Knowing God

One of Packer’s leading themes in his book—and the one from which the title itself is derived—is that of knowing God personally. It is not enough, he asserts, to know about God in the manner of someone who can quote (or even assent to) a list of theological doctrines. For Packer, knowing God is far more than mere factual knowledge; it is a direct and personal connection. One must know God as one knows a friend or a family member—knowing things that are true about him, but also knowing him. Packer’s opening question in Chapter 1 makes this distinction explicit: “How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God?” (23). He argues that while having correct doctrine is important, a list of facts about God is less important than a true relationship with him. Packer illustrates this principle using the examples of biblical characters like Abraham and David, who did not merely know about God; they knew God personally.

To know God personally, Packer believes, one must first study the way that God has revealed himself. If the Bible is a form of God’s self-revelation, as Packer believes that it is, then it is essential to study the Bible’s representation of God.