Of Communion with God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost

John Owen's treatise on communion with God emerged from his pastoral concern that English Christians, despite their theological orthodoxy, remained strangers to the experiential reality of fellowship with the Trinity. Writing during the height of Puritan influence in 1657, Owen addressed believers who could recite correct doctrine about God's nature but struggled to cultivate actual intimacy with the divine persons. The work represents Owen's attempt to bridge the gap between systematic theology and lived spirituality, showing how Trinitarian doctrine translates into personal communion.

Owen argues that believers enjoy distinct yet unified communion with each person of the Trinity. The Father relates to Christians primarily through love, choosing and accepting them in covenant relationship. The Son offers communion through grace, serving as mediator and friend who shares his righteousness and bears believers' burdens. The Spirit provides communion through comfort, applying salvation, sanctifying believers, and serving as their advocate and guide. Owen grounds each relationship in extensive scriptural exposition, demonstrating how these distinct communions flow from the unique work of each divine person while maintaining the essential unity of God. He emphasizes that such communion requires intentional cultivation through prayer, meditation, and active faith, rejecting both cold formalism and emotional enthusiasm in favor of biblically-grounded spiritual discipline.

The treatise became a cornerstone of Reformed spirituality, influencing generations of Puritan and Reformed writers on the devotional life. Modern readers continue to find in Owen a rare combination of theological precision and spiritual warmth, discovering how doctrinal truth serves as the foundation rather than the enemy of intimate relationship with God. Who should read this: Christians seeking to deepen their prayer life and understanding of how to relate personally to the Trinity, particularly those from Reformed traditions who want to move beyond merely intellectual faith. Those uncomfortable with Owen's dense prose style or systematic approach to spirituality may find more accessible guides elsewhere.