J.I. Packer was a titan of theology. A prolific writer and sought after professor, he faithfully served the church for over 70 years. In honour of his recent passing, here are Converge’s top 20 JI Packer quotes.
“Whatever else in the Bible catches your eye, do not let it distract you from Him.”
“There is nothing more irreligious than self-absorbed religion.”
“Any theology that does not lead to song is, at a fundamental level, a flawed theology.”
“To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater.”
“This one word ‘grace’ contains within itself the whole of the New Testament theology.”
“There are no small sins against a great God.”
“God made life, and God alone can tell us its meaning.”
“Knowing God is a relationship calculated to thrill a man’s heart.”
“I believe that prayer is the measure of the man, spiritually, in a way that nothing else is.”
“The Christian’s motto should not be ‘Let go and let God’ but ‘Trust God and get going.’”
“We never move on from the gospel; we move on in the gospel.”
“If you ask, ‘Why is this happening?’ no light may come, but if you ask, ‘How am I to glorify God now?’ there will always be an answer.”
“Calvary’s saving power does not depend on faith being added to it; its saving power is such that faith flows from it.”
“There’s a difference between knowing God and knowing about God. When you truly know God, you have energy to serve Him, boldness to share Him, and contentment in Him.”
“Trying to describe what I do in prayer would be like telling the world how I make love to my wife.”
“We are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it.”
“There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a contemplation of the Divinity. It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned in its infinity.”
“The Scriptures are the lifeline God throws us in order to ensure he and we stay connected while the rescue is in process.”
“The proper aim of preaching is to mediate meetings with God.”
“The traveler through the Bible landscape misses his way as soon as he loses sight of the hill called Calvary.”
