Durham E-Theses Puritans and the human will : voluntarism within mid-seventeenth century puritanism as seen in the works of Richard Baxter and John Owen. McGrath, Gavin John How to cite: McGrath, Gavin John (1989) Puritans and the human will : voluntarism within mid-seventeenth century puritanism as seen in the works of Richard Baxter and John Owen., Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1418/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 PURITANS AND THE HUMAN WILL: Voluntar ism within mid-seventeenth century English puritanism as seen in the works of Richard Baxter and John Owen Gavin John McGrath A Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Durham Faculty of Arts Theology Department 1989 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. 2 i EC 1990 ABSTRACT' Gavin J. McGrath Puritans and the Human Will: Voluntarism within mid- seventeenth century puritanism as seen in the works of Richard Baxter and John Owen" Doctor of Philosophy University of Durham 1989 This thesis is a theological study of mid- seventeenth century puritan piety as seen in the works of Richard Baxter (1615-1691) and John Owen (1616- 1683). It proposes that central to the practical divinity of Baxter and Owen was a voluntarism. Voluntarism is defined as "the prominence, but not dominance, of the will's response to God's sovereign initiatives in the divine/human encounter". Based on this definition the chapters consider the following. Chapter 1 presents the historical and theological context in which they wrote, paying particular attention to general developments within Reformed theology, covenant theology, Arminianism and Antinomianism. Chapter 2 argues that Baxter and Owen were within a tradition which went back to Augustine and extended through to Calvin. This tradition taught that man's will was "free" only in the sense that it was free from constraint and force. Due to sin the will could only respond to God's call through the renovation which God brought about through grace and the Holy Spirit. Chapters 3 and 4 present the two sides of the divine/human encounter. Chapter 3 considers covenant theology as an important antecedent to Baxter and Owen's interpretations of the divine encounter. Chapter 4 studies human choice, and the ability to choose, as a reflection of the Imago Dei. It is noted that Baxter and Owen recognized faith as involving all the human faculties, but especially a crucial . "willingness." Chapter 5 discusses voluntarism and justification: the meeting of the divine initiative and human response. Attention is given to the issues of election, the effectual call, preparation and the work of the Holy Spirit. Chapters 6 and 7 depend upon the doctrinal observations made in the earlier chapters and present the practical side of Baxter and Owen's voluntarism. Grace and duty, perseverance and assurance are the principal topics. Voluntarism shaped the importance of a willingness to fight sin, and the hope and promise of the saints as they lived their life in Christ. TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration and Statement of Copyright p.i Acknowledgments p.ii Abbreviations p.iii Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Voluntarism defined p.1 1.2 Was there a mid-seventeenth century puritanism? p.18 1.3 The significance of Richard Baxter and John Owen p.26 1.4 Baxter and Owen's controversies in print and person p.39 1.5 Their writing in its historical and theological context p.46 1.6 Methodology p.64 1.7 The aim of the thesis p.68 Chapter 2 Doctrines of the Human Will: Important Precedents Introduction p.73 2.1 The Nature and Operation of the Divine Will p.78 2.2 The Human Will and the Nature of Volitional Acts p.101 2.3 The interrelation between the Divine Will and Human Will. p.120 Conclusion p.142 Chapter 3 The Divine Initiative • Introduction p.144 3.1 Covenant theology and the locus of the divine initiative p.147 3.1.1 Major themes of covenant theology and its early proponents p.148 3.1.2 John Calvin and the covenant p.160 3.1.3 Later Calvinists and covenant theology p.166 3.2 The Sovereign Divine Initiative p.176 3.3 Baxter and Owen and the covenant of grace p.183 3.3.1 The meaning of Condition p.184 3.3.2 The Death and Satisfaction of Christ p.193 Conclusion p.206 Chapter 4 The Human Response Introduction p.209 4.1 The Nature of the Human Response p.211 4.1.1 Human choice and Divine sovereignty p.212 4.1.2 Choice as a reflection of Imago Del p.215 4.1.3 Faith: the Response defined p.224 4.2 The ability of man to respond p.237 4.3 The importance of a willing response p.244 Conclusion p.249 Chapter 5 Justification: The Nexus of the Divine Initiative and the Human .Response Introduction p.251 5.1 . The importance of election p.254 5.2 The effectual call p.265 5.3 The work of the Holy Spirit p.268 5.4 The question of preparation p.272 5.5 The irresistibility of God's call p.285 Conclusion p.291 Chapter 6 Voluntarism in Practice: A Willingness in Duties Introduction p.293 6.1 Grace complemented by duty p.295 6.1.1 Duties always dependent upon grace p.301 6.1.2 Grace improved as duties were performed p.306 6.1.3 Duties often involved means p.312 6.1.4 Duties always subordinate to Christ p.316 6.2 The Struggle with Sin p.320 6.2.1 The reality of the Struggle p.323 6.2.2 Mortification p.332 Conclusion p.341 Chapter 7 Voluntarism in Practice: A Willingness in Perseverance and Assurance Introduction p.344 7.1 The Fight of the Saints: Perseverance p.347 7.1.1 Owen's view of Perseverance: the immutable consequence of election p.352 7.1.2 Baxter's view of Perseverance: a covenant promise p.361 7.2 The Hope of the Saints: Assurance p.369 Conclusion p.382 Conclusion p.385 Appendix The Controversy Surrounding Baxter's Aphorismes of Justification (1649) p.392 Bibliography p.396 1. DECLARATION I confirm that no part of the material contained in this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree in this or in any other University. STATEMENT OF COPYRIGHT The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The staff of the following libraries assisted me in this research: The British Museum, London; Bodleian Library, Oxford; New College Library, Edinburgh; Dr. Williams's Library, London; and the University of Sheffield. I must express my indebtedness to E.M. Rainey, R. Norris, S. .Gill and H. Guy of Palace Green Library, University of Durham: their collective support, assistance and encouragement whilst I was in Durham is appreciated. The patient instruction and kind encouragement I received from Dr. Susan Hardman Moore leave me with an incalculable debt. My research would have been impossible without the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. J.O. Wilson, a Theology Department scholarship from the University of Durham and a UCCF Theology Project Fund grant administered by Dr. Oliver Barclay. The final stage of this research was reached while serving as Associate Vicar of Christ Church, Fulwood, Sheffield. My colleague, Philip H. Hacking, graciously allowed me the time to finish this work. I want to thank the congregation of Christ Church for their support and reminding me, to quote Baxter, that "divinity is a practical science." In particular I want to thank John and Joy Lockwood, Bob Webb, Penny Simons, Ken Thomas, Godfrey and Helen Smallman, Barbara Paterson and Peter Gosnell. Eileen and Megan endured their father's prolonged absences and occasional grumpiness. Above all others, my wife, Janet, deserves my deep, albeit inadequate, thanks. Her unflinching support and gracious willingness is not forgotten. It is to her that this work is dedicated. Finally, as every research student knows, it is a dangerous possibility, when spending hours in a library, to divorce one's studies from the rest of reality. This is the subtle snare of academic theology; thus it is an added bonus that I frequently found personal benefit from Baxter and Owen. In the end I can only join in the Reformers' praise, Sola Deo Gloria. ABBREVIATIONS ARG Archly fur Reformationsgeschichte. Calamy Revised Calamy Revised, Being a revision of Edmund Calamy's Account of the Ministers and others Ejected and Silenced, 1660-1662, edited by A.G. Matthews (1934). CH Church History. Comm.