Understanding 700 Billion

Wizbang helps us to get a grip on what 700 Billion could really do. Homeowners- if they want to give it away, wouldn't you rather get it to pay down your mortgage than give it to directly to the banks?

Pulpit Freedom to Do What?

This past Sunday was "Pulpit Freedom Sunday."

The Alliance Defense Fund organized this day stating that on Sept. 28 pastors in 20 states "will reclaim their constitutional right (and) from the pulpit, they will advise their congregation what scripture says about today's issues, apply(ing) those issues to the candidates standing for election just like their forefathers did 150 years ago."

Cal Thomas is a political commentator who happens to be a Christian (I say it that way to make it clear that he is not a "Christian political commentator" working for CBN or something like that).

His column this week has some wise insights into this issue. You can read the full article here.

Disclaimer: I do believe that Christians ought to vote and ought to vote for the candidates who will best bring into the public arena the values which best reflect the nature and values of God. I, for example, though not a "single-issue voter" don't know that I could ever vote for a candidate which was pro-abortion and I do believe that discussing the issues that face voters from a biblical perspective is the right thing to do.

But I do believe that Thomas' cautions are right on.

Thomas writes that people do not attend worship services to hear stumping for a politician. The reason for church: is not, or should not be, in order to pledge allegiance to a party, candidate or earthly agenda. One can spend inordinate amounts of time on that subject simply by watching cable TV, or listening to talk radio, or reading the newspapers. No matter how hard they try to protect the gospel from corruption, ministers who focus on politics and politicians as a means of redemption must minimize their ultimate calling and message. The road to redemption does not run through Washington, D.C. Politicians can't redeem themselves from the temptations of Washington. What makes anyone think they can redeem the rest of us?

The law has done churches a favor, however inadvertent, by protecting most of them from the downside of electioneering, but a strong constitutional challenge would most likely overturn it. The flip side would be whether the politicians would then allow churches to maintain their tax-exempt status.

Whether the law is repealed, or not, churches and ministers would do better to keep their attention focused on the things above, rather than the things below, because politics can be the ultimate temptation and pollute a far superior and life-changing message.

The Emerging Church- Part 6

We are going to turn our attention now to two books as being representative of how the emerging church works out of their belief systems in their interactions with the Bible and the implications they draw from it for our lives.

The two books I will consider are "A Generous Orthodoxy" by Brian McLaren and "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell (And no, I'm not going to create hyperlinks to Amazon.com so you can purchase them!).

I realize that "A Generous Orthodoxy" is a few years old now and that McLaren has written more since then, but I use it because it has been one of the most influential books among emergents (we will see its influence clearly on Bell as we look at Velvet Elvis) and its influence is still widely felt. I also realize that Bell has refused to be labeled as "emergent" but I believe that this is for pragmatic "political" reasons only. When you read Bell, when you note who he claims to be his main influences, and when you note who he has as guest speakers at his own church, it is clear where he is coming from. If the emergent shoe fits, he should wear it.

Let's start with McLaren and then we will jump back and forth between the two books. (And let me start by saying that my critique was helped by the reviews of Doug Wilson and Dale VanDyke).

We are going to jump right in at page 68 of Chapter One where McLaren says:

While I believe that actual miracles can and do happen (though I notice they sometimes create nearly as many problems as they solve, and so I see why they aren't given "on demand"), I am sympathetic with those who believe otherwise, and I applaud their desire to live out the meaning of the miracle stories even when they don't believe the stories really happened as written.

First of all, this a denial of the integrity of, not only the Word of God, but of Jesus Himself and of the Holy Spirit who inspired those very words of Scripture. How can anyone be sympathetic with such a stance? At what point does your sympathy stop and do you begin to resist their doubts? Are you sympathetic with those who doubt that Jesus was born of a virgin? Are you sympathetic with those who doubt the resurrection of Christ? If not, why not? How can you pick and choose which points of doubt which you are sympathetic to? And if so, then your faith, according to Paul, is in vain (1 Cor. 15:14).

At the beginning of chapter 2 (pg. 77), McLaren assures us: I am a Christian because I have confidence in Jesus Christ- in all his dimensions (those I know, and those I don't). I trust Jesus. I think Jesus is right because I believe God was in Jesus in an unprecedented way.

I have discovered that, as you read emergent writers, you must read their words as if they were politicians. You can never be assured that you know what the meaning of "is" is. Reading these sentences reminds me of this caution. What does McLaren mean by "in all his dimensions" or "in an unprecedented way"? The first time I read them, these words did not strike me as particularly notable (especially in comparison to the other things he says- except for the fact that that they beg the question- what is your confidence founded upon if not the assurance that the word of God is accurate in all that it says?) but now I see them differently.

Having read much of what McLaren has written and said, and I do want to be cautious here and acknowledge that God alone is judge, but I don't see these words as a the words of a believer in Christ the way in which we, evangelicals would define being a believer in Christ. These are the words, it seems to me, of someone who sees Jesus on the level of a g0d-enlightened newage guru. Think about this- what genuine believer that you know of speaks of Jesus like this? Consider the quote in Part 5 of McLaren's answer to what the Gospel is. Is that the answer of someone who really believes?

Well, on page 82 McLaren apologizes for using masculine pronouns to speak of God. He says that he avoids their use as much as he can because "God is not male." He says that in affirming this, he is following the footsteps of men like C.S. Lewis (pg. 83). Of course it was not only C.S. Lewis that affirmed that God is not male in the strict sense of the word- EVERYONE affirms this. But McLaren uses Lewis as a way to lend credibility to what he says next:

The masculine biblical imagery of "Father" and "Son" also contribute to the patriarchalism or chauvinism that has too often characterized Christianity.

That being the case, I sure am glad (my tongue is planted firmly in cheek) that McLaren has apologized for something that neither Jesus nor the Holy Spirit seemed to see a need to apologize for! I guess McLaren is more sensitive to the feelings of our sisters in Christ than their heavenly Father is!

It is striking to me that McLaren sees the use of the masculine pronoun to speak of God as such a danger while being sympathetic to those who deny that the miracles of the Scriptures actually happened. Is there not something wrong here?

What is striking even further is that after apologizing for what Jesus clearly did and affirmed, McLaren wants to convince us that Jesus is Lord:

Jesus asserts that he is the leader who gives commands (not our wish-granting genie, taking commands from us). He has authority; we answer to him, not the reverse. His commands should be followed wholeheartedly (it's those who actually "walk the walk" by practicing His teachings who are blessed, Jesus says, not just those who "talk the talk" by mouthing "Lord, Lord). As the saying goes, there is one Lord, and you are not it. (pg. 92).

This is an interesting comment for him to make considering that he has just apologized for what Jesus clearly does. Should we not infer from this that if Jesus were in the room with McLaren that he would have a "heart to heart" with Jesus about cleaning up His vocabulary? Why is it that McLaren will use Jesus' teachings to try to justify only the things that fit his own personal (enlightened might he say?) take on things, yet will contradict Jesus on the things which do not fit his own view- all while saying that "he (Jesus) has authority and we answer to him, not the reverse"?

McLaren criticizes today's church saying: we developed theological systems that taught us how to avoid many of Jesus' teachings and reinterpret those we couldn't avoid. (pg. 95).

Now wait a minute here fella! Isn't that exactly what McLaren has been guilty of doing thus far? "Don't want to believe in Jesus' miracles? That's okay- I sympathize. Don't like Jesus calling God "Father" or referring to Him as "He"? Me neither, that doesn't fly in today's world."

What gives? McLaren can't have it both ways.

Like I said, you have to read them like you are reading a politician.

John Owen's Communion With God- Part 4

John Owen’s Communion With God- Part 4

To read John Owen is to enter a rare world. Whenever I return to one of his works I find myself asking “Why do I spend time reading lesser literature?”
—Sinclair B. Ferguson

Having called us to recognize that love comes to us primarily from the Father he has been telling us how we must receive that love by faith. We closed last week with Owen’s comment that, if we would see Christ as the “stream” that leads us to the “fountain” of eternal love, that we would find great spiritual improvement in our lives.

Picking up from there, he then writes:

This is what is aimed at. Many dark and disturbing thoughts are apt to arise in this thing. Few can carry up their hearts and minds to this height by faith, as to rest their souls in the love of the Father; they live below it, in the troublesome region of hopes and fears, storms and clouds. All here is serene and quiet. But how to attain to this pitch they know not. This is the will of God, that he may always be eyed as benign, kin, tender, loving and unchangeable therein; and that peculiarly as the Father, as the great fountain and spring of all gracious communications and fruits of love. This is that which Christ came to reveal, - God as Father. (pg 23)

Owen now points out that the Father’s giving of love to us requires a suitable return from us which also consists of love- “God loves, that he may be beloved.”

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind” this is the return that he demandeth.”

As long as the Father is seen as acting only in ways which are contrary to love, it causes dread and an aversion to Him. But when God is considered as a father, acting in love upon our souls, it causes us to love Him in return and this, in faith, is the ground of all acceptable obedience (Deut. 5:10; Exod. 20:6; Deut. 5:12, 11:1 and 13, 13:3). It begins in the love of God, and ends in our love to him.

Owen now points out how the love of God to us and our love to Him are alike and how the love of God to us and our love to Him are different.

They are alike in two ways:

1) They are both love in “rest” and “complacency.”

a. God’s love is like this.

Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee in singing.” The original Hebrew reads: “He shall be silent because of His love.” Here we see that two things are described in relation to God’s love: “rest and delight.”

To rest with contentment is expressed by being silent; that is, without repining, without complaint. This God doeth upon the account of his own love, so full, so every way complete and absolute, that it will not allow him to complain of anything in them whom he loves, but he is silent on the account thereof. Or “Rest in his love;” that is, he will not remove it, - he will not seek farther for another object. It shall make its abode upon the soul where it is once fixed, forever. And COMPLACENCY AND DELIGHT: ‘He rejoiceth with singing;’ as one that is fully satisfied in that object he has fixed his love on.

When God speaks of those who are not the recipient of His love, He says of them that he is “not well pleased” 1 Cor. 10:5, or that His soul “has no pleasure in him” Heb. 10:38; Jer. 22:28; Hos. 8:8; Mal. 1:10. But, those whom He loves, He takes great pleasure in. He sings to the church: “A vineyard of red wine: I the LORD do keep it,” Is. 22:2,3.

He wills good to us that He may rest in that will.

b. The love that we return to God is also a love of rest and delight. David says: “Return unto thy rest, O my soul” Psalm 116:7.

He makes God his rest; that is, he in whom his soul doth rest, without seeking farther for a more suitable and desirable object. “Whom have I,” saith he, “in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee,” Psalm 73:25. Thus the soul gathers itself from all its wanderings from all other beloveds to rest in God alone,- to satiate and content itself in Him; choosing the Father for his present and eternal rest. And this also with delight. “Thy loving-kindness,” saith the psalmist, “is better than life; therefore will I praise thee,” Psalm 63:3. P.26

2) The love of God and the love of Christians for God are alike in that the way of communicating it is in Christ alone. The Father communicates His love of us through Christ and we cannot return love to Him except through Christ.

He is the treasury wherein the Father disposeth all the riches of his grace, taken from the bottomless mine of his eternal love; and he is the priest into whose hand we put all the offerings that we return unto the Father.

a. The Father loves us and chose us “before the foundation of the world;” but in pursuit of that love, He “blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” Eph. 1:3,4

From His love, He sheds or pours out the Holy Spirit richly upon us, through Jesus Christ our Savior, Titus 3:6. In the pouring out of His love, there is not one drop falls besides the Lord Christ. The holy anointing oil was all poured on the head of Aaron, Ps. 133:2; and thence went down the skirts of his clothing. Love is first poured out on Christ; and from him it drops as the dew of Hermon upon the souls of the saints. The Father will have him to have “in all things the pre-eminence,” Col. 1:18.

So that though the saints may, nay, do see an infinite ocean of love unto them in the bosom of the Father, yet they are not to look for one drop from Him but what comes through Christ. He is the only means of communication. Love in the Father is like honey in the flower;- it must be in the comb before it be for our use. Christ must extract and prepare this honey for us. He draws this water from the fountain through union and dispensation of fullness;- we by faith, from the wells of salvation that are in him. P. 27

b. Our return of love to God are all in Christ and by Christ also.

And well is it with us that it is so. What lame and blind sacrifices should we otherwise present unto God! He bears the iniquity of our offerings, and he adds incense to our prayers. Our love is fixed on the Father; but it is conveyed to him through the Son of his love. He is the only way for our graces as well as our persons to go unto God; through him passeth all our desire, our delight, our complacency, our obedience.

Our loves differ as well :

1) The love of God is a love of “bounty” while our love to Him is a love of “duty.”

a. The love of the Father is a love of bounty. It is a love of choosing (Rom. 9:11,12).

It is a love like that of the heavens to the earth, when, being full of rain, they pour forth showers to make it fruitful; as the sea communicates its waters to the rivers by the way of bounty, out of its own fullness, - they return to it only what they receive from it. It is the love of a spring, of a fountain, always communicating- a love from whence proceeds everything that is lovely in its object. It infuseth into, and creates goodness in, the person beloved.

b. Our love to God is a love of duty, the love of a child.

His love descends upon us in bounty and fruitfulness, our love ascends to him in duty and thankfulness. He adds to us by his love; we nothing to him by ours… Though he requires our love, he is not benefited by it (Job 35:5-8; Rom. 11:35, Job 22:2,3). It is indeed made up of four things- 1. Rest; 2. Delight; 3. Reverance; 4. Obedience. By these do we hold communion with the Father in his love. Hence God calls that love which is due him as a father, “honor” Mal. 1:6. “If I be a father, where is mine honor?” It is a deserved act of duty.

2) The love of God is an antecedent love; our love to Him is a consequent love.

a. The love of God is antecedent in respect to our love- 1 John 4:10. He loved us before we loved Him. It is also antecedent in respect of all cause for love. Romans 5:8- He loved us while we were still sinners. His kindness appears to us when we are foolish and disobedient.

b. Our love is consequential in both of these regards. In respect of the love of God, no one would turn their love to Him if He did not first love them. In respect to the causes of love, God must be revealed unto us as lovely and desirable, as a fit and suitable object unto the soul to set up its rest upon, before we can bar any love unto Him. The saints (in this sense) do not love God for nothing, but for that excellency, loveliness and desireableness that is in Him.

3) They differ in that the love of God is like himself- equal, constant, not capable of augmentation or diminuation; our love is like ourselves, - unequal, increasing, waning, growing, declining. His, like the sun, always the same in its light, though a cloud may sometimes interpose; ours as the moon, hath its enlargements and straightening. P. 30

John Owen's Communion With God- Part 3

John Owen’s Communion With God- Part 3

To read John Owen is to enter a rare world. Whenever I return to one of his works I find myself asking “Why do I spend time reading lesser literature?”
—Sinclair B. Ferguson

Owen begins by making it clear that anytime he attributes anything to a particular person of the Godhead, that it should be understood that the others share in it as well, but it is simply that the attribute is found principally in one of the three and secondarily in the others.

These few observations being premised, I come now to declare what it is wherein peculiarly and eminently the saints have communion with the Father; and this is LOVE,- free, undeserved, and eternal love. This the Father peculiarly fixes upon the saints; this they are immediately to eye in him, to receive of him, and to make such returns thereof as he is delighted withal. This is the great discovery of the gospel: for whereas the Father, as the fountain of Deity, is not known any other way but as full of wrath, anger and indignation against sin, nor can the sons of maen have any other thoughts of him,- here he is now revealed peculiarly as love, as full of it unto us; the manifestation whereof is the peculiar work of the gospel.

1) 1 John 4:8 “God is love.” In this verse, “God” is referring to the Father which we can tell because He is distinguished from the Son in verse 9.

“The Father is love;” that is, not only of an infinitely gracious, tender and compassionate, and loving nature, according as he hath proclaimed himself (Exod. 34:6-7), but also one that eminently and peculiarly dispenseth himself unto us in free love.

Verses 9-10 tell us that “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

2) 2 Corinthians 13:14- “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, THE LOVE OF GOD, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.”

Ascribing sundry things unto the distinct persons, it is love that he peculiarly assigns to the Father.

3) John 16:26,27

Saith our Saviour, “Take no care of that, nay, impose that not upon me, of procuring the Father’s love for you; but know that this is his peculiar respect towards you, and which you are in him: ‘He himself loves you.’ It is true, indeed, (and as I told you), that I will pray the Father to send you the Spirit, the Comforter, and with him all the gracious fruits of his love; but yet in the point of love itself, free love, eternal love, there is no need of any intercession for that: for eminently the Father himself loves you. Resolve of that, that you may hold communion with him in it, and be no more troubled about it. Yea, as your great trouble is about the Father’s love, so you can no way more trouble or burden him, than by your unkindness in not believing of it.”

4) Romans 5:5 “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us.” God is here distinguished from the Holy Spirit and is distinguished from the Son in verse 8. See also 2 Cor. 13:11 and 1 John 4:8.

5) Two types of love are ascribed to the Father. A love of “good pleasure and destination,” and a love of “friendship and approbation.”

a. John 3:16 With the love of His good purpose and good pleasure, he determinate will of doing good. This is distinctly ascribed to him, being laid down as the cause of sending his Son. See also Rom. 9:11, 12; Eph. 1:4,5; 2 Thess. 2:13,14; 1 John 4:8,9

b. John 14:23 The love of friendship and approbation. “If anyone loves me, he will keep my words and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him.”

6) Yea, and as this love is peculiarly to be eyed in him, so it is to be looked on as the fountain of all following gracious dispensations. Christians walk oftentimes with exceedingly troubled hearts, concerning the thoughts of the Father toward them. They are well persuaded of the Lord Christ and his good-will; the difficulty lies in their acceptance with the Father,- what is his heart towards them? “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us,” John 14:8. Now, this ought to be so far away, that his love ought to be looked on as the fountain from whence all other sweetnesses flow. Thus the apostle sets out, Titus 3;4, ‘After that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared.’ It is of the Father of whom he speaks; for, verse 6, he tells us that ‘he makes out unto us,’ or ‘sheds that love upon us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Savior.; And this love he makes hinge upon which the great alteration and translation of the saints doth trun; for saith he, verse 3, ‘we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.’ All naught, all out of order, and vile. When, then, is our recovery? The whole rise of it is from this love of God, flowing out by the ways here described.

Now for our communion with the Father in love to be complete, two things are required of believers: That they receive it from Him; and that they make a suitable returns to Him.

1) Receive it. Communion consists of giving and receiving. Until someone receives love from the Father, they do not have communion with Him. How do you receive it? By faith. And what are we to believe in concerning Him? His love.

It is true that there is no way to have faith in the Father, but through the Son (John 14:6). It is through Jesus as our merciful high priest that we have access to the Father. But when we, through Christ, have access to the Father, we then see His glory and we see the love of the Father towards us and we then respond in faith. We are to see love, to believe in love, to receive love, in and from the Father, it coming to us through Christ alone.

Though there be no light for us but in the beams, yet we may be beams see the sun, which is the fountain of it. Though all of our refreshment actually lie in the streams, yet by them we are led up unto the fountain. Jesus Christ, in respect of the love of the Father, is but the beam, the stream; wherein though actually all our light, our refreshment lies, yet by him we are led to the fountain, the sun of eternal love itself. Would believers exercise themselves herein, they would find it a matter of no small spiritual improvement in their walking with God.

The Danger of Pedestals

Every Sunday morning our church prays the for persecuted Christians around the world. Oftentimes I will share a story of what has happened in the previous week and we will lift these brothers and sisters up by name. Other times we might simply pray for the believers in a certain country. We do this because we feel that it is the right thing to do but also because it challenges us to consider our own spiritual walks and our willingness to suffer for Christ's sake. My prayer is that, the more we hear other's stories, the more we will be emboldened as we live out our own.

There is, however, a danger of exalting those facing persecution to the point of near sainthood because of what they have faced. This week I was witnessing to a Muslim couple and they were asking how many prophets Christianity has. I told them that the way that they view the office of prophet and how we see prophets are different. They asked "Then what do you think of Abraham or Moses?" I replied that they were very godly men who God used in mighty ways, but our focus is not on them and we do not give them undue honor- our focus is on Jesus Christ, the one that they pointed us to. This week the Voice of the Martyrs published this article that argues that we must take the same care to not put today's Christian martyrs on a pedestal either. I found it to be a very good reminder.

You can read it here.

The Use of Harsh, Crude Language

This topic is hot right now- Al Mohler has even said that said that this topic is the number one topic that he is e-mailed about.

For an insightful discussion and introduction to the current debate and its main players I'd recommend checking this out.

John Owen's Communion With God- Part 2

"Communion With God" by John Owen- Part Two


To read John Owen is to enter a rare world. Whenever I return to one of his works I find myself asking “Why do I spend time reading lesser literature?”
—Sinclair B. Ferguson


At my church, we are doing a Sunday morning series (before worship) through John Owen's Book- "Communion With God." This is the first book in our series that I am calling "Theology from a Bunch of Dead Guys."

Part Two:

Thus far, in Part 1, Chapter 1 of Communion With God, Owen has made several points:

1) He points out that the early church faced persecution and hardship and asked what could possibly motivate someone to leave the relative comfort of a non-Christian life and purposely choose to join into a community that was facing persecution? He notes that the central appeal that the Apostle John made to others for them to consider joining their church fellowship was that they had fellowship with the Father, and Jesus Christ His Son (1 John 1:3) (pg. 5). We noted that this is something that the modern church should mull over while considering what our typical “sales pitches” proclaim to be the benefits of joining today’s church (i.e. “your best life now”). And the question is, in turn, put before us: “Do you find fellowship with the Father and Son to be of such value that a) you would risk persecution to enjoy it, b) that you would be able to convince people that it is worth risking persecution to partake of it?”

2) The offer of communion with God is one that needs to be made because, by nature, no one has communion with Him. Sin separates us from God and He cannot be approached by us. “Men in such a condition have neither Christ, nor hope, nor God” (pg. 6).

3) This communion with God comes through Christ: “The manifestation of grace and pardoning mercy, which is the only door of entrance into any such communion, is not committed unto any but unto Him alone in who it is, by whom that grace and mercy was purchased, through whom it is dispensed, who reveals it from the bosom of the Father” (pg. 6).

4) Once we enter into a communion with God through Christ, we enjoy a communion with God that is greater than that enjoyed by Abraham, David or Enoch (or any other O.T. saints for that matter). Though they had communion with God, “yet they did not have a boldness and confidence in that communion” (pg. 6). This comes only through Christ who, as our High Priest, entered into the most holy place for us, removing the veil that separated us from God and giving us a “boldness and access with confidence the saints of old were not acquainted with” (pg.7). This ought to put to rest any thoughts of the saints of old having a leg up on us in terms of our spiritual walks. As Peter told us in 2 Peter 1:16-21, “we have something more sure” than the experiences of those (including Peter) that came before us: “the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place.”

And, as Owen writes: “for sinners to have fellowship with God, the infinitely holy God, is an astonishing dispensation.”

Now Owen will describe what such a communion is composed of:

Communion in general is “a joint participation in anything whatever, good or evil, duty or enjoyment, nature or actions.” Communion may exist between two friends even while there may be some differences between them but, left to ourselves, the disparity that exists between God and man makes it impossible for there to be any communion between them.

However, through Christ, we have a new foundation laid for us and communion has been made possible.

What does it look like?

“Our communion with God consisteth in his communication of himself unto us, with our returnal unto him of that which he requireth and accepteth, flowing from that union which in Jesus Christ we have with him. And it is two-fold: 1-Perfect and complete, in the full fruition of his glory and total giving up of ourselves to him, resting in him as our utmost end; which we shall enjoy when we see him as he is;- and, 2- Initial and incomplete, in the firstfruits and dawnings of that perfection which we have here in grace; which only I shall handle.

It is, then, I say, of that mutual communication in giving and receiving, after a most holy and spiritual manner, which is between God and the saints while they walk together in a covenant of peace, ratified in the blood of Jesus, whereof we are to treat” (pg. 9).

Part One, Chapter 2

Owen says that now that he has claimed that Christians have communion with God and has defined what communion is, now he is going to move on to discussing the manner of how this communion is carried on and the matter of which it consists.

First, Owen points out that the Scriptures say that we have communion with the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit:

That is, distinctly with the Father, and distinctly with the Son, and distinctly with the Holy Spirit. (pg. 9).

To make this point he sends us to 1 Corinthians 12:4-6:

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.”

Owen points out that the “Spirit” is the Holy Spirit (as we see in verse 11), that the “Lord” is Lord Jesus, and that “God” is the Father.

Our access unto God (wherein we have communion with Him) is “through Christ,” “in the Spirit,” and “unto the Father”- the persons being here considered as engaged distinctly unto the accomplishment of the counsel of the will of God revealed in the gospel.

Sometimes, he notes, that our relationship with God is spoken of in relation to the Father and the Son (as in 1 John 1:3 or John 14:23). Sometimes it is spoken of only in relation to the Son (as in 1 Cor. 1:9). And sometimes

only the Spirit is mentioned (as in 2 Cor. 13:14).

Owen then shares with us how we particularly fellowship with each of the persons of the Godhead.

1. With the Father.

Faith, love, obedience, etc. are peculiarly and distinctly yielded by the saints unto him; and he is peculiarly manifested in those ways as acting peculiarly towards them; which should draw them forth and stir them up thereunto (pg. 11).

Looking at 1 John 5:9, whose testimony is it that we are called to believe?

“If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning His Son.”

In verse 10, if we believe in Jesus, we do so based upon the testimony of who?

“Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself.”

And, so, looking at verse 10, if we deny Christ, who are we denying?

“Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.”

Now, looking at 1 John 2:15:

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

Here, we are called to not love the world, but, instead, to direct our love to the Father.

And this love of the Father is what He refers to as His “honor” in Malachi 1:6- “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor?”

Owen now notes that our prayers and praises are peculiarly directed to the Father:

“If you call on him as Father…..” 1 Peter 1:17

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named…” Ephesians 3:14,15

“By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return; to me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance. “ Isaiah 46:23

2. The Son

John 14:1 “Believe in God; believe also in me” says Jesus.

Just as there is a faith distinctly placed upon the Father, there is a faith that is directed to the Son, as the Son of God.

1 John 5:13- “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.”

John 3:16- “God (the Father) so loved the world that whosoever believes in him (that is the Son) should not perish.”

3:18 “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already., because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

John 6:29 “This is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

There is also faith, hope, and love which are due from the saints and directed to the Son:

Revelation: 1:5-6 “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever. Amen.”

Rev. 5:8 “The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls of incense which are the prayers of the saints.”

5:13, 14- “And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

The Father and the Son (he that sits upon the throne, and the Lamb) are held out jointly, yet distinctly, as the adequate object of all divine worship and honor, forever and ever.

3. The Holy Spirit of grace.

Romans 15:30 “I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit”

2 Corinthians 13:14- “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

Matthew 28:19- “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

The Point:

Now, of the things which have been delivered this is the sum:- there is no grace whereby our souls go forth unto God, no act of divine worship yielded unto him, no duty or obedience performed, but they are distinctly directed unto Father, Son and Spirit. Now, by these and such like ways as these, do we hold communion with God; and therefore we have that communion distinctly, as hath been described (pg. 15).

Now that we have considered how what we offer up to God is offered to each person distinctly, Owen now calls us to consider that what we receive from God is received from the persons of the Godhead distinctly.

We see this in two ways:

1. When the same thing is, at the same time, ascribed jointly and yet distinctly to all the persons of the Deity and respectively to each of them.

Rev. 1:4,5- “Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings on earth.” Understanding the “seven spirits” to be the Holy Spirit considered as the perfect fountain of every perfect gift and dispensation. All here are joined together, and yet all mentioned as distinguished in their communion of grace and peace unto the saints.

2. When the same thing is attributed severally and singly unto each person.

For example in the instance of teaching:

a) The Father- John 6:45- “It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.”

When we come to Jesus it is because we hear the Father and learn from the Father.

b) The Son- John 12:32 “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” Owen points out that the means by which He draws us is by teaching- “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him” Matt. 17:5. “Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ” Matt. 23:10.

c) The Holy Spirit- John 14:26- “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things…”

This, then, further drives on the truth that lies under demonstration; there being such a distinct communication of grace from the several persons of the Deity, the saints must needs have distinct communion with them.

It remains only to intimate, in a word, wherein this distinction lies and what is the ground thereof. Now, that is, that the Father doth it by way of original authority; the Son by the way of communicating from a purchased treasury; the Holy Spirit by the way of immediate efficacy (p. 16).

So:

1) God the Father communicates grace by way of original authority. James 1:18 “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

Life giving power is, in respect of original authority, invested in the Father…

John 14:26: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name…”

2) The Son, by the way of a purchase:

Isaiah 53:10,11 “Yet is was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring; eh shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.”

3) The Spirit by immediate efficacy. Rom. 8:11- “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

And thus, is the distinct communion whereof we treat both proved and demonstrated.