and rise again ortheir justification: nevertheless, they are not

justified, until the Holy Spirit does, in duetime, actually apply Christ unto them.

V. God does continue to orgive the sins othose that are justified; and although theycan never all om the state o justification, yet they may, by their sins, all under God’satherly displeasure, and not have the light

o His countenance restored unto them,until they humble themselves, coness theirsins, beg pardon, and renew their aith andrepentance.

VI. Te justification o believers under theOld estament was, in all these respects,one and the same with the justification o

believers under the New estament.

THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION ON JUSTIFICATION

CHAPER XI

CONTENTS


21/64


The “obedience and saisacion” is a common

seveneenh-cenury phrase ha reers o he

acive and passive obedience o Chris.

Las, he divines address a common Anabapis

error, namely, ha Old Tesamen believers were

saved in a differen manner rom hose in he New

Tesamen. In concer wih some o he earlies

covenan heology o he Reormaion rom Ulrich

Zwingli (1484-1531) and Heinrich Bullinger (1504-

75), he divines affirm ha salvaion was he same

or boh Old and New Tesamen believers—heywere all jusified by grace alone hrough aih

alone in Chris alone.

To say he leas, one should be amiliar wih

he various debaes ha were common o he

sixeenh and seveneenh cenuries in order o

have a richer appreciaion or he inricae manner

in which he divines explain wha jusificaion isand wha i is no.

You’ve done some grea work on he docrine of

union wih Chris. Tell us, how did hose who

wroe The Wesminser Confession undersand

union wih Chris?

Wih he caholic church (noe he lower case“c,” where caholic means universal, no Roman

Caholic), he divines embraced and affirmed

he docrine o union wih Chris. They were no

alone in his as many heologians beore hem—

Augusine, Aquinas, Bernard o Clairvaux—

augh he docrine o union wih Chris. Wihin

heir own conex, he Roman Caholic Church,

Arminius, and even he hereical Socinians, aughdocrines o union wih Chris. I hink he divines

were aware o heir agreemen wih he caholic

docrine, and hence, i is much like he waer

surrounding a fish—he fish doesn’ ake much

noice o wha is amiliar o him. In one sense,

hen, he docrine o union wih Chris does no

eaure as prominenly as i does, or example, in

Girolamo Zanchi’s personal conession o aih, De Religione Chrisiana. In his conession Zanchi

has a separae chaper on union wih Chris ha

leads off his reamen o soeriology. On his

noe, some have even criicized he divines or

no having a docrine o union, bu such analysis

is erroneous.

The divines affirm union wih Chris in a numbero places. For example, hey recognize ha elecion

akes place as he firs insance o union wih

Chris, wha heologians o he period someimes

called he union of he decree (WCF III.v). The

divines also explain, “All sains, ha are unied o

Jesus Chris heir Head, by his Spiri, and by aih,

have ellowship wih him” (WCF XXVI.i). Union

wih Chris, as John Owen (1616-83) amouslywroe in his work Communion wih God, provides

he oundaion or he believer’s communion wih

he riune God and his ellowship wih he body

o Chris, he church. The divines wroe o his

docrinal nexus beore Owen wroe his amous

work in 1657.

Anoher imporan place we should examine

when invesigaing he docrine o union wih

Chris is he Larger Caechism, which asks:

Wha is he communion in grace which he

members o he invisible church have wih Chris?

The answer?

The communion in grace which he members

o he invisible church have wih Chris, is heir

paraking o he virue o his mediaion, in

heir jusificaion, adopion, sancificaion, and

CONTENTS


22/64


RIGHT WORSHIP WAS A

REFLECTION OF RIGHT

DOCTRINE; HENCE THE

ASSEMBLY SET OUT TO WRITE ANEW CONFESSION OF FAITH AND

CATECHISMS TO BRING ABOUT

THE REFORMATION OF WORSHIP.

whaever else, in his lie, maniess heir union

wih him (Larger Caechism q. 69).

This quesion sars he Larger Caechism’s

explanaions o jusificaion, adopion, and

sancificaion. Like Zanchi, he divines also

recognized ha union is he conex or all o he

divine blessings o redempion. Bu wha makes

he Reormed undersanding o union unique, in

conras o Arminian, Roman Caholic, or Socinian

views, is ha hey believe in jusificaion by an

exrinsic or alien righeousness impued by aihalone (WCF XI.ii). In conras o hese erroneous

views, he elec ener ino union wih Chris

he momen o heir effecual calling (Shorer

Caechism, q. 30), bu his union wih Chris is

no he basis o heir jusificaion. The believer’s

judicial sanding ress solely in Chris’s work, no

in “anyhing wrough in hem, or done by hem,

bu or Chris’s sake alone” (WCF XI.i).

For some oday, docrine and worship are o

live in wo differen worlds. One has nohing

o do wih he oher, nor should i! However,

The Wesminser Confession, which is hick on

docrine, also has a lo o say abou worship in

he church. How does i connec he dos from

docrine o doxology?

For he Wesminser divines, worship and

heology were inexricably bound ogeher. The

heology o worship (recall Charles I’s effors o

impose TBCP) was one o he chie causes o he

civil war. Wesminser divines, such as Samuel

Ruherord, spen ime in prison because hey

were accused o preaching agains TBCP.

An addiional layer o complexiy is he common

seveneenh-cenury belie ha he ype o

worship praciced by a naion drove he ebb and

flow o world hisory. When he Spanish Armadawas desroyed by a sorm o he Wesern coas o

Scoland, England viewed i as a divine vindicaion

o he Reormed aih over he bankrup heology

o Roman Caholic Spain. They believed ha a

“Proesan wind” desroyed he Spanish flee!

A number o he Wesminser divines also believed

in he imminen reurn o Chris—some houghha Chris would reurn in less han weny

years according o heir exegeical calculaions.

They waned, hereore, o reorm he heology

and worship in he hree kingdoms so ha God’s

wrah would no all on England, Ireland, and

Scoland. Righ worship was a reflecion o righ

docrine; hence he Assembly se ou o wrie a

new conession o aih and caechisms o bring

abou he reormaion o worship.

One such example o Reormed worship comes

in he Regulaive Principle o Worship (RPW)—

all worship pracices mus have precedence in

Scripure. Where Scripure is silen, he church

may no creae or impose new pracices. To

conemporary eyes, his may appear like a raher

sric approach o worship, bu in realiy, i was

a grea relie o many—i mean reedom, no

confinemen. In England, he king (or queen)

could impose TBCP and require all subjecs o

CONTENTS


23/64


ollow is rules wihou excepion. For people

who reused, hey could be fined and imprisoned,

and or muliple violaions hey could be

execued. I you reused, or example, o kneel beore he sacramen, hen you could be fined.

Or, i you reused o come o worship services o

avoid cerain imposed pracices, once again, you

could be fined or imprisoned. The Wesminser

divines believed ha no one should be required

o kneel o receive he sacramen because here

was no warran in Scripure or he pracice. The

RPW reed people rom he yranny o abusiveauhoriy; hey could res assured hey would

only be expeced o do he hings required in

Scripure—nohing more, nohing less.

To his end, he Wesminser divines creaed he

Direcory for Public Worship. Imporan is he

firs word in he ile, Direcory. In oher words,

his book offered direcions; i did no imposecommands. Yes, i did ideniy cerain required

elemens o worship, such as he reading and

preaching o he Word, bu i did no speciy

how much o he Word should be read or wha

ype o sermon should be preached. In all o

his he divines waned o ensure ha worship

was scripurally sound, unetered by humanradiions, so ha he glory o he riune God

and he gospel o Chris would sand ou. I you

walk ino a Roman Caholic church, chances

are you’ll be dazzled by gold, opulen vesmens,

picures o sains, and perhaps even sained glass

windows. By conras, i you were o walk ino a

seveneenh-cenury Scotish church, i would

look naked—nohing on he walls, a simplepulpi, and some pews. The divines believed

ha in such a seemingly ausere seting, only he

glory o Chris would shine orh.

We live in a day when he auhoriy of Scripure

is under severe atack. Can The Wesminser

Confession help us recover a biblical docrine

of Scripure once again? If so, how?

These days i seems as hough people seek God

hrough all sors o differen avenues. They look

wihin hoping ha hey’ll find him hrough

mediaion or mysicism. They look wihou

hoping hey will find him in sel-help books,

anasic ales rom people who supposedly died

and came back rom he dead, or even in hecharismaic movemen where well-inended

Chrisians consanly seek a new message rom

God, revelaion ailor-made or heir own lie. In

a similar vein many oday make God in heir own

image—hey worship a god o heir own desires or

ideals. Why worship a God who judges wickedness

when we can pick atribues ha please us as we

walk hrough he docrinal salad-bar o our pos-modern culure?

In conras o hese many rends, he divines

begin heir conession wih he docrine o

Scripure. God’s revelaion, no our imaginaions,

defines him—i reveals who he is and wha he

has done. In he simple words o he Shorer

Caechism, Scripure principally eaches wha we

are o believe concerning God and wha duy he

requires o us (q. 3). Bu ar rom being a lieless

book o rules, he divines believed ha God’s Word

is is own inerpreer. Sure, here are challenging

porions o Scripure which are someimes

difficul o undersand. Bu because he Holy

Spiri has inspired he enire Bible, we can usehe clearer pars o Scripure o inerpre he less

clear pars (WCF I.vii). This principle has been

labeled he analogy o Scripure—or, Scripure

inerpreing Scripure (WCF I.ix). The divines

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THESE DAYS IT SEEMS AS THOUGH

PEOPLE SEEK GOD THROUGH ALL

SORTS OF DIFFERENT AVENUES.

THEY LOOK WITHIN HOPING THATTHEY’LL FIND HIM THROUGH

MEDITATION OR MYSTICISM. THEY

LOOK WITHOUT HOPING THEY WILL

FIND HIM IN SELF-HELP BOOKS,

FANTASTIC TALES FROM PEOPLE

WHO SUPPOSEDLY DIED AND CAME

BACK FROM THE DEAD, OR EVEN

IN THE CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT

WHERE WELL-INTENDED CHRISTIANS

CONSTANTLY SEEK A NEW MESSAGE

FROM GOD, REVELATION TAILOR-

MADE FOR THEIR OWN LIFE. IN A

SIMILAR VEIN MANY TODAY MAKEGOD IN THEIR OWN IMAGE—THEY

WORSHIP A GOD OF THEIR OWN

DESIRES OR IDEALS. WHY WORSHIP

A GOD WHO JUDGES WICKEDNESS

WHEN WE CAN PICK ATTRIBUTES

THAT PLEASE US AS WE WALK

THROUGH THE DOCTRINAL SALAD-

BAR OF OUR POST-MODERN

CULTURE?

recognized, hereore, ha God no only wroe

he Bible, bu he coninues o use i oday—he

supreme judge in he church or all conroversies

o religion “can be no oher bu he Holy Spirispeaking in he Scripure” (WCF I.x). Noe he

pariciple, “he Holy Spiri speaking” (emphasis).

The divines believed ha God coninues o speak

hrough he reading and especially he preaching

o his Word (Larger Caechism, qq. 154-55).

How ofen do people come o church in eager

anicipaion o hearing God audibly speak o

hem hrough he reading and preaching o

he Word? Do we come o download daa and

inormaion abou God, o hear a pep alk, or or

some pracical advice? Or do we come o hear

he Spiri o he living God speak hrough he

reading and especially he preaching o God’s Word? I suspec i more people had his ype o

undersanding and appreciaion o God’s Word,

hey would realize where he rue manna rom

heaven lies—no in he mysical journey wihin,

or seeking special knowledge rom a gifed ew,

or looking or he one sel-help book ha will

offer grea lie-skills—and hey would seek and

cherish God’s Word.

In your opinion, wha is i abou The

Wesminser Confession ha ses i apar

from oher confessions as a saemen of faih

he church oday should follow?

I really appreciae he docrinal precision o

he Conession. When you ake a close look ahe documen, is careul urns o phrase, wha

i says, as well as wha i doesn’ say, i’s really

a magnificen documen. The divines were

very careul in consrucing his documen—

hey drew lines in he sand on key issues, such

as he imporance o he decree o elecion,

bu also mainained human ree will. The

razor-sharp disincions in he chaper on

jusificaion preserve he alien naure o Chris’s

impued righeousness and careully affirm he

necessiy and imporance o good works or

he Chrisian lie. A he same ime, he divines

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allowed or a grea deal o docrinal diversiy,

which hey accommodaed hrough brillianly

and purposeully ambiguous saemens in he

Conession.The divines, or example, sae ha he reward or

Adam in he covenan o works was “lie” (WCF

VII.ii). They don’ speciy wheher his was eernal

lie or dwelling indefiniely in he Garden o Eden.

This was a subjec o debae among he divines.

Raher han make a decision, hey used he

ambiguous word life so ha boh paries could signoff on he documen. In his respec, he divines

used wisdom regarding where o draw lines in he

sand and when o draw circles. On some issues,

hey said, “Here, and no urher!” On oher issues,

hey agreed o have a principled diversiy. The

church, I believe, desperaely needs his ehos.

Too ofen people define orhodoxy as oeing a

specific line on every single poin o docrine,and he slighes deviaion is characerized as

aposasy. The divines knew where o draw lines

and where o allow or differences o opinion. We

should sudy he Conession o see where hey do

his and see wha we can do o learn rom i.

If readers enjoy The Wesminser Confession,

wha confession or caechism, or wha Purian,should hey urn o nex?

On he shor side, William Ames’s The Marrow

of Theology, or William Perkins’s The Golden

Chaine is a good place o sar. These men were

very influenial in he period leading up o he

Assembly.

An excellen sysem o heology is Edward Leigh’s

Body of Diviniy. Leigh served in Parliamen

during he ime o he Assembly, and hough he

wasn’ a divine, he was inimaely amiliar wih

he heology o he period and ofen caalogs many

o he differen views and common argumens

rom he period. Leigh’s work is excellen. In ac,

I prined he PDF o his Body of Diviniy, oldedhe pages in hal, and had hem bound in hree

separae volumes so I could have hem readily

accessible on my bookshel.

Anoher collecion o consider is The Works of

Thomas Goodwin. Goodwin was an independen

divine who paricipaed in mos o he Assembly’s

significan debaes. The welve volumes o hisworks cerainly provide an excellen window

ino he heology o he period and one o he

Assembly’s greaes minds.

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CONTENTS


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W

riting on John Owen is like building

an iPad (sorry in advance to non-

Apple fans). The R&D departmentmust work hard to engineer a product using terms

that the average person does not understand, but

without which there could be no iPad. After long

hours of research, planning, meetings, tests, and

trips to China, the iPads begin rolling off the

assembly line. The end product must be useable,

and someone then tries

to show people why they

need one.

I wrote a very expensive

book on Owen and a

very inexpensive book

on Owen. The very

expensive book hashundreds of footnotes and

takes great pains to argue

from primary sources, set

Owen in his historical

context, and interact with

other scholars. It is very

expensive partly becausesome of these scholars

need a paycheck for combing through such works

in order to make them better. My very inexpensive

book on Owen represents what happens when

church members ask, “Why have you spent

so much time writing about John Owen?” My

primary answer is that Owen is the best author in

English to teach us how to enjoy fellowship withall three persons in the Trinity. In that light, my

aim is to sell you an “Owen iPad” by helping you

understand why he is important and how he can

help you know the triune God better.

HOW TO BUILD AN OWEN IPAD: THE CONTEXT OF

Owen’s TriniTarian PieTy

Some scholars have called Owen the greatesttheologian that England ever produced. Yet he is

old and dead, so why should you care? He neither

wrote blog posts nor had Facebook or Twitter

accounts. The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians

4:11-16,

And He Himself gave

some to be apostles,some prophets, some

evangelists, and some

pastors and teachers,

for the equipping of the

saints for the work of

ministry, for the edifying

of the body of Christ, tillwe all come to the unity

of the faith and of the

knowledge of the Son of

God, to a perfect man, to

the measure of the stature

of the fullness of Christ;

that we should no longer

be children, tossed toand fro and carried about with every wind of

doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning

craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the

truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him

who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole

body, joined and knit together by what every joint

supplies, according to the effective working bywhich every part does its share, causes growth of

the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Paul included “pastors and teachers” among the

ofces listed here. Christ’s positive purposes

WE ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO

READ THEOLOGIANS FROM THE

PAST IN THE SAME WAY THAT

WE ARE OBLIGATED TO BELONG

TO LOCAL CHURCHES AND TO

SIT UNDER A LOCAL MINISTRY.

YET CAN WE NOT BENEFIT

FROM THOSE MEN WHO ARE

AMONG CHRIST’S GREATEST

“GIFTS” TO THE CHURCH IN

HER HISTORY?

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in giving such men to the church are to equip

the saints and to promote unity in the faith and

spiritual maturity. His negative purpose is to

protect believers from theological and practical

instability as well as from false teachers. Christ’s

plan for your life is for you to read your Bible daily

and to sit under sound preaching (Acts 17:10-11).

We are not obligated to read theologians from

the past in the same way that we are obligated to

belong to local churches and to sit under a localministry. Yet can we not benet from those men

who are among Christ’s greatest “gifts” to the

church in her history?

In order to prot from Owen’s theology, you need

some history. Owen was born in 1616. He studied

at Oxford University in his early teens, which

was the time to go university if you went at all.

After completing his BA and MA, he began his

seven-year bachelor of divinity degree (for those

interested in seminary, do not try this at home

unless accompanied by an adult, and for students,

your work load is not too bad). Owen dropped

out of his divinity degree early due to persecution

from William Laud, who required “Puritans” to practice things in worship that were against their

consciences, such as bowing to crucixes and

wearing funny bright colored robes known as

“vestments.”

However, Owen eventually earned

the title of doctor of divinity for his

writing skills, became a chaplain toOliver Cromwell, and acceded to

vice-chancellor of Oxford University

where he taught for a decade. After

the monarchy was restored, Owen

used the exorbitant salary he earned

previously at Oxford (about ten times

that of the average minister) to help support Puritan

ministers who were forbidden from preaching. Hewent from preaching before thousands in Ireland

and mentoring students at Oxford to pastoring a

small church of about thirty members. He wrote

many important books.

He died in 1683, comforted that the last book

he saw coming to print aimed to teach believers

how to meditate on the glory of Christ. His life-

long battle with the Socinians, who denied the

Trinity, the atonement, and almost every essential

doctrine of the Christian faith except the doctrine

of Scripture, provided the background for his

practical development of Trinitarian theology. So

we will draw from Communion with God , which

was his primary practical work on the Trinity.

whaT The Owen iPad dOes: The TriniTy,COvenanT TheOlOgy, and UniOn wiTh ChrisT

Three components make the “Owen iPad”:

the doctrine of the Trinity, covenant theology,

and union with Christ. The Trinity means that

God is one in essence and three in person. This

doctrine is revealed in Scripture and is not a

contradiction, since God is one of one thing and

three of something else. The Father begets the Son

OWEN TEACHES US HOW TO HAVE

COMMUNION WITH EACH DIVINE PERSON

JOINTLY AND DISTINCTLY. HIS BOOK ON

COMMUNION WITH GOD TREATS EACH

PERSON IN TURN WITH A PRACTICAL AIM.


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eternally, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father

and Son together. The unity of God means that all

three persons operate inseparably in every divine

work. The distinction between and the order of

the persons means that each divine person works

appropriately in every divine action. To illustrate,

the Father sent the Son to save his elect, Christ

took on true humanity, and he was conceived by

the power of the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb

(Luke 1:35). In terms of salvation, the Father

plans salvation, the Son purchases salvation, and

the Spirit applies salvation. God communicatesto us from the Father, through the Son, and by

the Spirit. In turn, we come to God by the Spirit,

through the Son, to the Father (Eph. 2:18).

The next two components work together. God

is high above us (Ps. 113). He comes to us in an

agreement called a covenant. This means that God

must be reconciled to sinners through Christ’s

death and that sinners must be reconciled to God

by the Spirit changing their hearts (Rom. 5:1-10;

2 Cor. 5:18-21; Jn. 3:3-5). Yet what good is it if

Christ has no personal relation to us and we still

stand under God’s wrath? We need faith to unite us

to Christ (1 Cor. 6:17), which means that all that is

his becomes ours. By Christ’s righteous life we arecounted righteous before God (Rom. 5:17-20), by

his cursed death God removes his wrath and curse

due to us for sin (Gal. 3:13), by his resurrection

we walk in newness of life and hope in the life

to come (Rom. 6:1-11), and by his ascension and

session in heaven he prepares a place for us (John

14:3) and lives to make intercession for us (Heb.

7:25). Christ is the bond of union between God

and us, ensuring through the Spirit’s work in our

hearts that we can be saved and walk with God.

This means that the gospel is Trinitarian. The

Father, Son, and Spirit save us together and

each in his own way. We live in covenant with

God through Christ, in which he adopts us as his

children (Gal. 4:1-4) and makes us joint heirsof heaven with Christ (Rom. 8:17). This should

enable us to live the entire Christian life, from the

new birth to the resurrection, in loving fellowship

with all three divine persons.

whaT dOes The Owen iPad lOOk like? The FaTher, The sOn, and The hOly sPiriT

This is where we should get excited. Owen

teaches us how to have communion with each

divine person jointly and distinctly. His book on

Communion with God treats each person in turn

with a practical aim.

The Trinitarian blessing in 2 Corinthians 13:14 canhelp us understand and remember how this works.

We hold communion with the Father primarily in

love. Some Christians treat Christ’s intercession

as though it is a cosmic wrestling match between

IN PRACTICAL TERMS, THIS MEANS

THAT YOU MUST GO TO CHRIST

FOR EVERYTHING. WHAT DO YOU

DO, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN YOUSTRUGGLE WITH INDWELLING SIN?

YOU MUST GO TO CHRIST FOR THE

SPIRIT TO GRANT YOU REPENTANCE

AND OBEDIENCE. IF YOU ARE

SERIOUS ABOUT THIS, THEN YOU

MUST USE THE MEANS THAT CHRIST

GIVES YOU TO PUT AWAY SIN,

TRUSTING IN HIM TO BLESS THEM.

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the Father and the Son in which the Son (barely)

prevails in holding back the Father’s wrath. Owen

noted that this insults the Father. It is God the

Father who so loved the world that he gave his

only begotten Son (John 3:16). When John wrote,

“God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16), he had the Father

in view primarily, since the Father proved his love

by giving us his Son. While all three persons love

us and Christ’s love surpasses knowledge (Eph.

3:19), we should think of the Father primarily

when we think of the love of God. This should

comfort us and lead us to love the Father everytime we say, “Our Father” in prayer.

We hold communion with the Son in grace. While

“grace” often means today, “I am a very bad person

and I need to keep reveling in my justication

before God,” Owen meant something different.

Grace includes all of the benets imparted to us by

the Father through Christ. This means that Christ

gives us everything we need for justication,

adoption, sanctication, persevering in godliness,

and glorication (Jn. 1:12; Rom. 8:28-39). Christ

is the wisdom and the power of God to salvation

(1 Cor. 1:24), which includes more than forgiving

our sins (1 Pet. 1:5). Since I am united to Christ’s

person through covenant, I partake of all thatChrist purchased.

In practical terms, this means that you must go

to Christ for everything. What do you do, for

example, when you struggle with indwelling

sin? You must go to Christ for the Spirit to grant

you repentance and obedience. If you are serious

about this, then you must use the means that Christ

gives you to put away sin, trusting in him to bless

them. This includes meditation on the nature of

sin, confronting yourself with Scripture, fervent

prayer for help, Christian fellowship, public

worship, sacraments, and other means by which

Christ communicates himself to you. You need to

be where Christ is and trust in his willingness and

ability to enable you to live for his glory. We walk

by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7).

We hold communion with the Spirit in comfort.

He creates and maintains fellowship between God

and us. As the seal of our redemption (2 Cor. 1:22),

he regenerates us and stamps us as belonging to

God. As the down-payment of our salvation (Eph.

1:14), he gives us partial possession and a foretaste

of heaven while we walk with God on earth. We

cultivate communion with the Spirit by growingin personal holiness (Gal. 5:25). When we fall

into sin, we live as citizens of hell though we are

truly citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:21). Owen argued

that to the extent that we cultivate communion

with the Spirit we have already begun to enjoy

heaven on earth. Elsewhere he wrote that if we do

not trust in the Spirit to help us know the Lord,then we may as well burn our Bibles! We must

cultivate fellowship with the Spirit by reading our

Bibles on our knees in prayer and by promoting

godly living through using the means of grace.

IT IS PRECISELY BECAUSE OF

GOD’S JEALOUSY FOR HIS

OWN GLORY, WHICH IS BEINGOPPOSED BY PHARAOH, THAT

GOD USING HIS SOVEREIGNTY

TO ACCOMPLISH MIGHTY ACTS

IS JUSTIFIED.


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why dO i need an Owen iPad?

Now you have a task set before you. The

application of Owen’s principles stretches into

every area of theology and into every part of the

Christian life. To see what this looks like, you can

begin by reading my very inexpensive book on

Owen. To see how this works and why, you can

read my very expensive book on Owen. However,the best way to grow in loving fellowship with

all three divine persons is to start reading Owen

himself, beginning with Communion with God.

Owen will help you stretch your mind and train

your spiritual muscles in order to run the race set

before you (Heb. 12:1-2). Take up and read, and

learn to love the triune God and to walk with him

in every area of life.

Ryan McGraw is pastor of First orthodox

Presbyterian Church in Sunnyvale, California;

research associate, University of the Free

State; adjunct professor of systematic theology,

Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He

is the author of The Foundation of Communion

with God: The Trinitarian Piety of John Owen (his inexpensive book!) and A Heavenly

Directory: Trinitarian Piety, Public Worship and

a Reassessment of John Owen’s Theology (his

expensive book!).

OWEN ARGUED THAT TO THE

EXTENT THAT WE CULTIVATE

COMMUNION WITH THE SPIRITWE HAVE ALREADY BEGUN TO

ENJOY HEAVEN ON EARTH.

ELSEWHERE HE WROTE THAT

IF WE DO NOT TRUST IN THE

SPIRIT TO HELP US KNOW

THE LORD, THEN WE MAY ASWELL BURN OUR BIBLES! WE

MUST CULTIVATE FELLOWSHIP

WITH THE SPIRIT BY READING

OUR BIBLES ON OUR KNEES IN

PRAYER AND BY PROMOTING

GODLY LIVING THROUGH USING

THE MEANS OF GRACE.

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Killing Sin

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J

ohn Owen would shake his head a little at

another article written about his contribution

to understanding the New Testament’steaching on killing remaining sin. He would have

much preferred future generations to be helped

to see more of the glory of God. He would nd

our obsession with killing the esh to be a sign

of our struggles in sanctication. However, given

our evangelical neglect of the duty to kill our sin,

John Owen comes with mighty encouragement to

assist us in our holy ambition to be like Christ.

WHAT TO DO WITH REMAINING SIN

Owen hones in on the Pauline exhortation, “If

you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you

will live” (Rom. 8:13). The Bible afrms that the

Christian has been delivered from the dominion

of sin by the Holy Spirit coming into his life.The Holy Spirit is the Christian’s new master,

deposing King Sin. The Christian has been made

free from sin’s insistent commands that he give in

to sin and satisfy its lusts; every true Christian is

now able to defy sin and do what is righteous. But,

of course, that does not make him sinless. Oh that

he were, but for that he must wait for heaven! The

remaining virus of sin and its misdeeds will ever

trouble us; it will make its presence felt even on

our deathbeds. What are we to do with remaining

sin which, while not controlling us, is still within

us?

THERE IS NO OTHER WAY THAN BY THE SPIRIT

We keep looking to the Lord Jesus Christ, ofcourse. Our constant trust in the Savior is the

source of our victory over sin. That is one biblical

insistence, and another is found in the eighth

chapter of Romans. Paul tells us that our hope lies

in putting to death the misdeeds of the body—

that is, in mortifying remaining sin by weakening,

starving, and murdering everything evil that rises

up within us to defy God and his law. We are to

be engaged in this work by the energy and under

the direction of the Spirit of God. Regeneration is

vain without the work of the Spirit. Sanctication

is vain without the work of the Spirit. The fruit

of Christ-likeness will never appear without the

Spirit. Intercession is impossible without the

Spirit. So we also are impotent to put to death

the misdeeds of the body without the Holy Spirit.

All other ways of killing sin are vain; all other

suggested helps are helpless. It must be done by

the Spirit, by him alone, not by appeal to any other

IF, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU

APPEAL TO YOGA TO KILL

YOUR SINFUL NATURES, ORPURSUE A SOLITARY LIFE IN

AN ISOLATED COTTAGE ON

TOP OF A WELSH MOUNTAIN,

OR BEAT YOURSELF WITH

A WHIP UNTIL THE BLOOD

FLOWS—ANYTHING OTHER

THAN THE GRACE OF THE

SPIRIT TO OVERCOME YOUR

SINS—THEN YOU ARE

SAYING THAT THE HOLY

SPIRIT IS INADEQUATE FOR

THIS WORK. THAT IS AN

INSULT TO HIM.

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power. If, for example, you appeal to Yoga to kill

your sinful natures, or pursue a solitary life in an

isolated cottage on top of a Welsh mountain, or

beat yourself with a whip until the blood ows—

anything other than the grace of the Spirit to

overcome your sins—then you are saying that theHoly Spirit is inadequate for this work. That is an

insult to him.

Remember the promises of God in the Old

Testament, especially in the prophecies of

Ezekiel 11:19 and 36:26, that the Spirit will come

and remove those elements of proud, stubborn,

rebellious unbelief from our hearts. That is thework of mortication, and it is only as a gift of

the Spirit of Christ that deliverance from sin and

increased likeness to the Lord can be ours. There

is no other way than by the Spirit. All the work

of weakening sin and increasing love, joy, and

peace is the work of God. So mortication is a

happy work. The very conception is his work; the

continuance is his work; the consummation is his

work. The Paraclete’s task in us is to weaken sin

and strengthen Christ. Only he is sufcient for

this work.

So as you battle with the sin that so easily besets

you, never forget your duty: “You put to death

the misdeeds of the body” (Rom. 8:13). You do

it. You don’t lie back on a comfy bed of ease andwait for the Spirit to do it. You have to put to death

the misdeeds of the body, but you do so by the

Spirit, by his power and love and wisdom. How

so? Owen says ve things.

1. THE SPIRIT ALONE CAN CONVINCE YOUR HEART

OF THE DANGER OF SIN

Your sin may seem to you to be beautiful, so natural,

so obvious, and so rational. “Who could possibly

consider it tawdry and ugly?” Consider the story

of Jonah, for example. Jonah arrives at the port of

Tarshish in deance of God’s command that he go

to Nineveh (which was in the opposite direction).

There Jonah discovers a boat on its way west with

a berth for him, and he has the money for the fare.Isn’t that an obvious indication of God’s approval

of Jonah’s reluctance to go to Nineveh? In ways

like that we persuade ourselves that it is all right

to do what the Lord forbids. We use providence

to support our own rebellion. If we are left to our

own wits it will be a very long time before we

mortify our pride and look to the cross of Christ.

But the Spirit speaks to our conscience, sounds

an alarm, and doesn’t stop. “What are you doing

here Jonah?” Being convinced of the danger of

sin comes only by the work of the Spirit.

SO AS YOU BATTLE WITH THE SIN

THAT SO EASILY BESETS YOU,

NEVER FORGET YOUR DUTY: “YOU

PUT TO DEATH THE MISDEEDS

OF THE BODY” (ROM. 8:13).

YOU DO IT. YOU DON’T LIE BACK

ON A COMFY BED OF EASE AND

WAIT FOR THE SPIRIT TO DO IT.

YOU HAVE TO PUT TO DEATH THEMISDEEDS OF THE BODY, BUT

YOU DO SO BY THE SPIRIT, BY HIS

POWER AND LOVE AND WISDOM.


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2. THE SPIRIT ALONE REVEALS AND TEACHES THE

FULLNESS OF CHRIST TO DELIVER YOU

Think of Christ as the greatest teacher the world

has ever known. What did Jesus say? Didn’t he tell

us that if our eye offended us that we should pluck

it out? What did his apostles say? “If by the Spirit

you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you

will live” (Rom. 8:13). Jesus and Paul are talking

about the same duty. “Hear Christ the teacher,”

the Spirit says. He brings to our remembrance

what the Lord said.

What of our future? Where shall we soon be? Our

God is the end of the journey; we shall soon meet

at the feet of Christ, and separate is that place from

sin. All who have this hope purify themselves,

for God is pure. The Spirit constantly reminds us

of the future God is preparing. “As it is written:

‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has

conceived what God has prepared for those who

love him’—but God has revealed it to us by his

Spirit” (1 Cor. 2:8-10).

Finally, the love of Christ constrains us to put our

sins to death. As the well-known pastor Al Martin

once said,

If you were to see Paul through

a normal day spending his

energies and his faculties in self-

sacricing service for the Lord

Jesus and for the sake of the

souls of men, and at the close of

that day you were to watch him

drop exhausted to his place of

rest, and you were to say to him,

“Paul, what is it that drives you

with what seems to the world

this almost insane passion to

preach the gospel, to rescue men as brands from

the burning, to establish men in the truth as you

write your letters, to give yourself to the formation

and the edication of the churches?”, Paul would

say, “If you want to know in a simple statement

the secret of what drives me, it is this: The love

of Christ holds me in its grip, it constrains me,

that is, Christ’s love for me, the fact that I stand

in constant amazement that the Son of God loved

me and gave himself for me.” This was the gospel

motive, an understanding of the fullness of Christ,

which drove Paul with far more zeal than anylegal motivation could drive a man.

3. THE SPIRIT ALONE SUSTAINS YOUR HEART IN

EXPECTATION OF HELP COMING FROM CHRIST

Listen to John Owen:

Be convinced, I say, of the power that is in

Christ to overcome sin. “Thou shalt call his

name Jesus, for he shall save his people from

their sins” [Matt. 1:21]. “Who gave himself for

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Prince of Puritans-John Owen

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