Latest / Reformed Thinking / The Glory of Christ in the Mystery of His Person | John Owen

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The Glory of Christ in the Mystery of His Person | John Owen · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed Thinking. I'm so glad you could join us.
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Yeah. It is great to be here.
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So to kick things off today, I want you to imagine something.
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Imagine trying to measure the internal temperature of the sun.
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OK, that sounds dangerous. Right.
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But here's the catch. You are trying to do it using a
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standard a standard glass mercury thermometer, like the
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kind you'd buy at a pharmacy. Oh wow, yeah, that is not going
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to end well. No, it's not.
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You hold this fragile little instrument up to a raging
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nuclear inferno, and before you can even get close, the glass
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shatters right? The mercury vaporizes.
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The whole tool is just completely obliterated.
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Because the scales just completely wrong.
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Spot on. The instrument simply does not
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have the capacity to process the environment it was introduced
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to, and usually when we try to understand a new concept, we
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approach it with our standard mental thermometers.
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We really do. We want precision.
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We want neat variables. Yeah, we want a clean
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mathematical equation where we can see the inputs, apply our
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human logic and point to a definitive, comfortable
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solution. It makes us feel in control.
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You know, human logic operates on boundaries.
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We define things by what they are, but also by what they are
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not, right? Like a circle is not a square,
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up is not down. We rely on those clear borders
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to make sense of reality. But then you step into the world
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of classical 17th century theology and suddenly that
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mental thermometer just shatters.
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You are looking at a conceptual landscape that completely defies
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our need for neat categorical boundaries.
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The borders disappear and you are left staring at a reality
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that human logic simply cannot contain.
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Which brings us to our topic. Yes, it does.
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So for this deep dive, we are analyzing a specific monumental
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historical text by the Puritan theologian John Owen.
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A very heavy text. Very heavy.
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We are looking into what he termed the mysterious
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constitution of Christ's person. More specifically, we want to
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look at the mechanics behind the joining of the infinite and the
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finite. And to give some historical
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context here, John Owen was writing in the mid 17th century.
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Right in England, yeah. He was the vice chancellor of
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Oxford University, living through an era of civil war,
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plague and massive political upheaval.
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A really chaotic time. Incredibly chaotic.
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Yet in the middle of all that, he produced this dense, highly
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technical argument. He proposed that this specific
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union, the joining of 2 completely distinct natures into
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one singular person, is the absolute greatest reality in the
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universe. Yeah, he calls it the single
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spring of present grace and future glory.
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Yes, he does. So the mission of our deep dive
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today is to bypass the sort of superficial Sunday School
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readings that are so common in our modern era.
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We want to grasp the sheer magnitude of this concept.
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Because, Owen argues, this is the bedrock of the entire
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church. Right.
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And the obsession of angels. Yes, and even the strategic
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mechanism that secured the downfall of Satan.
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Those are massive theological claims.
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I mean, Owen is not suggesting this is just an interesting
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piece of trivia for academics to debate.
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He is arguing that the structure of reality itself hinges on this
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intersection. Absolutely.
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So for you listening right now, whether you are catching up on
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your historical theology or you were just looking for a massive
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perspective shift on how you view reality, this deep dive is
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going to challenge how you conceptualize the boundary
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between the divine and the physical world.
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It really will. So let's start with the
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definitions. If we are going to understand
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the paradox, we need to understand the two sides of the
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equation. Owen defines this mysterious
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constitution with surgical precision.
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He states there are two distinct natures existing simultaneously
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in one individual person. OK, let's look closely at how he
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defines those two natures, because the friction between
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them is the whole point of his argument.
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Right, so nature one is the divine essence, and the
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attributes attached to this nature are staggering.
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It is eternal, infinite, immense, almighty.
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Let's break those down for the listener because we use those
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words a lot, but we don't always think about what they mean.
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Yeah, good idea. Eternal means outside of time.
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It possesses no beginning and no end.
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Right, infinite means without limits or bounds.
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Immense means it cannot be measured or quantified by
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spatial dimensions, and almighty means possessing all possible
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capability. So that is nature one.
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Then we have nature 2, which is human nature, and the attributes
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here are the exact opposites of the first list.
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They really are. Human nature has a definitive
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beginning in time. Yes, it is finite, meaning it
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has strict limitations. It is localized, meaning it is
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confined to a specific geographical place at any given
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moment. You can't be in two rooms at
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once, right? And it is frail.
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So the natural human inclination when presented with these two
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lists, the infinite and the finite, is to try and merge them
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together into some kind of hybrid.
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Oh yeah, the ancient world did this constantly with their
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mythology. Modern people dilute this
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concept into a mythic narrative all the time too.
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Think about Hercules or Perseus. A God comes down, mixes with the
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human, and you get a demigod. Like 50% divine, 50% human.
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Yeah, but I see where people go with that.
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But the demigod concept is an absolute philosophical failure
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when applied to the specific theology.
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It is a total reduction because in a demigod the divine side has
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to shrink to fit into the human side, and the human side is
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mutated by the divine side. It's a compromise.
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Right. And Owen insists that the glory
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of this union is that there is 0 compromise.
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He demands that we retain 100% of both distinct natures.
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Not a mixture, not a hybrid. OK, let's unpack this.
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I used to think about this like pouring the Pacific Ocean into a
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clay teacup. That's a fun image.
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Right. But I thought, well, if you mix
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the ocean and the clay, you just get mud.
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The teacup dissolves. Yeah, the frail nature would be
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destroyed by the immense nature. But someone pointed out a much
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better way to visualize this mechanism.
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Think about light passing through a stained glass window.
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Oh, I like that. The light itself remains purely
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light. It loses none of its
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illuminating qualities. The glass remains entirely
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glass. It does not turn into light.
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But together they manifest a brilliant image that neither the
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pure light nor the unlit glass could produce on their own.
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Spot on. The nature's remain totally
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distinct, but the manifestation is unified in one person.
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What's fascinating here is how intense the philosophical
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friction is. Infinite, by definition cannot
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be confined. Eternal, by definition, cannot
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have a beginning. But they do in this case.
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Right. The union of these two realities
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without blending them into a third new thing or compromising
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the integrity of either, is the grand paradox.
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The divine nature does not stop being uncontainable, yet it is
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somehow contained. And Owen points out that people
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despise this kind of paradox. They really do.
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He describes multitudes who openly deny this incarnation,
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and even more who secretly do not believe it or see any beauty
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in it at all. He talks about the psychology of
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the blind world. The human mind recoils when it
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cannot categorize something. When you tell a rationalist that
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the uncontainable is contained without losing its
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uncontainability, their brain flashes an error code.
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Yeah, it feels like nonsense to them.
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So people usually take one of two paths.
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They either reject it outright as an absurdity, or they
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politely ignore the mechanics of it and just focus on the moral
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teachings of Jesus, which are, you know, much easier to digest.
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They want the stained glass without the blinding light
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behind it. That is a great way to put it.
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But Owen says the beams of this glory are so illustrious that
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the blind world cannot bear them.
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While humans are down here ignoring or diluting the
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mechanics of this paradox, there is another group of beings
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entirely captivated by it. And this shifts our discussion
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to a completely different audience.
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Right. The cosmic audience the.
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Introduction of angels into this theological framework is
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fascinating. Owen references the First
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Epistle of Peter, chapter one, verse 12.
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And that verse states that these are things that angels desire to
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behold. He links this directly to the
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Old Testament architecture. Think about the Ark of the
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Covenant. In the Holy of Holies.
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You have the Mercy seat, the lid of the Ark, and what is mounted
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on top. 2 Golden cherubim. Right.
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Their wings are spread, but their faces are angled downward,
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looking intently at the Mercy seat.
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And Owen interprets that physical architecture as a
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theological statement. Yes, the cherubim represent the
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angelic host. Angels are purely spiritual
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beings. They operate in the heavenly
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realm. They dwell in the immediate
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presence of the Divine. Yet their earnest desire, their
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intense burning curiosity, is directed downward toward this
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specific physical, spiritual union.
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Let's theorize about why they are so fascinated.
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Angels were present at the dawn of creation.
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They understand the mechanics of the cosmos better than any human
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physicist. They're not impressed by stars
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or galaxies. They watch those being formed.
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Oh wow, that's a wild thought. But what shocks them is this God
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bypassed their entire spiritual species when the angels
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rebelled. There was no redemption plan
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offered to them. The book of Hebrews points us
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out he did not take on the nature of angels.
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Instead, he bypassed the purely spiritual beings and bound
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himself to carbon, to biology, to the physical dirt of human
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nature. That is the crucial distinction.
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The angels are leaning over the balconies of heaven, trying to
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comprehend the mechanics of the Creator fusing himself to the
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creature. Owen states that in their
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present contemplation of this mystery consists no small part
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of their eternal blessedness. Wait, really?
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Yeah, beings that already have full access to heavenly
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realities find their highest joy in studying the incarnation.
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And then Owen introduces the antagonist into this cosmic
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theater, Satan. He outlines the ruin of Satan
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and his Kingdom, arguing that the mechanism of Satan's defeat
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depends entirely on the specific friction of this paradox.
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To understand the defeat, we have to analyze the crime right.
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Owen provides a brilliant legal breakdown of Satan's rebellion,
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splitting his into two distinct categories.
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Let's hear them. First, he points to pride
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against the person of the Son of God, the Creator.
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Colossians tells us that all Thrones, dominions and
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principalities were created by him.
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Satan, a created principality, lifted his will against his
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Maker. So high treason against the
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infinite Creator is Part 1, yes? And Part 2 is envy against
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mankind. Because humans were made in the
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image of God. Right, they were physical, dirt
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bound creatures, yet they carry the divine imprint.
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Owen argues that this envy completed Satan's sin.
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So he rebelled upward against the infinite Creator, and he
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lashed out downward in envy against the finite creature.
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If we connect this to the bigger picture, you can see the board
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being set here. Satan attacks 2 separate
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elements, the divine creator and the physical human.
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God could have just annihilated Satan with a single thought.
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He possesses absolute strength and authority.
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But instead of just using raw force, God responds with a
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strategic legal maneuver that completely dismantles Satan's
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claim. Here's where it gets really
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interesting. It's like the ultimate cosmic
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chess move. God does not just crush the
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rebellion from above. He takes the infinite fine
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nature that Satan rebelled against, and he fuses it to the
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frail, physical human nature that Satan envied.
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He unites the two targets of Satan's hatred into one
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unassailable person. And Owen notes that this leaves
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the adversary an everlasting shame because it reveals his
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complete tactical folly. Satan tried to contend with
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infinite wisdom. He struck at the heel of
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humanity, bringing death into the physical world.
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But by doing so, he struck the divine nature bound to that
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humanity which legally broke the jurisdiction of death into
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entirely. The mechanism is flawless.
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Satan cannot attack the human nature without hitting the
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divine fire, and he cannot attack the divine nature without
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being confronted by the human image he so deeply envied.
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By acting against both distinct natures, Satan inadvertently
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facilitated the very event that sealed his doom.
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So think. About what this means for you,
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the listener. Yeah, this is a massive point.
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Angelic beings who possess a level of intelligence and
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awareness we cannot even fathom spend their eternal existence
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studying the nuances of this historical event.
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They bow down to examine the mechanics of it.
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Meanwhile, we humans who actually share the physical
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biology involved in this grand union, treat it like an
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afterthought. We glance at it during a holiday
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service and then go back to our lives.
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We suffer from a severe lack of awe.
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We are too familiar with the terminology, so we lose the
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shock value of the theology. We really do.
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But you know, this reality was not totally hidden from humanity
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until the 1st century. God gave humanity a physical
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prototype of this exact paradox centuries earlier, out in the
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desert. You were referring to the
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burning Bush in Exodus chapter 3.
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Yes, I am. Owen uses this as a primary
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historical type, a physical declaration of the presence of
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God in the person of the Sun. Let's linger on the physics of a
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burning Bush for a second. Moses is out shepherding in the
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desert. He sees a shrub catch fire.
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That is not unusual in a dry, arid environment.
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Right. The unusual part is the lack of
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consumption. The carbon is not turning to
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ash, the branches are not blackening, the leaves are not
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curling. Let's break down the symbolism
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Owen extracts from this event. The fire represents the divine
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nature. The scriptural terminology
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frequently refers to God as a consuming fire.
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And fire is relentless. It oxidizes and destroys
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whatever it touches to sustain itself.
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The Bush, on the other hand, represents frail human nature.
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It is dry wood. It is fragile, temporal and
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easily destroyed. Normally, frail wood plus a
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consuming fire results in a pile of ash in a matter of minutes.
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The miracle here is the suspension of that natural wall.
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The Bush burned but was not consumed.
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So what does this all mean? The precise theological
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symbolism here is incredibly dense.
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Owen argues that the fire dwelling in the Bush for a short
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season was a preview. It was a physical manifestation
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of the future moment when the fullness of the Godhead would
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dwell bodily forever. The eternal consuming fire of
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the divine nature dwells inside the frail biology of human
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nature, yet the human nature is not obliterated.
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By it. This answers a massive question
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in historical theology. How can a sinful human being
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survived the presence of a holy God?
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The answer is this hypostatic union.
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God thus dwells in this Bush, representing his goodwill
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towards sinners. The frail human nature of Christ
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acts as the perfect housing for the infinite consuming fire, the
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Divine, without being destroyed, allowing humanity to approach
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the Divine without being reduced to ash.
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That brings us to the specific command God gives to Moses from
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the middle of this phenomena. He says, Put off thy shoes from
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off thy feet, for the place we're on thou standest is holy
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ground. Owen provides very specific
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psychological interpretation for this physical command.
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Oh really? Yeah, taking off the shoes
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signifies the casting away of all fleshly imaginations and
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carnal affections. Let me guess, the shoes
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represent the dirt of the world, the base logic we use to
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navigate our daily lives. That is entirely correct.
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You cannot walk up to this paradox wearing the same
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analytical framework you use to balance your checkbook.
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You cannot approach this paradox with dirty shoes.
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You cannot apply base earthly logic or sinful presumptions to
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an event that supersedes natural law.
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It requires a completely different kind of sight.
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It requires pure acts of faith. This is a massive hurdle for the
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modern mind. We are highly visual,
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data-driven creatures. We want a spreadsheet.
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We want empirical evidence. We want to put the paradox under
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a microscope and observe the cellular structure.
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Casting off those fleshly imaginations feels like
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intellectual surrender to us. And Owen anticipates that back
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struggle after spending all this time laying out the heavy
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theological framework he pivots. He shifts into practical
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application. Yes, his goal is to stir up the
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minds of his readers to actually contemplate this reality
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properly, without falling back into cheap earthly logic.
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If our default human setting is to stare at the dirt, how do we
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force our eyes upward? We can't just close our eyes and
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imagine God. No, that usually leads to us
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inventing A deity who looks suspiciously like us.
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Which is incredibly dangerous. Owen saw that tendency and
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provided massive guardrails. He lays out specific guidelines
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for disciplining the mind. Let's talk about the first
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direction. The first guideline involves
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elevating the mind above base pursuits.
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He insists that you must fix it in your mind that this glory is
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the best, most noble, useful and beneficial object that you can
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possibly have in your thoughts. He uses some incredibly harsh
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contrast here. He compares this high
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contemplation with men who spend the vigor of their spirits on
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perishing things. He says they search continually
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in their thoughts for objects suited to their lusts, coining
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and framing them in their own imaginations.
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The imagery he employs is aggressive.
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He compares these people to individuals who fix their eyes
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with delight on toads and serpents.
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Toads and serpents, that is vivid.
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It is, but hold on, I have to push back here.
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I mean, I have a mortgage to pay.
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I have to buy groceries. I have to fix my car when it
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breaks down. Is Owen calling my daily
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necessary responsibilities toads and serpents?
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Because that feels a bit disconnected from the reality of
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living in a physical body. That is a very fair distinction
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to raise. Owen is not attacking the duties
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of life. As a Puritan pastor and a
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university chancellor, he had massive administrative and
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financial responsibilities. Right, he wasn't a monk.
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Exactly what he is attacking is the affection of the heart.
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He's talking about people who spend the vigor of their spirit,
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their deepest passion and mental energy, on accumulating wealth,
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nursing grudges, or chasing fleeting pleasures.
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He is saying that to prefer those earthly lusts over the
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contemplation of the divine union is quite literally like
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choosing to stare at a pit of noise and reptiles instead of
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walking outside to watch a magnificent sunrise.
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OK, that makes sense. It is an issue of priority and
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affection, not a rejection of practical duty.
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But he does not just criticize base lusts.
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He also takes aim at noble intellectual pursuits.
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He brings up Psalm 8, which talks about meditating on the
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stars, the moon, and the works of creation.
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This is a crucial nuance in his argument.
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Owen does not say that studying astronomy or physics is bad.
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In fact, he calls it a work worthy of our nature and
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perfectly suited to our rational capacities.
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Right. But he argues it lacks glory
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when compared to the union of God and man.
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He says the sun has no glory, the stars have no beauty in
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comparison to the mysterious constitution of the person of
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Christ. Look at the logical progression
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of Psalm 8. The psalmist looks up at the
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vastness of the heavens, the moon, the stars, and his
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immediate reaction is a question.
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What is man, that thou art mindful of him?
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Owen points out that meditating on the sheer scale of the
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physical universe immediately cast the psalmist thoughts down
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onto the poor, weak, frail nature of man.
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But then the Psalm pivots to the exultation of that frail nature
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in the person of the Messiah, crowning him with glory and
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honor. Think of it like a scientist
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standing in the most advanced laboratory in the world.
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OK, the ceiling of the laboratory is painted with a
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beautiful, intricate mural of the solar system.
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The mural is worthy of study. It is beautiful, yeah.
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But on the table right in front of them, an actual world
19:30
altering scientific breakthrough is happening.
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If the scientist chooses to spend their time staring at the
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painted ceiling instead of the breakthrough on the table, they
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are missing the point. The.
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Physical universe is the painted ceiling.
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The hypostatic union is the breakthrough on the table.
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I love that framing. The ceiling is magnificent, but
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it is not the main event. And Owen argues that this
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contemplation should not just be a cold intellectual exercise.
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He quotes the Song of Solomon. Thou hast ravished my heart.
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The intellectual apprehension of the mechanics should logically
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lead to an emotional overwhelm. If you truly comprehend the
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scale of the infinite binding itself to the finite, it should
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leave no heart in you for things down below.
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It should capture your affections entirely.
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Which raises an intensely challenging question for anyone
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listening. Owen lists out the things we
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value Wealth, estates, power, spouses, children, friends,
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honor. He admits they are amiable and
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desirable. But if this contemplation is
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vastly superior to all of those things, why do we dedicate 99%
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of our mental bandwidth to the earthly list and barely 1% to
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the divine reality? It exposes a massive flaw in our
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functional theology. We say we value the divine, but
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our mental bandwidth proves we value the dirt.
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Since staring at our own imaginations only leads us back
20:47
to the mud, we need an objective tool to guide our focus.
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We cannot just sit in an empty room and invent thoughts about
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God. As we noted earlier, that just
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leads to idolatry. Which brings us to the necessity
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of an objective anchor. The second director, Owen,
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insists that beholding this glory is not a work of fancy or
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human imagination. It relies entirely on divine
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revelation. He calls the written scripture
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the only glass wherein we may behold this glory.
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He focuses heavily on a warning here.
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He warns against using an image framed by the art of men or
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relying on our own internal emotional fancy.
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True, safe contemplation is tethered strictly to the written
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text. Without the text, your mind will
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naturally drift back to creating a deity that fits your own
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preferences. He.
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Uses a fantastic analogy here, comparing the believer to a
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merchant seeking pearls, referencing Matthew chapter 13.
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The merchants travels around seeking all sorts of pearls
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looking for value, but when he finds 1 Pearl of great price, he
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parts with absolutely everything to make it his own.
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Owen says Scripture is the field, the physical location,
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the mine where we must search and dig.
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This raises an important question though.
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How do we read the Old Testament?
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Owen makes a massive, sweeping claim here.
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He insists that the revelation of this specific union is the
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bedrock of all prophetic instruction.
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He actually says that if you lay aside this consideration, the
22:08
scriptures are not what they pretend to be.
22:10
If the Old Testament is not pointing to this union, it is
22:13
just a collection of weird ancient laws and disjointed
22:18
historical records. The argument rests on three
22:21
specific methods Scripture uses to show this glory.
22:24
First, direct descriptions. Second, prophecies and promises.
22:28
Third, the sacred Old Testament institutions.
22:32
By institutions he means the physical architecture of the
22:35
religion, the animal sacrifices, the layout of the Tabernacle,
22:38
the specific garments of the priesthood.
22:40
Yes. Every drop of blood spilled on
22:42
an altar, every thread woven into the high priest's robe, was
22:45
a physical type, pointing directly to the future reality
22:48
of the infinite dwelling and the finite.
22:50
The entire Old Testament is a massive, sprawling mine filled
22:54
with these specific pearls. Let's talk about the New
22:57
Testament example he gives to illustrate finding one of these
23:00
pearls. Amount of transfiguration
23:01
recorded in Second Peter, Chapter 1.
23:03
Owen notes the God the Father gave audible invisible testimony
23:07
to the sun on that mountain. Peter writes about hearing the
23:10
voice declare This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.
23:14
From the throne of His Excellency, by audible voices,
23:17
by visible signs, by the literal ripping open of the heavens, God
23:21
testified to the reality of this union.
23:24
Imagine you are digging in a literal dirt mine.
23:27
You are swinging a heavy pickaxe for hours.
23:30
Your hands are bleeding. You are tired.
23:32
And suddenly the rock breaks away and you strike a vein of
23:35
pure glowing gold. That is the exact psychological
23:39
experience Owen describes when a believer finds these passages in
23:43
the written text. I can hear a modern listener
23:45
pushing back against this whole concept though.
23:47
Does it not feel a bit dry to just sit and read ancient texts?
23:52
People today are desperate for a mystical experience.
23:54
They want a direct emotional hit.
23:56
They want a spiritual high, not a reading assignment.
23:58
I totally understand that push back.
24:00
Yeah, reading requires discipline, and discipline feels
24:02
antithetical to spontaneous emotion.
24:05
But Owen counters that critique heavily.
24:07
He shows that the ancient prophets and apostles found
24:10
massive emotional joy in life in these precise objective texts.
24:15
He says, When we fall upon this Pearl, the soul of a believer
24:18
cleaves to it with immense joy. He writes, Then do we find food
24:23
for souls in the word of truth? Then do we taste how gracious
24:26
the Lord is? Then is the scripture full of
24:28
refreshment to us as a spring of living water?
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The paradox here is that the mystical emotional experience
24:35
the modern person so desperately craves is actually found through
24:39
the discipline objective reading of the ancient text.
24:42
OK, so digging in the mine is necessary.
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The text is the only safe glass to look through.
24:47
But how does this translate into daily life?
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Is this just a Sunday morning activity?
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Right. Do I swing the pickaxe once a
24:53
week and then ignore the mine for the other six days?
24:55
Yeah, exactly. I mean, that's spot on.
24:58
Owen addresses the mechanics of daily habit head on with his 3rd
25:01
and 4th directions. He argues that frequent,
25:04
consistent meditation is absolutely required.
25:07
He states that the lack of this habit is the fundamental mistake
25:10
that keeps people low in their grace.
25:12
He points out that many people hear these theological concepts.
25:15
They mentally assent to their truth.
25:17
They do not argue against them in a debate, but they never
25:20
actually solemnly meditate upon them.
25:22
They think it is too hard, it requires too much mental effort,
25:26
or they dismiss it as the territory of fanatics and monks.
25:29
The logic he uses to dismantle that mindset is brutal, he says.
25:34
It is completely impossible that someone who never meditates with
25:36
delight on this glory in this present world should ever have a
25:40
real, genuine desire to behold it in heaven.
25:42
That is a devastating critique of nominal cultural.
25:46
Religion, it really is. Let's unpack that logic.
25:49
You cannot logically claim to desire a heaven that is centered
25:52
entirely around a subject you find utterly boring on Earth.
25:55
He suggests that nominal believers might love the
25:57
fruition of their own imaginations about heaven.
26:00
They love the idea of seeing dead relatives or having a
26:03
mansion or escaping physical pain.
26:05
But they do not actually love the glory of the person of
26:08
Christ. They want the benefits of the
26:10
King without the King himself. To fix this, he offers a very
26:14
practical mechanism. He says let your occasional
26:17
thoughts of Christ be many and multiplied every day.
26:20
Notice the specific phrase occasional thoughts.
26:23
He is making a distinction here. He is not talking about locking
26:26
yourself in a monastery or setting aside 3 hours for
26:30
rigorous academic study. He specifically distinguishes
26:34
this from fixed and stated meditations.
26:36
He means transient thoughts peppered throughout the normal
26:39
rhythms of the day. He uses Romans chapter 10 to
26:42
show that access to this reality is immediate.
26:44
The text says the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in
26:48
thy heart. The historical events, the
26:50
Incarnation, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection happened
26:53
geographically far away and chronologically long ago.
26:57
But the word that reveals them is near us.
27:00
If that theological framework is installed in our hearts, we can
27:03
have sudden occasional thoughts continually, whether we are
27:06
driving, working or resting. Think about human relationships.
27:09
When Owen says 1 lives in another, it mirrors the
27:13
psychology of falling in love. Oh, that's a good comparison.
27:16
When you fall deeply in love with someone, you do not just
27:19
think about them during scheduled Friday night dinner
27:21
dates. They become the background
27:23
operating context of your entire mind.
27:26
That is highly accurate. Your mind defaults to them
27:29
whenever it has a free moment. The affection drives the
27:31
attention. Owen argues that our own souls,
27:34
without previous designs or outward prompts, will frequently
27:38
engage us in holy thoughts if the affection is genuinely
27:41
there. But let's be realistic.
27:43
What happens when the affection dries up?
27:46
Owen addresses the reality of spiritual dryness.
27:49
He acknowledges that sometimes the presence of the Divine feels
27:52
withdrawn from us, so that we cannot hear the voice or obtain
27:55
any sense of the love. Owen is deeply pastoral and
27:58
realistic here. He knows the human condition.
28:01
He knows the believer will experience barren, silent
28:04
seasons. When that happens, he points to
28:06
the behavior of the spouse in the Song of Solomon, chapter 3.
28:09
The poetry there is haunting. By night on my bed I sought him
28:13
whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but I found him
28:16
not. Look at the reaction of the
28:18
spouse. She does not just shrug and go
28:20
back to sleep. She rises, goes out into the
28:23
city, wanders the streets, asking the watchman for help.
28:26
She searches frantically, refusing to rest until she finds
28:29
him. Owen argues that our duty in
28:32
times of spiritual dryness is to persevere in our inquiries
28:36
through prayer, mourning, and reading the text.
28:39
This might be a good place to bring up clinical depression.
28:42
Isn't it possible someone is just clinically depressed, not
28:45
spiritually dry? That is a critical distinction.
28:48
Puritan pastors like Owen actually wrote extensively about
28:51
the difference between melancholy, what we would call
28:54
depression, and spiritual desertion.
28:56
They understood brain chemistry was a factor.
28:59
But what he is targeting here is not a medical condition.
29:02
He is targeting spiritual apathy.
29:03
He looks around at the churches of his era and compares them to
29:07
the ancient churches of Laodasia and Sardis from the Book of
29:09
Revelation. We need to explain those
29:11
references for the listener. Yes, let's do that.
29:13
In Revelation chapters 2 and 3, Laodicea is described as a
29:17
wealthy banking city. They had a massive economy, but
29:20
they had terrible water. They had to pipe in water from
29:23
Hot Springs and cold mountain streams, but by the time it
29:26
reached the city, it was a nauseating lukewarm temperature.
29:30
The scriptural text says the church there had become just as
29:33
lukewarm and self-sufficient. Sardis, on the other hand, was a
29:36
city built on a massive, seemingly impenetrable mountain
29:40
fortress, but they were conquered multiple times because
29:44
the guards literally fell asleep on watch.
29:46
They had a reputation for being strong and alive, but they were
29:49
actually asleep and dead. So Owen is asking if the people
29:52
of his day are acting like Ledisa and Sardis.
29:56
Are they slothful, Careless. Negligent.
29:58
When modern listeners experience spiritual dryness, do they shrug
30:02
it off? Do they just open up social
30:04
media, scroll for two hours, and wait for the spiritual feeling
30:07
to magically return on its own? Or do they frantically search
30:09
the streets like the spouse in the song of?
30:12
The warning is severe. If we learn to be content with
30:15
lifeless, unaffecting thoughts that were no actual experience
30:18
of love, our spiritual vitality will wither away entirely.
30:21
So we have built a massive framework.
30:23
Here we have the immense paradox of the infinite and finite.
30:27
We have the angelic audience leaning over the balconies of
30:30
heaven. We have the burning Bush
30:32
demonstrating the survival of human nature.
30:34
We have the necessity of digging in the objective mind of
30:37
Scripture. And we have the requirement of
30:40
daily transient thoughts. But what happens when a person
30:43
engages in this constant contemplation?
30:46
They push their intellect to the absolute limit and they
30:49
eventually hit a solid wall where human logic completely
30:52
fails. That leads directly to the 5th
30:55
and final direction in Owens argument.
30:57
What happens when analysis becomes adoration?
31:00
He argues that all of our thoughts, all of our theological
31:03
calculations, must eventually be accompanied by admiration,
31:07
adoration, and Thanksgiving. He describes the object of our
31:10
thoughts, the hype of a static union, as an ocean whose depths
31:13
we simply cannot look into. The water is too deep, the
31:17
pressure is too immense and the light does not reach the bottom.
31:20
We only possess A partial vision while we exist in this
31:22
biological state on Earth. The human mind is finite, the
31:26
subject is infinite. Therefore, an intellectual crash
31:28
is not a failure of the student, it is the intended design of the
31:31
subject. Let me reiterate that because it
31:33
is the core of the issue. A failure of the intellect to
31:37
fully grasp this is the intended design.
31:41
Owen specifically addresses people who feel overwhelmed by
31:44
high theology. They say I desire to behold
31:46
this, but it is too high, it is too difficult.
31:49
I am completely at a loss in my mind.
31:51
I don't know how to process this.
31:52
He compares those overwhelmed believers to the disciples
31:56
standing on the Mount of Transfiguration.
31:58
The text says they were filled with amazement, they were
32:01
terrified and they literally knew not what to say.
32:04
Their mental thermometers shattered.
32:06
The remedy Owen provides for this intellectual crash is
32:09
beautiful. He says that when faith can no
32:11
longer hold open the eyes of our understanding to behold the
32:14
blinding light of the Sun of Righteousness, when we can no
32:16
longer exercise orderly, categorical thoughts about this
32:20
incomprehensible object, we do not just give up.
32:23
We transition. He states that faith bet takes
32:26
itself to holy admiration and puts itself forth in pure acts
32:30
of love and complacency. We should define complacency in
32:33
the 17th century context. He does not mean lazy
32:35
indifference. He needs a deep, restful, joyful
32:38
satisfaction. Stop trying to solve the math
32:41
equation. You drop the chalk and you just
32:43
stand in awe of the variables on the board.
32:46
He points to the Book of Revelation chapter 5 to
32:48
illustrate this. The Apostle John sees a vision
32:50
of the heavenly throne room. The angels, the elders, the
32:54
entire cosmic host are gathered around.
32:56
And what are they doing? They are singing a song that
32:59
shakes the foundations of heaven.
33:01
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.
33:03
Notice what they are not doing. They are not parsing out Greek
33:07
verbs. They are not debating
33:08
theological nuances, they have reached the end of their
33:11
intellectual capacity and they are simply crying out in pure
33:15
adoration. Owen also references Paul's
33:17
second letter to the Thessalonians, chapter one,
33:19
verse 10. He points out that one specific
33:21
end goal of Christ's illustrious return at the last day is
33:25
specifically so he can be admired in all them that
33:28
believe. The final logic of all this
33:30
heavy theology, all this intense academic study, all this
33:33
exhausting digging in the textual mind is staggeringly
33:36
simple admiration. We study not to conquer the, but
33:40
to be conquered by it. Let's pull all of these threads
33:43
together and summarize the sheer scale of what we have discussed.
33:46
We started with the uncontainable infinite willingly
33:50
binding itself to the fragile finite.
33:52
Two distinct natures, completely unmixed, sharing one personhood
33:57
like light passing through stained glass.
33:59
We analyze how that specific reality is the exact legal and
34:03
physical mechanism that defeated Satan's twofold rebellion of
34:07
pride and envy, trapping the adversary and the ultimate
34:10
tactical failure. We looked at the burning Bush in
34:13
the desert, seeing how frail human wood can house the
34:17
consuming fire of the divine without turning to ash.
34:20
We established the absolute necessity of digging in the
34:23
objective mind of Scripture, recognizing that the written
34:26
text is the only safe class through which we can view this
34:29
blinding glory without being deceived by our own
34:31
imaginations. We covered the daily mechanics
34:34
of the mind, cultivating multiplied occasional thoughts
34:37
that run constantly in the background, and the frantic,
34:39
desperate search we must engage in when we hit seasons of
34:42
spiritual dryness. And finally, we reached the
34:46
resting place of adoration, the realization that when the finite
34:50
mind cannot comprehend the infinite ocean, the proper
34:53
response is to simply stand on the shore in awe.
34:57
So, bringing the focus squarely back to you, the listener, take
35:00
an honest inventory of what fills your daily mental
35:03
bandwidth. Where are you spending the vigor
35:05
of your spirit? Are you fixing your eyes on the
35:07
daily anxieties, the social media arguments, the political
35:11
outrage and the fleeting earthly lusts?
35:13
Are you prioritizing the painted ceiling over the breakthrough on
35:16
the table? The challenge, presented by John
35:18
Owen's centuries old text, is to aggressively swap those mundane
35:22
anxieties for the cosmic reality that angelic beings literally
35:25
bow down to study. I want to.
35:27
Leave you with a closing consideration, building on the
35:29
mechanics we have unpacked today.
35:31
If the very base of the universe is built on a paradox that human
35:34
logic cannot fully grasp but only admire, what does that mean
35:38
for the unsolvable, complex problems you're trying to force
35:41
a logical solution upon in your own life today?
35:44
Maybe some things are not meant to be solved by our finite
35:47
minds. Maybe the lack of a clear answer
35:50
is actually an invitation to trust the one who holds the
35:53
variables. We started this discussion
35:56
talking about thermometers and the human desire for precision,
36:00
the desire for a clean mathematical output.
36:02
A reality where all the borders are clearly defined.
36:05
But the reality of the divine is not a math equation.
36:08
It is the uncontainable light piercing the frail glass.
36:11
And when you finally realize that your diagnostic tools are
36:14
broken and you find yourself standing before a mystery you
36:16
cannot master. You might just find that it is
36:19
the exact posture you were always meant to assume.
36:21
Take off your shoes. The ground you are standing on
36:24
is holy.