“These are the Times”: Public Worship as Manifestation of a New Age of Theo-Politics in the Theology of John Owen

Despite many studies over the past several decades devoted specifically to theological topics in the thought of John Owen (1616–83), many aspects of his practical, political, ecclesiastical, and eschatological emphases have remained unstudied or underappreciated. One specific area in which these aspects come together is the focus of this thesis: how did John Owen’s eschatological vision, as it is expressed in several key topics of his theology, shape his multi-faceted view of Trinitarian worship. Owen’s theology of public worship can be summed up as the highest expression on earth of the believer’s communion with the Triune God in heaven. This thesis expands out from this centrality to investigate and analyze how his eschatological vision explicitly impacted key topics of his theology in a multi-faceted view of worship expressed in his own historical context. The opening chapter notes how Owen's theology was not immune to the political realities of his day. Until recently, most Owen scholarship has been to analyze him merely through the lens of theology. Investigating via this contextual method will enable us to answer why he said what he did about worship. In chapter two, Owen’s biography and theology will be set in his seventeenth-century context socially, politically, theologically, and ecclesiastically. How does this overall context show Owen’s unity and diversity on the issue of worship within English Christianity? This chapter will then set forth Owen’s eschatological vision. How does this set the particular context for why he says what he says about the various topics of theology and their relationship to worship? In chapter three we’ll ask how did Owen relate his doctrine of God’s sufficient revelation to public worship? This will be answered via an exploration of his doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture. What was the relationship between Owen, his Reformed predecessors, and his English contemporaries in terms of how the sufficiency of Scripture was applied to worship? In chapter four we’ll ask: How did Owen understand the relationship of the Old Covenant to the New? Specifically, how did this relationship apply to public worship? His covenant theology will be laid out through the lens of his interpretation of Galatians 5:1. Because Jesus Christ justifies believers and frees them both from the Mosaic regulations for worship under the Old Covenant and from man-made regulations in the worship of God, this had implications in terms of religious toleration and liturgical imposition. In chapter five we’ll examine Christ’s heavenly high priestly office. How did Owen relate this to public worship in congregations on earth? Owen set forth the glory of Christ’s high priestly ministry in heaven and its implications for the beauty of worship, the nature of the Christian ministry, and the role of believers as priesthood. As the final high priest and sacrifice, Christ abolished the liturgical institutions of the Old Covenant with their earthly ordinances and ushered in a heavenly and spiritual worship. He leads his people in worship now from the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Thus, one part of this investigation will be Owen’s view of the relationship between the earthly ordinances of worship in the Old Covenant with the heavenly and spiritual worship in the New Covenant. In chapter six we’ll ask: How did Owen relate his doctrine of the Holy Spirit to public worship? This will be answered through an examination of Owen’s view of the work of the Holy Spirit in equipping ministers to lead public worship especially in the area of prayer. Public prayer was the special eschatological gift of the Triune God by means of the ascended Christ through the Holy Spirit in and through ministers.