You may remember a simple definition of the word charismatic I shared from a recent book review which began: “Those who recognize that the gift of the Spirit is to be received . . .” While it is anachronistic to ask if John Owen was a charismatic, it is very interesting indeed that, like John Piper and Martyn Lloyd-Jones, he makes a clear distinction between the work of the Spirit in saving us and another experiential work that is available... Read more
The atonement is never far from this blog. It seems that misconceptions common in our day were, sadly, also common in John Owen’s day. We see in this quote something incredibly topical today. Perhaps sometimes the answers to today’s debates do indeed lie in studying the theological upsets of the past: “Unfortunately, many Christians often have a distorted view of the heavenly Father. We tend to view him as angry and full of wrath toward us. While we imagine Jesus... Read more
This is some notes from a sermon I preached last Sunday. You can download the audio or listen to it right here with this player. The following notes havent gone through my usual ‘tidying up’ process and I thought I would share them with you without any real editorial input just so you can see quite how chaotic my mind truly is! If they don’t make much sense to you, hopefully the audio will be clearer! Paul begins this second... Read more
Sometime ago I posted about the fact that it is Jesus who best reveals to us the attributes of God. It was therefore thrilling to see that this concept echoed down the centuries in the writings of John Owen. “The great revelation of Christ to us is that of “God as a Father,” and this matters greatly, “for the love of the Father is the only rest of the soul” (page 31). Those words are worthy of much thought and... Read more
My buddy, Mark Moore, has asked us to pray for a friend of his who is a pastor facing persecution in India. See Mark’s blog for the full story: “One of our international pastors in Acts 29, Pastor Sudhakar in India, is facing tremendous persecution, having been drug out of his church on a Sunday morning and beaten by twenty men. He is now standing trial for “converting Hindus to Christianity.” Read more
Some today argue that the Trinity is a relatively novel concept. Owen demonstrates this is not true and cites Gregory of Nazianzus’ statement: “No sooner do I conceive of the One than I am illumined by the Splendour of the Three; no sooner do I distinguish Them than I am carried back to the One” (cited on page 28 of Communion with the Triune God). We can learn much from Owen’s teaching on the Trinity: “We do not have competing... Read more
Yesterday we shared a great definition of the Gospel taken from the Forward to the forthcoming Crossway book, Communion with the Triune God. Today we will share more words from the introductory portions of that book which will explain this further and show the emphasis Owen placed on an experience of God: “I pray God with all my heart that I may be weary of everything else but converse and communion with him.” (John Owen, letter to Sir John Hartop,... Read more
Yesterday I began a series of posts inspired by the introductory materials to the forthcoming Crossway book, Communion With the Triune God by John Owen. One major preoccupation of this blog which has been overarching much of my writing has been that of the Gospel itself. In an age which tends to assume or even deny the Gospel, I have been eager to examine it again. This major theme has been inspired by the Together for the Gospel Statement, which... Read more
Every now and then a book arrives in my hands that I realize is too important for me to wait until I have finished reading it before I comment on it here. The book I want to discuss is so important that I knew before I had even finished the introduction I had to tell you about it. Justin Taylor and his friend, Kelly Kapic, have done it again. Following the advice of his previous boss, John Piper, Justin knows... Read more
Some Christians do not appreciate the value of doctrine. They do not understand why we need to learn so much about God. I fear that the reason for this is that we do not always explain the effects that doctrine can have on our lives. The Doctor was not so foolish. Indeed, he is one of the masters of spiritual diagnostics, and of applying spiritual medicine to us. This example from his work on the book of Ephesians stood out... Read more
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