John Owen · 6 of 123

Chapter I. General principles concerning the Holy Spirit and his work. · Part 2

2. The great work of the Holy Ghost in the dispensation and ministration of the gospel, unto all the ends of it, is another evidence unto the same purpose. Hence, the gospel itself is called “The ministration of the Spirit,” 2 Cor. iii. 8, in opposition to that of the law, which is called the ministration of the letter and of condemnation. Διακονία τοῦ Πνεύματος, the “ministry of the Spirit,” is either that ministry which the Spirit makes effectual, or that ministry whereby the Spirit in his gifts and graces is communicated unto men. And this is that which gives unto the ministry of the gospel both its glory and its efficacy. Take away the Spirit from the gospel and you render it a dead letter, and leave the New Testament of no more use unto Christians than the Old Testament is of unto the Jews. It is therefore a mischievous imagination, proceeding from ignorance, blindness, and unbelief, that there is no more in the gospel but what is contained under any other doctrine or declaration of truth, — that it is nothing but a book for men to exercise their reason in and upon, and to improve the things of it by the same faculty: for this is to separate the Spirit, or the dispensation of the Spirit, from it, which is in truth to destroy it; and therewith is the covenant of God rejected, which is, that his word and Spirit shall go together, Isa. lix. 21. We shall, therefore, God assisting, manifest in our progress that the whole ministry of the gospel, the whole use and efficacy of it, do depend on that ministration of the Spirit wherewith, according to the promise of God, it is accompanied. If, therefore, we have any concernment in, or have ever received any benefit by, the gospel, or the ministration of it, we have a signal duty lying before us in the matter in hand.

3. There is not any spiritual or saving good from first to last communicated unto us, or that we are from and by the grace of God made partakers of, but it is revealed to us and bestowed on us by the Holy Ghost. He who hath not an immediate and especial work of the Spirit of God upon him and towards him did never receive any especial love, grace, or mercy, from God. For how should he do so? Whatever God works in us and upon us, he doth it by his Spirit; he, therefore, who hath no work of the Spirit of God upon his heart did never receive either mercy or grace from God, for God giveth them not but by his Spirit. A disclaimer, therefore, of any work of the Spirit of God in us or upon us is a disclaimer of all interest in his grace and mercy; and they may do well to consider it with whom the work of the Spirit of God is a reproach. When they can tell us of any other way whereby a man may be made partaker of mercy and grace, we will attend unto it; in the meantime we shall prove from the Scripture this to be the way of God.

4. There is not any thing done in us or by us that is holy and acceptable unto God, but it is an effect of the Holy Spirit; it is of his operation in us and by us. Without him we can do nothing; for without Christ we cannot, John xv. 5, and by him alone is the grace of Christ communicated unto us and wrought in us. By him we are regenerated; by him we are sanctified; by him we are cleansed; by him are we assisted in and unto every good work. Particular instances to this purpose will be afterward insisted on and proved. And it is our unquestionable concernment to inquire into the cause and spring of all that is good in us, wherein also we shall have a true discovery of the spring and cause of all that is evil, without a competent knowledge of both which we can do nothing as we ought.

5. God lets us know that the only peculiarly remediless sin and way of sinning under the gospel is to sin in an especial manner against the Holy Ghost. And this of itself is sufficient to convince us how needful it is for us to be well instructed in what concerns him; for there is somewhat that doth so, which is accompanied with irrecoverable and eternal ruin; and so is nothing else in the world. So Mark iii. 28, 29, “All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness.” Or, “Whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come,” Matt. xii. 32. There remains nothing for him who doth despite to the Spirit of grace but a “certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries,” Heb. x. 27, 29. This is that “sin unto death” whose remission is not to be prayed for, John v. 16: for he having taken upon him to make effectual unto us the great remedy provided in the blood of Christ for the pardon of our sins, if he in the prosecution of that work be despised, blasphemed, despitefully used, there neither is relief nor can there be pardon for that sin. For whence, in that case, should they arise or spring? As God hath not another Son to offer another sacrifice for sin, — so that he by whom his sacrifice is despised can have none remaining for him, — no more hath he another Spirit to make that sacrifice effectual unto us, if the Holy Ghost in his work be despised and rejected. This, therefore, is a tender place. We cannot use too much holy diligence in our inquiries after what God hath revealed in his word concerning his Spirit and his work, seeing there may be so fatal a miscarriage in an opposition unto him as the nature of man is incapable of in any other instance.

And these considerations belong unto the first head of reasons of the importance, use, and necessity, of the doctrine proposed to be inquired into. They are enough to manifest what is the concernment of all believers herein; for on the account of these things the Scripture plainly declares, as we observed before, that “he who hath not the Spirit of Christ is none of his,” — their portion is not in him, they shall have no benefit by his mediation. Men may please themselves with a profession of being Christians and owning the gospel, whilst they despise the Spirit of God, both name and thing. Their condition we shall examine and judge by the Scripture before we come to the end of this discourse. And for the Scripture itself, whoever reads the books of the New Testament, besides the great and precious promises that are given concerning him in the Old, will find and conclude, unless he be prepossessed with prejudice, that the whole of what is declared in those writings turns on this only hinge. Remove from them the consideration of the Spirit of God and his work, and it will be hard to find out what they aim at or tend unto.

Secondly, The great deceit and abuse that hath been, in all ages of the church, under the pretence of the name and work of the Spirit make the thorough consideration of what we are taught concerning them exceeding necessary. Had not these things been excellent in themselves, and so acknowledged by all Christians, they would never have been by so many falsely pretended unto. Men do not seek to adorn themselves with rags, or to boast of what, on its own account, is under just contempt. And according to the worth of things, so are they liable to abuse; and the more excellent any thing is, the more vile and pernicious is an undue pretence unto it. Such have been the false pretences of some in all ages unto the Spirit of God and his work, whose real excellencies in themselves have made those pretences abominable and unspeakably dangerous; for the better the things are which are counterfeited, the worse always are the ends they are employed unto. In the whole world there is nothing so vile as that which pretendeth to be God, and is not; nor is any other thing capable of so pernicious an abuse. Some instances hereof I shall give, both out of the Old Testament and the New.

The most signal gift of the Spirit of God, for the use of the church under the Old Testament, was that of prophecy. This, therefore, was deservedly in honour and reputation, as having a great impression of the authority of God upon it, and in it of his nearness unto man. Besides, those in whom it was had justly the conduct of the minds and consciences of others given up unto them: for they spake in the name of God, and had his warranty for what they proposed; which is the highest security of obedience. And these things caused many to pretend unto this gift who were, indeed, never inspired by the Holy Spirit; but were rather, on the contrary, acted by a spirit of lying and uncleanness: for it is very probable that when men falsely and in mere pretence took upon them to be prophets divinely inspired, without any antecedent diabolical enthusiasm, that the devil made use of them to compass his own designs Being given up, by the righteous judgment of God, unto all delusions, for belying his Spirit and holy inspirations, they were quickly possessed with a spirit of lying and unclean divination. So the false prophets of Ahab, who encouraged him to go up unto Ramoth-gilead, foretelling his prosperous success, 1 Kings xxii. 6, seemed only to have complied deceitfully with the inclinations of their master, and to have out-acted his other courtiers in flattery by gilding it with a pretence of prophecy; but when Micaiah came to lay open the mystery of their iniquity, it appeared that a lying spirit, by the permission of God, had possessed their minds, and gave them impressions, which being supernatural, they were deceived as well as they did deceive, verses 19–23. This they were justly given up unto, pretending falsely unto the inspiration of that Holy Spirit which they had not received. And no otherwise hath it fallen out with some in our days, whom we have seen visibly acted by an extraordinary power. Unduly pretending unto supernatural agitations from God, they were really acted by the devil; a thing they neither desired nor looked after, but, being surprised by it, were pleased with it for a while: as it was with sundry of the Quakers at their first appearance.

Now, these false prophets of old were of two sorts, both mentioned, Deut. xviii. 20:— First, Such as professedly served other gods, directing all their prophetic actings unto the promotion of their worship. Such were the prophets of Baal, in whose name expressly they prophesied, and whose assistance they invocated: “They called on the name of Baal, saying, O Baal, hear us,” 1 Kings xviii. 26–29. Many of these were slain by Elijah, and the whole race of them afterward extirpated by Jehu, 2 Kings x. 18–28. This put an end to his deity, for it is said, “he destroyed Baal out of Israel,” false gods having no existence but in the deceived minds of their worshippers. It may be asked why these are called “prophets?” and so, in general, of all the false prophets mentioned in the Scripture. Was it because they merely pretended and counterfeited a spirit of prophecy, or had they really any such? I answer, that I no way doubt but that they were of both sorts. These prophets of Baal were such as worshipped the sun, after the manner of the Tyrians. Herein they invented many hellish mysteries, ceremonies, and sacrifices; these they taught the people by whom they were hired. Being thus engaged in the service of the devil, he actually possessed their minds “as a spirit of divination,” and enabled them to declare things unknown unto other men. They, in the meantime, really finding themselves acted by a power superior to them, took and owned that to be the power of their god; and thereby became immediate worshippers of the devil. This our apostle declares, 1 Cor. x. 20. Whatever those who left the true God aimed at to worship, the devil interposed himself between that and them, as the object of their adoration. Hereby he became the “god of this world,” 2 Cor. iv. 4, — he whom in all their idols they worshipped and adored. With a spirit of divination from him were many of the false prophets acted, which they thought to be the spirit of their god; for they found themselves acted by a superior power, which they could neither excuse nor resist. Others of them were mere pretenders and counterfeits, that deceived the foolish multitude with vain, false predictions. Of these more will be spoken afterward.

Secondly, Others there were who spake in the name, and, as they falsely professed, by the inspiration of the Spirit, of the holy God. With this sort of men Jeremiah had great contests; for in that apostatizing age of the church, they had got such an interest and reputation among the rulers and people as not only to confront his prophecies with contrary predictions, chap. xxviii. 1–4, but also to traduce him as a false prophet, and to urge his punishment according to the law, chap. xxix. 25–27. And with the like confidence did Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah carry it towards Micaiah, 1 Kings xxii. 24; for he scornfully asks him, “Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee?” that is, “Whereas assuredly he speaketh in me, how came he to inspire thee with a contrary revelation?” Ezekiel, at the same time with Jeremiah, was exercised and perplexed with them, chap. xiii. and xiv.; for this sort of persons, — namely, false pretenders unto divine extraordinary revelations, — did of old usually abound in times of danger and approaching desolations. The devil stirred them up to fill men with vain hopes, to keep them in sin and security, that destruction might seize upon them at unawares: and whoever take the same course in the time of deserved, threatened, impendent judgments, though they use not the same means, yet they also do the work of the devil; for whatever encourageth men to be secure in their sins is a false divination, Jer. v. 30, 31. And this sort of men is characterized by the prophet chap. xxiii., from verse 9 to 33; where anyone may read their sin and judgment. And yet this false pretending unto the spirit of prophecy was very far from casting any contempt on the real gift of the Holy Ghost therein; nay, it gave it the greater glory and lustre. God never more honoured his true prophets than when there were most false ones; neither shall ever any false pretence to the Spirit of grace render him less dear unto those that are partakers of him, or his gifts of less use unto the church.

It was thus also under the New Testament, at the first preaching of the gospel. The doctrine of it at first was declared from the immediate revelation of the Spirit, preached by the assistance of the Spirit, made effectual by his work and power, [and] was accompanied in many by outward miraculous works and effects of the Spirit; whence the whole of what peculiarly belonged unto it, in opposition to the law, was called “The ministration of the Spirit.” These things being owned and acknowledged by all, those who had any false opinions or dotages of their own to broach, or any other deceit to put upon Christians, could think of no more expedite means for the compassing of their ends than by pretending to immediate revelations of the Spirit; for without some kind of credibility given them from hence, they knew that their fond imaginations would not be taken into the least consideration. Hence the apostle Peter, having treated concerning the revelation of God by his Spirit in prophecy, under the Old Testament and the New, 2 Epist., chap. i. 19–21, adds, as an inference from that discourse, a comparison between the false prophets that were under the Old Testament and the false teachers under the New, chap. ii. 1: “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you.” And the reason of it is, because that as they pretended to the Spirit of the Lord in their prophecies, saying, “Thus saith the Lord,” when he sent them not, so these ascribed all their abominable heresies to the inspiration of the Spirit, by whom they were not assisted.

Hence is that blessed caution and rule given us by the apostle John, who lived to see much mischief done in the church by this pretence: 1 Epist. chap. iv. 1–3, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God.” A twofold direction doth the apostle here give unto all believers; the first by the way of caution, that they would not believe every spirit, — that is, not receive or give credit to every doctrine that was proposed unto them as of immediate revelation and inspiration of the Spirit. He intends the same with the apostle Paul, Eph. iv. 14, who would not have us “carried about with every wind of doctrine,” like vessels at sea without anchors or helms, by the “sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;” for the crafts and sleights intended are such as men use when they cast a mist, as it were, before the eyes of others whom they intend to cheat and defraud. So dealt false teachers with their disciples, by their pretences of immediate revelations. His next direction informs us how we may observe this caution unto our advantage; and this is, by trying the spirits themselves. This is the duty of all believers on any such pretences. They are to try these spirits, and examine whether they are of God or no. For the observation of this rule and discharge of this duty, the church of Ephesus is commended by our Lord Jesus Christ: Rev. ii. 2, “Thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars;” for those who said they were apostles pretended therewithal to apostolical authority and infallibility, on the account of the immediate inspirations which they received by the Holy Ghost. In trying them, they tried the spirits that came unto them; and by this warrant may we try the spirit of the church of Rome, which in like manner pretends unto apostolical authority and infallibility.

Unto these two directions the apostle subjoins the reason of the present watchfulness required unto the discharge of this duty: “Because,” saith he, “many false prophets are gone out into the world.” It is “false teachers,” as Peter calls them, “bringing in damnable heresies,” concerning whom he speaks. And he calleth them “false prophets,” partly in an allusion unto the false prophets under the Old Testament, with whom they are ranked and compared by Peter, and partly because, as they fathered their prejudices on divine revelation, so these falsely ascribed their doctrines unto immediate divine inspiration. And on this account also he calleth them spirits: “Try the spirits;” for as they pretended unto the Spirit of God, so indeed for the most part they were acted by a spirit of error, lying, and delusion, — that is, the devil himself. And therefore I no way doubt but that mostly those who made use of this plea, that they had their doctrines which they taught by immediate inspiration, did also effect other extraordinary operations or undiscoverable appearances of them, as lying miracles, by the power of that spirit whereby they were acted, as Matt. xxiv. 24. Hence the apostle doth not direct us to try their pretensions unto inspiration by putting them on other extraordinary works for their confirmation, for these also they made a show and appearance of, and that in such a manner as that they were not to be detected by the generality of Christians; but he gives unto all a blessed stable rule, which will never fail them in this case who diligently attend unto it; and this is, to try them by the doctrine that they teach,1 John iv. 2, 3. Let their doctrine be examined by the Scriptures, and if it be found consonant thereunto, it may be received without danger unto the hearers, whatever corrupt affections the teachers may be influenced by; but if it be not consonant thereunto, if it keep not up a harmony in the analogy of faith, whatever inspiration or revelation be pleaded in its justification, it is to be rejected, as they also are by whom it is declared. This rule the apostle Paul confirms by the highest instance imaginable: Gal. i. 8, “Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” And the apostle shows that, for our advantage in this trial we are to make of spirits, it is good to have a clear conviction of, and a constant adherence unto, some fundamental principles, especially such as we have reason to think will be the most cunningly attacked by seducers. Thus, because in those days the principal design of Satan was, to broach strange, false imaginations about the person and mediation of Christ, endeavouring thereby to overthrow both the one and the other, the apostle adviseth believers to try the spirits by this one fundamental principle of truth, namely, that “Jesus Christ is come in the flesh;” which contains a confession both of his person and mediation. This, therefore, believers were to demand of all new teachers and pretenders unto spiritual revelations in the first place, “Do you confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh?” and if they immediately made not this confession, they never stood to consider their other pretences, but turned from them, not bidding them God speed,2 John 7, 10, 11. And I could easily manifest how many pernicious heresies were obviated in those days by this short confession of faith. For some of late (as Grotius, following Socinus and Schlichtingius) interpreting this coming of Christ in the flesh of his outward mean estate and condition, and not in the pomp and glory of an earthly king, do openly corrupt the text. His coming in the flesh is the same with the “Word’s being made flesh,” John i. 14; or “God being manifest in the flesh,” 1 Tim. iii. 16, — that is, the Son of God being made “partaker of flesh and blood,” Heb. ii. 14; or “taking on him the seed of Abraham,” verse 16, — that is, his being “made of a woman,” Gal. iv. 4; or his being “made of the seed of David according to the flesh,” Rom. i. 3; or his “being of the fathers as to the flesh,” Rom. ix. 5. And this was directly opposed unto those heresies which were then risen, whose broachers contended that Jesus Christ was but a fantasy, an appearance, a manifestation of divine love and power, denying that the Son of God was really incarnate, as the ancients generally testify. And well had it been for many in our days had they attended unto such rules as this; but through a neglect of it, accompanied with an ungrounded boldness and curiosity, they have hearkened in other things to deceiving spirits, and have been engaged beyond a recovery before they have considered that by their cogging deceits they have been cheated of all the principal articles of their faith; by which if at first they had steadily tried and examined them, they might have been preserved from their snares.

The Jews say well that there was a double trial of prophets under the Old Testament, — the one by their doctrine, the other by their predictions. That by their doctrine, — namely, whether they seduced men from the worship of the true God unto idolatry, — belonged unto all individual persons of the church. Direction for this is given, Deut. xiii. 1–3, “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee” (effect any thing by a seeming presence of an extraordinary power), saying, “Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams.” Let his signs and wonders be what they would, the people were to try them by what they taught. The judgment upon predictions was left unto the sanhedrim, for which directions are given, Deut. xviii. 20–22; and by virtue hereof they falsely and cruelly endeavoured to take away the life of Jeremiah, because he foretold the ruin of them and their city, chap. xxvi. 11. In the first place, though his sign, wonder, or prediction came to pass, yet the doctrine he sought to confirm by it being false, he was to be rejected. In the latter, the fulfilling of his sign acquitted him, because he taught with it nothing in point of doctrine that was false. The first kind of trial of the spirits of prophets is the duty of all believers under the gospel; and those who would deprive them of this liberty would make brutes of them instead of Christians, — unless to believe a man knows not what, and to obey he knows not why, be the properties of Christians. See Rom. xii. 2; Eph. v. 8–12; Phil. i. 10; 1 Thess. v. 21. The other, so far as was needful to preserve the church in truth and peace, was provided for in those primitive times, whilst there was a real communication of extraordinary gifts of the Spirit (and so more occasion given to the false pretence of them, and more danger in being deceived by them), by a peculiar gift of discerning them, bestowed on some amongst them. 1 Cor. xii. 10, “Discerning of spirits” is reckoned among the gifts of the Spirit. So had the Lord graciously provided for his churches, that some among them should be enabled in an extraordinary manner to discern and judge of them who pretended unto extraordinary actings of the Spirit. And upon the ceasing of extraordinary gifts really given from God, the gift also of discerning spirits ceased, and we are left unto the word alone for the trial of any that shall pretend unto them. Now, this kind of pretence was so common in those days, that the apostle Paul, writing to the Thessalonians to caution them that they suffered not themselves to be deceived in their expectation and computations about the time of the coming of Christ, in the first place warns them not to be moved in it “by spirit,” 2 Thess. ii. 2; that is, persons pretending unto spiritual revelations. Something, also, of this nature hath continued, and broken out in succeeding ages, and that in instances abominable and dreadful. And the more eminent in any season are the real effusions of the Holy Spirit upon the ministers of the gospel and disciples of Christ, the more diligence and watchfulness against these delusions are necessary; for on such opportunities it is, when the use and reputation of spiritual gifts is eminent, that Satan doth lay hold to intrude under the colour of them his own deceitful suggestions. In the dark times of the Papacy, all stories are full of satanical delusions, in fantastical apparitions, horrors, spectrums, and the like effects of darkness. It was seldom or never that any falsely pretended to the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit; for these things were then of little use or request in the world. But when God was pleased to renew really a fresh communication of spiritual gifts and graces unto men, in and upon the Reformation, the old dreads and terrors, nightly appearances, tending unto deeds of darkness, vanished, and everywhere, by Satan’s instigation, arose false pretenders to the Spirit of God; in which way of delusion he will still be more active and industrious, as God shall increase the gifts and graces of his Spirit in his churches; though as yet, in these latter ages, he hath not attained what he was arrived unto in the primitive times of the gospel. A full and clear declaration from the Scripture of the nature of the Holy Spirit and his operations may, through the blessing of God, be of use to fortify the minds of professors against satanical delusions counterfeiting his actings and inspirations; for directions unto this purpose are given us by the holy apostle, who lived to see great havoc made in the churches by deluding spirits. Knowledge of the truth, trying of spirits that go abroad by the doctrines of the Scriptures, dependence on the Holy Spirit for his teachings according to the word, are the things which to this purpose he commends unto us.