I started to learn John Owen a few yr after I got here to Christ. I used to be in a pastor’s research, mesmerized by the books on his cabinets. He requested what I had learn. “The Bible, sir!” He smiled and handed me two books: J. I. Packer’s Understanding God (1973) and his “Introductory Essay to John Owen’s Demise of Demise within the Demise of Christ” (1958/1959). I had no thought what I used to be studying. I opened the essay first. It was shorter.
A query caught: What else did this John Owen write? Two years later, whereas in a used bookstore, I found there have been seventeen volumes of John Owen’s works!
His books can really feel intimidating. However let me encourage you, in order for you deeper Bible research, nearer communion with God, extra zeal for holiness, and a higher longing to see Jesus, studying John Owen will repay you for the remainder of your life.
Desk of contents
Who was John Owen?
John Owen (1616–1683) was a Puritan pastor and theologian, referred to as “the genius of English Puritanism—its preeminent thinker.” Owen was not solely a scholar. He was a shepherd. Research sharpened him. Struggling softened him.
The storms of seventeenth-century English church life formed his thoughts and his ministry. That turbulence started earlier than Owen was born. It started with Henry VIII’s break from Rome. Owen would stay by the Civil Battle in opposition to Charles I and the “Nice Ejection” of Puritans underneath Charles II.
He grew up as a Puritan pastor’s son and acquired a rigorous training at Oxford. When Archbishop William Laud demanded ceremonial conformity in worship, Owen couldn’t comply. He left Oxford. The battle crushed him. He later described 5 years of melancholy, together with three months of hardly talking.
He additionally struggled with assurance. After listening to a sermon on Matthew 8:26, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little religion?” he recorded, “God graciously relieved my spirit … from whence I acquired particular instruction, peace, and luxury, in drawing close to to God by the Mediator.”
Owen’s ministry went by main ebbs and flows: He pastored small and enormous parishes; ministered as a chaplain throughout the Civil Battle; served as vice-chancellor of Oxford, solely to lose that publish after the Restoration; buried all eleven of his kids (ten in infancy; one daughter as a younger grownup) after which additionally his spouse in 1676; and suffered a kidney stone too massive to expel in January 1683. These experiences clarify the goal of his writings, which was by no means merely to tell the thoughts however to regular storm-tossed souls. Two days earlier than he died, Owen wrote, “I’m going to him whom my soul hath liked, or slightly who hath liked me with an eternal love; which is the entire floor of all my comfort.”
These experiences clarify the goal of his writings, which was by no means merely to tell the thoughts however to regular storm-tossed souls.
He described his impending loss of life as “leaving the ship of the church in a storm.” However his pal’s hope ought to be that “while the nice Pilot is in it the lack of a poore under-rower shall be inconsiderable.” Owen’s assurance and hope rested in Jesus—not the church that had ridden the waves of politics like a ship in a storm. Owen died on August 24, 1683—precisely twenty-one years after the Nice Ejection. He was buried in Bunhill Fields alongside his fellow Nonconformists.
The storms of persecution, revolution, and ejection shaped his braveness and comfort. He discovered the place to anchor his life. If you’d like books that strengthen your religion, John Owen will ship.
Why ought to I learn John Owen?
Some might keep away from studying John Owen for comprehensible causes. His collected Works is very large. His prose is dense and prolonged. However Owen didn’t solely write for students. He wrote for peculiar Christians who wished to develop. A lot of his writing is effectively inside the capability of the intense Christian.
John Owen combines three uncommon strengths: scholarship, pastoral expertise, and struggling, making him each profound and sensible. As you learn him, you’ll observe a number of themes emerge many times:
- Communion with the triune God: He reveals how Father, Son, and Spirit form each day Christian life.
- Indwelling sin and the struggle in opposition to it (mortification): He’s life like about sin’s energy and the each day struggle of religion.
- Holiness and sanctification by the grace of the Holy Spirit: He’s hopeful about God’s grace and expects actual change over time.
- The glory of Christ: He retains Christ straight in entrance of you as a result of Christ adjustments hearts.
- The Holy Spirit: He attends to the Spirit’s work in Scripture, prayer, assurance, and holiness.
- Core doctrines of the gospel: He writes with penetrating perception on the atonement and justification.
These themes do greater than fill your head. They prepare you to learn Scripture effectively, assume clearly about God, and worship warmly.
How ought to I learn John Owen?
The next sensible steps can flip studying Owen from irritating to fruitful. For those who do these items, Owen will start to really feel much less like a wall and extra like a information.
- Learn the introductions to every quantity of Owen’s Works to study a few of their historic context and function. A few of these introductions even include outlines of the work.
- Use the desk of contents earlier than beginning a e book. For those who get misplaced, return to the desk of contents to relocate your self.
- Keep away from getting slowed down within the detailed construction, with its a number of factors, sub-points, and so forth. Hold the large image in thoughts. Simply learn—and revel in.
- Learn out loud. Owen’s Latinized vocabulary and grammar will be troublesome. So when studying his more durable works, doing so out loud can assist comprehension by rising your focus and tempo.
- Reference indices. See the topic and Scripture indices on the finish of quantity 16 of his Works to discover Owen’s exposition of a specific passage or theme over numerous works and time.
- Persevere. As with anybody, the extra you converse with Owen, the extra you’re going to get to know him and his voice.
For those who’re in search of an accessible orientation to Owen, start with a very good biography or information earlier than diving into his longer works. For deeper research, take into account a scholarly companion.
A lot of Owen’s works have been reprinted in fashionable spelling. Some have additionally been abridged, which may show useful (assuming they protect his argument and don’t scale back him to soundbites).
What ought to I learn by John Owen?
Owen wrote an infinite physique of labor throughout many genres: sermons, devotional treatises, doctrinal defenses, and enormous commentaries. His collected writings fill a number of volumes (his work on Hebrews alone is substantial). Most readers won’t ever learn all the things. However you don’t have to. A few of his works are technical. However your job isn’t to start out together with his hardest pages. Your job is to start out with the proper ones. Learn properly. Begin with just a few well-chosen books.
To this finish, let me give you a pathway to studying books by John Owen, damaged down into three tiers.
Brief and accessible
These works are very best if you wish to start studying Owen with out feeling buried. If Owen feels intimidating, begin with one among his pastoral works and even one sermon, not one complete quantity.
1. Two Brief Catechisms (1645)
Owen wrote and used these catechisms to show fundamental Christian doctrine in his first parish ministry, providing a succinct abstract of his theology in question-and-answer format together with scriptural assist.
These catechisms present a mannequin for educating the necessities in family or church. You could find them in quantity 1 of his collected Works.
2. The Duties of Pastors and Folks Distinguished (1644)
It is a quick work from his first parish ministry on what trustworthy ministry and church life ought to appear to be. It reveals Owen’s pastoral priorities: preaching, oversight, and the religious tasks of peculiar believers.
It serves to strengthen your understanding of church life with out requiring specialist background. You could find this writing in quantity 13 of his collected Works.
3. A Transient Instruction within the Worship of God (1667)
That is Owen’s imaginative and prescient for worship formed by Scripture and the Spirit. It functioned as his plea for Congregationalists to be tolerated exterior the Institution.
Many Christians have opinions about worship however not a theology of worship. Owen will aid you assume calmly from Scripture. He goals for reverence, simplicity, and religious energy. It would present a considerate, Scripture-shaped theology of company worship. You could find this writing in quantity 15 of his collected Works.
4. The Nature and Great thing about Gospel Worship (1650s)
This work is a two-parter crammed with illustrations and examples that condense his bigger Communion with God. Preached on the peak of his political energy, these sermons offer you pastoral heat and direct software to what Christian worship ought to be.
This pair of sermons serves to encourage your affections and gives you with a theological imaginative and prescient of what worship is for. You may find them in quantity 9 of his collected Works.
Deep however manageable
These books require extra consideration, however they repay it. That is the tier the place many readers fall in love with Owen.
5. Meditations and Discourses on the Glory of Christ (1684) and Meditations and Discourses In regards to the Glory of Christ Utilized unto Unconverted Sinners and Saints Below Non secular Decay (1691)
These are Owen’s mature pastoral reflections and purposes on Christ’s glory. Owen goals at one factor: that you’d see Christ extra clearly and love him extra deeply. He desires you to lengthy for heaven, not as an escape, however because the success of communion with Jesus.
Owen desires you to lengthy for heaven, not as an escape, however because the success of communion with Jesus.
These two works are greatest for rekindling religious affection, particularly in seasons of dryness. You could find them in quantity 1 of his collected Works.
6. Communion with God (1657)
It is a information to fellowship with Father, Son, and Spirit. Many Christians know the doctrine of the Trinity, however few perceive the way it shapes each day life and prayer. Owen offers you a approach of experiencing every individual of the Trinity distinctly with out dividing God.
This vital e book has remodeled many. It’s best for deepening prayer, strengthening assurance, and studying Trinitarian devotion. You could find it in quantity 2 of his collected Works.
7. A Transient Declaration and Vindication of the Doctrine of the Trinity (1669)
Owen spent “just a few hours” to supply “peculiar Christians” with a protection and dependable information to the doctrine of the Trinity. He walks by Scripture to point out how the entire Bible presses towards the doctrine—not as a puzzle, however as the middle of salvation.
This e book will assist readers interpret Scripture as a complete in confessing the doctrine of the Trinity with confidence. You could find this writing in quantity 2 of his collected Works.
8. The Mortification of Sin (1656)
This e book originated as a collection of pastoral sermons delivered to college students. Owen’s message: Kill sin or sin will kill you. But Owen doesn’t depart you with grit and guilt. Moderately, he roots mortification in union with Christ, the Spirit’s energy, and gospel motives.
This work is greatest for studying find out how to struggle sin with out slipping into despair or self-righteousness. It would aid you discover ways to stay out your union with Christ. You could find it in quantity 6 of his collected Works.
9. Temptation: The Nature and Energy of It (1658)
Written in the direction of the top of the Republic, Owen gives a sober, clear-headed work on how temptation works. Providing large perception into the character of the human coronary heart, Owen teaches you to identify temptation early. He reveals how Devil performs in your circumstances, your wishes, and your habits. He additionally offers sensible counsel for watchfulness.
This e book is greatest for a Bible research or small group collection on temptation, religious warfare, and prayer. You could find this writing in quantity 6 of his collected Works.
10. The Nature, Energy, Deceit, and Prevalency of the Remainders of Indwelling Sin in Believers (1667)
This work gives an extended, deeper analysis of the believer’s remaining sin, offering a robust treatise in opposition to risks most Christians don’t even know they face. Owen reveals how indwelling sin deceives, distracts, and dulls you. But he additionally teaches you ways grace works within the lengthy struggle.
This work is greatest for understanding your coronary heart and studying why “small sins” aren’t small. You could find it in quantity 6 of his collected Works.
For an easier-to-read model of the above three works, Mortification, Temptation, and Indwelling Sin, see Overcoming Sin and Temptation, edited by Justin Taylor and Kelly M. Kapic.
11. A Sensible Exposition upon Psalm 130 (1668)
That is Owen’s pastoral remedy of forgiveness and assurance. Psalm 130 is brief, however Owen’s exposition is just not. But it is without doubt one of the greatest guides to guilt, mercy, ready, and hope.
Owen is aware of what it’s to really feel darkness, and he additionally is aware of find out how to preach mild. This work is greatest for studying what assurance is, the way it grows, and find out how to return to hope after religious decline. You could find this writing in quantity 6 of his collected Works.
Superior and technical
These works are longer, extra technical, and infrequently extremely polemical. They’re value studying, however require extra endurance and extra context.
12. The Nature of Apostasy from the Career of the Gospel and the Punishment of Apostates Declared (1676)
Owen gives severe remedy of what it means to fall away from a occupation of religion. It’s in all probability the most effective treatise of its variety from the seventeenth century. Owen distinguishes true saving religion from momentary types of conviction, and warns pastors and church members about sluggish drift.
It would aid you perceive perseverance, warning passages, and the anatomy of religious decline. You could find this work in quantity 7 of his collected Works.
13. Demise of Demise within the Demise of Christ (or Salus Electorum, Sanguis Jesu) (1647)
That is Owen’s best-known and most important work on the design and extent of the atonement. There isn’t a extra highly effective presentation of “restricted atonement.” Owen argues at size and solutions objections, forcing you to think twice about what the cross achieved (not merely what it made attainable).
This work is greatest for severe research of the atonement, particularly for pastors, lecturers, and superior readers. You could find this writing in quantity 10 of his collected Works.
14. Pneumatologia (or Discourse In regards to the Holy Spirit, bks. 1–5) (1674)
Owen thought-about the doctrine of the Holy Spirit one of many church’s best wants. His main work on the Spirit—Pneumatologia—is in actual fact a number of works revealed over many years, however Owen designed them to hold collectively.
Many believers both neglect the Spirit or scale back him to obscure expertise. Owen refuses each. In books 1–5, Owen presents a scientific work on the Holy Spirit within the historical past of redemption, exhibiting the Spirit’s work in creation, the individual and work of Christ, witnessing to Christ, regeneration and conversion, and sanctification and holiness.
This work is lengthy and technical at instances, however the first half accommodates a lot devotional work that may remind you of Communion with God. It’s best for rising in your understanding of the Spirit’s ministry. You could find these writings in quantity 3 of his collected Works.
15. Pneumatologia (or Discourse In regards to the Holy Spirit, bks. 6–9) (1677–93)
Books 6–9 discover the Spirit’s work in establishing our religion in Scripture’s authority, guiding our interpretation of Scripture, aiding us in prayer, and comforting us. Lastly, it consists of his profound treatise on religious items.
These books nonetheless stay related for problems with pneumatology amongst Christians, particularly with the sheer quantity of Scripture that Owen interacts with. They’re greatest for superior research of sanctification, assurance, and the way the Spirit makes the Phrase efficient. If you’re new to Owen, don’t start right here, however after you have a basis, these works can reshape your theology and your prayer life. You could find these writings in quantity 4 of his collected Works.
16. The Doctrine of Justification by Religion, Via the Imputation of the Righteousness of Christ: Defined, Confirmed, and Vindicated (1677)
That is Owen’s sustained protection of justification by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. Owen clarifies what religion is and what it isn’t, defending justification as a present, not a wage. He additionally addresses misunderstandings that also confuse Christians right now. His closing chapter on Paul and James is particularly useful.
This work is greatest for strengthening assurance and gaining readability on the gospel’s core. You could find it in quantity 5 of his collected Works.
17. Hebrews (1668–1684)
Owen’s commentary on Hebrews is an enormous seven volumes in his collected Works. It’s one among his most scholarly works but can also be deeply pastoral in lots of locations. Owen reveals how Christ fulfills the Outdated Testomony, how covenant realities converge in Christ, and the way priesthood, sacrifice, and perseverance belong collectively.
These volumes are greatest for pastors, lecturers, and superior readers who wish to preach Hebrews with theological depth. If you’re a lay reader, you possibly can nonetheless profit by utilizing it as a reference, or by studying sections alongside the biblical textual content. But for a a lot shorter, one-volume version, see Hebrews within the Crossway Traditional Commentaries (CCC) collection.
TL;DR
Begin together with his shorter pastoral works. Two Brief Catechisms is right. Then learn one or two sermons from quantity 9, similar to The Nature and Great thing about Gospel Worship. After that, transfer to The Glory of Christ.
For those who solely learn three books by John Owen, learn:
- Two Brief Catechisms
- Meditations and Discourses on the Glory of Christ
- Communion with God
For those who’re a pastor, I like to recommend these 4 books to stir your soul and encourage you to evangelise the Phrase:
- A Transient Instruction within the Worship of God
- The Nature and Great thing about Gospel Worship
- Holy Spirit
- Hebrews
These works reward sluggish studying and cautious note-taking. However for superior research, take into account the next:
- The Demise of Demise
- Justification by Religion
- The Spirit volumes (3–4)
- Hebrews
Take up and skim
Owen is each profound and sensible. He lived by storms, studying to anchor himself in Jesus Christ. That’s the reason his writing can really feel demanding: He desires to regular you. Studying John Owen will reward you for the remainder of your life.
Don’t wait till you are feeling “prepared.” Begin with the proper books, learn patiently, and preserve going.
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