Spirit and the Church

Author: John Owen

How do Christians come to the certainty that the Bible is the Word of God, and gain an understanding of His mind and will from it? How do they acquire the ability to pray, and lead others in prayer? how are they comforted and supported in all the difficulties they meet? And how can the church be led, taught and guided aright, when Christ is not here on earth?

According to the great Puritan leader John Owen, the answer to all these questions is the same: by the gracious and powerful work of the Holy Spirit.

He it is who convinces, assures, teaches, comforts and equips the church and all its members for all the work they are called to do. In an age when many think Christianity is nothing more than human effort, based on fallible human conclusions, Owen calls the church back to divine certainty and divine resources.

The style in which the Puritans wrote can present difficulties for modern readers, but this updated abridgment by Dr. R.J.K. Law will allow Owen to speak to Christians today on a theme which remains as vitally important for the well-being of the church in the twenty-first century as it was when Owen first wrote.

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PART 1: HOW WE BELIEVE SCRIPTURE TO BE THE WORD OF GOD

1. Illumination Based on Revelation
2. The Faith by Which We Believe Scripture to be God’s Word
3. External Arguments for Divine Revelation
4. More Certainty, the Result of External Arguments, Insufficient
5. Divine Revelation Itself the Only Foundation and Reason for Faith
6. The Self-Evidencing Power of Scripture
7. The Kind of Assurance Scripture Brings

PART 2: UNDERSTANDING THE MIND OF GOD

1. How We Learn the Mind of God from Scripture
2. Knowing the Mind of God: Some Teaching from Scripture Itself
3. How are Believers Guided into ‘All Truth’?
4. How Does the Holy Spirit Enlighten Our Minds?
5. Hindrances to the Understanding of the Mind of God in Scripture
6. The Nature of Scripture, and the Right Approach to It
7. Means to be Used to Understand the Mind of God in Scripture
8. Tools from Various Disciplines to Aid in Our Understanding of Scripture
9. Help from the Church to Understand Scripture
10. Final Points on the Work of the Spirit in Relation to Scripture

PART 3: THE HOLY SPIRIT AND PRAYER

1. The Help of the Spirit in Prayer
2. The Spirit of Grace and Supplication: Zechariah 12:10 Expounded
3. The Spirit of Adoption: Galatians 4:6 Expounded
4. The Nature of Prayer: Romans 8:26 Vindicated
5. The Spirit Teaches Us What to Pray For
6. The Spirit Teaches Us How to Pray
7. The Duty of Praying in the Spirit: Ephesians 6:18 Expounded
8. The Spirit Enables Us to Pray Aloud
9. Our Response to the Gift of the Spirit of Prayer
10. Contemplative Prayer Considered
11. Set Forms of Prayer Examined

PART 4: THE HOLY SPIRIT AS A COMFORTER

1. How the Spirit Comforts the Church
2. The Characteristics of the Spirit’s Work as Comforter
3. The Holy Spirit Comforts Only Believers
4. The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
5. The Holy Spirit as an Anointing
6. The Holy Spirit seals Believers
7. The Holy Spirit as an Earnest or Guarantee

PART 5: THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

1. The Purpose of Spiritual Gifts
2. Spiritual Gifts and Saving Grace
3. The Extraordinary Offices of the Church
4. Extraordinary Spiritual Gifts in the Church
5. How Spiritual Gifts Promote Christ’s Kingdom
6. The Continuance of the Ministry
7. Spiritual Gifts granted to the Ministry
8. The Gifts of the Spirit for Doctrine, Worship and Discipline