The grace & duty of being spiritually minded - declared & practically improved

by John Owen

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CHAPTER I.

ROM. viii. 6.

" But to be spiritually minded, is life and peace,''
'J'HE expression in our translation is a little different from that in the original : in the margin we read, the " minding of the spirit," and there is a great variety in reading of the words (ppovrifia TH nvevfiarog, as the wisdom, the mind, the thought, the contrivance, the discretion of the spirit, and that which the spirit favoureth ; but a(...)".

Genres: Theology, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Nonfiction, Classics, Faith

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1681

About the author

John Owen was an English theologian and "was without doubt not only the greatest theologian of the English Puritan movement but also one of the greatest European Reformed theologians of his day, and quite possibly possessed the finest theological mind that England ever produced" ("Owen, John", in Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals, p. 494)

Reviews

[Eduardo Corona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oftentimes I was left with a few bruises after reading a few passages. I often felt like Owen was preaching to me trying to ensure I was indeed regenerate. Many times I felt the sting of my awareness of not fully living out the Christian life. A lot of “If/then”, I wish there were much more “How’s” but I can sincerely answer the “how” in a simple sentence: READ MY BIBLE. Overall, good needed reminders and sometimes bruises from passages that “beat me up” and/or put me on check. This book will serve as your personal admonisher at your table side or your person—wherever you decide to keep this. Christian, you need John Owen in your life. Read abridged material of his when possible for ease of understanding.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthwhile read. The first few chapters are very convicting. The book encourages and exhorts you to focus your "mind on the things above" and then lays out the reasoning. It gets a bit repetitive towards the end but still worth the time to read.

[Julie Gorodetzky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very convicting but so encouraging. Owen goes into depth with practical help in how to constantly meditate on spiritual matters. I'll be reading this again yearly. Highly recommend for every Christian.

[Darby Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is excellent, wise, and really helpful. Each short-ish chapter is like a regular dose of spiritual medicine.

[Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling, convicting, and comforting. Probably some other C-words, too. Clever? Compassionate? Careful? Christ-exalting?

Anyway, I compared a few paragraphs of this abridgement against the original and decided that I would have preferred to read Owen himself. Instead of "abridged," a more accurate term for this Puritan Paperback might be "distilled." Distilled quite accurately, as far as I can tell, but still. Let's be real, though: I wasn't going to buy the Banner of Truth edition with its tiny typesetting just to get the "real" version. I can wait until Crossway gets around to it and buy that one to read in the future.

The nice thing, though, is that this is a version I really think I can hand to just about any believer and expect that they'd benefit from reading. I don't think I could say the same about Owen's original.

My one criticism, in terms of content, is that I felt like it lacked nuance on the subject of enjoying created things. A believer could come away from a couple chapters here and think Owen wants them to become a quasi-monk, rejecting all material possessions and never allowing themselves to have fun or eat food that tastes good. It's entirely possible that lack of nuance is a result of the abridgement, though, and not Owen's fault. Maybe I just need to find a version edited by R. J. K. Grace.

[Dominic Duran · Rating 5 out of 5]

INCREDIBLE book describing the life [strengthened and revived spirit] & peace [gracious calmness] experienced by those whose mind is set on the Spirit [Romans 8:6]. Spiritual mindedness is a holy attitude of the heart and mind which positions believers in a continual awareness of God loves for us!!

“So the thoughts of the heart reveal the real truth about a person. Thoughts which are voluntary, unforced, and which arise naturally - because they are delighted in and bring satisfaction to the mind - these are the thoughts which show us the real truth about ourselves!”

“Prayer will keep the soul humble and watchful over its spiritual condition. He who prays as he ought will make every effort to live as he ought. Therefore he keeps his heart diligently, remembering those things for which he prayed. To pray earnestly and live carelessly is to proclaim to all that my prayers are not born of grace. So if by our prayers, our minds become more careful and watchful to live the same way as we have prayed, then we can be assured that our prayers were born of grace and not merely of duty. But if, after praying, we are not concerned how we live, then the gift or ability to say prayers may be present, but the grace is not.”

“The whole purpose of conviction of sin is to put a stop to these thoughts, or at least to lessen the number of them and so to lessen guilt. True conviction of sin is not only concerned with outward actions but also with the thoughts and intents of the mind.”

“In every disastrous event, God declares his wisdom, his holiness, his power and his greatness (Mic. 6:9). By every disastrous event, God calls men to repentance and to holiness… Every disaster teaches us the uncertainty and instability of earthly enjoyments and how foolish we are to set our hearts too much on them.… In every disaster God is calling us to trust ourselves, our families, and all our enjoyments to his sovereign will and wisdom, so that we may be ready to part with all things when he calls, and that without any regrets. God is making wings for men's riches. He is shaking their homes. He is taking away all the visible defences of their lives. He is proclaiming the uncertainty and instability of man's life. So the only thing that will give us rest and peace is to entrust everything to his sovereign will and pleasure. This is the way to mortify self and love for the world and the things that are in the world. Without this mortification, we can never trust ourselves and all that we love and have to God's sovereign will. But how many refuse to trust everything to God's care and keeping! Everything about them shows that they live independently of God. Their love for present things, their plans for making themselves more and more prosperous in the world, all grow and thrive in spite of God's calls to trust everything to him.“

“Invisible things are the proper objects of faith (Heb. 1). Heavenly things will become more and more real to us… But where invisible things are real, the more they are seriously considered, the more evidence they give of their existence and reality. There is no way, then, to strengthen faith but by a daily contemplation of heavenly realities… Faith will not leave a vague idea of them in the mind, but will give them a spiritual reality in the heart, as Christ himself dwells in our hearts by faith.”

“Where Christ assures us of his presence with us, he gives us an infallible hope of glory.”

“Christ should be most in our thoughts because he is the life and centre of all the glory of heaven. Heaven is described as ‘being with the Lord to behold his glory’… So, if we are spiritually minded, we shall fix our thoughts on Christ as the centre of all heavenly glory… But loving Christ is as necessary as believing in Christ, and although we have powerful motives to love him for what he did and was jn the world, yet the real reason why believers remain with him is because of what he is now highly exalted in heaven… no thoughts of Christ born of faith in him and accompanied with love for him, will ever be wasted.”

“It is Satan’s purpose to wear out the saints of the most high… Satan's temptations will be repelled in the proper scriptural way, which is by resisting him. 'Resist the devil, says James, 'and he will flee from you' Satan will not only depart and stop troubling you, but will depart as one defeated and put to shame. It is because believers do not resist the devil that many are severely burned by his fiery darts.”

“There is a right use of worldly things, and there is an over-anxious care of them as well as an excessive love for them.“

“Our thoughts of Christ are the best pledges of our heartfelt love for him and so are wonderfully acceptable to him (Song of Sol. 2:14). When a soul is discouraged and depressed it withdraws itself and hides from Christ. But Christ calls his poor discouraged disciple to himself. He does not despise a poor, weeping face and a broken voice that is no more than sighs and groans. Our thoughts of Christ are the only means by which we can respond to the gracious invitations of his love. By them we hear him knocking. By them we learn to know his voice. By them we open the door of our hearts that he may come in and dine with us and we with him (Rev. 3:20).”

“Believers delight in the duties of evangelical worship because in it they meet with God as revealed in Christ. In worship, they seek a personal experience of fellowship with God in Christ. They are not able to go to the actual source of all joy and happiness, God himself, but they make use of the streams which flow from his throne and in them they drink of his love and find themselves refreshed and strengthened (Rev. 22:1). All the ordinances and duties of divine worship have been appointed by God as the means by which fellowship between himself, as revealed in Christ, and our souls may be maintained. By them Christ communicates his love and grace to us, and in and by them we renew our faith in him and pour out our love to him. In every act of divine worship, the believer is saying to Christ, 'I trust you and I love you.”

“God is not 'a barren desert’. To claim that we are coming to God but that we do not expect to receive anything from him is to despise him, to make nonsense of the purpose of divine worship and to deprive our souls of all the spiritual benefits which we may receive in and by it… Believers come to worship in order to experience anew the love of Christ for them.“

“Therefore, he whose heart is set upon heavenly things with the right motives will be heavenly minded, and the more he embraces heavenly things, the more that heavenly mindedness grows and increases.”

“Heaven, or eternal blessedness, is nothing but full enjoyment of those spiritual things which we now enjoy here on earth by faith. This is what makes Christians look forward to that eternal state, for if now by faith they rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, what will their joy be like in heaven when they see these things face to face? They know that in heaven their eternal blessedness lies in the full enjoyment of God in Christ, and to this they look forward eagerly because they have already had a foretaste of this enjoyment in their hearts. The more, therefore, their desires are fixed on spiritual and heavenly things, the nearer to heaven do spiritually minded people feel themselves to be.”

[Pete Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book for devotional reading. Reading Owen is like going to the doctor for a checkup - he will likely reveal that there is more wrong with you than you wanted to know, but in the end you can be confident that he knows what he's talking about and if you follow his instructions it will go well with you. Can't recommend this book enough!

[Bruno Morato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doesn’t get any better than this.

[Timothy Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Convicting.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I doubt I can express in words the greatness of this book. The immensity of the subject Owen deals with is infinite, as the object of our thoughts, as Christians, is infinite. That is Christ Jesus.
While reading this book I saw my own serious lack in this area; I saw how much more I need to meditate on things above where Christ is, and to count as rubbish the "painted beauties" of this present world.
What a great help and aid this book is to personal meditation on heavenly things. It is true to say, yet quite an understatement, that this is an incredibly practical book.
Definitely one of my favorite books by Owen. This is a must re-read!


"The real reason why believers enjoy praying is because through prayer they draw near to God. Believers have access to God on a throne of grace (Eph. 2:18; Heb. 10:19-20). Through prayer the soul is brought near to God by a spiritual experience. God is the source and centre of all spiritual refreshment, rest, and joy. So when in prayer the soul draws near to God, the joy of the Lord is communicated to it. The soul is abundantly satisfied with the fullness of God's house. He gives them drink from the river of his pleasures (Psa. 36:7-9)."

[Timothy Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is power packed with spiritual and scriptural wisdom. It’s an excellent spiritual barometer as well as a source of spiritual encouragement. Many practical suggestions on things to meditate on are given in this book. I highly recommend this one.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books that aim to help with physical and mental health abound, but you would be hard-pressed to find one that addresses spiritual health. Thankfully, John Owen, a Puritan divine from nearly 400 years ago has my back.

This book is an abridged and lightly edited for modern English printing of the original “On the Grace and Duty of Being Spiritually-Minded,” published in 1681. Owen argues that everyone is either carnally-minded or spiritually-minded. They are no other categories. How do I know which I am? He proposes that we know by what occupies our minds when we are at ease and things are going well. Almost anyone can turn towards spiritual-mindedness when under trial. It is what occupies the mind otherwise that reveals where we lie. As Owen eloquently put it:

“It is natural for water to fall and flow downhill. But when pressure is applied to it as it runs through a hose pipe, it will spurt upwards as if it was natural for it to do so. But as soon as the pressure eases, then water returns to its natural tendency. So it is with our thoughts. They naturally flow to the earth . But when the pressure of spiritual conviction is brought to bear on the soul, then the thoughts are forced up to heaven as if it was natural for them to be there. But when the spiritual conviction is removed, then the thoughts return to earthly things” (12).

This heavenly doctor skillfully diagnoses the human condition and points us to the remedy. Although the path to cultivating spiritual-mindedness is not necessarily easy, Owen convinces us that the end state, peace, makes it worth it. “It is a gracious peacefulness and calmness of the mind in all difficulties, temptations, troubles, and all other things that are apt to fill us with fears, depressions, and anxieties. It is this peace which is the fruit of spiritual-mindedness” (220).

Lest anyone think that a book like this could make one “too heavenly minded and no earthly good,” it is a known favorite of the great British abolitionist William Wilberforce. At 226 pages, it is a quick read, but it’s profundity will force you to pause and reflect throughout. A fitting start to my 2023, this one earns a place for reading many times over in the years to come.

[Daniel Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. The topic of having a mind set on spiritual things is so important (as Owen makes a very compelling case for), and I haven't found any other books on the subject. Unfortunately, while Owen's arguments for the importance of spiritual-mindedness are incredibly convicting, I think they go too far in attaching one's assurance of salvation to the consistency of one's delight in and pursuit of spiritual mindedness. It seems designed to address people who go through the motions of the faith but have no real desire for Christ. For those who earnestly desire to be more spiritually-minded but who nevertheless struggle, it has little to say, and I think could be unduly discouraging. To this point, it is less steeped in Scripture than many of Owen's other books.

If you're able to look past this, however, this book has plenty of helpful and convicting things in it. Owen's insistence on the need for constant, diligent effort to be spiritually-minded, and his passionate explanations of the worthiness of such an goal are powerful. His mention that we can take the weakness of our minds in not being spiritually-minded as a basis for meditation and a cause to rejoice in Christ for saving us despite our weakness was immensely personally helpful.

So, basically, not a book I would give to everyone but potentially helpful for those who have a firm sense of assurance and are willing to test the ideas with Scripture.

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many people know about Spurgeon and other "dead guys" we're told we should read—but not as many seem to know John Owen. What a treasure this little book is! Thinking Spiritually is just 80 pages, but it’s densely packed with truth, encouragement, and spiritual clarity.

Unlike many Puritan writers of his era, Owen manages to be both deeply theological and refreshingly pastoral. He doesn’t overwhelm the reader with heavy-handed guilt or lofty ideas disconnected from real life. Instead, he calls us to fix our minds on Christ with a sense of urgency and joy, while grounding everything firmly in Scripture. His writing is straightforward, richly biblical, and strikingly relevant—especially in an age of shallow thinking and spiritual distraction.

I underlined so much in this book that nearly every page is marked. Owen's insights have a way of getting under your skin—in the best way. He exposes how easy it is to live “spiritually indifferent” lives, and yet he does it with grace and clarity, urging us not toward performance but toward spiritual-mindedness and deeper communion with God.

This is a book I’ll return to again and again. If you’ve found the Puritans hard to access in the past, this is a fantastic entry point—accessible, rich, and deeply edifying. A true spiritual classic in miniature form.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both convicting and encouraging. Even though I gave it 4 not 5 stars I would recommend for any Christian to read. A bit repetitive in parts, but still just as valuable for a Christian today as much as a Christian in the 1600s.

[Rachel Humphrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Owen's examination of Romans 8:6.

[Bambi Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

[John Tester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get it. Read it. Practice what is taught.
What a great exposition of Romans 8:6.

[Grace Brunner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unfortunately convicting time to read this >:(

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sturdy.

[Davis]

Book is nice

[John Wise · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Owen was an English Puritan and Oxford University administrator. He wrote Spiritual-Mindedness because he was deeply concerned about the dangers of worldliness. His work is blunt, hard-hitting, practical, and helpful.


Favorite quote: "Everything in the world has no greater aim than to possess the hearts and minds of men."

[Matt Ediger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much needed

I have read several other works by John Owen. While The Mortification of Sin still remains my favorite, this one probably comes in second.

I have never found Owen particularly easy to read, but the effort is well worth it. Essentially at every turn of the page there is practical, convicting, and deep insight. The book is an examination of Romans 8:6.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I am going through it a second time. It increases my love for and sense of awe of God and His gracious love shown through Christ Jesus. It also humbles me and motivates me to nurture within myself an ever increasing love and desire for God.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in 2004. Read abridgment in 2010. Reread unabridged version in 2016. Very important book. Will reread again, and again after that.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

46 11/28/13 'To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.' Romans 8:6
So much clarity and practicality, so much depth and challenging truth. Really wonderful.

[logankstewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fantastic Puritan paperback!

John Owen spends the book meditating on Romans 8:6 ("to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace") and applying it to living a life of faith. So much of this is as applicable today as it was in 1681 when it was first published. Owen challenges and convicts often, asking heart-probing questions like "Can anyone really believe he is spiritually minded who does not spend much time thinking the things that Christ thought?" Indeed!

Owen gives ample examples on how to practically grow in spiritual mindedness, many of which I found very helpful. The pastor writes with deep conviction and gentle care. He wants to grow in Christ and he wants others to do that too. I have underlined and marked up most of my book, and there are too many nuggets to put them here. So I'll leave just one:

The one aim of all our spiritual enemies is to draw our hearts and thoughts away from Christ and spiritual things. Satan will inject blasphemous thoughts against God and Christ. The flesh will present to the mind sensual desires and appetites. The world will make every effort to allure us with promises of popularity, pleasure, power, and possessions.

For anyone who wants to grow in faithfulness to Jesus and spend more time thinking about the things above, reading through this book would be a great place to start. It's not the easiest entry point into puritan writing, but it's not a very difficult book to read either. I heartily recommend this book!

[Stuart Gunner · Rating 5 out of 5]

'So as Christ is the chief object of faith here on earth, so also he will be the chief object of sight in heaven. Therefore, think much of heaven as that state which will give you a perfect sight and understanding of the wisdom, love, and grace of God in Christ. To have the eternal glory of God in Christ with all the fruits of his wisdom and love perfectly revealed and made known to us in a divine and glorious light, our souls, being enabled to see and perfectly to understand them, is the heaven which, according to God's promise, we are to eagerly anticipate' (61).

John Owen does a great job of urging the Christian to not live for this world by encouraging him of what is to come. Every time I thought that Owen was getting pretty intense and 'Puritan' he followed up with abounding grace through reason and exegesis. I highly, highly recommend this book to help fight against the temptations of the 'American Dream' and pursue the beatific vision, when Christians with glorified eyes will see our glorified Savior.

[Nicole Mccoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Every man hath a treasure in his heart; that is, a prevailing, inexhaustible principle of all his actings and operations...The thoughts that arise out of the heart are of the same nature with the treasure that is in it."

"Let us not mistake ourselves. To be spiritually minded is, not to have the notion and knowledge of spiritual things in our minds; it is not to be constant, no, nor to abound, in the performance of duties: both which may be where there is no grace in the heart at all. It is to have our minds really exercised with delight about heavenly things, the things that are above, especially Christ himself as at the right hand of God."

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a joy to read this book!

Through the work of RJK Law of making Owen accessible, this book is a marvelous encouragement to be spiritually minded. Quoting from Romans 7, Owen sets out why spiritual mindedness is a duty, and key to a fruitful Christian life.

The book rebukes slothful behavior, challenges Christians toward self examination, and exhorts them to spiritual duty on spiritual mindedness. Definitely a book that all Christians will benefit from. And a book to be read and re-read.

If only there was a 6 star rating available…