KNOWING CHRISTIANITY, by J. I. Packer

A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance

by Kirsten Birkett

 

About the Author

J. I. Packer was Professor of Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was the author of many bestselling books including Knowing God.

 

Contents

To the Reader

1. The most important thing of all
2. Revelation and authority
3. Who is God?
4. The person of Christ
5. Why the cross?
6. The Holy Spirit and Christian growth
7. Some lessons in prayer
8. Come and worship
9. Fellowship in the church
10. Renewal and charisma in the church
11. Christian citizenship
12. The untruth of universalism
13. Christianity and world religions
14. The reality of hell
15. His ascension, our future hope

 

General Summary

An overview of foundational doctrines of Christianity, following on from the author’s famous book, Knowing God.

 

To the Reader

Wise Christians prepare for disasters, by making sure that “the foundations of our faith are solid, the specifics of it are firmly anchored in our minds, and our habits of devotion and goodwill are as they should be.”

 

1. The Most Important Thing of All

Jesus defined eternal life as knowing God. Christians know “the personal mind and power that is behind everything” – knowledge-in-union and knowledge-in-fellowship. According to Calvin (and the Bible):

1. All humans are aware of God, but this is not personal knowledge, which only comes through Christ.
2. Knowledge of God is more than experience of God, although this is hard for self-absorbed Westerners to understand. It is not true that “the more intense an experience is, the more of God must be in it.” We know God by faith, in relationship.
3. Knowing God is more than knowing about him.
4. Knowing God involves knowing ourselves as lost sinners in need of grace.

We know God by his communication to us. We are, because of sin, anti-God; his communication has to change our nature. God

• achieved redemption in history
• recorded revelation in writing
• secured reception by individuals

The Spirit-inspired Bible is crucial, and theology must not be apart from Scripture. . . .

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