The Trinitarian Devotion of John Owen

The Trinitarian Devotion of John Owen explores the life, theology, and spiritual vision of the seventeenth-century Puritan pastor and theologian John Owen, with particular attention to his understanding of the believer’s communion with the triune God.

Dr. Sinclair B. Ferguson traces Owen’s remarkable career—from his early education at Oxford through his service as chaplain to Oliver Cromwell and vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford, to his years of suffering under the Restoration as a Nonconformist minister. Against this biographical backdrop, Ferguson examines the Trinitarian theology that shaped Owen’s devotional life and pastoral ministry, drawing especially on Owen’s classic work Of Communion with God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Central to the book is Owen’s conviction that the Christian life consists in distinct fellowship with each person of the Trinity: communion with the Father in His love, with the Son in His grace, and with the Holy Spirit in His indwelling and comfort. Ferguson shows how Owen understood these as practical realities rather than abstract doctrines, grounding the believer’s assurance, obedience, and worship in the personal knowledge of the triune God. This book is part of the Long Line of Godly Men Profiles series.

Key Themes

• The believer’s distinct communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
• The pastoral and devotional dimensions of Trinitarian theology
• Justification, union with Christ, and the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit
• Owen’s life as an example of faithfulness amid political upheaval and persecution

Featured Quotes

“Far from seeing the Trinity as an impractical and abstract doctrine, it is for him—by necessity—the most practical of all doctrines, simply because knowing God is eternal life.”

“Our hearts are closed to Him because we think His heart is closed to us.”