Over the years I have noticed a remarkable trend: the people who read, understand, and apply what John Owen wrote–are consistent with their pursuit of both doctrine and devotion. If you are paying attention these two are not always happily married. Regrettably some are very much consumed with doctrine but not with devotion. This is a dreadful trap where the mind could be stimulated, and even puffed up apart from work on the heart. Then there is the other side where people are very committed to a devotional life but are often devoid of the doctrinal rebar needed to bear the freight of the Christian life. Owen, and his ilk, are consistently pressing hard into both. This is very appealing and even attractive to me as someone desirous of rightly reflecting what honors God.
I’ve noticed however, that when you recommend Owen to people they sometimes come back to you with a bit of a stink-eye. “Why did you tell me I needed to read a guy who quotes Latin, Greek, and Hebrew?! His sentences are so long! And, he is extremely dense.” It is true that Owen would probably be a world champion at Scrabble. He writes in a classical style that is often tough for modern readers. Furthermore, he latches onto topics like a theological pit-bull; he doesn’t let go until the subject has been intellectually and devotionally subdued. This too is rare in our day.
In light of all of this, I’m glad to hand out and recommend Sinclair Ferguson’s accessible book on Owen. Simply titled The Trinitarian Devotion of John Owen. Like the other books in The Long Line of Godly Men series edited by Steven Lawson, this book provides a biographical, historical, and theological window into the life of John Owen.
Ferguson is up for the task. He briskly walks us through the life of Owen, providing detail of his work as a chaplain and influence on the highest level of the British Government. He reminds us of how the fortunes can change as leaders change and what this means for Christians. We are also reminded of the great trials that accompanied–even forming–John Owen.
The theological review is, as most who are familiar with Owen, a treatment of his Trinitarian theology, specifically how it is to inform and shape our praying. Ferguson reviews how Owen wrote of the sweetness of communion with God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The chapters provide an accessible, and dare I say, tasty introduction to Owen.
Sinclair Ferguson is especially gifted at making difficult concepts clear. In this volume he helps to make an important figure a bit more accessible to another generation. In doing this he exposes more of us to the relentless, passionate pursuit of both doctrine and devotion that makes godliness so attractive.
Discounted copies of The Trinitarian Devotion of John Owen are available at Amazon.
