Reasons For Scriptural Faith pt. 2

Original Revelation by Various Means

Owen begins his defense of the Scirptures in the right place addressing the spoken revelation of the Old Testament. Odly enough this is where a lot of ideas about God speaking to me originate from. There was a purpose to it, and one which people use today to validate their need for external revelation:

This divine external revelation was originall, by various ways, given unto sundry persons immediately, partly for their own instruction and guidance in the knowledge of God and his will, and partly by their ministry to be communicated to the church (book 4, pg 8).

This external revelation had a purpose in Owen's mind to be used to edify the church, and to warn the world of coming judgement to which he uses:

So it was granted to Enoch, the seventh from Adam, who thereon prophesied, to the warning and instruction of others, Jude 14, 15; and to Noah, who became thereby a preacher of righteousness, 2 Peter 2:5; and Abraham, who thereon commanded his children and household to keep the way of The Lord, Gen. 18:19 (Ibid)

One thing I think is interesting that Owen points to is that they were only occasional, which I think will be a point to be brought out later that we have a more sure word in Christ. Something occasional or something sure; you will have to be the judge on which you prefer.

It Was From God No Doubt

Something to keep in mind about those who claim that they have received a special external revelation from God that was not found in the Scripture is that people are pretty sure they came from God. When they do not come to pass the assumption is that God's plans were frustrated by them, so the problem was them. Amazingly, God was truly in need of them to accomplish His will. Is His word able to be trusted after all? How is it that they could trust the revelations to be from God?

There was, therefore, a divine power and efficacy attending all divine revelations, ascertaining and infallibly assuring the minds of men of their being from God; for if it had not been so, men had never been able to secure themselves that they were not imposed on by the crafty deceits of Satan, especially in such revelations as seemed to contain things contrary to their reason, as in the command given to Araham for the sacraficing his son, Gen 22:2 (ibid).

How could they discern between Satan and God in terms of revelation? The striking biblical example would be the sacrifice of Abraham's son Isaac which does fly in the face of reason. Some people would say, "God would never ask me to do something like that." Let us hope not. Abraham was asked to do that and was willing to oblige himself to Gods' revelation to him because he was able to discern that it was the words of God. Here is how Owen describes the ability to discern:

For the present I shall only say, that it was an evidence unto faith, and not to sense; as is that also which we have not by the Scirptures (bk 4, pg. 9).

Even though it is by the exercise of faith that we believe the Scripture, reason is not discarded as though it were not needed, on the contrary. Owen says where this is the case men degenerate into atheism. The Scriptures were given to us for the purpose of exercising "faith, conscience, obedience and reason" which was important. This is a telling qoute about the concerns of throwing reason out:

So he tells us that his word differeth from all other pretended revelations as the wheat doth from the chaff, Jer 23:28. But yet it is our duty to try and sift the wheat from the chaff, or we may not evidently discern the one from the other (ibid).

The Bareans were noble because they searched (reasoned) from the Scripture to see if the gospel as told by Paul was true. That is important because there is so much false information out there that if we are not careful we loose the ability to discern between what God says and man says. The two are not always diametrically opposed to one another on the surface. If not brought under the scrutiny of the Scriptures the words of man will seek to have preimenence over the Scripture.

Every Age had Enough for Obedience

God never left any generation in the dark as to what was required of them for proper obedience and for their edification. He even says that people prior to the flood did not perish because they lacked sufficient information. Owen is masterful at helping me to understand how the limited light that those prior to the Scripture had was sufficient to guide them:

Set up but a candle in a dark room, and it will sufficiently enlighten it for men to attend their necessary occasions therein; but when the sun is risen, and shineth in at all the windows, the light of the candle grows so dim and useless that it seems strange that any could have advantage thereby. The Sun of Righteousness is now risen upon us, and immortality is brought to light by the gospel.

If we look now on the revelations granted unto them of old, we may yet see there was light in them, which yields us little more advantage than the light of a candle in the sun; but unto them who lived before the Sun arose, they were a sufficient guide to all duties of faith and obedience  (bk 4, pg. 9-10) 

This has really helped me understand a little more clearly how revelation pre-Law and anti-Law was enough for the Saints to find joy and delight in. They could even seek and look into those divine revelations to see what manner and time their savior was coming. Thank God for men like John Owen, who are speaking from the grave and drawing the hearts of Gods' people to give praise to Him.

Reasons for Scriptural Faith pt. 1

The Reason of Faith;

or,

The Grounds Whereon the Scripture is Believed to be the Word of God with Faith Divine and Supernatural.

I think it is interesting that the same things have always plagued the church. There is nothing new under the sun. John Owen is writing this book because of his concern that people were having when questions arose about their faith in the Scriptures. They were unable to answer the sceptics and found that they were unable to escape the doubt it created in their minds. Owen calls them "ensnaring questions". The reason he says that they could not escape the ensnaring quesitons was the fact that they did not have a right understanding of the foundations that their faith rest upon, which is the authority of Scripture. This is the same thing that is faced today in Christianity. Most people want to reason with unbelievers but all to often they fall prey to questionable and skeptical extra biblical proofs. I see this as a real problem because if someone is smart enough they can talk you out of your faith, or at least cast some serious doubt. John Owen's probing question is one that still stands today: 

Wherefore do you believe the Scripture to be the word of God?

Owen approaches the subject here by pointing to the Holy Ghost as the one who illuminates the minds of men. I would not have even thought about using this as a grounds for faith in the Scriptures. In fact I have always said that we just believe the Scriptures because they are the words of God. Of course I was overlooking the fact that the one who reveals spiritual truth is the illuminator himself the Holy Spirit. I overlooked the fact that belief in the Scripture or authority of Scripture was a supernatural spritual revelation. Here is the qoute by Owen on Illumination:

"For by illumination in general, as it denotes an effect wrought in the minds of men, I understand that supernatural knowledge that any hath or may have of the mind and will of God, as revealed unto him by supernatural means, for the law of his faith, life, and obedience (book 4, pg. 7)."

Spiritual truths are just not any truth but as Owen puts it:

"Supernatural revelation is the only objective cause and means of supernatural illumination (ibid)."

This really made me think, and I had to re-read it several times to see if I even agreed with it. Upon further examination I understood what Owen was saying.  The Spirit teaches us the deep things of God, spiritual truth that the world does not understand nor can understand. Why? because they are spiritual. That is the key to grasping and accepting the spiritual truth about believing God's word to be what it says because it is supernatural revelation. That is the reason there is such a disconnect between unbelievers and believers. One says, "I believe this set of truths and guidelines for life", while the other sees it to be nothing at all.

Owen then moves on to make distinguishments between God's natural revelation of Himself (and something I had never thought of), supernatural revelation about natural things.

"There is natural knowledge of supernatural things, and that both theoretical and practical, Rom. 1:19, 2:14,15; and there may be a supernatural knowledge of natural things, 1 Kings 4:31-34; Exodus 31:2-6.

But unto this supernatural illumination it is required both that its object be things only supernaturally revealed... and that it be wrought in us by a supernaturall efficiency, or the immediate efficacy of the Spirit of God (book 4, pg 7-8)"

Owen closes this thought, with our sufficiency resting in revelation from God:

The various supernatural revelations that God hath made of himself, his mind and will, from first to last, are the sole and adequate object of supernatural illumination.

Post-diluvian Reformation

I am finding more and more as I read John Owen's "Biblical Theology" that the man is meticulous and very well read, both within and without the biblical sphere. I am writing here about God's covenant with Noah, and his view of reformation seems to run counter to the typical ideas of reformaiton. Our modern ideas of reformation seem to be all internal, about cleaning up the inside which I do not totally disagree with. Yet I find lots of people want reformaiton of their churches without doing a little bit of house cleaning. Now church discipline is difficult I will admit that, and you might loose a member over it, but it is a regretfull necessity which is healthy to the church and to the individual if indeed he is a true Christian. We also have to keep in mind that the individual who is being disciplined, is not being disciplined for the fun of it, but rather has incured the discipline upon himself. Any ways, let us look and see what it is that John Owen is saying about a post-diluvian reformation.

 First let us look at John Owen's idea of the Church after the flood:

"The revived Church, purified by the flood waters (as to its external proession), passed forty years in purity and acceptance with God by virtue of this theology. We find no record of anything contaminating it to any extent until after the birth of, and some considerable years into the lofe, of Canaan, the youngest son of Ham, when Ham's own incipient wickedness was brought to light. Of what nature that incident was which reveald it, the Holy Spirit declares in Genesis 9:22. (Book 3, Ch. 1, pg. 218)

Now we can see here the church simply refers to Noah and his family, and the few new descendants in the time of forty years. Here is another quote to help us understand Owens ideas of the church:

"His sin thus struck at the very foundation of the then current theology, that is of the family-church, its obedience and worship." (Book 3, Ch. 1, pg. 219)

Second let us look at what the sin sin was, which has already been alluded too:

"Ham's own incipient wickedness was brought to light. Of what nature that incident was which revealed it, the Holy Spirit declares in Genesis 9:22. Clearly, it was a crime against the dictates of inner reason through which (as Aristotle witnesses) all mankind are prompted to honor and respect their parents." (Book 3, Ch. 1, pg. 218)

But I say that Ham did this - he openly and unambiguously transgressed the law of nature, which is seen clearly by the contrast of the course his brothers took with his own impiety. As Josephus writes, with justice, he showed his brothers the nakedness of their father, and made a jest about it..."

Third is the curse pronounced, which I think it is amazing that John Owen wrestles with the idea of why the curse was pronounced against Canaan, Ham's son:

"However, the curse is clearly uttered against Canaan, either because he was at that time his father's special favorite, being (as I suppose) his youngest son, because he stood with his father in this unspeakable sin and spectacle, because his family, among all the descendants of Ham, would be first to depart from the Church and the true worship of God, or perhaps to encourage the Israelites when about to depart for the promise land by the the knowledge that the people with whom they were about to engage in warfare had been cursed of God, and long since devoted by HIm to slavery and destruction. However this may be, it is quite certain that Ham himself, in the person of his son, was cursed and expelled from the family of God." (Book 3, Ch. 1, pg. 220)

Fourthly it is interesting the sin is manifested and becomes the scandal of the Church:

"This sinful occurrence was the occasion of Ham's long concealed hypocrisy breaking visibly forth and resulting in a great scandal in the Church when when he was cursed by his father, who still presided over the Church with parental authority under God." (Book 3, Ch. 1, pg. 220)

Fifthly comes the final outward expulsion from the church, which leads to reformation:

In Ham's expulsion from the society of the pious, we have another notable example of an ecclesiastical reform, for reformation must always be commenced by an expulsion from the sinners from the midst of those who are worshiping God acceptably and in true faith. We have  seen already a similar example in the Adamic Church after the fall, and later how, when the ranks of the stiff-necked grew apace, reformation was achieved only by the withdrawal of the faithful minority. In this manner, then, was the reformation of the Noahchian Church undertaken. Such is the weakness of all men, and such is the evil of some men, that, from the origin of the world, no Church has ever been able to endure without some notable reformations." (Book 3, Ch. 1, pg. 220 - 221)

Sixthly are the results of the expulsion and reformation:

"Blessings were now bestowed upon this Church,following  its reformation, partly to console its pitifully reduced condition, and partly as an encouragement to more strict obedience and more diligence in God's service. "Blessed be The LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant" (Gen. 9:26-27)" (Book 3, Ch. 1 pg. 221)

Seventhly danger is never that far away:

"We cannot doubt that Ham, driven away from the worship of GOd by his father's solemn judgement, fled away from the habitation of the godly. Still, as the time had not yet come when the human race would be scattered wide across the face of the earth, Ham's settlements would still be in the same tract of country as those of his brethren." (Book 3, Ch. 1, pg. 221)

Eighth is that because danger is never very far away, it will find a way to present itself again:

"This fact led, in time, to a renewed outbreak of evil. The mixing of their descendants caused new sprouts of defection to spring up, and that within a Church having the recent memory of both the flood and of notable reformation"

Owen goes on to show how that by the one-hundred and first year after the flood a mob of people insane with pride are ready to reject the authority, discipline and teaching of Noah. So they rush head long into sin, dismissing divine authority. Which ultimately leads to the larger part of the human race having to follow their own path to destruction. The larger path.