Communion With God Part 6

John Owen’s Communion With God- Part 6

(Sunday mornings before our worship service, our church is studying our way through Owen's book. This series consists of the notes handed out for the class).

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

Part 2, Chapter 1

Having discussed our communion with the Father, Owen now moves on to considering our communion with the Son. His goal in this chapter is to: 1) declare that we have fellowship with the Son of God, 2) show what that fellowship or communion consists of.

To demonstrate that we do, indeed, have fellowship with the Son, Owen takes us to:

• 1 Cor. 1:9- “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” We are called of God the Father, as the Father, in pursuit of his love, to communion with the Son, as our Lord.

• Rev. 3:20- “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and him with me.” Certainly this is fellowship, or I know not what is. Christ will eat with believers: he refreshes himself with his own graces in them, by his Spirit bestowed on them.

Understanding that we do enjoy fellowship with Jesus Christ, the question posed is “in what sense do we particularly fellowship with Jesus.” In other words, Owen has made the case that we enjoy “love” peculiarly from the Father and love is what we are to return particularly to Him.

So what is it that we particularly receive from Christ? It is grace.

John 1:14, 16-17: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth….And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

We have communion with him in grace; we receive from him all manner of grace whatever; and therein have we fellowship with him.

2 Cor. 13:14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

2 Thessalonians 3:17-18 “I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”

Grace is a word that can be used in various ways. For the most part, it can be referred to under one of the following three heads:

1. Grace of personal presence and attractiveness. This in Christ is the matter of half the book of Song of Solomon; and it is also mentioned in Psalm 45:2 “You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips…”

He is beyond comparison, more beautiful and gracious than any here below

2. Grace of free favor and acceptance. It is by this grace that we are saved.
3. The fruits of the Spirit. The sanctifying and renewing of our natures, enabling unto good, and preventing from evil, are so termed. Thus the Lord tells Paul that His grace was sufficient for him – that is, the assistance against temptation which was given him.

These last two graces are “purchased grace,” having been purchased by him for us; and our communion with Him in these two graces are termed “a fellowship in his sufferings, and the power of his resurrection,” Phil. 3:10.

Considering the grace of personal presence and attractiveness, the grace of Jesus consists of 3 things: 1) His fitness to save due to the uniting of the natures of God and man in Him; 2) His fullness to save, from the grace of communion; 3) His excellency to endear from his complete suitableness to all the wants of the souls of men.

1) His fitness to save comes from the grace of His union.

The uniting of the natures of God and man in one person made him fit to be a Savior to the uttermost. He lays His hand upon God, by partaking of His nature, Zech. 13:7; and He lays His hand upon us by partaking of our nature, Heb. 2:14, 16: and so becomes a days-man or umpire between both. By this means He fills up all the distance that was made by sin between God and us; and we who were far off are made nigh to Him. Upon this account it was that He had room enough in His breast to receive, and power enough in His spirit to bear all the wrath that was prepared for us. p. 51

2) His fullness to save, from the grace of communion or the effects of his union, which are free; and consequences of it…”He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him,” Heb. 7:25; having all fullness unto this end communicated unto Him: “for it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell,” Col. 1:19; and he received not “the Spirit by measure,” John 3:34. And from this fullness He makes out a suitable supply unto all that are his “grace for grace,” John 1:16. Had it been given to Him by measure, we had exhausted it.

3) His excellency to endear, from his complete suitableness to all the wants of the souls of men. There is no man whatever, that hath any want of the souls of men. There is no man whatever, that hath any want in reference unto the things of God, but Christ be unto him that which he wants: I speak of those who are given him of his Father. Is he dead? Christ is life. Is he weak? Christ is the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Hath he the sense of guilt upon him? Christ is complete righteousness, - “The Lord our Righteousness.” Many poor creatures are sensible of their wants, but know not where their remedy lies. Indeed, whether it be life or light, power or joy, all is wrapped up in him.

This, then, for the present, may suffice in general to be spoken of the personal grace of the Lord Christ:- He hath the fitness to save, having pity and ability, tenderness and power, to carry that work to the uttermost; and a fullness to save, of redemption and sanctification of all our souls: whereby he becomes exceedingly desirable, yea, altogether lovely; as afterward will appear in particular. And as to this, in the first place, the saints have distinct fellowship with the Lord Christ.

In what condition soever you may be, compare a little what you aim at, or what you do, with what you have already heard of Jesus Christ: if any thing you design be like to him, if any thing you desire be equal to him, let him be rejected as one that hath neither form nor comeliness in him; but if, indeed, all your ways be but vanity and vexation of spirit, in comparison of him, why do you spend your “money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which satisfieth not?”

Use 1: You that are yet in the flower of your days, full of health and strength, and, with all the vigour of your spirits, do pursue some one thing, some another, consider, I pray, what are all your beloveds to this Beloved? What have you gotten by the? Let us see the peace, quietness, assurance of everlasting blessedness that they have given you? Their paths are crooked paths, whoe’er goes in them shall not know peace. Behold here a fit object for your choicest affections, - one in whom you may find rest to your souls, - one in whom there is nothing will grieve and trouble you to eternity. Behold, he stands at the door of your souls, and knocks: O reject him not, lest you seek him and find him not. Pray study him a little; you love him not, because you know him not. Why doth one of you spend his time in idleness and folly, and wasting of precious time, - perhaps debauchedly? Why doth another associate and assemble himself with them that scoff at religion and the things of God? Merely because you know not our dear Lord Jesus. Oh, when he shall reveal himself to you, and tell you he is Jesus whom you have slighted and refused, how will it break your hearts, and make you mourn like a dove, that you have neglected him!

Use 2: You that are, perhaps, seeking earnestly after a righteousness, and are religious persons, consider a little with yourselves,- hath Christ his due place in your hearts? Is he your all? Does he dwell in your thoughts? Do you know him in his excellency and desirableness? Do you indeed account all things all things “loss and dung” for his exceeding excellency? Or rather, do you prefer almost any thing in the world before it?