PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Works of John Owen — Volume 16
John Owen · 342,880 words · 351 reading sections
Section 1
It -A. It ■K' \a^l I 1^ iVo.. .5 ^ ^ Date ^sf ^ 6 . i:-^ . O^, ^ PRINCETON, N. J. ^ '%. Presented by~V^vi2. S> \ cX e^Y^V V^CA-V-N" o X~\ BX 9315 .08 1850 v. 16 Owen, John, 1616-1683. The works of John Owen THE WORKS op JOHN OWEN, D.D. BY THE REV. WILLIAM H. GOOLD, EDINBURGH. VOL. XVI. NEW YORK: ROBERT …
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IV. — General premises— Opinions prejudicial to the authority of the originals in the Prolegomena enumerated — The just consequences of ttiese premises — Others engaged in these opinions— Of Cappellus— Of Origen, Ximenes, Arias Montanus' editions of the Bible, ..... 367 V. — The original of the points proposed to cons…
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I. THE SUBJECT-MATTER OF THE CHUECH. II. THE FOEMAL CAUSE OF A PARTICULAR CHURCH. III. OF THE POLITY, RULE, OR DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH IN GENERAL. IV. THE OFFICERS OF THE CHURCH. V. THE DUTY OF PASTORS OF CHURCHES. VI. THE OFFICE OF TEACHERS IN THE CHURCH. VII. OF THE RULE OF THE CHUECH, OR OF RULING ELDERS. VIII…
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Edmund Elys, son of a clergyman in Devonshire, author of some Latin productions in prose and poetry, replied to this work in 1(590, by the publication of "Animadversions upon some passages in a book entitled ' The True Nature of a Gospel Church, etc' "—Ed. THE PEEFACE TO THE KEADER. The church of Christ, according as…
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Whence it is most evident that all church-officers, so far as they had any pas- toral or episcopal office, were given to a particular congregation as the -rpurov hxTixov. We read of no pastors of many congregations, nor of any church made up of many congregations, to which officers were annexed, nor of any representa- …
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Again: unto this mystical church is only essentially necessary a mystical union unto the Lord Jesus Christ, by the gift of the Father, acceptation and covenant- undertaking of the Son : the powerful and efficacious work of the Spirit of the 6 THE PREFACE. Father and the Son working true saving faith in the Lord Jesus…
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The word translated " order," Col. ii. 5, Tali;, is a military word; it is the order of soldiers in a band, keeping rank and file, where every one keeps his place, follows his leader, observes the word of command, and his right-hand man. Hence the apostle joys to see their close order and steadfastness in the faith, th…
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THE PREFACE. 9 of evangelical churches, their original, institution, etc., with a vindication of them from the charges laid in against them by the author of " The Unreasonableness of Separation." This he lived to print, and promised to handle the subject more particularly ; which is here performed. He lived to finish …
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Some things, therefore, are to be premised unto what shall be offered unto the right stating of this inquiry ; as, — 1. That if there be no more required of any, as unto personal qualifications, in a visible, uncontrollable profession, to constitute them subjects of Christ's kingdom and members of his church, Ezek. xx…
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3. They are to be such as visibly ansiuer the description given of 14 TRUE NATUEE OF A GOSPEL CIIURCTI. gospel cliurclies in the Scripture, so as the titles assigned therein unto the members of such churches may on good grounds be appro- priated unto them. To compose churches of such persons as do not visibly answer …
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16 TRUE NATURE OF A GOSPEL CHURCH. (2.) There is requked unto it a 'professed subjection of soul and conscience unto the authority of Christ in the church, Matt, xxviii. 18-20; 2 Cor. viii. 5. This in general is performed by all that are baptized when they are adult, as being by their own actual consent baptized in th…
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VOL. XVI. 2 18 TRUE NATURE OF A GOSPEL CHURCH, God himself from any share in the privileges of his covenant, Ps. 1. 16, 17. Divines of all sorts do dispute, from the Scripture and the testimo- nies of the ancients, that hj^ocrites and persons unregenerate may be true members of visible churches; and it is a matter v…
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But so it fell out, that in the protestant reformation of the church 20 TRUE NATURE OF A GOSPEL CHURCH. very little regard was had thereunto. Those great and worthy per- sons who were called unto that work did set themselves principally, yea, solely, for the most part, against the false doctrine and idola- trous wors…
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2. If the corruption of a church, as to the matter of it, be such as that, — (1.) It is inconsistent with and overthroweth all that communion that ought to be among the members of the same church, in love without dissimulation (whereof we shall treat afterward) ; (2.) If the scandals and offences which must of necess…
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The neglect of this duty brings inconceivable prejudice unto churches, and if continued in will prove their ruin; for they are not to be preserved, propagated, and continued, at the easy rate of a constant supply by the carnal baptized posterity of those who do at any time, justly or unjustly, belong unto them, but the…
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For the most part, the churches that are in the world at present know not how they came so to be, continuing only in that state which they have received by tradition from their fathers. Few there are who think that any act or duty of their own is required to instate them in church order and relation. And it is acknowle…
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5. Herein do they give themselves unto the Lord and to one an- other, by their officers, in a peculiar manner, according to the will of God, 2 Cor. viii. 5. 6. To " give ourselves unto the Lord," — that is, unto the Lord Jesus Christ, — is expressly to engage to do and observe all that he hath appointed and commanded …
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of it, to administer and dispense all its privileges, and to exercise all its authority, the consent and engagement insisted on is expressly required unto the constitution of this order and the preservation of it; for without this no believer can be brought into that relation unto another as his pastor, guide, overseer…
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CHAPTER III. Of the polity, rule, or discipline of the church in general. I. The things last treated of concern the essence of the church, or the essential constituent parts of it, according unto the appoint- OF THE POLITY, ETC., OF THE CHURCH IN GENERAL. SI ment of Christ. It remains, in the next place, that we sh…
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OF THE POLITY, ETC., OF THE CHURCH IN GENERAL. S3 Wherefore there is no rule of the church but what is ininisterial, consisting in an authoritative declaration and appUcation of the commands and will of Christ unto the souls of men; wherein those who exei'cise it are servants unto the church for its edification, for J…
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2. Tliis power is ceased in the church. It is so, not by virtue of any law or constitution of Christ, but by a cessation of those actings whence it did flow and whereon it did depend. For unto this apostolical office and power there were required, — (1.) An immediate 2}€rsonal call from Christ himself; (2.) A commissio…
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2. Wherever there are "two or three" of these believers (the small- est number), right or power is granted unto them actuall}' to meet together in the name of Christ for their mutual edification; where- unto he hath promised his presence among them. Matt, xviii. 19, 20. To meet and to do any thing in the name of Christ…
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This collation of spiritual gifts and abiHties for office by Jesus Christ unto any doth not immediately constitute all those, or any of them, officers in the church, on whom they are collated, without the observation of that method and order which he hath appointed in the church for the communication of office-power ; …
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That this power, under the name of "the keys of the kingdom of heaven," was originally granted unto the whole professing church of believers, and that it is utterly impossible it should reside in any other, who is subject unto death, or if so, be renewed upon any occa- sional intermission, is so fully proved by all Pro…
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CHAPTER IV. The officers of the church. The church is considered either as it is essential, with respect unto its nature and being, or as it is organical, with respect unto its order.' The constituent causes and parts of the church, as unto its essence and being, are its institution, matter, and form, whereof we hav…
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44 TRUE NATURE OF A GOSPEL CHURCH. byters in one church only, or in many distinct churches, — whether it must be such as not only hinders them utterly from the discharge of any of the duties of the pastoral office towards the most of them whom they esteem their flocks, and necessitates them unto a rule by unscriptural…
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5. The substance of these and all other instances or testimonies of the same kind is this: Those whose names are the same, equally common and applicable unto them all, whose function is the same, Avhose qualifications and characters are the same, whose duties, ac- count, and reward are the same, concerning whom there i…
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The name of a pastor or shejjherd is metaphorical. It is a deno- mination suited unto his work, denoting the same office and person with a bishop or elder, spoken of absolutely, without limitation unto either teaching or ruling; and it seems to be used or applied unto this office because it is more comjDrehensive of an…
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The qualifications of Christ unto, and the gracious qualities of his mind and soul in, the discharge of his pastoral office, may be referred unto five heads: — (L) That furniture luith spiritual gifts and abilities by the com- munication of the Holy Ghost unto him in an unmeasurable fulness, whereby he was fitted for …
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2. Again ; none can or vadsy take this office upon him, or discharge the duties of it, which are peculiarly its own, with authority, but he who is called and set apart thereunto according to the mind of Jesus Christ. The continuation of all church order and power, of the regular administration of all sacred ordinances,…
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THE OFFICERS OF THE CHURCH. 53 of the gospel, as to the preservation of them, all are committed to them. Col. iv. 17; 1 Tim. vl. 20; 2 Tim. ii. 2, 16, 23; Acts xx. 28; 1 Pet. v. 1-4; Heb. xiii. 17, "They that must give account." Nothinof can be more wicked or foolish than for a man to intrude himself into a trust whic…
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Two ways is the meetness of any one made known and to be judged of : — 1. By an evidence given of the qualifications in him • before mentioned. The church is not to call or choose any one to office who is not known unto them, of whose frame of spirit and walking they have not had some experience; not a novice, or one l…
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The first of these ways was repeated in the foundation of the evan- gelical church. Christ himself was called unto his office by the Father, through the unction of the Spirit, Isa. Ixi. 1-3, Heb. v. 5; and he himself called the apostles and evangelists, in whom that call ceased. The second, ordinary way, by the privile…
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This blessed example, given us by the wisdom of the apostles, yea, of the Spirit of God in them, being eminently suited unto the nature of the thing itself, as we shall see immediately, and compliant with all other directions and apostolical examples in the like case, is rather to be followed than the practice of some …
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60 TRUE NATURE OF A GOSPEL CHURCH. precedent for the future ordering of the calling of meet persons to office in the church, their interest, power, and privilege secured unto them, so as that they can never justly be deprived of it. And if there were nothing herein but only a record of the wisdom of the apostles in ma…
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1. The native signification of yjipo-ovsu, by virtue of its composi- tion, is to "lift up" or " stretch forth the hands," or a hand. And hereunto the LXX. have respect, Isa. Iviii. 9, where they render ^d^ i'^y^, "the putting forth of the finger," which is used in an ill sense, by -/iiporovia. XfiporovsTv is the same w…
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The same authors contend that the liberty of choosing their own officers or elders, such as it was, was granted unto them or permitted by way of condescension for a season, and not made use of by vir- tue of any right in them thereunto. But this permission is a mere imagination. It was according to the mind of Christ t…
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2. The power of the keys as unto binding and loosing, and con- sequently as unto all other acts thence proceeding, is expressly granted unto the whole church: Matt, xviii. 17, 18, " If he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man an…
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On these suppositions, in a society absolutely voluntary, among * Not attainable ? — Ed. THE OFFICERS OF THE CHURCH. 67 those who in their conjunction into it by their own consent are every way equal, there can but three things be required unto the actual constitution of rule and office among them : — And the first …
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This order was a long time observed in the ancient church invio- late, and the footsteps of it may be traced through all ages of the church, although it first gradually decayed, then was perverted and corrupted, until it issued (as in the Roman church) in a pageant and show, instead of the reality of the things themsel…
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And afterward, speaking of ordination " de universse fraternitatis suffragio," " by the suffrage of the whole brotherhood of the church," he says, " Diligenter de traditione divina, et apostolica observatione servandum est et tenendum apud nos quoque et fere per universas provincias tenetur;" — "According to which divi…
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It will be objected, I know, that the restoration of this liberty unto the people will overthrow that jws patronattis, or right of present- ing unto livings and preferments which is established by law in this nation, and so, under a pretence of restoring unto the people their right in common, destroy other men's undoub…
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The plea of the communication of all authority for office, and of office itself, solely by a flux of power from the first ordainers, through the hands of their pretended successors in all ages, under all the innumerable miscarriages whereunto they are subject, and have actually fallen into, without any respect unto the…
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THE ESPECIAL DUTY OF PASTORS OF CHURCHES. 77 levelled to the condition of the auditory; speaking what men can, without consideration of what they ought, — are things that will make men weary of preaching, when their minds are not influenced with outward advantages, as much as make others weary in hearing of them. And,…
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It Avere much to be desired that all those who take upon them this pastoral office did well consider and understand how great and necessary a part of their work and duty doth consist in their con- tinual fervent prayer for their flocks ; for besides that it is the only THE ESPECIAL DUTY OF PASTORS OF CHURCHES. 79 ins…
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Though the church be the only subject, it is not the only object of gospel ordinances, but that is various. For instance,— (1.) The 'preaching of the word: its first object is the world, for conversion ; its next, professors, for edification. (2.) Baptism: its only object is neither the world nor the mem- hers of a p…
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THE ESPECIAL DUTY OF PASTOKS OF CHURCHES. 83 over their oivn fiocks against the craft of seducers from without, or the springing up of any bitter root of error among themselves. (7.) A concurrent assistance luith the elders and 'messengers of other churches with Avhom they are in communion, in the declaration of the f…
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THE ESPECIAL DUTY OF PASTOES OF CHURCHES. 85 ter, for as such the administration of the gospel is committed unto him, as unto all the ends of it, whereof the chief, as was said, is the conversion of souls ; yea, of such weight it is that the conveniency and edification of particular churches ought to give place unto i…
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THE ESPECIAL DUTY OF PASTORS OF CHURCHES. 87 (2.) To be ready and willing to attend unto the especial cases that may he brought unto them, and not to look on them as unnecessary diversions, whereas a due application unto them is a principal part of their office and duty. To discountenance, to discourage any from seeki…
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THE ESPECIAL DUTY OF PASTORS OF CHURCHES. 89 improved among the people. If persons light or profane in their habits, garbs, and converse, corrupt in their communication, unsa- voury and barren as unto spiritual discourse; if such as are covetous, oppressive, and contentious; such as are negligent in holy duties in the…
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6. " There being so many duties necessary unto the discharge of this office, and those of such various sorts and kinds as to require various gifts and abilities unto their due performance, it seems very difficult to find a concurrence of them in any one person in any considerable deo-ree, so that it is hard to conceive…
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(2.) Such persons, so set apart and sent, may be esteemed minis- ters in the general notion of the word, and may be useful in the calling and planting of churches, wherein they may be instated in the pastoral office. This was originally the work of evangelists, THE ESPECIAL DUTY OF PASTORS OF CHURCHES. 93 which offic…
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2. May a pastor remove from one congregation unto another? This is a thing also which the ancient church made great provi- sion against; for when some churches were increased in members, reputation, privileges, and wealth, above others, it grew an ordinary practice for the bishops to design and endeavour their own rem…
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(5.) It may be lawful where the church is wholly negligent in its duty, and persists in that negligence, after admonition, in providing, according to their abilities, for the outward necessity of their pastor and his family. But this case cannot be determined without the consideration of many particular circumstances. …
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4. Some judge that it was a distinct office, but of the same nature and kind with that of the pastor, endowed with all the same powers, but differenced from it with respect unto gifts and a peculiar kind of work allotted unto it. But this opinion hath this seeming disad- vantage, that the difference between them is so …
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1. In the primitive church, about the end of the second century, before there was the least attempt to introduce new officers into the church, there were persons called unto the office and work of public teaching who were not pastors, nor called unto the administration of other ordinances. Those of this sort in the chu…
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102 TEUE NATUEE OF A* GOSPEL CHUECH. especial obligation unto one sort of duties, and to another sort from the other. 4. These teachers are set in the church as in a distinct office from that of prophets, " secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers," 1 Cor. xii. 28. And so they are mentioned distinctly in the church of …
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104f TiiuE natuhe of a gospel church. of it in all its parts, unto the edification of the church, especially when it is numerous, being impossible for any one man, or it may be more, in the same office, where all are obliged unto an especial at- tendance on one part of it, namely, the word and prayer, it pleased the L…
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5. Wherefore let the state of the church be preserved and kept unto its original constitution, which is congregational, and no other, and I do judge that the order of the officers which Avas so early in the primitive church, — namely, of one pastor or bishop in one church, assisted in rule and all holy administrations …
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1 08 TRUE NATURE OF A GOSPEL CHURCH. 8. But this distribution mentioned of cliurcli-power is unso'ip- tural, nor is there any footsteps of it in antiquity. It is so as unto the two latter branches of it. That any one should have the power of order to preach the word, to administer the seals, to bind and loose the cons…
973 wordsSource & rights
Public-domain historical edition (1850–1870); OCR text from Internet Archive. OCR may contain scanning/transcription errors. Verify quotations against page images when precision matters.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.