“All our supplies of grace are from Jesus Christ” by John Owen

“All our supplies of grace are from Jesus Christ. Grace is declared in the promises of the Old Testament; but the way of its communication, and our receiving of it, is revealed unto us in the New.

This belongs to the mystery of it, that all grace is from Christ, and shall be in vain expected any other way. He hath assured us, that “without Him we can do nothing;” we can no more bring forth fruit, than a branch can that is separated from the vine, (John 15:3–5).

He is our head, and all our spiritual influences— that is, divine communication of grace— are from Him alone. He is our life efficiently, and liveth in us effectively, so as that our ability for vital acts is from Him, (Gal. 2:20; Col. 3:1–4).

Are we, then, any of us under convictions of spiritual decays? Or do we long for such renovations of spiritual strength as may make us flourish in faith, love, and holiness? We must know assuredly, that nothing of all this can be attained, but it must come from Jesus Christ alone.

We see what promises are made, what duties are prescribed unto us; but however we should endeavour to apply ourselves unto the one or the other, they would yield us no relief, unless we know how to receive it from Christ Himself.

The only way of receiving supplies of spiritual strength and grace from Jesus Christ, on our part, is by faith. Hereby we come unto Him, are implanted in Him, abide with Him, so as to bring forth fruit.

He dwells in our hearts by faith, and He acts in us by faith, and we live by faith in or on the Son of God. This, I suppose, will be granted, that if we receive any thing from Christ, it must be by faith, it must be in the exercise of it, or in a way of believing; nor is there any one word in the Scripture that gives the least encouragement to expect either grace or mercy from Him in any other way, or by any other means.

This faith respects the person of Christ, His grace, His whole mediation, with all the effects of it, and His glory in them all. This is that which hath been so much insisted on in the foregoing Discourses as that it ought not to be again insisted upon.

This, therefore, is the issue of the whole: —a steady view of the glory of Christ, in His person, grace, and office, through faith,— or a constant, lively exercise of faith on Him, according as He is revealed unto us in the Scripture,— is the only effectual way to obtain a revival from under our spiritual decays, and such supplies of grace as shall make us flourishing and fruitful even in old age.

He that thus lives by faith in Him shall, by His spiritual thriving and growth, ‘show that the Lord is upright, that He is our rock, and that there is no unrighteousness in Him.’ (Psalm 92:12-15)”

–John Owen, “Meditations and Discourses Concerning the Glory of Christ,” The Works of John Owen, Volume 1: The Glory of Christ (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1684/2000), 1: 458-459