This past week, the church celebrated the life of J.I Packer, who was called home to be with the Lord and left behind a body of work that blessed the church with his writings.
Among all the books and publications that he leaves behind, we’d like to recommend the following:
1. Knowing God
This is a great classic from 1973 and in this book, Packer lays out the difference between knowing things about God and knowing God Himself. This book deals with the theology of God, what He is like and therefore why He is worthy of our meditation.
Recommended for : All Christians who are seeking to know more about God. Often, we think that theology is best left to seminarians and pastors, but theology is just the study of God, and all Christians are called to study and know more about the God whom we follow. Packer writes clearly and leaves readers not only understanding a bit more about God, but also leads readers to worship the God who is all that He says He is, yet also gracious enough to reveal Himself to us.
A little knowledge of God is worth more than a great deal of knowledge about Him. … One can know a great deal about God without much knowledge of Him. … One can know a great deal about godliness without much knowledge of God.
2. English Standard Version (ESV), ESV Study Bible
Packer was the general editor for the ESV and also was a theological editor for the ESV Study Bible.
Recommended for: Anyone looking to read and study the Bible! The Study Bible not only provides information about the context of each book — both the historical context as well as the place of each book in the Bible’s storyline — but also has good summaries of key theological concepts. Issues about the canon of Scripture or doctrinal truths like the Trinity are also included!
3. God has spoken: Revelation and the Bible
Packer was engaging the critics in his day and through this book, outlined why the Bible is clear and authoritative.
Recommended for: It’s a bit more technical and could feel slightly dated because it was written to confront issues of his day. However, Packer outlines timeless truths about God’s word that we can still learn from and would still be insightful in our day!
"So for us: what brings joy is finding God's way, God's grace and God's fellowship through the Bible, even though again and again what the Bible says, that is, what God in the Bible tells us -- knocks us flat. Thus the joy of the Bible study is not the fun of collecting esoteric titbits about Gog and Magog, Tubal-cain and Methusaleh, Bible numerics and the beast, and so on; nor is the pleasure, intense for the tidy-minded, of analysing our translated text into preacher's pretty patterns, with neatly numbered headings held together by apt alliteration of artful aid. Rather, it is the deep contentment that comes of communing with the living Lord into whose presence the Bible takes us -- a joy which only His own true disciples know.”