The Glory of Christ

John Piper first introduced me to John Owen, and I saw that there was a tremendous depth to him. However, I consistently heard people say that he was difficult to read, so I didn't tackle an entire Owen book until my friend Dylan sent me The Glory of Christ.

For those who are intimidated, be assured that the riches far outweigh the difficulty of reading, which is not really that bad. Once you've read a chapter or two, you get used to his language, and many of the archaic words are defined in the margin.

The entire book is an explication of John 17:24, "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave me may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which You have given me."

No man shall ever behold the glory of Christ by sight hereafter, who does not in some measure behold it by faith here in the world. Grace is a ncessary preparation for glory, and faith for sight. Where the subject (the soul) is not previously seasoned with grace and faith, it is not capable of glory or vision (45).

Owen develops this claim. Seeing the glory of Christ by faith is our salvation in this world, and is preparation for being where He is and seeing His glory. With powerful clarity, Owen makes the case that seeing the glory of Christ is the only way to die well:

And this is the advantage we may have in [gazing on the glory of Christ] . . . with respect to death itself: it is the assiduous contemplation of the glory of Christ which will carry us cheerfully and comfortably into it, and through it (31).

I have never come across one who so clearly and succintly teaches believers how to prepare for death. Yet he is not speaking merely of mystical experience:

No man can by faith take a real view of this glory, but virtue will proceed from it in a transforming power to change him 'into the same image' (2 Cor. 3:18) [50].

Since his contention is that our salvation is to see the glory of God in the face of Christ, now as in a glass, and then face to face, he spends a great part of the book setting forth the beauties of Christ in his person and office. One cannot look for a more living and vibrant treatment of the two natures of Christ than Owen provides. It is quite clear that in writing, Owen is doing precisely that to which he is calling his readers: to look long and hard at the beauty of God in Christ.

If you're afraid at this point that Owen is terribly erudite and hopelessly beyond addressing the realities of life in this world, rest easy: Part 2 of the book is devoted to "Application of the Foregoing Meditations Concerning the Glory of Christ." Owen is unparalleled, in my experience, in giving counsel to those who are strangers to Christ, those who are faltering, and all of us who pass through seasons of darkness. I happened to be reading When the Darkness Will Not Lift by John Piper (which I thought was a good book; you can read my review here) while I was finishing up The Glory of Christ. As highly as I regard Piper (which those who know me well can tell you is very highly), Piper's writing is as a school-boy compared to Owen for precision, force and wisdom in going through darkness.

If you would see more of Savior, and love Him more, I heartily recommend to you this book. It will lift your eyes to the Son of God, and fix your gaze there in ways that will transform you into His likeness, and prepare you well to spend all eternity gazing on His beauty.

Note: After publishing this, I ran across two recommendations for Owen on johnowen.org that capture well my feelings:

To read John Owen is to enter a rare world. Whenever I return to one of his works I find myself asking “Why do I spend time reading lesser literature?” —Sinclair B. Ferguson
I owe more to John Owen than to any other theologian, ancient or modern; and I owe more to [The Mortification of Sin] than to anything else he wrote.—J.I. Packer