Great Quotes from Owen’s Communion with the Triune God

By Tim Raymond –

In my last post, I enumerated my favorite books from 2011 and stated that the best book I read this last year was Communion with the Triune God by John Owen (1616-1683).  This book has become not only my very favorite from 2011, but one of the most significant books I have ever read.  Like I said, no other book has so wowed me with the strong, rich, victorious love of God for His saints.  And no other book has taught me a quarter of what this book has about what it means to commune with God in Three Persons.

Therefore, instead of boring you with my own drivel, I thought I might use today’s post to share with you some quotes from Communion I found helpful.  I’d encourage you to prayerfully meditate on these sentences, perhaps contemplating two or three at a time in your daily devotions.  My hope is that these quotes will whet your appetite and you’ll attempt to read the book yourself.  Admittedly, reading Owen can be as strenuous as climbing Pike’s Peak.  However, you’ll be overwhelmed by awesome vistas few Christians enjoy in this life.

“God loves, that he may be beloved.” (113)

“It was from eternity that he laid in his own bosom a design for our happiness.” (125)

“So much as we see of the love of God, so much shall we delight in him, and no more.” (128)

“You love him not, because you know him not.” (151)

“This is the bottom [i.e., foundation] of all peace, confidence, and consolation – the grace and mercy of our Maker, of the God of the whole earth.” (161)

“This infiniteness of grace, in respect of its spring and fountain, will answer all objections that might hinder our souls from drawing nigh to commune with him, and from a free embracing of him.” (162)

“That wisdom which cannot teach me that God is love, shall ever pass for folly.” (187)

“Had not God set forth the Lord Christ, all the angels in heaven and men on earth could not have apprehended that there had been any such thing in the nature of God as this grace of pardoning mercy.” (188)

“To save sinners through believing, shall be found to be a far more admirable work than to create the world of nothing.” (196)

“This is that which brings salvation, when we shall see that God has glorified all his properties in a way of doing us good.” (198)

“Never was sin seen to be more abominably sinful and full of provocation than when the burden of it was upon the shoulders of the Son of God.” (203)

“Would you, then, see the true demerit of sin?—take the measure of it from the mediation of Christ, especially his cross.” (204)

The entire book is filled with such sentences.  And even better, they’re put together into a coherent, powerful set of arguments, the force of which lifts your soul to heaven.  You really should check it out for yourself.

If any of the above quotes don’t make sense on their own, or if you’d like to discuss whether or not they’re actually biblical, leave your questions and comments in the comments section below and we’ll discuss.  Tolle lege!

[All page numbers come from the edition edited by Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor (Wheaton: Crossway, 2007).]

Tim Raymond has been the pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Muncie, Indiana since April 2006. He received his MDiv from the Baptist Bible Seminary of Pennsylvania in 2004 and has pursued further education through the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation. Tim grew up outside Syracuse, NY and previously served at Berean Baptist Church, Nicholson, PA (member and teacher during college and seminary) and Calvary Baptist Church, Sandusky, Ohio (seminary internship location). Tim met his wife Bethany at college, and they were married in May 2001. Tim enjoys reading, camping, wrestling with his three sons, and attempting to sleep.

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