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Communion with God

John Owen

John Owen (1616-1683) was an important theologian, minister, and advocate of the congregational form of church government in England. Educated at Oxford, he was a confessed Puritan, seeking reform in the established Church as a parish minister (1643-51). At first a presbyterian, he became an "Independent" congregationalist, or "Nonconformist", and rose in influence with the parliamentary rebellion of Cromwell, being appointed vice-chancellor of Oxford. After 1660, he continued to write and lead in support of nonconformity with the English Church as a congregational minister in London.

Owen's fundamental mystical writing, organized in relationship to the Trinity.

This treatise, written in 1657, reflects the intensely spiritual, even mystical, side of Owen's thought. Divided into three parts, each addressing a Person of the Trinity - God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit - and the communion which exists and is available for believers with God. Of course the person and work of Christ is central, and grace is constantly emphasized, the heart of the treatise being "purchased grace" - the satisfaction and atonement affected by Christ. The mystical union with God described is never divorced from its scriptural foundation.

Church History

Puritan