Knowing God Review: J. I. Packer on the Joy of Truly Knowing Him

Knowing About God vs. Knowing God

J. I. Packer opens Knowing God with a question that pierces modern Christianity:
Do you know God — or do you just know about Him?

“A little knowledge of God is worth more than a great deal of knowledge about Him.”

He explains that many believers today study theology, attend church, and memorize doctrines —
yet remain strangers to God’s heart.
Information has replaced intimacy.

True knowledge of God, Packer says, is relational, not theoretical.
It’s like the difference between knowing about the king from books
and being invited to dine with the king himself.

“We are not meant to be students of God, but children of God.”

To know God is to engage with Him —
to walk, talk, listen, and love in daily fellowship.
That relationship transforms not only what we believe,
but who we become.

The Purpose of Knowing God

Packer grounds his argument in Scripture:

“Let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know Me.” — Jeremiah 9:24

Knowing God, he says, isn’t a religious luxury — it’s life’s central purpose.
It defines identity, direction, and destiny.

“What were we made for? To know God.
What aim should we set ourselves in life? To know God.”

He warns that religion without relationship becomes dry moralism.
When knowledge is detached from affection, it becomes pride;
when affection is detached from knowledge, it becomes superstition.

True Christianity holds both: the mind and the heart bowing together.

“Ignorance of God — ignorance both of His ways and of the practice of communion with Him — lies at the root of much of the church’s weakness today.”

The Majesty of God

In one of the most memorable sections, Packer restores a forgotten virtue: reverence.
He laments that modern faith often treats God casually —
as a friend, yes, but not as the King of glory.

“The Christian mind has lapsed into a secular frame of reference. The sense of God’s majesty has been lost.”

He describes how a true knowledge of God produces both humility and confidence:
humility, because we are small before His greatness;
confidence, because that greatness is now for us, not against us.

“There is no peace like the peace of those whose minds are possessed with full assurance that they have known God.”

The fear of the Lord, then, is not terror — it’s awed delight.
It is realizing that the infinite God stoops to call us by name.

The Love and Grace of God

Packer moves from God’s majesty to His mercy —
from power to compassion.

“God loves not because we are lovable, but because He is love.”

He warns against defining God’s love sentimentally.
Divine love is holy — it seeks our transformation, not our comfort.
It’s not permissive affection; it’s purifying grace.

“To know God’s love is to be changed by it — to find security in the unchanging affection of a perfect Father.”

He emphasizes that grace is not God’s tolerance of sin,
but His relentless pursuit of sinners.
Grace is costly — paid in the blood of Christ —
and therefore, infinitely precious.

“The grace of God is love freely shown toward guilty sinners, contrary to their merit and indeed in defiance of their demerit.”

Knowing this grace, Packer says, should make the Christian both humble and bold —
humble because we deserved nothing,
bold because we now lack nothing.

The God Who Guides

Another key aspect of knowing God is trusting His guidance.
Packer argues that divine guidance is not mystical or vague —
it flows from relationship.

“God’s guidance is not a device for avoiding decisions; it is a relationship with the Guide.”

He distinguishes between two types of guidance:

General guidance through Scripture and wisdom,
Particular guidance through the Spirit’s prompting in specific situations.

The key, he says, is not trying to decode hidden signs from heaven,
but walking closely enough with God that His desires become ours.

“The closer we walk with God, the clearer His direction becomes.”

This section is deeply pastoral —
reminding readers that knowing God doesn’t exempt us from uncertainty,
but transforms how we move through it.

“Guidance, like all God’s acts of grace, is designed to make us more humble, not more proud.”

The Wisdom of God

J. I. Packer devotes an entire section to the wisdom of God, reminding readers that divine wisdom is not the same as human cleverness.

“Wisdom is the power to see and the inclination to choose the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it.”

Where we see fragments, God sees the full tapestry.
What looks like chaos in our lives often hides a deeper design.

Packer argues that human wisdom tries to control, while divine wisdom calls us to trust.
We want answers; God gives Himself.

“God’s wisdom is not a promise that we will understand everything,
but that everything is understood by Him.”

The test of faith, then, is whether we will lean on divine understanding
even when human understanding fails.

Like Job, we may not get explanations —
but we can rest in the character of the One who does not make mistakes.

“There is no peace like the peace of those who accept that they are not wise enough to manage their own lives.”

The Jealousy of God

Few attributes of God are as misunderstood as His jealousy.
Packer clarifies that divine jealousy is not insecurity — it is holy protectiveness.

“God’s jealousy is not the insecure resentment of rivals, but the fervent love of a husband for his bride.”

Just as a loving spouse resists infidelity,
so God resists anything that steals His people’s devotion.

Packer calls this “the jealousy of grace” —
a zeal that seeks our wholeness by reclaiming our hearts.

“He will not have His glory given to another, because His glory is our good.”

This divine jealousy is therefore comforting, not frightening.
It assures believers that God will not let them go —
that He fights for their affections and guards their faith.

“To be loved by a jealous God is to be loved too intensely to be left alone.”

Adoption and the Privilege of Sonship

One of the most moving chapters in Knowing God is Packer’s reflection on adoption.
He calls it the highest privilege the gospel offers — even greater than justification.

“To be right with God the Judge is a great thing; but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater.”

Justification changes our legal status; adoption changes our identity.
Through Christ, believers are not only forgiven — they are welcomed home.

“God takes us into His family and fellowship. He establishes us as His children and heirs. Closeness, affection, and generosity are at the heart of the relationship.”

This chapter has inspired countless Christians because it redefines what it means to belong.
Faith is not a transaction; it’s a transformation into family.

Packer urges readers to measure their spiritual maturity
not by knowledge or service,
but by how deeply they understand this truth: “I am a child of God.”

“If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of being God’s child.”

Knowing God Through Suffering

Packer does not shy away from the hardest question:
If God is good, why do His children suffer?

He answers with both realism and tenderness:
suffering is not a sign of divine neglect — it is often the context for divine revelation.

“The fellowship of His sufferings is not reserved for a few. It is the path to knowing Him more deeply.”

He draws from Scripture — from Paul’s imprisonment, Job’s trials, and Christ’s cross —
to show that pain, when received in faith, becomes a means of intimacy.

“God uses pain not to destroy our faith, but to detach it from everything that cannot save.”

For Packer, suffering is not a contradiction of God’s love;
it’s one of the languages through which that love speaks most clearly.

“The deepest lessons of trust, hope, and joy are learned not in sunshine, but in shadow.”

In suffering, believers move from knowing about God’s faithfulness
to experiencing it firsthand.

Knowing God Day by Day

Packer concludes this section with a reminder:
knowing God is not a one-time event — it’s a lifelong journey.

“There is a difference between knowing God and knowing about God. One can know a great deal about God without much knowledge of Him.”

Daily fellowship — through Scripture, prayer, obedience, and worship —
is how the relationship grows.

He compares it to marriage:
intimacy deepens not through grand gestures, but through steady companionship.

“Once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God, most of life’s problems fall into place of their own accord.”

The Joy and Assurance of Knowing God

In his final chapters, J. I. Packer turns from theology to testimony — from doctrine to delight.
He reminds readers that to know God is not merely to understand truth,
but to taste joy.

“Once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God, most of life’s problems fall into place of their own accord.”

Packer paints the Christian life not as an endless striving for perfection,
but as an unfolding friendship with the living God.

“Those who know God have great energy for God, great thoughts of God, great boldness for God, and great contentment in God.”

This fourfold description captures the heartbeat of mature faith:

1️⃣ Energy for God – a life moved by gratitude, not guilt.
2️⃣ Thoughts of God – a mind shaped by Scripture, not culture.
3️⃣ Boldness for God – courage rooted in conviction, not pride.
4️⃣ Contentment in God – peace that survives every storm.

“Knowing God is more than knowing about Him; it is a personal encounter that fills the heart with peace and the soul with praise.”

For Packer, the joy of knowing God is inseparable from the assurance of salvation.
We love because He first loved us,
and the more we know Him, the more impossible it becomes to doubt Him.

Assurance in a World of Uncertainty

Packer acknowledges that even the most devoted believers sometimes struggle with doubt.
His comfort is simple but profound:
the strength of faith lies not in the believer,
but in the faithfulness of God.

“Our security does not rest on our grip on God, but on His grip on us.”

He urges readers to anchor assurance not in fluctuating emotions,
but in the unchanging promises of Scripture.

The result is not arrogance, but peace —
a peace that frees us from fear and drives us toward worship.

“Those who know God never need to fear the future,
for they know the One who holds it.”

Reader Voices

“This book rekindled my faith — it made God feel real again.”

“Packer doesn’t just teach about God; he introduces you to Him.”

“Every chapter reminded me that theology is not cold logic, but the language of love.”

FAQ – About Knowing God

Q1: What is the main message of the book?
A: That the goal of life is not merely to learn about God, but to know Him personally and relationally through Christ.

Q2: Is it a theological or devotional book?
A: Both — it blends theology with heartfelt devotion, inviting readers to think deeply and love deeply.

Q3: Do I need a seminary background to understand it?
A: Not at all. Packer writes with clarity and warmth, making profound truths accessible to all believers.

Q4: How is this book different from other Christian classics?
A: It bridges doctrine and intimacy — showing that head knowledge without heart knowledge is incomplete.

Q5: What kind of reader will benefit most?
A: Anyone longing for a deeper, steadier, more joyful walk with God — beyond mere religion.

Walking in the Light of His Presence

Packer ends Knowing God where he began — with a call to relationship.
Theology, he reminds us, is not an academic exercise but an act of worship.