Knowing God

One of the fundamental biblical portrayals of God is that of his love. The apostle John famously put it even more strongly than just speaking of love in the status of an attribute, writing that “God is love” (1 John 4: 8 and 4: 16). While Packer contends that this verse has sometimes been interpreted too broadly, he still insists that a biblical view of the love of God conveys a deep understanding of the essence of his character. “When we looked at God’s wisdom, we saw something of his mind; when we thought of his power, we saw something of his hand and his arm; when we considered his word, we learned about his mouth; but now, contemplating his love, we look into his heart” (119). The testimony of Scripture confirms that the love of God, poured out abundantly into one’s heart, should be the baseline experience of the Christian life.

To get to the sense of what the apostle John meant by “God is love,” Packer examines two parallel constructions in John’s writings: “God is spirit” (John 4: 24) and “God is light” (1 John 1: 5). In each of these verses, the biblical