Distinct Communion : The Believer’s Relations With Father, Son, And Holy Sp

Dan Peters explores John Owen’s Communion with God, and examines what it means to relate specifically to each Person of the Trinity.

What is distinct communion? It is communing with each Person of the Godhead in a way that is distinct. It is experiencing a relationship with each that is distinguishable from one’s relationships with the others.

John Owen was a great advocate of this theme, especially in his work entitled Communion with God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Each Person Distinctly, in Love, Grace and Consolation. He was convinced that this is the pattern to which healthy Christian devotion should conform. He and other bright stars in the Puritan galaxy were able to marry the devotional vitality of the day with the best Trinitarian theology of the past – and the result was distinct communion.

In more recent days the church has slipped away from this focus, but Dan Peters, interacting with Owen’s work, argues that the Christian can find a greater love for, and joy in, each Person of the Godhead through a greater understanding of this.

Beginning with an analysis of relevant Scripture texts, before moving to some theological principles, Peters rounds off with some practical details.