This book is now considered by most to be a Christian classic. I bought it back in the 1970s, but only recently finally went through it. Our home Bible Study fellowship began the book (along with the Study Guide and Journal) in March, 2003.
Packer's primary concern is God's greatness, which he feels even many Christians have lost sight of. He admits he was self-absorbed (and suspects many are today), clarifying that "the first thing to ask of any Scripture is not what it tells me about myself, but what it says about my God" (1975 Preface). A foundational insight is that "I am not the center of things, but God is." This could be extended to the liberal idea that man is the measure of all things (wrong!). On considering the book 20 years later, Packer finds nothing he wishes to withdraw. He says the topics of God's sovereignty and holiness are not treated in their own chapters, but are rather mixed in throughout, like sugar in coffee (the former sweet like sugar, the latter bracing like mustard). He wishes he'd discussed more the importance of relationships to the faith, explaining that "it is only as one gives oneself in human relationships...that experiential knowledge of God becomes real and deep."
The book is divided into 3 sections; Know The Lord (ch 1-6) "directs our attention to the hows and whys of knowing God," Behold Your God! (ch 7-17) "to the attributes of God," and If God Be For Us... (ch 18-22) "to some primary benefits enjoyed by...God's child." His conviction in writing the book was that "ignorance of God lies at the root of the contemporary church's weakness."
I. Know The Lord
Ch 1 (The Study of God) major themes: The study of God is job #1 for a Christian. Theology is practical, not esoteric as we usually imagine. We start with 5 basic truths: God has spoken to man through the Bible, God is Lord and King of all, God is Saviour, God is Triune, and Godliness means responding properly to God. His 3 main themes are the Godhead, His powers and His perfections. Its important what we do with our knowledge of God. It must not be learning for its own sake or to puff us up, but in order to respond properly to God (to do something with that knowledge). We can turn knowledge about God into knowledge of God by meditation ("calling to mind, thinking over, dwelling on, applying to oneself"), by incorporating, appropriating, internalizing, personalizing, "making it our own."
Ch 2 (The People Who Know Their God) major themes: Most Christians know alot about God or godliness, yet don't know Him well. 4 main evidences (from Daniel) of knowing God: great energy ("be strong, do exploits, stand firm, take action" vs. accomodation, comprimise, "smooth and flattering talk" [i.e. liberalism]) shows initially in prayer (energy, zeal, vehemence, passion, agony of spirit), great thoughts (God rules history, is sovereign, humbles great empires, we remain humble, dependent, awed, obedient in the face of His holy majesty, moral perfection, gracious faithfulness), great boldness (once we know what to do, care little for consequences or what others think), great contentment (our own problems, disappointments, heartbreaks, "losses and crosses" pale in significance ["joy unspeakable and full of glory" 1 Peter 1:8], gaiety, goodness, unfettered spirit vs. leading to bitterness, apathy, gloom, defeatism, cynicism, brooding, wound-nursing, ironic detachment?). Lack of these traits is evidence of not knowing God well. We should recognize our lack ("measure ourselves, not by our knowledge about God, not by our gifts and responsibilities in the church, but by how we pray and what goes on in our hearts") and seek the Savior.
Ch 3 (Knowing and Being Known) major themes: Our prime directive is knowing God. This is what we were made for. Doing it avoids despair, anomie, absurdism ("life is a bad joke"), boredom ("nothing tastes"), it provides meaning, purpose, fulfillment. The more complex the object, the more complex the knowing of it. With living things, knowing them depends on their willingness to be known, open up to us (not guaranteed). Think of meeting president, king, highly regarded person. We couldn't expect their friendship, but we'd be honored to respond, live up to their confidence. It would be a privilege to serve them. Knowing God involves 1) listening to His Word, 2) noting His nature and character, 3) obeying His commands, and 4) rejoicing in His love. Biblical analogies to our knowing God are son-father, wife-husband, subject-king and sheep-shepherd knowledge, all involve looking up to. The (only) way to know God is through Jesus. Knowing God means 1) personal dealing (i.e. warmth, not just formally, notionally correct theology), 2) personal involvement (mind, will, feeling, not merely abstract knowledge), and 3) grace (God initiates). Being known by God comes first and underlies our knowing Him.
Ch 4 (The Only True God) major themes: All about the 2nd commandment, "thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image" (i.e. no idolatry). Packer interprets this as no images (of anything) for use in worship (although for use in teaching and instruction is not mentioned, controversial). Two reasons: 1) images dishonor God, obscure His glory (must always leave something out). 2) images mislead us, convey false ideas about God. Not only man-made physical images are forbidden, but also man-made mental ones (key distinction is man-made vs. divine origin). The commandment negatively warns, but positively "summons us to recognize God as transcendent, mysterious and inscrutable" (48). We must take our thoughts of God from Scripture alone (divine source, not human). Either/Or: heed God's word OR make/use images, divine vs. human source, latter is "borrowing from a sinful and ungodly world." 3 objections: 1) worship requires aesthetic expression 2) imagination should be encouraged, not suppressed 3) images trigger devotion. His responses 1) right principle, but we always tend to go beyond symbolic understanding of images into representational (esp. children and unsophisticated adults), so avoid images. 2) right principle, but use it for appreciate Prophets, Psalms, Revelation, not to construct our own. 3) same as 1, humans can't stop at symbolic, but usually move on to representational. Too risky.
Ch 5 (God Incarnate) major themes: Its no wonder that thoughtful people struggle with biblical themes like the Atonement, the Resurrection, the Virgin Birth, the Miracles, since these are beyond our understanding. But the biggest mystery of all is the Incarnation (actually 2 myteries: trinity, union of full humanity and full deity of Christ). He was born to die (Calvary, not Bethlehem, is central: crucicentrism). Kenosis (Greek for emptying) theory: that Jesus gave up some aspects of diety. But its not deity reduced, but divine capacities voluntarily restrained, in submission to the will of God the Father. Christ laid aside NOT divine powers and attributes, but divine glory and dignity for our sake. We should do likewise (the true Christmas spirit, i.e. make sacrifices to help those in need).
Ch 6 (He Shall Testify major themes: The mystery of the trinity. From John's gospel, we know 1) the Son is subject to the Father 2) the Spirit is subject to the Father 3) the Spirit is subject to the Son. The Spirit is our counselor, helper, advocate, friend, caregiver, overseer, supervisor (keeps us from error). The Spirit is largely ignored by many believers! Lots of books on Father, Son, but few good ones on Spirit. Yet without the Spirit, there'd be no gospel, faith, new birth, church, Christianity, New Testament... The disciples had consistently failed to understand Christ. Without the Spirit, they would have continued to "drop the ball" after Christ left. The Spirit revealed and inspired the apostles, and illuminates us. Evangelism relies on the work of the Spirit, not on human cleverness or "wisdom." Author claims the "present barrenness" of the church is due to our dishonor of the Spirit.
II. Behold Your God!
Ch 7 (God Unchanging) major themes: As we read the Bible, we sense that we are remote from Near East context in space, time, culture. Its fascinating, but depressingly strange. Tempting to detach; neither seek nor expect similar intimacy, direct dealing with God. But our link is NOT at that level, it is in immutable God Himself, whose life, character, truth (words), ways (e.g. dealings with people), purposes (He need not repent, being omniscient, omnipotent), Son do NOT change (unlike creatures'). This comforts us, but also challenges us to match conduct of biblical characters.
Ch 8 (The Majesty of God) major themes: the word majesty derives from latin and means greatness, fearsome, terrible, etc. God on high does not imply distance in space, but utter removal from ourselves in greatness. Our ability to trust and worship God are keyed to our knowledge of His greatness, but unfortunately our awareness of God's greatness has declined since Luther, Edwards, Whitefield. Moderns tend to "cherish great thoughts themselves [and] small thoughts of God" (83). Though God is both personal and majestic, we emphasize former and downplay latter. To us, personal tends to imply "weak, inadequate, ineffective, a little pathetic" (i.e. like us, Sherryl Crow "What if God's just one of us, just a slob like one of us"), but God, though indeed personal, is not limited like us, being eternal, infinite, almighty. We should take 2 steps to correct our view of God: 1) remove from our thoughts of God limits that would make Him small and 2) compare Him with powers and forces which we regard as great (but which are nothing compared to Him). For 1), see e.g. Psalm 139, God is inescapable. For 2) think of God's mightly works (e.g. creation), the nations, the world, the world's great ones (e.g. rulers), the stars. Our response to His majesty? God asks these 3 questions: 1) "To whom will you compare me?" (Is. 40:25), God is incomparable and not like us, 2) Why do you say I've abandoned you? (Is. 40:27), He hasn't and never will, 3) Do I ever grow weary? (Is. 40:28), He never tires, omnipotent. Be comforted, God loves us but is not limited like us.
Ch 9 (God Only Wise) major themes: wisdom, the focus of this chapter, is an integral element of God's character, part of His essence (along with power, truth, goodness, love, ...). God's v. our human wisdom. This title always brings to mind the following great hymn:
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice, like mountains, high soaring above,
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all, life Thou givest - to both great and small,
In all life Thou livest - the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish - but naught changeth Thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All praise we would render - O help us to see
'Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee!
Ch 10 (God's Wisdom and Ours) major themes: old Reformed theologians classified God's attributes into incommunicable (God only: independent, immutable, infinite, unconflicted) and communicable (God and man [imago Dei]: spiritual, free agents, wisdom, moral attributes: good, true, holy, righteous ... moral ones lost at Fall, but renewed in Christ). Wisdom is key, we need to get it. How? Learn to 1) reverence God (humble ourselves) 2) receive God's word (study, meditate). Many expect wisdom to "deepen [their] insight into the providential meaning and purpose of events ... to see why ... and what [is coming]" (102) and are disappointed if it doesn't. But its really more like driving, i.e. reacting properly to right-now reality. Many Christians live in their own idealistic dream world. Ecclesiastes can teach us realism. "All is Vanity"; embittered cynicism? Evangelism? The author wants us to see that wisdom is recognizing God's running of the world as mysterious, inexplicable, inscrutable (i.e. to us), that many events "'under the sun' bear no outward sign of a rational, moral God ordering them" (105). e.g. endless natural cycles, inhospitable nature (red in tooth and claw), seemingly random 's--t happens', good loses, bad wins, apparently senseless, valueless, pointless, purposeless (anomie). God hides himself. So true wisdom is to "fear God and keep his commandments" (Ecc. 12:13), trust and obey, worship, humble ourselves before God, do good, live and enjoy, laugh, have fun, work hard, leave the big questions to God. Wisdom is not sharing all God's knowledge but trusting Him to do what's best. Real wisdom produces in us humility, joy, peace, love.
Ch 11 (Thy Word is Truth) major theme: If God says it, it'll happen! God speaks, we must listen and obey. Whole Bible assumes 2 facts; God rules and speaks. He speaks to rule and to connect with us. The 3-fold character of God's torah (i.e. hebrew word for law) is law (commands, prohibitions, sanctions), promise ([un]favorable, [un]conditional), testimony (information on acts, purposes, natures, prospects of God, people). God informs and invites, since He wants our obedience AND love. Gen. 1-3 portrays God's word as creative, command (be fruitful, have dominion), testimony (behold, plants are to eat), prohibition (don't eat...), promise (a human [i.e. Jesus] will crush Satan's head, but there will be pain in childbirth for woman, toil for man). Jeremiah, conveying God's word, could establish and destroy kingdoms (Jer. 1:10). God's word will not return to Him empty. Proper response to His word; trembling, improper; ignoring. We should believe it because its true. Truth in the Bible is a quality of 1) persons (stable, reliable, firm, trustworthy, self-consistent, sincere, realistic, undeceived) 2) propositions. Obeying God's word leads to soul health, life; disobeying to unhealth, death. Really knowing and believing God's promises (meditating on them, e.g. puritans, old 'promise boxes') leads to confort, contentment, confidence, lack of anxiety. Definition of Christian: people who acknowledge and live under God's word. His word rules, makes things happen, determines world events, personal events.
Ch 12 (The Love of God) major theme: "God is love" (1 Jn 4:8,16) is one of the most tremendous (and misunderstood) utterances in the Bible. Paul says "the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Rom 5:5). The phrase 'shed abroad' means literally poured, dumped, flooded, implying free flow and large quantity, in fact, inundation. The tense is perfect, implying a 'settled state consequent upon a completed action.' This is given to ALL Christians, unlike tongues or healing (tho these latter 'extraordinary, sporadic, nonuniversal ministries of the Spirit' have unfortunately taken the limelight away from 'the Spirit's ordinary work of giving peace, joy, hope and love, through the shedding abroad in our hearts of knowledge of the love of God' in recent times). Focusing on God's love as a revelation of His own inner nature, Packer says, 'will lead us as deep into the mystery of God's nature as the human mind can go, deeper than any of our previous studies have taken us" (119, His heart, v. mind, power, word). "'God is love' is not the complete truth about God so far as the Bible is concerned [e.g. justice, holiness, judgement, punishment] ... [but it is] so far as the Christian is concerned" (120-2). Definition: God's love is an exercise of His goodness, toward sinners, individual sinners, identifying Himself with their welfare [incredibly, resolving that His own happiness shall be conditional upon ours! 125], expressed by the gift is His Son to be their Savior, reaching its objective as it brings sinners to know and enjoy Him in a covenant relation. He closes with a call to be thankful for God's love and to examine our own response to it.
Ch 13 (The Grace of God) major theme: We give lip-service to God's grace, but often don't seem to respond properly with heartfelt thanks and cheerful good works. We are often reminded (and agree) that grace (Greek charis or cari") and love (Greek agape or agaph) are personal (not impersonal) forces in our lives and that these very words were in NT times "a wholly Christian usage, expressing a notion of spontaneous, self-determined kindness which was previously quite unknown to Greco-Roman ethics and theology ... and yet ... there do not seem to be many in our churches who actually believe in [them]" (128, i.e. practical atheists). Pagans have always resisted these ideas; Paul fought the Judaizers, Augustine the Pelagians (said men as free agents can do good with their rational minds and goodwill, unassisted by grace, i.e. "be all you can be" v. "just as I am without one plea"), the Reformers scholasticism and we must continue to battle "Romanizing and Pelagianizing doctrines" today. We talk of grace and love, yet our conceptions of them 'do not touch our experience at all,' we react with "deferential blankness" (i.e. not denying, but feeling its beyond us, and in any case we don't need it at our stage of life). What blocks our proper response to God's grace is our failure to appreciate (in our hearts) 4 crucial truths: 1) the moral ill-desert of man ('man is basically good') 2) the retributive justice of God (seems so vindictive, intolerant) 3) the spiritual impotence of man (v. Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People approach of 'putting people [and God] in a position where they cannot decently say no') 4) the sovereign freedom of God (He's not obliged to show grace). Grace/salvation are cause/effect. The NT "sets forth the grace of God in 3 particular connections" (all effects of grace) 1) the source of the pardon of sin, or justification 2) the motive of God's plan of salvation (not accidental, part of a bigger plan for the universe, not just personal future fire insurance, but personal/worldwide regeneration in progress NOW) 3) the guarantee of the perseverance (preservation) of the saints (God does the heavy lifting, not really up to us, grace gives us faith AND keeps us faithful). Considering God's amazing grace, our response should be heartfelt gratitude and (far from encouraging moral laxity) cheerful good works ("NT doctrine is grace, ethics is gratitude").
Ch 14 (God the Judge) major theme: Contrary to modern left-liberal touchy-feely images of a tolerant and fuzzy god (finding a judgmental god 'repellent and unworthy'), the true God (in Christ) WILL judge every human being according to the 'inescapable moral law of creation' (retribution; virtue rewarded, vice punished). Packer opens with a bevy of Scripture passages citing God as judge of sinners in both OT and NT. He notes "people who do not actually read the Bible confidently assure us that when we move from the OT to the NT, the theme of divine judgment fades into the background. But if we examine the NT ... we find ... that the OT emphasis on God's action as Judge, far from being reduced, is actually intensified" (140). The 4 characteristics of God as Judge are authority, goodness and rightness, wisdom and discernment, power to execute sentence (unlike modern separation of powers, God is Lawgiver, Judge (jury), Executive (executioner)). It is God's nature to reward virtue and punish vice, i.e. to exact retribution. Both Christians and non-Christians will be punished or rewarded according to their works (Rom. 2:6-11, though the former will be spared hell through justification by faith in Christ). Packer mentions the famous gangster's statement "there ain't no justice" and agrees that, on earth, justice is often imperfect, sometimes blatantly so. But God's perfect judgment will eventually make all things right. The modern idea that God as judge is somehow unworthy is warped. The truth is that God's judgment displays His moral perfection. How could indifference to right/wrong be good or admirable (e.g. like modern relativism, multiculturalism, anything goes 'tolerance')? The main thrust of God's Judgment shouldn't be as a 'bogey' to scare people into outward conformity, but as 'a revelation of the moral character of God, and an imparting of moral significance to human life' (143-4, also meaning, purpose, teleology, not random or eternal good/evil struggle). Jesus Christ is God's agent in judgment. The significance of works is as an index (or proxy) of the Heart. Free forgiveness and judgment according to works are reconciled at I Cor 3:12-5, which states believers will be spared hell but "suffer loss" if they lack good works. Connected to this is the idea that to whom much is given (e.g. knowledge, resources), much will be required (works, results, Luke 12:47-8). Knowledge of God's judgment should cause us to seek Him as Savior before meeting Him as Judge. Running from Him is futile and produces (justified) fear, seeking Him as Savior is effective and produces joyous anticipation of meeting Him ("no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" Rom 8:1).
Ch 15 (The Wrath of God) major theme: moderns usually don't like/understand this topic (even Christians), offends sensibilities, but we NEED to. The Bible is full of refs to it, uninhibited (unlike us). The word "wrath" is old English. We tend to associate "wrath" with unworthiness, loss of self-control, outburst or "seeing red," irrational, rage of conscious impotence, wounded pride, bad temper, cruelty. But remember, although the Bible uses anthropomorphic language to help us understand God (and because we ARE made in His image, so in SOME ways He IS like us, or rather we are like Him), He shares NONE of our weaknesses. So God's wrath is never foolish, impulsive, immoral, capricious, self-indulgent, irritable, ignoble they way human wrath normally is. Cruelty is immoral and involves unfair, undeserved ("wanton, irresponsible") pain. But God's wrath is 1) judicial (just, measured) and 2) chosen by recipients (they're not victims, they brought it on themselves, actively rejected God, Jn 3:18-9, e.g. Adam/Eve tried to hide from God). Romans exhibits the meaning (moral perfection, necessary consequence), revelation (i.e. personal, societal degradation, God "gives them over" to vice) and deliverance from God's wrath. We shouldn't be "cheerful, tearless" over God's wrath to unbelievers (should love, seek rescue). If we don't understand His wrath, we won't understand salvation, propitiation, redemptive love, the hand of God in history and His present dealings with us (individually, communally), Revelation, things to come, the urgency of evangelism (Jude 23). A. W. Pink says we need to meditate on God's wrath because 1) we naturally tend to downplay sin, need to realize its heinousness 2) to develop godly fear 3) to develop fervent praise. "Our readiness or our reluctancy to meditate upon the wrath of God becomes a sure test of how our hearts really stand affected towards Him."
Ch 16 (Goodness and Severity) major theme: God is good AND severe (after patience). "Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God" (Rom. 11:22). Why have many (most) modern people become so muddled in their thinking about God? 4 answers: They 1) have gotten used to following private religious hunches rather than consulting God's Word 2) think of all religions as basically equal and equivalent 3) no longer acknowledge sin (theirs or generally) 4) are in the habit of disassociating (God's) goodness from severity (Santa Claus theology) [these are all symptoms of liberalism]. These errors started with 19C German theologians, but have "infected modern Western Protestantism ... Modern Protestants are not going to give up their 'enlightened' adherence to the doctrine of a celestial Santa Claus merely because a [Emil] Brunner or a [Reinhold or Richard?] Niebuhr suspects this is not the whole story" (159-60). They refuse to acknowledge "that God's attitude to me is affected by whether or not I do what He says" (160, "old-fashioned, Victorian, Puritan, sub-Christian"). But this Santa Clause thinking contains "the seeds of its own collapse, for it cannot cope with the fact of evil. It is no accident that when belief in the 'good God' of liberalism became widespread, about the turn of the 20th century, the so-called problem of evil (which was not regarded as a problem before) suddenly leaped into prominence as the #1 concern of Christian apologetics ... it is not possible to see the good will of a heavenly Santa Claus in heart-breaking and destructive things like cruelty ... [so instead they] deny that He has any direct relation to them or control over them; ... deny His omnipotence and lordship over His world ... Here, then, is one of the religious By-Path Meadows of our day, leading (as in one way or another they all do) into the land of Doubting Castle and Giant Despair" (160-1, Pilgrim's Progress terms). God's goodness is comprised of His truthfulness, trustworthiness, justice, wisdom, tenderness, patience, adequacy (e.g. Psalm 18), noble kindness, but especially His generosity ("the focal point of God's moral perfection" 162, its how and why we enjoy the others). Packer speaks of common v. special grace. "God is good to all in some ways and to some in all ways" (162). Psalm 145 hails God's generosity. In Psalm 107 ("the classical exposition of God's goodness" 163), the psalmist gives 4 examples: 1) God redeems the helpless from their enemies and leads them from barrenness to a home 2) God delivers from (God-imposed due to rebellion) darkness 3) God heals (God-imposed to chasten 'fools') disease 4) God stills stormy seas. God's severity means (e.g. Rom. 11:22) "cutting off" or "decisive withdrawal of His goodness from those who have spurned it" (163). "Behind every display of divine goodness stands a threat of severity in judgment if that goodness is scorned" (164). Our response is IMPORTANT! Fortunately, "the Bible makes much of the patience and forbearance of God" (165). Here are 3 thoughts on our proper response: we should appreciate God's 1) goodness 2) patience 3) discipline (i.e. punishment to keep us in line).
Ch 17 (The Jealous God) major theme: God IS jealous, but not in a negative human way. We would not have attributed this trait to God in our minds, but God reveals this aspect of His nature clearly in Scripture. The 1rst and 2nd commandments (No other gods before Me, No graven images) emphasize God's jealous nature. The Bible even says "the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God" (Ex 34:14). Many references to God's jealousy. We must remember 2 facts: Biblical statements about God's jealousy are antropomorphisms, so God's jealousy is not the "compound of frustration, envy and spite [and control freakism that] human jealousy so often is" (170) 2) there are 2 sorts (or aspects) of jealousy among humans, and only one of them is a vice (i.e. associated with humans only, not God). Vicious jealousy says "I want what you have, and I hate you for having it" (170, envy, malice, meanness, madness). Zealousness, on the other hand, seeks to "protect a love relationship or to avenge it when broken" (170). "OT law recognized the propiety of such jealousy" (Num. 5:11-31). Here Scripture treats the husband's jealousy, i.e. "his resolve to guard his marriage against attack, and to take action against anyone who violates it, as natural, normal and right, and as proof that he values marriage as he should" (170). Calvin emphasized that God views us as a righteous husband views his wife. God's jealousy presupposes His covenant love, and is not transitory, accidental, or aimless (as human love often is), but the expression of sovereign purpose. His goals are to "have a people on earth as long as history lasts, and after that [to] have all his faithful ones of every age with Him in glory. Covenant love is the heart of God's plan for His world" (172). God's ultimate objective is 3-fold: "to vindicate His rule and righteousness by showing His sovereignty in judgement upon sin; to ransom and redeem His chosen people; and to be loved and praised by them for His glorious acts of love and self-vindication" (172). His jealousy leads Him to 1) destroy the faithless and 2) restore the contrite after punishment (chastened, humbled). Is. 42:8 is the "quintessence of God's jealousy. God's jealousy requires our zealous response. Zeal is single-minded, come-what-may, stand-for-God, striving to please Him alone. Caring nothing for live/die, health/sickness, rich/poor, pleases/offends man, thought wise/foolish by man, human blame/praise, human honor/shame, but only to please God. Do we measure up as individuals, churches, the 'Body'? Beware the example of Laodicea (Rev 3), which was lukewarm, and therefore "spewed out of God's mouth" (174). Its possible to be "sound, respectable - and lukewarm" (175).
III. If God Be For Us...
Ch 18 (The Heart of the Gospel, 20pp, earlier ch's mostly 10pp) major theme: propitiation, or "making favorable" (propitious) our relationship to God, covering sin (expiation) AND averting God's wrath. Unlike God, pagan (i.e. man-made) gods are capricious, arbitrary, bad-tempered, have conceited anger (like Hollywood stars :) ). Paganism is "callous commercialism ... managing and manipulating your gods by cunning bribery" (180). But both demand sacrifice for propitiation. The 4 NT occurrences of the word "propitiation" related to 1) God's rationale for justifying sinners (to show His righteousness, Rom 3:21-6) 2) the rationale of the Incarnation (needed a merciful and faithful High Priest, Heb 2:17), 3) Jesus' heavenly ministry (our advocate, 1 Jn 2:1-2), 4) John's definition of God's love (willing to do needed propitiation Himself, 1 Jn 4:8-10). Many liberals (e.g. 20C C. H. Dodd, orig. 16C Unitarian Socinus, then 19C Albrecht Ritschl, "a founder of German liberalism" 182) have tried to interpret God's wrath in an impersonal "cosmic" way (break the rules, consequences, like gravity) because the idea of an angry God offends their sensibilities. But this reduces God to a mushy nice-guy liberal who downplays the importance of justice. We must remember, however, that God's anger is righteous and therefore NOT like most human anger we observe (limits of anthropomorphism theme again). 3 important facts about propitiation are 1) God initiates, not man or even Jesus (unlike paganism where man initiates, hoping to appease gods) 2) accomplished by the BLOOD of Jesus (born to die, crucicentrism, not just a nice-guy, prophet, wise moral leader, His death/res. is KEY, 3) shows God's righteousness (He cares about justice, perfection, ...). The gospel solves primarily man's broken relation with God, but also secondarily his relation to other people (liberals like to stress the latter, but forget/downplay the former, thereby losing the key gospel message). The truth of propitiation helps us understand 1) the driving force of Jesus' life (born to die) 2) the destiny of those who reject God (forsaken) 3) God's gift of peace (not ease/comfort, but power to face our own badness and providential bad fortune) 4) the dimensions of God's love (Eph 3:18-9, wide, deep, long, i.e. infinite), 5) the meaning of God's glory (should lead to endless praise). The important OT ritual of Yom Kippur relates to propitiation; 2 goats, 1 killed, 1 "scapegoat" (let go in wilderness, signifying God will delay justice for another year, looking toward Christ).
Ch 19 (Sons of God, 29pp) major theme: adoption. Not all people are children of God, sounds intolerant, non-inclusive, even nasty (to the the same liberal mindset that chaffs at God's 'anger'), but so says the Bible. OT stresses God's holiness ("holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty" Is 6:3), NT stresses God as our Father. Some complain that those with bad/no earthly fathers can't appreciate this, but 1) noting a failure points to an implicit ideal 2) God reveals it in the NT (esp. John and 1 John), not just in our personal lives. God's fatherhood of Jesus (and us) implies His 1) authority over us 2) affection toward us 3) fellowship with us 4) honor (exulting) of Jesus/us. Adoption is 1) "the highest privilege that the gospel offers" (206). Seems controversial at first, since we tend to focus on justification, which is indeed primary and fundamental, but obviously legal pardon, friendship, sonship are in rising order of significance in relationship. Adoption is 2) the basis for our entire lives. The Sermon on the Mount is often called the "charter of God's kingdom" (Packer: "the royal family code" 210). Adoption is the basis of 1) Christian conduct 2) Christian Prayer 3) the Life of Faith. Under conduct are subpoints a) imitating b) glorifying c) pleasing the Father. Under prayer are subpoints a) not impersonal, mechanical, manipulative (Mt 6:7-8) b) free and bold. The key to the life of faith is trust; be faithful and let the cards fall where they may. Packer likes the NT summary adoption through propitiation. Adoption sheds light on 1) the greatness of God's love 2) the glory of the Christian hope 3) the ministry of the Holy Spirit; 3 points: reminds us of a) our sonship b) God's fatherhood c) our proper response to 'walk worthy' (and helps us do it). Don't worry about 'feelings and experiences,' rather focus on the fact of our adoption, 4) the meaning and motives of 'gospel holiness,' so called by Puritans v. legal holiness of outward forms only, a) live up to sonship b) motive is response to God's love, Puritans stressed pardon, but not adoption quite enough, we keep the law not just to escape punishment but to please our Father, 5) assurance a) sonship is permanent b) God wants us to be assured. James Denney: "whereas assurance is a sin in Romanism, and a duty in much of Protestantism, in the NT it is simply a fact" (225). We're assured by the Spirit and by evidence in our lives; we know the gospel, trust Christ, bring forth "works meet for repentance" and manifest the instincts of a regenerate person. But this assurance is "more easily conceived than described ... more easily felt than tell't" (227). "The Romanists were wrong: viewed in the light of adoption and the fatherhood of God, their denial of both preservation and assurance becomes a ludicrous monstrosity ... The Wesleyan and Lutheran (but not by Luther himself) denial of preservation is similarly mistaken ... The Reformers and Wesley were right to say that assurance is integral to faith; the Puritans, however, were also right to lay more stress than either on the fact that Christians who grieve the Spirit by sin, and who fail to seek God with all their heart, must expect to miss the full fruition [of assurance, tho they don't cease being sons, think of misbehaving children of good parents]" (227-8). If you don't feel assured, examine your walk! Strangely, the truth of adoption hasn't received much coverage in Christian history (other than 19C R. S. Candlish The Fatherhood of God and R. A. Webb The Reformed Doctrine of Adoption). We should think of ourselves as the King's sons and say "I must talk to the Father about this" (like Methodist Billy Bray, 228). Our creed should be I am a child of God. God is my Father; heaven is my home; every day is one day nearer. My Savior is my brother; every Christian is my brother too. "This is the Christian's secret of - a happy life? - yes, certainly, but [higher and more profoundly] of a Christian life, and of a God-honoring life" (228).
Ch 20 (Thou Our Guide, 12pp) major theme: How do we know God's will for our lives? "To many Christians, guidance is a chronic problem. Why? Not because they doubt that divine guidance is a fact [although this king of doubt has increased in our day outside and even inside the church] ... [but] because they are not certain of their own receptiveness to the guidance God offers" (230-1). He quotes the great hymn Guide me, O thou great Jehovah, Pilgrim through this barren land; I am weak, but Thou are mighty, Hold me with Thy powerful hand: Bread of heaven Feed me now and evermore. Two foundation facts: 1) God has a plan (for us and the world) and 2) God is willing and able to communicate that plan to us. Scripture includes cases of direct and detailed guidance (Acts 8:26,29, 10:19-20, 13:2, 16:6-10, 18:9-10), and also many promises of divine guidance (Ps 32:8, Is 58:11, Ps 25, Pr 3:6, Col 1:9, 4:12, Jam 1:5, Rom 12:2). Finally, "other lines of biblical truth" that confirm this are 1) God will guide his sons (Mt 7:11) 2) Scripture is profitable for guidance (2 Tim 3:16-7) 3) the Holy Spirit will guide (1 Jn 2:20,27) 4) God's glory is at stake (He has an incentive to guide us well, Ps 23:3). But a basic mistake many make is to look for "inward prompting of the Holy Spirit, apart from the written Word" (234). A root of this mistake is in thinking all decisions are "vocational" ones; meaning a) they can't be resolved by the Bible (i.e. either way is fine morally) b) we therefore need to fall back on "God-given prompting and [inward] inclination" (234). But don't forget that NOT ALL decisions are of this type; i.e. many CAN be resolved by seeking biblical counsel (on one end of the spectrum) and many others by common sense, rational thought, using our minds (on the other end). The Quaker (i.e. "inner light"-guided) Hannah Whitall Smith (Keswick movement, The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life) wrote of this problem in her "fanaticism papers" (published posthumously by Ray Strachey, first as Religious Fanaticism in 1928, then as Group Movements of the Past and Experiments in Guidance in 1934). As we study the Scriptures, pray and live among fellow Christians, our lives become shaped by "the instilling of the basic convictions, attitudes, ideals and value judgments ... not a matter of inward promptings apart from the Word but of the pressure on our consciences of the portrayal of God's character and will in the Word, which the Spirit enlightens us to understand and apply to ourselves" (236). i.e. As we get to know God, His personality, characteristics, attributes, likes, dislikes, ways, ... we get better at making decisions that will honor Him. 6 common pitfalls: unwillingness to 1) think 2) think ahead 3) take advice 4) suspect oneself 5) beware of personal magnetism 6) wait on God. If we run into trouble, examine yourself first. But it may be God's doing, since the Bible has many cases of God using troubles and hardships to refine, accomplish His plan (e.g. Jonah, Job, Israelites escaping from Egypt, disciples at sea in bad weather, and the life Jesus Himself, "man of sorrows." Finally, if we mess up, the damage is never irrevocable. God is always able to rescue, redeem, restore, bring good out of bad. God not only shows us the way, but will make sure that "whatever mistakes we may make, we shall come safely home."
Ch 21 (These Inward Trials, 10pp) major theme: cruelty of a popular evangelical teaching; the "health and wealth" gospel. Although often wrapped in orthodoxy (i.e. acceptance of Bible, justification by faith, new birth in Spirit, new life in power of Christ's resurrection), this false application of the gospel overpromises; guidance, self-fulfillment, heart's desire. Downplays the "rougher side of the Christian life - the daily chastening, the endless war with sin and Satan, the periodic walk in darkness - ... give[s] the impression that normal Christian living is a perfect bed of roses ... [that] the world, the flesh and the devil [repeated phrase of 3-fold threat] will give us no serious trouble once we are Christians" (244-5). While we can also err on the gloomy side, that's less damaging (happily surprised, v. bitter disillusionment when they find "longstanding problems of temperament, of personal relationships, of felt wants, of nagging temptations are still there - sometimes [even] intensified ... Dissatisfaction recurs over wife, or husband, or parents, or in-laws, or children, or colleagues or neighbors" 246). This cruelty is not prompted by malice, but "irresponsible kindness" (245), we might say false advertising. God goes easy on young Christians, but later He allows greater challenges to promote growth. This false idea can also stunt Christian growth, since it sees all problems as caused by sin (possible, of course, but not always the case), leading to paralyzing introspection and encouraging Christians to revert to the happy, carefree childish state, actually working at cross-purposes with God's plan, yielding at best "childish, grinning, irresponsible, self-absorbed ... evangelical adults ... [or at worst] morbid introspection, hysteria, mental breakdown and loss of faith, at any rate in its evangelical form" (248). This teaching fails to grasp sanctification, Christian warfare, indwelling Spirit, life of earth v. in heaven, the psychology of Christian obedience (Spirit-prompted activity, not passivity 249), in short "it loses sight of the method and purpose of grace" (249). The method is God's [molding] work in our lives, the purpose is restoration of our relationship to God, leading to our love, trust, delight, hope, obedience (i.e. fellowship). God's grace operates not by shielding us from world/flesh/devil, nor from our temperament, psychology, but by exposing us to these challenges to grow our faith in Him. There are many examples in the Bible of human failings followed by God's restoration, a basic theme. The Bible emphasizes God as our rock, firm defense, sure refuge, help for weak to remind us to trust Him, not ourselves.
Ch 22 (The Adequacy of God, 25pp) major theme: Romans is the high peak of Scripture, Romans 8 of Romans. "All roads in the Bible lead to Romans, and all views afforded by the Bible are seen most clearly from Romans" (253). Romans can be read as a (the) book about doctrine, life, church, God's personal letter to each of us. You can only fully appreciate Romans if you struggle with it (as Luther did, e.g. helicopter to Mt. Everest, won't apprciate like a hiker). It gives comfort (not tranquilize, enervate [self-indulgent, sentimental, unreal], but older sense of encourage, embolden). Rom. 1-3 is about lost and helpless sinners, 4-5 trust God, 6-7 "jihad" (struggle for holiness), 8 rescues us from despair as we try but fail to live rightly. 4 gifts: status of righteousness, dynamic of Holy Spirit, ID of sonship, safe conduct of security. First part of Rom 8 is about "the adequacy of the grace of God," second part is about "the adequacy of the God of grace" and our response. Paul wants us to respond with "evangelical" v. "emotional" thinking; i.e. focus on God's power and not on our problems (we had a long discusion on our "therapeutic" society, me-centered, feelings-oriented, faith [coal] into fact [engine], not feelings [caboose]). Paul ponders our proper response with 4 more questions (3 "for us" 1 conclusion); 1) if God is for us, who can be against us? 2) Will He who did not spare His own Son for us not give us all things? 3) Since it is God who justifies (for us), who will bring any charge against us? 4) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? i.e. God is our sovereign protector, benefactor, champion, keeper. On Q1, the true believer (whom God is "for") is marked by the facts that he praises, prays, pays (i.e. vows of faithfulness and thanksgiving 262-3 Ps 56). On 2nd question, we observe the costliness, effectiveness, consequences of our redemption and that God "calls, justifies, glorifies" (repeated triad) his chosen. These are connected, so forget Arminianism and draw comfort from Calvinistic "perseverance of Saints." On the 2nd, Packer comments that if "following Christ mean[t] the loss of things worth having, uncompensated by any corresponding gain ... would make Christian discipleship, like the Roundheads in 1066 and All That 'right but repulsive'" (266).
Also on 2nd question, Packer goes into a long critique of "implications for our lifestyle." Packer argues that right living is made "abundantly clear" in the Gospels: "You are called to go through this world as a pilgrim, a mere temporary resident, traveling light, and willing, as Christ directs, to do what the rich young ruler refused to do: give up material wealth and the security it provides and live in a way that involves you in poverty and loss of possessions. Having your treasure in heaven, you are not to budget for treasure on earth, nor for a high standard of living - you may well be required to forego both. You are called to follow Christ, carrying your cross" (268). Hmmm, not that easy or clear, Job, David, Solomon ... were rich and successful, so God is not anti-wealth, although certainly we are to value Him higher than wealth or anything else and He may call some to poverty. We must "renounce all future expectations from society and learn to take it as a matter of course if the people around you give you the cold shoulder and view you with contempt and disgust" (268-9). e.g. as leftists typically view the "religious right." But "look at the churches. Observe the shortage of ministers and missionaries, especially men; the luxury goods in Christian homes; the fund-raising problems of Christian societies; the readiness of Christians in all walks of life to grumble about their salaries; the lack of concern for the old and lonely and for anyone outside the circle of 'sound believers' ... conventional and static ... [v.] exuberant, unconventional and unihibited ... Whence comes the nervous, dithery, take-no-risks mood that mars so much of our discipleship?" (269, sounds like Sider et al!? Is Packer not a secure, tenured professor!?). I'd respond that knowledge of human error and evil, well-intentioned but bad ideas should temper our enthusiasm for "fresh and new" as opposed to "tried and true." Many things sound nice, but don't work (and are evil, e.g. communism, socialism, communitarianism, leftism, hippies, left-liberalism ...) so self-doubt can be healthy (e.g. caution re: human motives, ignorance). Packer says its because we fear our own lack of strength and resolve, but I don't think thats the whole story (certainly part of it). Beware e.g. disincentivizing, dependancy, corruption of welfare. If you jump off a cliff, you'll be crushed. Did you lack faith or was it mere stupidity!
On Q4, Paul emphasizes God as our keeper and end, countering fear of e.g. unprecedented suffering (Rom 8:35-6), a horrific future, of cosmic forces unmeasurable, unmasterable (v39), of a fear "overwhelming both reason and faith and so destroying sanity and salvation together. In an age like ours ... all Christians, especially the more imaginative, know something of this fear. It is the Christian version of the existentialist angst at the prospect of personal destruction" (276). But Paul says this fear is unjustified, for "we are more than conquerors" and "nothing can separate us from the love of Christ." We discussed the common secular criticism of Christians that they give short-shrift to despair, brokenness, depression ... but don't these indicate a lack of faith? Is true despair possible for a Christian? (FT reference to the "still sad song of unbelief").
As we studied this book, "we learned to reevaluate ourselves as fallen creatures, not strong and self-sufficient as we once supposed, but weak, foolish and indeed bad, heading not for Utopia but for hell unless grace intervenes" (277, again reinforcing need for tried and true v. fresh and new). "Knowing God involves faith - assent, consent, commitment - and faith expresses itself in prayer and obedience" (278). When we recognize our utter dependence upon God, "we may say with Habakkuk in [the] face of economic ruin or any other deprivation: 'Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength" (Hab 3:17-9, though I'll certainly TRY to avoid these deprivations). We can see that, in the last analysis, the Christian life is "victory" and "Jesus satisfies" ("More than conquerors" Rom 8:37). We need to "get our life's priorities straight. From current Christian publications, you might think that the most vital issues ... [are] church union, social witness, dialogue with other Christians and other faiths, refuting this or that ism, developing a Christian philosophy and culture ... [but while these are OK] in their place ... the true priority for every human being [is] learning to know God in Christ" (279, Ps 27:8).
Since the Puritans had such a great impact in both British history (esp. 17C) and America's Christian founding, and since Packer is a big fan of the Puritans and mentions them often in this book (and has another book devoted to them), here's a 2-page spread on them from Christian History magazine.