Inspirational Quotes by J.I. Packer
“In our life: Do we apply the authority of the Bible and live by the Bible, whatever anyone may say against it, recognizing that God’s Word cannot but be true, and that what God has said he certainly means, and he will stand behind it? If not, we dishonor the Holy Spirit, who gave us the Bible.”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
“We cannot work these thoughts out here, but merely to mention them is enough to show how much it means to know not merely that we know God, but that he knows us.”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
“A third answer is that people have ceased to recognize the reality of their own sinfulness, which imparts a degree of perversity and enmity against God to all that they think and do; it is our task to try to introduce people to this fact about themselves and so make them self-distrustful and open to correction by the word of Christ. A”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
“The joy and general sense of well-being that often (but not always) goes with being “in love” can easily silence conscience and inhibit critical thinking. How often people say that they “feel led” to get married (and probably they will say “the Lord has so clearly guided”), when all they are really describing is a particularly novel state of endocrine balance which makes them feel extremely sanguine and happy. (O. R. Barclay, Guidance, pp. 29-30)”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
“Sixth, unwillingness to wait. “Wait on the Lord” is a constant refrain in the Psalms, and it is a necessary word, for God often keeps us waiting. He is not in such a hurry as we are, and it is not his way to give more light on the future than we need for action in the present, or to guide us more than one step at a time. When in doubt, do nothing, but continue to wait on God. When action is needed, light will come.”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
“The conviction behind the book is that 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.”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
“who can stand before the world to testify that they have known God.”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
“I simply had to bow in the knowledge that God was his own interpreter. . . . We must allow God to do what he wants to do. And if you are thinking that you know the will of God for your life and you are anxious to do that, you are probably in for a very rude awakening because nobody knows the will of God for his entire life. (Quoted from Eternity, January 1969, p. 18) This is right. Sooner or later, God’s guidance, which brings us out of darkness into light, will also bring us out of light into darkness. It is part of the way of the cross.”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
“This is part of the wonder of his gracious sovereignty. “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten. . . . You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you” (Joel 2:25-26).”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
“To the rest of us, down the ages, he testifies by illuminating: opening blinded eyes, restoring spiritual vision, enabling sinners to see that the gospel is indeed God’s truth, and Scripture is indeed God’s Word, and Christ is indeed God’s Son. “When he [the Spirit] comes,” our Lord promised, “he will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (Jn 16:8 RSV).”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
“After all, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and anyone who is actually following a recognised road will not be too worried if he hears non-travellers telling each other that no such road exists.”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
“How may we form a right idea of God’s greatness? The Bible teaches us two steps that we must take. The first is to remove from our thoughts of God limits that would make him small. The second is to compare him with powers and forces which we regard as great.”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
“You can cut yourself off from your fellow human beings, but you cannot get away from your Creator.”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
“Knowing about God is crucially important for the living of our lives.”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
“God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
“The words of human beings are unstable things. But not so the words of God. They stand forever, as abidingly valid expressions of his mind and thought. No circumstances prompt him to recall them; no changes in his own thinking require him to amend them. Isaiah writes, “All flesh is grass. . . . The grass withers. . . . But the word of our God will stand for ever” (Is 40:6-8 RSV). Similarly, the psalmist says, “Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. . . . All your commands are true. . . . You established them to last forever” (Ps 119:89, 151-52).”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
“Now, majesty is a word which the Bible uses to express the thought of the greatness of God, our Maker and our Lord. “The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty. . . . Your throne was established long ago” (Ps 93:1-2). “They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works” (Ps 145:5). Peter, recalling his vision of Christ’s royal glory at the transfiguration, says, “We were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Pet 1:16).”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
“One of two things causes a man to change his mind and reverse his plans: want of foresight to anticipate everything, or lack of foresight to execute them. But as God is both omniscient and omnipotent there is never any need for him to revise his decrees” (A. W. Pink). “The plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations” (Ps 33:11).”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
“Wisdom without power would be pathetic, a broken reed; power without wisdom would be merely frightening; but in God boundless wisdom and endless power are united, and this makes him utterly worthy of our fullest trust.”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
“The Christian’s instincts of trust and worship are stimulated very powerfully by knowledge of the greatness of God.”
― J.I. Packer ,
from Knowing God
Group of Brands
© 2026 Bibleportal.com All rights reserved.
Dr. Packer, the Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology at Regent College, was hailed by TIME as “a doctrinal Solomon” among Protestants. “Mediating debates on everything from a particular Bible translation to the acceptability of free-flowing Pentecostal spirituality, Packer helps unify a community [evange licalism] that could easily fall victim to its internal tensions.”
Knowing God, Dr. Packer’s seminal 1973 work, was lauded as a book which articulated shared beliefs for members of diverse denominations; the TIME profile quotes Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington as saying, “conservative Methodists and Presbyterians and Baptists could all look to [Knowing God] and say, ‘This sums it all up for us.’”
In a similar tribute to Dr. Packer almost ten years ago, American theologian Mark Noll wrote in Christianity Today that, “Packer’s ability to address immensely important subjects in crisp, succinct sentences is one of the reasons why, both as an author and speaker, he has played such an important role among American evangelicals for four decades.”
For over 25 years Regent College students have been privileged to study under Dr. Packer’s clear and lucid teaching, and our faculty, staff and students celebrate the international recognition he rightly receives as a leading Christian thinker and teacher.
(http://www.regent-college.edu/about_r...http://www.regent-college.edu/about_r...)