The Works of John Owen (17 Vols.)

Volume One: The Glory of Christ

Andrew Thomson’s biography traces Owen’s life from his birth at Stadhampton, through his pastoral ministries in Fordham and Coggeshall, his years of public service as chaplain under Cromwell and as Vice-Chancellor at Oxford University, and his last days as a preacher and pastor in London.

• Life of Owen, by Andrew Thomson
• On the Person of Christ
• Meditations and Discourses on the Glory of Christ
• Meditations and Discourses on the Glory of Christ applied to Sinners and Saints
• Two Short Catechisms
• 494 pages

Table of Contents: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Volume Two: On Communion with God

One of his greatest works, John Owen draws from clear, Biblical exposition to outline the place of the Trinity in Christian doctrine and practice. Owen examines the doctrine of the Trinity and its centrality in Christian orthodoxy, and he counters rationalist skeptics and mystic opponents. 

• Vindication of the Preceding Discourse
• Vindication of the Doctrine of the Trinity
• 454 pages

Table of Contents: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Volume Three: The Holy Spirit

Owen begins his examination of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in this volume, which he completes in volume four. In particular, Owen explores the identity and mission of the Holy Spirit; the role of the Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testament, and the work of the Holy Spirit in sanctification, obedience, and holiness.

• Discourse on the Holy Spirit
• 651 pages

Table of Contents: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Volume Four: The Reason of Faith

Volume Four contains the second part of Owen’s work on the Holy Spirit. Here Owen connects the Holy Spirit to illumination, supplication, and consolation. He also examines the Holy Spirit's role as the author of spiritual gifts.

• Causes, Ways, and Means of Understanding the Mind of God
• On the Work of the Holy Spirit in Prayer
• Of the Holy Spirit and His Work, as a Comforter and as the Author of Spiritual Gifts
• 520 pages

Volume Five: Faith and Its Evidences

In volume five, Owen offers a non-speculative and non-scholastic account of justification by faith, addressing both theological and pastoral concerns. Challenges from the Roman Catholic Church and confusion in Protestant circles compelled him to write this straightforward biblical exposition. 

• The Doctrine of Justification by Faith
• Evidences of the Faith of God’s Elect
• 457 pages

Table of Contents: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Volume Six: Temptation and Sin

John Owen's works on temptation and sin stem from his pastoral concern for the church in England.

• On the Mortification of Sin
• On Temptation
• On Indwelling Sin in Believers
• Exposition of Psalm 130
• 648 pages

Volume Seven: Sin and Grace

In this volume, Owen concludes his account of justification begun in volume five.

• The Nature and Causes of Apostasy
• On Spiritual-Mindedness
• On the Dominion of Sin and Grace
• 560 pages

Volume Eight: Sermons to the Nation

Volume eight is comprised of sixteen sermons published during Owen's lifetime.

• 658 pages

Volume Nine: Sermons to the Church

Volume nine contains eighty three sermons, including fourteen on "Practical Cases of Conscience" and twenty five on preparation for Communion. Other subjects covered include charity, Christ's pastoral care, pastoral duty, and the excellency of Christ.

• Posthumous Sermons
• 622 pages

Volume Ten: The Death of Christ

In this polemical work, Owen refutes the Arminian doctrine of universal redemption as unscriptural and destructive of the gospel. Owen insists on Christ’s death as the means for procuring salvation for those sinners chosen by God, and connects this doctrine of salvation with the doctrine of the Trinity. The Father authors salvation and sends the Son; the Son dies; the Holy Spirit compels those chosen by God to accept salvation.

• A Display of Arminianism
• The Death of Death in the Death of Christ
• Of the Death of Christ
• A Dissertation on Divine Justice
• 624 pages

Volume Eleven: Continuing in the Faith

Owen continues his refutation of Arminian doctrine begun in volume ten by arguing against John Goodwin’s work and vindicating the concept of the perseverance of the saints.

• The Doctrine of the Saints’ Perseverance Explained and Confirmed
• 666 pages

Volume Twelve: The Gospel Defended

Owen traces the history of Socinianism and examines the Socinian views of Scripture, the divine nature and character of God, the person and the work of Christ, the Holy Spirit, the past and present condition of man, election and justification.

• Vindiciae Evangelicae: or, the Mystery of the Gospel Vindicated
• Of the Death of Christ, and of Justification
• A Review of the Annotations of Grotius
• 639 pages

Volume Thirteen: Ministry and Fellowship

Owen mediates the charge of schism brought against those who sought to reform the Church according to Scripture.

• The Duty of Pastors and People Distinguished
• Eshcol: a Cluster of the Fruit of Canaan
• Of Schism, in Three Books
• Nonconformity Vindicated
• Tracts on the Power of the Magistrate, Indulgence, Toleration, etc.
• 592 pages

Volume Fourteen: True and False Religion

This volume contains Owen’s exhaustive response to an attempt by Franciscan Friar John Vincent Cane to recommend Roman Catholicism as the remedy for religious and civil discord in Britain. The volume also includes a lengthy excursus on the state of seventeenth century Protestantism.

• Animadversions of ‘Fiat Lux’
• Vindication of Animadversions
• The Church of Rome No Safe Guide
• Some Consideration of Union among Protestants
• The State and Fate of Protestantism
• 555 pages

Volume Fifteen: Church Purity and Unity

Owen explores ecclesiological matters, with treatises on liturgy and worship, and the importance of love, peace, and unity.

• Discourse Concerning Liturgies
• Discourse Concerning Evangelical Love, Church Peace, and Unity
• Inquiry Concerning Evangelical Churches
• Answer to Dr. Stillingfleet on the Unreasonableness of Separation
• Instruction in the Worship of God
• 530 pages

Volume Sixteen: The Church and The Bible

In this volume, Owen concludes his treatises on ecclesiology by examining the sacraments and the role of the Gospel in the church. He also emphasizes the need for church discipline and doctrinal correctness. Portions of volume sixteen retain Owen's original, untranslated Latin works.

• The Nature of a Gospel Church
• Tracts on Excommunication, Church Censures, Baptism, etc.
• Divine Original, Authority, Self-evidencing Light, and Power of the Scriptures
• Posthumous Sermons
• Latin Works
• Indices
• 597 pages

Volume Seventeen: Theologoumena Pantodapa

This volume contains Owen's treatise on the origin, history and progress of theology from the Fall to the present. The last chapter describes Owen's method of theological study and prospects for the future of theology. The entirety of volume seventeen retains Owen's original, untranslated Latin works.

• Natural Theology
• Theology of Adam
• Theology of Noah
• Theology of Abraham
• Theology of Moses
• Evangelical Theology
• 599 pages

Table of Contents: 1

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

John Owen was born at Stadhampton, Oxfordshire in 1616. He entered Queen's College, Oxford, at the age of twelve and completed his M.A. in classics and theology in 1635 at the age of nineteen. He was ordained shortly thereafter and left the university to be a chaplain to the family of a noble lord. His first parish, in 1637, was at Fordham in Essex, to which he went while England was involved in civil war. It was here that he became convinced that the Congregational way was the scriptural form of church government. In the 1640s he became chaplain to Oliver Cromwell, the new "Protector of England," and traveled with him on his expeditions to Ireland and Scotland. Between 1651 and 1660, he played a prominent part in the religious, political, and academic life of the nation. In 1651 he was appointed dean of Christ Church and in 1652 made Vice-Chancellor of Oxford—positions which allowed him to train ministers for the Cromwellian state church. He lost his position in 1660, however, when the restoration of the monarchy began after the death of Cromwell in 1658. Owen moved to London and led the Puritans through the bitter years of religious and political persecution—experiences which shaped his theological inquiry, pastoral reflection, and preaching. He also declined invitations to the ministry in Boston in 1663, and declined an offer to become president of Harvard in 1670. He died in August, 1683.