John Owen on the Person and Work of Christ
Aspects of Owen's Christology - A Puritan Conference Paper
Originally preached Dec. 26, 1962
Sermon Description
The person and work of Christ stand at the very center of the Christian religion, and few theologians have set forth these truths with greater scriptural depth than the Puritan divine John Owen. In this 1962 Puritan Conference session chaired by Dr. Lloyd-Jones, Mr. Entwistle presents a paper surveying Owen's Christology across four major treatises, demonstrating how Owen's careful exegesis of Scripture led him to a rich, Trinitarian understanding of redemption. The paper traces Owen's teaching on the constitution of Christ's person — his two natures united in one — and shows how this doctrine forms the indispensable foundation of all true religion, all the saving purposes of God, the fullest revelation of God's nature, and the whole mediatorial work of Christ in his obedience, death, and heavenly intercession.
The extended discussion that follows brings to life the practical and theological significance of these truths, as Dr. Lloyd-Jones and the conference delegates press into vital questions: the nature of Christ's heavenly intercession, the relationship between his session at the right hand of God and the assurance of the believer, and the reverent limits of inquiry into the mystery of the incarnation. Dr. Lloyd-Jones draws attention to the danger of modern theology which attempts to penetrate what Scripture does not explain, reminding listeners that "great is the mystery of godliness — God was manifest in the flesh." The session calls the church back to more scriptural, more worshipful, and more Christ-exalting views of the Son of God.
Scripture
Sermon Breakdown
- Mr. Entwistle introduces John Owen (1616–1683) as one of the most eminent Puritan divines, whose vast learning and mastery of Calvinistic theology produced treatises that still speak powerfully to the church today.
- Owen's theological method is shown to be rooted in the careful exegesis of Scripture, not in a narrow logic imposed upon the text, giving the lie to common accusations against Calvinist theologians.
- Owen's thought is structured within a thoroughly Trinitarian framework — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each performing distinct acts in the one undivided work of redemption — because the Scripture itself reveals a trinity working for our salvation.
- The constitution of the person of Christ is set forth according to orthodox doctrine: two complete natures, divine and human, united in one person without mixture, conversion, or confusion, each nature preserving its own essential properties.
- Owen demonstrates that the person of Christ is the immediate cause of all true religion and worship, the foundation of all God's saving purposes including election, the great revelation of God and his will, and the foundation of his mediatorial work.
- The office of Christ as mediator arises from the great difference between God and man occasioned by sin, and his fitness to serve as mediator rests upon the union of the two natures in his one person.
- Owen's teaching on the work of Christ encompasses the obedience of his life (reckoned to us as righteousness), his oblation and death (effecting redemption, reconciliation, and satisfaction), and his heavenly intercession (securing the application of all he obtained by his blood).
- Dr. Lloyd-Jones leads a discussion on the nature of Christ's heavenly intercession, contending that it is best understood in terms of Christ's session at the right hand of God — his very presence there guaranteeing the believer's acceptance — rather than as a continued vocal pleading before the Father.
- The delegates wrestle with the mystery of the incarnation and the self-humiliation of the Son, with Dr. Lloyd-Jones warning against both the presumption of modern theology that tries to explain what Scripture leaves in mystery and the opposite danger of refusing to think as far as Scripture will take us.
- The session closes with a prayer of thanksgiving for the gift of understanding, acknowledging that "the hidden things belong unto God, but the things that are revealed are for us and for our children." (Deut 29:29)
Sermon Q&A
Questions and Answers
In what sense does Owen say the person of Christ is the "ground" of election?
Owen teaches that while the ultimate origin of election lies in the will and purpose of God alone, the accomplishment of all God's saving purposes was to be in the person of the Son. We are elect "in him" — not because we believed or repented before the foundation of the world, but because Christ was appointed as the only foundation for the execution of all the counsels of God concerning our sanctification and salvation.
Why does Owen insist that both natures of Christ are essential to his work as mediator?
Owen argues that the fitness of Christ to save results from the union of the divine and human natures in one person. He lays his hand upon God by partaking of the divine nature and lays his hand upon us by partaking of human nature, thus becoming the one who bridges the great difference between a holy God and sinful man. Without either nature, the mediatorial work collapses entirely.
What is the distinction Dr. Lloyd-Jones draws between Christ's "intercession" and his "session"?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones contends that the scriptural language of intercession is given primarily to strengthen the believer's assurance. Christ's entry into heaven and his presentation of himself and his blood before the Father was accomplished once for all. His ongoing work is better understood as his session — his seated presence at God's right hand as a permanent guarantee of our acceptance — together with the distribution of the benefits of his passion to his people, rather than as a continued petitioning of the Father.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones respond to the question of Christ's limited knowledge during the incarnation?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones acknowledges the mystery but suggests that in his self-humiliation, the Son chose not to make use of what he possessed as God. This was part of the laying aside of the prerogatives of deity described in Philippians 2, so that in his mediatorial character he lived in dependence upon what the Father gave him. Dr. Lloyd-Jones insists, however, that the eternal relationship between the Father and the Son was not altered in the least by the incarnation, and that at this point we stand before holy ground and must not intrude further than Scripture takes us.
What practical and pastoral lesson does the paper draw from Owen's Christology for the church today?
Owen calls the church to recognize that true religion and salvation and eternal life stand or fall by right views of the person of Christ. The paper urges believers not to magnify one aspect of Christ's work at the expense of another — not to magnify Calvary by minimizing Bethlehem — but to worship Christ in all his glory and fullness as he is revealed in the whole counsel of God, as both God and Savior.
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust's collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.