Seventeenth Century “Charismatic”

In reading Dr Michael Haykin’s book: THE REFORMERS AND PURITANS AS SPIRITUAL MENTORS, it would seem to me that had we lived in the days of John Owen, many of us would have regarded him as a “charismatic”.  He clearly believed and lived a form of experiential Christianity. Haykin quotes Owen from his work,  Grace and Duty of Being Spiritually Minded:

 “Let us live in the constant contemplation of the glory of Christ, and virtue will proceed from him to repair all our decays, to renew a right spirit within us, and to cause us to abound in all duties of obedience.” 

And from A Discourse of the Work of the Holy Spirit in Prayer:

“ The soul is hereby raised and ravished, not into ecstasies or unaccountable raptures, not acted into motions above the power of its own understanding and will; but in all the faculties and affections of it, through the effectual workings of the Spirit of grace and the lively impressions of divine love, with intimations of the relations and kindness of God, is filled with rest, in “joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

Facing an accusation of being too subjective, Owen responds:

“I had rather be among them who, in the actings of their love and affection unto Christ, do fall into some irregularities and excesses in the manner of expressing it (provided their worship of him be neither superstitious nor idolatrous), than among those who, professing themselves to be Christians, do almost disavow their having any thoughts of or affection unto the person of Christ.” (Grace and Duty …)

Herein Owen slips into our thinking two guardians to such a spiritual pursuit: superstition and idolatry.  I am not certain what Owen means by superstition, but I suspect he points to an idea or activity that is pursued despite clear evidence to the contrary. I would think his Puritanism would clearly imply believing and acting in ways opposed to the clarity of God’s Word.  And secondly in pursuing such experiences as more important and “before God” than the glory of the Triune God Himself.  

This leads us to a Christian reality that some of called “charismatic with seatbelts” whereby the contemplation of the glory of Christ, may lead one to some excesses in thought and behaviour, but these are always strapped in by sola scriptura and fear of turning a “good thing into a God-thing.” (To paraphrase Timothy Keller). 

All this so-called experiential Christianity is the response of contemplating the glory of God, as taught in  2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV): 

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

We are ever in danger of seeking particular experiences that can be the result of some subjective experience that ultimately provides a fake feeling and can easily translate into extra-biblical or idolatrous exercises.