- Home
- Speakers
- Octavius Winslow
- He That Has The Son Has Life
Octavius Winslow
Octavius Winslow (1808–1878) was an English preacher and evangelical writer whose Christ-centered ministry left a lasting mark on 19th-century Christianity. Born on August 1, 1808, in Pentonville, London, he was the eighth of thirteen children of Thomas Winslow, an army captain, and Mary Forbes, who hailed from Bermuda with Scottish roots. A descendant of Mayflower Pilgrims John Winslow and Mary Chilton, he moved with his family to New York City at age seven after his father’s death, where his widowed mother raised her children in poverty yet deep faith. Converted in 1827 under the ministry of Samuel Eastman at Stanton Street Baptist Church, Winslow was baptized in the Hudson River and soon felt called to preach. In 1834, he married Hannah Ann Ring, with whom he had ten children, though several died young, and she predeceased him in 1866. Winslow’s preaching career began with his ordination in 1833 in New York, followed by pastorates at churches like Union Baptist in Brooklyn. Moving to England in 1839, he served at Warwick Road Baptist Church in Leamington Spa until 1858, then founded Kensington Chapel in Bath, transitioning it to a Union Church by 1865. In 1870, he seceded to the Anglican Church, ordained as a deacon and priest, and ministered at Emmanuel Church in Brighton until his death. A contemporary of Charles Spurgeon and J.C. Ryle, he preached at the opening of Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle in 1861. Author of over 40 books, including The Precious Things of God and Personal Declension and Revival of Religion in the Soul, Winslow’s devotional writings earned him the title "The Pilgrim’s Companion." He died on March 5, 1878, in Brighton, leaving a legacy of fervent preaching and rich spiritual literature.
Download
Sermon Summary
Octavius Winslow emphasizes that possessing Christ means possessing eternal life, contrasting the transient nature of superficial faith with the permanence of a true relationship with Jesus. He reassures believers that even when their spiritual state feels cold or hard, the very awareness of this condition indicates the presence of life within them. Winslow encourages individuals to bring their struggles and desires to Jesus, who offers abundant life and sustains their spiritual growth. He highlights the importance of Christ's indwelling presence, which nurtures and protects the believer's faith amidst challenges. Ultimately, he points to the hope of eternal life in heaven, free from earthly struggles.
He That Has the Son Has Life
He that has the Son has life. 1 John 5:12. A living Christ dwelling in a living soul. This implies permanency. The religion of some is a religion of the moment. Like the gourd of the prophet, it appears in a night, and it withers in a night. It is the religion of impulse and of feeling. It comes by fits and starts. It is easily assumed, and as easily laid aside. But here is the grand characteristic of a truly converted man—Christ lives in him, and lives in him never to die. He has entered his heart never to retire. He has enthroned Himself, never to abdicate. And although the fact of His permanent indwelling may not always appear with equal clearness and certainty to the mind of the believer himself, nevertheless Christ is really there by His Spirit. It is His home, His dwelling-place, His kingdom. He lives there, to maintain His government, to sway His scepter, and to enforce, by the mild constraint of His love, obedience to His laws. He lives there to guard and nourish His own work, shielding it when it is assailed, strengthening it when it is feeble, reviving it when it droops, restoring it when it decays; thus keeping, amid opposing influences, the life of God that it die not. But perhaps it is a question of deep anxiety with you—"Would that I knew I were in reality a possessor of this spiritual life! My heart is so hard, my affections are so cold, my spirit is so sluggish, in everything that is spiritual, holy, and divine." Permit me to ask you, Can a stone feel its hardness, or a corpse its insensibility? Impossible! You affirm that you feel your hardness, and that you are sensible of your coldness. From where does this spring but from life? Could you weep, or mourn, or deplore, were the spiritual state of your soul that of absolute death? Again I say impossible. But rest not here; go to Jesus. What you really need is a fresh view of, a renewed application to, the Lord Jesus Christ. Take to Him the stone-like heart, the corpse-like soul. Tell him you want to feel more, and to weep more, and to love more, and to pray more, and to live more. Go and pour out your heart, with all its tremblings, and doubts, and fears, and needs, upon the bleeding, loving bosom of your Lord, until from that bosom life more abundant has darted its quickening energy, vibrating and thrilling through your whole soul. "I have come," says Jesus, "that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Jesus stands between you and God, prepared to present to God every sigh, and groan, and desire, and tear, and request; and to convey from God every blessing—covenant, blood-purchased blessing—which it is possible for Him to give, or needful for you to receive. Exult in the prospect of soon reaching heaven, where there are no frosts to congeal, where there is no blight to wither, and where no earthly tendencies will ever weigh down to the dust the life of God in your soul.
- Bio
- Summary
- Transcript
- Download
Octavius Winslow (1808–1878) was an English preacher and evangelical writer whose Christ-centered ministry left a lasting mark on 19th-century Christianity. Born on August 1, 1808, in Pentonville, London, he was the eighth of thirteen children of Thomas Winslow, an army captain, and Mary Forbes, who hailed from Bermuda with Scottish roots. A descendant of Mayflower Pilgrims John Winslow and Mary Chilton, he moved with his family to New York City at age seven after his father’s death, where his widowed mother raised her children in poverty yet deep faith. Converted in 1827 under the ministry of Samuel Eastman at Stanton Street Baptist Church, Winslow was baptized in the Hudson River and soon felt called to preach. In 1834, he married Hannah Ann Ring, with whom he had ten children, though several died young, and she predeceased him in 1866. Winslow’s preaching career began with his ordination in 1833 in New York, followed by pastorates at churches like Union Baptist in Brooklyn. Moving to England in 1839, he served at Warwick Road Baptist Church in Leamington Spa until 1858, then founded Kensington Chapel in Bath, transitioning it to a Union Church by 1865. In 1870, he seceded to the Anglican Church, ordained as a deacon and priest, and ministered at Emmanuel Church in Brighton until his death. A contemporary of Charles Spurgeon and J.C. Ryle, he preached at the opening of Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle in 1861. Author of over 40 books, including The Precious Things of God and Personal Declension and Revival of Religion in the Soul, Winslow’s devotional writings earned him the title "The Pilgrim’s Companion." He died on March 5, 1878, in Brighton, leaving a legacy of fervent preaching and rich spiritual literature.