The Works of John Owen, Vol. 13: Ministry and Fellowship
Overview
Owen mediates the charge of schism brought against those who sought to reform the Church according to Scripture.
Key Features
- Examines the charge of schism against those who sought to reform the Church
Contents
- 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.
Praise for John Owen
For solidity, profundity, massiveness and majesty in exhibiting from Scripture God’s ways with sinful mankind there is no one to touch him.
—J. I. Packer, author
To have known the pastoral ministry of John Owen . . . (albeit in written form) has been a rich privilege; to have known Owen’s God an even greater one.
—Sinclair Ferguson, professor, Redeemer Seminary, Dallas, Texas
John [Owen], English theologian, was without doubt not only the greatest theologian of the English Puritan movement but also one of the greatest European Reformed theologians of his day, and quite possibly possessed the finest theological mind that England ever produced.
—C. R. Trueman
Product Details
- Title: The Works of John Owen, Vol. 13: Ministry and Fellowship
- Author: John Owen
- Series: The Works of John Owen
- Publisher: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
- Publication Date: 2008
- Pages:592
About John Owen
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.
Top Highlights
“Rule I. The word and all ordinances dispensed in the administration to him committed, by virtue of ministerial authority, are to be diligently attended and submitted unto, with ready obedience in the Lord.” (Page 55)
“Now, hence, by the way, we may observe that the people of God under the New Testament, contradistinct from their teachers, have a greater interest in the performance of spiritual duties belonging to the worship of God, and more in that regard is granted unto them and required of them than was of the ancient people of the Jews, considered as distinguished from their priests, because their duty is prescribed unto them under the notion of those things which then were appropriate only to the priests, as of offering incense, sacrifice, oblations, and the like; which, in their original institution, were never permitted to the people of the Jews, but yet tralatitiously and by analogy are enjoined to all Christians. But of these afterward.” (Page 13)
“Rule III. Earnest striving and contending, in all lawful ways, by doing and suffering, for the purity of the ordinances, honour, liberty, and privileges of the congregation, being jointly assistant against opposers and common adversaries.” (Page 65)
“Rule III. Prayer and supplications are continually to be made on his behalf for assistance and success in the work committed to him.” (Page 58)
“Rule II. His conversation is to be observed and diligently followed, so far as he walks in the steps of Jesus Christ.” (Page 56)
- Title: Works of John Owen: Volume 13
- Author: John Owen
- Series: Works of John Owen
- Volume: 13
- Publisher: T&T Clark
- Print Publication Date: 1852
- Logos Release Date: 2008
- Era: era:reformation
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Theology › Early works to 1800; Puritans
- Resource ID: LLS:WORKSOWEN13
- Resource Type: text.monograph.collected-work
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-02-12T07:36:55Z
John Owen (1616–1683) is considered one of the most influential and inspiring theologians of the seventeenth century. He entered Queen's College, Oxford, at the age of twelve and completed his M.A. in classics and theology at the age of nineteen.
His first parish was at Fordham in Essex where he became convinced that the Congregational polity 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.
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. Owen later 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. Owen authored one of the richest commentaries on the book of Hebrews, An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews which are also included in The Works of John Owen along with sermons and essays.