5 Things To Know About God (J.I. Packer)

To know God, what are some basic foundational principles we need to know?

In Knowing God (1973), chap. 1 (The Study of God), J.I. Packer lists five basic truths we need to know:

1. God has spoken.
2. God is Lord and King who rules all things.
3. God is Savior.
4. God is triune.
5. Godliness means responding to God's revelation.

A major theme that Packer stresses is to note the difference between knowing about God and knowing God.


For reflection and discussion:

1. Are any of these beginning assumptions a problem or difficult for you? Do you lack a basic understanding of any of them? Which ones and why?
2. According to Packer, what source materials does one need for the study of God? Do you think these source materials are adequate? What others would you add, if any?
3. Why are our motives and attitudes for pursuing this study important? What, according to Packer, should be our motives and our goal? What are some of the dangers we face?
4. How do you think knowing God is different from knowing about God?

Quotes for Thought:
"To know God better is only to realize how impossible it is that we should ever know him at all. I know not which is more childish—to deny him, or define him."  Samuel Butler (1835–1902, British author).

"I know things. For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I heard that, I gave Jesus a chance. But it just didn't work out between us. The Lord laid too much guilt on me. I prefer metaphysics to theology."  Annie Savoy in Bull Durham, 1988.

"Theology, not morality, is the first business on the church's agenda of reform, and the church,
not society, is the first target of divine criticism."  Michael Horton.