john owen presentation

1. John Owen (1616-1683)
 Born into a puritan home in
Stadham, Oxfordshire
 Son of vicar, Henry Owen
 Entered Queen's College,
Oxford 1626
 B.A. Degree in 1632, M.A. In
1635
 Left Queen's College due to
puritan persecution 1637
 Became Chaplain and tutor to
family of Sir Robt. Dormer of
Ascot

2.  At out break of civil unrest he adopted
Parliamentary principles and left position as
chaplain.
 Moved London in 1642.
 Attended a lecture at St. Michael's with brother-
in-law. Scheduled preacher had been was
replaced by a still unknown country preacher.
 Owen was so moved by the sermon, he said he
had been reborn of the Holy Spirit.
 The experience was to have a life long effect as
can be seen in much of his writing.
 Owen's first work A Display of Arminianism was
published that same year.

3. The English civil war saw the execution of
Charles I and the replacement of English
monarchy with the Commonwealth of England in
1651. By this time Owen's reputation as a
theologian and a preach had grown, the day
following Charles' execution some in parliament
had heard Owen's speak and asked him to preach
again at parliament. It was here that he began a
friendship with Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell was the
new head of state for the new government, a
puritan and history remembers him an intensely
religious man. This friendship created
opportunities for Owen leading to a position as the
Dean at Christ Church and vice chancellor at
Oxford University.

4. Oliver Cromwell died in 1658
and Charles II, the son of
Charles I, reestablished
English monarchy. In 1662
Charles II issued the Act of
Uniformity which led to the
expulsion of almost two
thousand puritan clergy from
the Church of England,
including John Owen. He
returned to Stadham and
devoted his time to writing
and continued leading the
non-conformist causeuntil his
death in 1683

5. In John Owen's work Pneumatatologia, he
says of the Holy Spirit acting in Jesus' life, “By him
was he directed, strengthened, and comforted, in
his whole course,-in all his temptations, troubles,
and sufferings, from first to last; for we know that
there was a confluence of all these upon him in
his whole way and work, a great part of that
whereunto he humbled himself for our sakes
consisting in these things.”
It is a core belief of Owen's that if we do not
understand the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of
Jesus we will not understand what Jesus
accomplished here on Earth.

6. Owen tells us we must not just
understand the works and the role of
the Holy Spirit we must also
understand her nature. We must
understand the Holy Spirit not
merely as a force but as a person
with her own will,”a distinct, living,
powerful, intelligent, divine person.”
Without this understanding we will
be basing our relationship with God
on an unsound foundation.

7. Owen's thought on the Holy Spirit's part in the
Trinity can be said that all good things, grace
mercy, sanctification and more, begin with the
Father, are given to the Son by whose sacrifice
they becomes available to us but only by The Holy
Spirit can we receive them.

8. As the Holy Spirit continues to dwell in us she is
not only the giver of the gift but also the gift itself.
By this gift we may be reborn. Owen asserts that
humans are born spiritually dead and cannot
chose to be moral. It is by the Holy Spirit that
holiness and righteousness may enter us by which
we may begin to resist and replace sinful actions.
This sets the stage for sanctification.

9. Sanctification is process of the removal of sin and
making a human holy. We can only be cleansed of
sin by the works and sacrifice of Jesus, the blood
of Christ. It is only through the Holy Spirit that
“actually communicates the cleansing, purifying
virtue of the blood of Christ unto our souls.” And
we may become holy but only while the Holy Spirit
is working in and through us. However we are not
simply a vessel we must also be obedient to God.

10.  Why is it important to Owen
that the nature of the Holy
Spirit as a person rather than a
force?
 Does Owen's view of the role
of the Holy Spirit in the life and
acts of Jesus change anything
about the nature of Christ?