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Chapter 1: the Life and Times of John Owen 9 Christ Exhibited and the Covenant Confirmed: The Eucharistic Theology of John Owen John C. Bellingham, MDiv Faculty of Religious Studies McGill University, Montreal February 27, 2014 Submitted to the Faculty of Religious Studies at McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts There is a reception of Christ as tendered in the promise of the gospel; but here [in the Lord’s Supper] is a peculiar way of his exhibition under outward signs, and a mysterious reception of him in them, really, so as to come to a real substantial incorporation in our souls. This is that which believers ought to labour after an experience of in themselves; …. they submit to the authority of Jesus Christ in a peculiar manner, giving him the glory of his kingly office; mixing faith with him as dying and making atonement by his blood, so giving him the glory and honour of his priestly office; much considering the sacramental union that is, by his institution, between the outward signs and the thing signified, thus glorifying him in his prophetical office; and raising up their souls to a mysterious reception and incorporation of him, receiving him to dwell in them, warming, cherishing, comforting, and strengthening their hearts. – John Owen, DD, Sacramental Discourses XXV.4 ii Table of Contents Acknowledgments iv Abstract v Résumé vi Introduction: John Owen and the Lord’s Supper 1 Chapter 1: The Life and Times of John Owen 9 Chapter 2: John Owen’s Sixteenth Century Inheritance 35 Chapter 3: The Lord’s Supper in Reformed Orthodoxy 80 Chapter 4: John Owen’s Eucharistic Theology 96 Conclusion 133 Bibliography 137 iii Acknowledgments I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the following people without whom this project would not have been possible. Thank you to Dr. Michael Haykin who first piqued my interest in the English Puritans at Toronto Baptist Seminary, to Dr. Scott Manetsch of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School who fueled my passion for Historical Theology and encouraged me to pursue further studies after the completion of my MDiv, and to Dr. Torrance Kirby of McGill University who acquainted me with the Eucharistic writings of Peter Martyr Vermigli and supervised this thesis from beginning to end. A special note of appreciation goes to my wonderful wife Leslie and to our two children, Daniel and Christina who have patiently endured my graduate studies at Trinity and McGill over the past few years. I love you Les, and cannot thank you enough for being so gracious and encouraging during this busy season of life and ministry. I dedicate this thesis to you. I am grateful to Rosedale Baptist Church in Welland, Ontario for giving me a temporary reprieve from my pastoral responsibilities so that I could complete this project. My prayer is that the things I have learned from studying our Reformed heritage will be of benefit to my ministry among you. Above all I give all thanks and praise to the Triune God who John Owen served so faithfully in his generation and who I am privileged to know and to serve in mine. Soli Deo Gloria. iv Abstract As one of seventeenth century England’s premier Reformed theologians, John Owen drew upon his rich sixteenth century inheritance to develop a theology of the Eucharist which addressed the unique challenges of his own generation. The following thesis analyzes Owen’s contribution to Reformed Sacramental theology during the era of Reformed Orthodoxy in England. Instead of capitulating to a highly subjective and pragmatic theology of the Supper, Owen went beyond many of his Puritan contemporaries in reasserting its objective efficacy in uniting the believer with the ascended Christ, and in strengthening faith. A careful analysis of Owen’s Works shows that he consistently affirmed the real presence of Christ in the Supper and stressed the efficacy of the elements in sealing the Covenant of Grace and uniting believers to Christ in a unique way. The first chapter sets the Eucharistic writings of John Owen in historical context, tracing Owen’s development from his student years at Laudian Oxford, through his rise to prominence during the English Interregnum, to his mature ministry as the Pastor of an illegal Congregationalist conventicle in the years following the Act of Uniformity (1662). Whereas previous analyses of Owen’s Eucharistic theology have tended to stereotype him as either ‘Zwinglian’ or ‘Calvinist’, chapter two presents Owen as the benefactor of a rich and highly nuanced theological inheritance. In this chapter the sixteenth century Eucharistic theology of Ulrich Zwingli, Martin Bucer, John Calvin and Peter Martyr Vermigli is outlined as the foundation for a more accurate analysis of Owen’s contribution as a Reformed theologian in the next century. The third chapter probes the influence of Peter Ramus on the Puritan theology of the Eucharist, arguing that the anti-Aristotelianism of the Ramist method lends itself to the memorialist theology of the Eucharist which was promoted by many seventeenth century Congregationalists. Finally, chapter four analyzes the development of Owen’s mature theology of the Lord’s Supper from primary source documents. This chapter shows how Owen made use of his Aristotelian training at Oxford to assert a more objective view of the Sacraments than many of his Congregationalist contemporaries. Two collections of Owen’s Eucharistic Sermons that were edited, compiled and published posthumously were transformed by eighteenth century Orthodox non-Conformists into powerful pieces of deliberative rhetoric that were used to wage war against a new generation of Socinian ‘memorialists’. Through the posthumous republication of Owen’s Eucharistic sermons, his theological influence on the Eucharist extended well into the eighteenth century. v Résumé En tant qu’un des théologiens réformés de l’Angleterre du dix-septième siècle, John Owen a puisé de son héritage riche du seizième siècle pour développer une théologie de l’eucharistie qui adressait les défis uniques de sa génération. La thèse qui suit analyse la contribution d’Owen à la théologie réformée relatifs aux sacrements lors de l’ère de l’orthodoxie réformée en Angleterre. Au lieu de capituler à une théologie de la Sainte Cène hautement subjective et pragmatique, Owen a surpassé plusieurs de ses contemporains puritains dans la réaffirmation de son efficacité objective à unir le croyant avec le Christ et à augmenter la foi. Une analyse du “Works” d’Owen démontre qu’il affirmait d’une manière cohérente la réelle présence du Christ dans la Cène et mettait une emphase sur l’efficacité des éléments à sceller l’Alliance de la Grâce et unir les croyants au Christ de façon unique. Le premier chapitre place les écrits eucharistiques de John Owen dans leur contexte historique, retraçant son développement dès ses années étudiantes à Oxford, à travers son ascension pendant l’interrègne anglais, jusqu’à son ministère mature en tant que pasteur d’un conventicule congrégationaliste illégal dans les années suivant l’acte d’uniformité (1662). Alors que les analyses antérieures de la théologie eucharistique d’Owen avaient tendance à le conformer aux stéréotypes “zwingliens” ou “calvinistes,” le deuxième chapitre présente Owen comme bénéficiaire d’un héritage théologique riche et très nuancé. Dans ce chapitre, la théologie eucharistique du seizième siècle d’Ulrich Zwingli, Martin Bucer, Jean Calvin et Pierre Martire Vermigli est exposé en agissant de fondation pour une analyse plus exacte de la contribution d’Owen en tant que théologien réformé du prochain siècle. Le troisième chapitre sonde l’influence de Pierre de la Ramée sur la théologie puritaine de l’eucharistie, avec l’argument que l’antiaristotélisme de la méthode ramiste se prête à la théologie mémorialiste de l’eucharistie qui était promu par plusieurs congrégationalistes du dix-septième siècle. Finalement, le quatrième chapitre analyse le développement de la théologie mature eucharistique d’Owen à partir de sources primaires. Ce chapitre révèle comment Owen a utilisé sa formation aristotélicienne à Oxford pour affirmer une vue plus objective des sacrements que beaucoup de ses contemporains congrégationalistes. Deux collections des sermons d’Owen sur la Cène qui ont été éditées, compilées et publiées à titre posthume ont été transformées par des non-conformistes orthodoxe du dix-huitième siècle en de puissantes pièces de rhétorique délibérative. Ces collections ont été utilisées pour mener une guerre contre une nouvelle génération de ‘mémorialistes’ socinienne. À travers la republication posthume des sermons eucharistiques d’Owen, son influence théologique sur la Cène s’étendra jusqu’au dix-huitième siècle. vi Introduction John Owen and the Lord’s Supper According to Carl Trueman’s recent assessment, John Owen (1616-1683) was “without a doubt the most significant theological intellect in England in the third quarter of the seventeenth century and one of the two or three most impressive Protestant theologians in Europe at the time.”1 Given Owen’s elevated stature in England as the Dean of Christ Church and Vice- Chancellor of Oxford University during the English Interregnum (1649-1660), it is remarkable how little scholarly attention he has received. During the course of his career as a Pastor, military Chaplain and Academic, Owen wrote many important theological and exegetical treatises and sermons which fill a hefty twenty-four volumes in William Goold’s nineteenth century edition of his Works.2 Among his later writings, dating after the passage of the momentous Act of Uniformity in 1662, is a collection of twenty-five Sacramental Discourses and three additional Eucharistic sermons which were collected and published posthumously in the eighteenth century. These sermons, along with Owen’s Catechisms and the Savoy Declaration, constitute the most important primary source documents which shed light on the substance of Owen’s Eucharistic theology.
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