PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Works of John Owen — Volume 2
John Owen · 248,045 words · 245 reading sections
Section 1
pUJXrKTON, X J- BX'"'^315""08 1850 v. 2 Owen, John, 1616-1683. The works of John Owen THE WORKS JOHN OWEN, D.D. EDITED BY THE REV. WILLIAM H. GOOLD, EDINBURGH. VOL. II. I^EW YORK: ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS, 285 BROADWAY. M.DCCC.IJ. CONTENTS OF VOL. 11. OF COMMUNION WITH GOD THE FATHER, SON, . AND HOLY GHOS…
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CuAr. VL — Of communion with Christ in purchased gi-ace — Purchased grace con- sltl(>red in respect of its rise and fountain — The first rise of it, in the obedience of Christ — Obedience properly ascribed to Christ — Two ways considered : what CONTENTS. V Pogo it was, and -wherein it did consist — Of his obedience …
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Chap. V. — Some observations and inferences from discourses foregoing concerning the Spirit — The contempt of the whole administration of the Spirit by some — The vain pretence of the Spirit by othei'S — The false spirit discovered . . 254 Chap. VI. — Of particiilar communion with the Holy Ghost^Of preparation thereun…
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An account of the strange controversy to whicii this treatise gave rise, nuniy years after its publication, will be found on page 276. — Fn. PREFACE. Christian Reader, It is now six years past since I was brought under an engagement of promise for the pubhshing of some meditations on the subject which thou wilt find …
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That the saints have communion with God — 1 John i. 3 considered to that purpose — Somewhat of the nature of communion in general. In the First Epistle of John, chap, i., verse 3, the apostle assures them to whom he ^vrote that the fellowship of believers "is with the Father, and with his Sou Jesus Christ:"^ and this …
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OF COMMUNION WITH GOD. 7 to God, 2 Cor. iii. ]5, 16, etc. But now in Christ we have ^bold- ness and access with confidence to God, Eph. iii. 12. Tliis boldness and access with confidence the saints of old were not acquainted with. By Jesus Christ alone, then, on all considei'ations as to being and full manifestation, …
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Our communion, then, with God consisteth in his communication of himself unto us, tvith our returnal unto him of that which he ro- quireth and accepteth, flowing from that union* which in Jesus Christ 'Axj/Srif /Av out \\i ToitUTois cvx iVt;» i^ifff^os, iaj{ t'ivo; ol (piXov ToWuv ya.^ a(paiptv/ii- »wv, tri fiivti, -s…
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And not only in the emanation of grace irom God, and the illapses of the Spirit on us, but also in all our approaches unto God, is the same distinction observed.' " For through Christ we have access by one Spirit unto the Father," Eph. ii. 18. Our access unto God (wherein we have communion with him) is dia xpiffrov, " …
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The like also is said of love. 1 John ii. 1 5, " If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him;" that is, the love which we bear to him, not that which we receive from him. The Father is here placed as the object of our love, in opposition to the world, which takes up our afifections ^ ayann toZ Uarpo…
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T 4 OF COMMUNION WITH EACH PEllSON DISTINCTLY. ■ — that is, with divine love, the love of religious worship; which is the only incorrupt love of the Lord Jesus. Farther: that faith, hope, and love, acting themselves in all man- ner of obedience and appointed worship, are peculiarly due from the saints,^ and distinctl…
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[1.] Unto the Father. The accomplishment of that promise is peculiarly referred to him, John vi. 45, " It is written in the pro- phets. And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me." This teaching, whereby we are translated from death unto life…
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Sdly. The Spirit doth it by the way of immediate efficacy, Rom. viii. 11, " But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." Here are all three comprised, with their distinct concur…
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4. By asserting this distinct communion, which merely respects that order in the dispensation of gi-ace which God is pleased to hold out in the gospel, I intend not in the least to shut up all communion with God under these precincts (his ways being exceeding broad, con- taining a perfection whereof there is no end), n…
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* " Qiioinodo iiritur ncfjat? neji^at socnndinn fpiid; hoc est, nogat se ideo rogatii- runi patreiii, ut i)atreni illis coiicilii't, ot ad illos amaiidos et exaudieiidos flcctat; quasi noil sit suaptespoiite erga illos proponsus. Voliiit ergo Cliristus his vi-rhisper- siiadcroapostolis, iioii solum se, ko<1 etiam ipsum…
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I shall not need to add any more proofs. This is that which is demonstrated: — There is love in the person of the Father 2:)eculiarly held out unto the saints, as luherein he will and doth hold commu- nion with them. Now, to complete commimion with the Father in love, two things are required of believers : — (1.) That…
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Thus is this whole business stated by the apostle, Eph. i. 4, " Ac- cording as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love." It begins in the love of God, and ends in our love to him. That is it which the eternal love of God aims at in us, and…
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cency in his love. There is in the Hebrew hut a metathesis of a letter between the word that signifies a love of will and desire {-'j'^ is so to love), and that which denotes a love of rest and acquiescency (which is, i^^'?) ; and botli are applied to God. He wills good to us, that he may rest in that will. Some say, d…
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(2dly.) Our returns are all in him, and by him also. And well is it with us that it is so. What lame and blind sacrifices should we otherwise present unto God ! He ^ bears the iniquity of our offerings, and he adds incense unto our pra3'ers. Our love is fixed on the Father ; but it is conveyed to him through the Son of…
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(2dly.) Our love is consequential in both these regards : — [1st.] In respect of the love of God. Never did creature turn his af- fections towards God, if the heart of God were not first set upon him. [2dly.} In respect of sufificient causes of love. God must be revealed unto us as lovely and deskable, as a fit and s…
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But now our love to God is ebbiiig and flowing, waning and in- creasing. We lose our first love, and we grow again in love;^ — scarce a day at a stand. What poor creatures are we ! How unlike the Lord and his love! " Unstable as v/ater, we cannot excel." Now it is, " Though all men forsake thee, I will not;" anon, " I …
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'^dly. Free. He^ loves us because he will; there was, there is, nothing in us for which we should be beloved. Did we deserve his love, it must go less in its valuation. Things of due debt are seldom the matter of thankfulness; but that which is eternally antecedent to our being, must needs be absolutely free in its res…
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(2.) This will be exceeding effectual to endear thy soul unto God, to cause thee to delight in him, and to make thy abode with him. Many saints have no greater burden in their lives, than that their hearts do not come clearly and fully up, constantly to delight and ' Gen. iii. 5. ' 'E(p' J Wvrs; ri/jia^rov, Rom. v, 12…
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To make yet some farther improvement of this truth so opened and exhorted unto as before; — it will discover unto us the eminency and privilege of the saints of God. What low thoughts soever the sons of men may have of them, it will appear that they have meat to eat that the world knows not of They have close communion…
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And if this be so (to shut up all), how many that go under the name of Christians, come short of the truth of it ! How unacquainted are the generality of professors with the mystery of this communion, and the fruits of it ! Do not many very evidently hold communion with their lusts and with the world, and yet would be …
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Cant. ii. 1-7, " I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my Beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste," etc. In the two first…
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' Cant. V. 1. 3 Matt. v. 6. » John iv. 14. * Isa. xxv. 6; Prov. ix. 2. * Jonah iv. 6; Isa. xxv. 4, xxxii. 2; 2 Cor. v. 21; Gal. iii. 13; Mai. iv. 2. 44 OF COMMUNION WITH THE SON JESUS CUllIST. from wrath under the covert of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus ! There is also refreshment in a shade from weariness. He…
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(4.) Siqyportment and consolation, verse 6, " His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me." Christ here hath the posture of a most tender friend towards any one in sickness and sadness. The soul faints ^vith love, — spiritual longings after the enjoyment of his presence ; and Christ comes in with…
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Grace is a word of various acceptations. In its most eminent sig- nifications it may be referred unto one of these three heads : — 1. Grace oi personal presence and comeliness. ^So we say, "A grace- ful and comely person," either from himself or his ornaments. This in Christ (upon the matter) is the subject of near on…
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\st. He is luldte in the glory of his Deity, and ruddy in the pre- ciousness of his humanity. " His teeth are white with milk, and his eyes are red with wine," Gen. xlix. 12. Whiteness (if I may so say) is the complexion of glory. In that appearance of the Most High, the " Ancient of days," Dan. vii. 9, it is said, " H…
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(\st) His fitness to save, — his being ixavog, a fit Saviour, suited to the work ; and this, I say, is from his gi^ace of union. The uniting of the natures of God and man in one person made him fit to be a Saviour to the uttermost. He lays his hand upon God, by partaking of his nature, Zech. xiii. 7 ; and he lays his h…
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OF COMMUNION WITH THE SON JESUS CHRIST. 5S. and delight themselves withal, with which they [may] hold commu- nion ; and there are two ways whereby men proceed in the pursuit of what they so aim at. Some set before them some certain end, — per- haps pleasure, profit, or, in religion itself, acceptance with God ; others…
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To this puri)ose we have his faithful engagement, Hos. ii. 19, 20, " I will," saith he, "betroth thee unto mc for ever; yea, I will betroth OF COMMUNION WITH THE SON JESUS CHRIST. 55 thee UBto me in rigliteousiiess, and in judgment, and in loving-kind- ness, and in mercies. I will even beti'oth thee unto me in faithf…
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unto, — I WILL BE FOR THEE, AND THOU SHALT BE FOR ME, and not for another. 1st. Christ gives himself to the soul, with all his excellencies, right- eousness, preciousness, graces, and eminencies, to be its Saviour, head, and husband, for ever to dwell with it in this holy relation. He looks upon the souls of his sain…
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C^dhj.) The accepting of Christ by the will, as its only husband. Lord, and Saviour. This is called "receiving" of Christ, John i. 12; and is not intended only for that solemn act whereby at first entrance we close with him, but also for the constant frame of the soul in abiding with him and owning of him as such. When…
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If any one should ask, now, with them in the Canticles, what is in the Lord Jesus, our beloved, more than in other beloveds, that should make him so desirable, and amiable, and worthy of acceptation? what is he more than others? I ask, What is a king more than a beggar ? Much every way. Alas ! this is nothing ; they we…
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Consider, hence, his eternal, free, unchangeable love. Were the love of Christ unto us but the love of a mere man, though never so excellent, innocent, and glorious, it must have a bscjinning, it must have an ending, and j^erhaps be fruitless. The love of Christ in his human natui'e towards his is exceeding, intense, t…
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curse falling on all other oblations, and them that offer them, Mai. i. 14. The purity of the snow is not to be compared with the white- ness of this lily, of this ^rose of Sharon, even from the womb: "For such an high j)riest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, sepa- rate from sinners," Heb. vii. 26. Sanctifi…
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''Idly. For the pollution of our nature, it was prevented in him from the instant of conception, Luke i. 35, " The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee : therefore also that holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." He was " made of a woman," G…
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(L) Hence was \\e jlt^ to suffer and able to bear whatever was due unto us, in that very action wherein the " Son of man gave his life a ransom for many," Matt. xx. 28. " God redeemed his church with his o\m blood," Acts xx. 28 ; and therein was the " love of God seen, that he gave his hfe for us," 1 John iii. 16. On t…
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' John xvi. 14, 15. ' Isa. liii. 11, 12; John i. 16; Col. i. 19, 20. 3 Heb. xii. 2; Rev. i. 11, OF COMMUNION WITH THE SON JESUS CHRIST. 69 the payment of the great price of his blood, and full acquitment on the satisfaction he made, all grace whatever (of which at large after- ward) becomes, in a moral sense, his, a…
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' Gen. xlix. 10; Nuinl). xxiv. 17, If); Ps. ii. 1-9, Ixx.xix. 19-2.'), ex. 1-.3; Isa. xi. 1, 4, xxxii. I, 2, liii. 12, Ixiii. 1-3; .Jer. xxiii. 5, (J; Dan. vii. 13, 14; Luko ii. 11. xix. 38; Joim v. 22, 23; Acts ii. 34-36, v. 31; Piiil. ii. 9-11 ; Epii.i. 20^22 ; Rev. V. 12-14, xix. 16. = Isa. Ixiii. 3. = Ps. ex. 6; Re…
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And if you take the head in a natural sense, either the gloiy of his Deity is here attended to, or the fulness and excellency of his wisdom, which the head is the seat of The allegory is not to be straitened, whilst we keep to the analogy of faith. 2. For the ornaments of his head ; his locks, they are said to be "bus…
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lency of his love to us, that he takes care to take away our filth and stains, that he may delight in us; and seeing wc are so defiled, that it could no otherwise be done, he will do it by his own blood, Eph. V. 25-27, " Even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse i…
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2. Order and beauty are as spices set in a garden bed. So are the graces of Christ. When spices are set in order, any one may know what is for his use, and take and gather it accordingly. Their answering, also, one to another makes them beautiful. So are the graces of Christ; in the gospel they are distinctly and in or…
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Verse 15. The strength of his kingdom, the faithfulness and sta- hility of his promises, — the height and glory of his person in his do- minion,— the sweetness and excellency of communion with him, is set forth in these words: "His legs areas pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold ; his countenance is as Leban…
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A SECOND consideration of tlie excellencies of Christ, serving to endear the hearts of them who stand with him in the relation in- sisted on, arises from that which, in the mistaken apprehension of it, is the great darling of men, and in its true notion the great aim of the saints; which is wisdom and knowledge. Let it…
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' 'E^rs/ ovv TO ys\/o//,ivoy o xofffio; io-tiv o ^vft'^rajy o tovtov ^iotouyi Ta^a, a» axou<ra,i -xcta ttlrOV, ili ijJii Ti-TrcittKltl 0 fc)£Of I'lotill. OF COMMUNION WITH THE SON JESUS CHRIST. 81 known ; — as his patience, long-suffering, and forbearance. For all things being made ^good, there could be no place for…
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' "E.irTu) V/) 'iXio;, Xiirri ri; It] (paivsfntcu jtaxu ^^u^tikZ xai XvrA^if Toy ava^icv Tuy^d- viiv Arist. 2. Rhet. "Quid aiitein niiseiicordia, nisi alieiue miseriae quaedaiii iu nostro cordo compassio; quaalicui, si possunius,subvcnire compelliniui?" — August, de Civit. Dei, lib. i-N.. cap. 5. OF COMMUNION WITH T…
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2dli/. In the penalty inflicted on Christ for sin, this justice is far more gloriously manifested than otherwise. To see, indeed, a world, 'H /x,iv iXuv pi^pa Is TcipTictcv iiieoi»ra, TjXt fiuX't nx' /3a('/«'r«v vTO ^^cvis ton fiioiPoov, "Ev^a irihr,^iiai ri TuXxi ko.) ^dXxii; ciSii;, Tos-ffcv I'nj^' 'Ai'Sii), i'rov …
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"idhj. In the nature of it. What is there in that forbearance which out of Christ is revealed? Merely a not immediate punishing upon the*^ offence, and, withal, giving and continuing temporal mercies; such things as men are prone to abuse, and may perish with their bosoms full of them to eternity. That which lies hid i…
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[3.] His wisdom, his infinite wisdom, in managing things for his own glory, and the good of them towards whom he hath thoughts of love. The Lord, indeed, hath laid out and manifested infinite wis- dom^ in his works of creation, providence, and governing of his world : in "wisdom hath he made all his creatures. " How ma…
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[4.] His all-sufficiency is the last of this sort that I shall name. God's all-sufificiency in himself is his absolute and universal per- fection, whereby nothing is wanting in him, nothing to him: no accession can be made to his fulness, no decrease or wasting can happen thereunto. There is also in him an all-suffici…
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Now, this is a saving knowledge, and full of consolation, when we can see all the properties of God made glorious and exalted in a way of doing us good. And this wisdom is hid only in Jesus Christ. Hence, when he desired his Father to glorify his name, John xii. 24, — to make in him his name (that is, his nature, his '…
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' 'H fft^'ia ijTi rut rifi.iiora.ru)i Al'ist. ' Ta "hiKKiuj/.a Tou Bssi/ iTiyviiirtf en el ra reittura ^^ccrretris a^iei ^cttccrev tiriy. — Roill. i. 32. "Peifeclo (Icimim scolere, inagiiitmlo ejus iiitellecta est." — Tacit. T( ^^rifict Tcitr^iK ; ris a a.-x'eX'Kvfti teres; 'H a-vn<ris, on iruveilcc SiiV ti^yairf/.i…
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Moreover, God is not at all delighted with, nor desirous of, the })lood, the tears, the cries, the inexpressible torments and sufferings, of the Son of his love (for he delights not in the anguish of any, — " he doth not* afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men," much less the Son of his bosom) ; only he requ…
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1st. God hath there discovered that no sacrifices for sin, though of his own aj^pointment, could ever make them perfect that offered them, Heb. x. 1 1. Those sacrifices could never take away sin ;^ — those services could never make them perfect that performed them, as to the conscience, Heb. ix. 9 ; as the apostle prov…
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100 OF COMMUNION WITH THE SON JESUS CHRIST. twofold dying of sin : — as to the exercise of it in our mortal members ; and as to tlie root, principle, and power of it in our souls. The first, indeed, may be learned in part out of Christ. Christless men may have sin dying in them, as to the outward exercise of it. Men's…
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2. Righteousness is a second thing whereof the Spirit of Christ convinces the world, and the main thing that it is our wisdom to be acquainted withal. This all men are persuaded of, that God is a most righteous God; (that is a natural notion of God which Abra- ham insisted on, Gen. xviii. 25, "Shall not the Judge of al…
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[2.] That if all former debts should be blotted out, yet they are no way able for the future to fulfil the law ; they can as well move the eailh with a finger, as answer the perfection thereof: and there- fore, as I said, on this twofold account, they conclude that this labour is lost. ■* " By the works of the law shal…
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we are not guilty, we must also be actually righteous; — not only all sin is to be answered for, but all righteousness is to be fulfilled. By taking away the gTiilt of sin, we are as persons innocent ; but some- thing more is required to make us to be considered as persons obe- dient. I know nothing to teach me that an…
926 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.