Knowing God Book Study, Part I

Knowing God Book Study, Part I

I apologize for the tardiness of this post. I have been upgrading to satellite internet at the Blake house and I did not realize it was an all day ordeal to do that. I pray that you have found the reading assignment challenging and rewarding at the same time. Remember, anything worthwile for your growth as a believer will require a little work on your behalf.


1993 Preface
I know that you may usually skip the preface, but reading it is a great way to understand the heart of the writer. Packer tells us in the preface that the editor who commissioned the original articles that became Knowing God wanted something for, “readers who were fed up with facile Christian verbiage” (Simplistic or too simple explanations). In effect, Packer was told to write for people who wanted to dive below the surface and see the glories that resided in the deeper waters of the Christian faith. This approach is for people who take Hebrews 6:1 seriously (Go ahead and read that now if you would).

Some of the things he brought out in the preface were the difference in our Christian life of being a balconeer and a traveler. I wonder which group predominantly describes you. I would say I was mainly an observer early on in my faith, musing on questions of not great consequence, leaving the living out of the faith the more mature believers. I pray now that for the most part I am beyond that and am a traveler.

He says on p.12 of my copy that the conviction behind this book is that the ignorance of God lies at the root of much of the churches weakness today. This has happened for two reasons: 1) Christian minds have conformed to the modern Spirit.(What do you think the modern Spirit is?) 2) Christian minds have been confused by modern skepticism.

My prayer at the outset is that you would be challenged like never before and move beyond the elementary teachings of the faith out into the deeper waters.

Chapter One

What do you think, is the proper study of mankind man, or is it as Spurgeon asserts, God? I love Charles Spurgeon and the opening sermon snippet in this chapter is one that we should not read over quickly. What do we as believers think most often about? Ourselves. What should we think most often about?

Ask yourself the following questions to aid you along in your study of Chapter One. Please understand that the goal of chapter one is to help us understand why it is necessary to Study God (theology), not just what God asks us to do.

1. Why is it necessary to study God in order to understand ourselves?

2. Have you ever thought that God is hard or impossible to know? What is Packer’s solution to this problem?

3. Packer claims that Christians know five basic things about God and says these should guide our study. Do you understand these five foundational truths? Are there any of them that you have questions about? Which ones and why?

4. What are the three basic themes of God that Packer will explain throughout? Put these themes into your own words and explain what they mean to you?

5. Why are you studying this book? Why do you want to know God? According to Packer, what should be our motives and our goal? What are some dangers we face?


For Next Week
I am sure this has given you plenty to think about. Please post some of your responses and your questions here in the comments section. Trust me, it will get easier just stay with it and the reward will be great. For next week, read chapter two and be ready to respond to how God spoke to you in that chapter.