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This book is in my top five of all-time significant books. I reread it occasionally and am constantly amazed at how much I believe, and how much of how I think, comes from this book. So many ideas about God that are central to my thinking have come from this book. At over a million sold, I am not alone.

Dr. Packer states, "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." As you work through the book you see that Dr. Packer is going through the primary characteristics of God, and in that sense the book is about theology proper: incarnation; immutability; majesty; wisdom; love; grace; wrath; etc. The final section is about our relationship to God.

However, these topics are not what made their impact on me. The heart of the book is contained in the title: Knowing God. The primary purpose of the book is not to teach you facts, but to call you to the urgency of a relationship with God that is intensely personal, one of knowing. The book will help you move beyond academic facts to a deeper realm of the knowledge of God. If you can only read one book this year, please read this one.

On a personal note, I was privileged to get to know Dr. Packer when we were both on the ESV translation team; he was the general editor. As you read his writings you get the feeling that he is a kind, gracious, loving, humble person that writes out of great academic training and great experience. That feeling is one hundred percent correct. He is just that kind of person.

		Purchase from ChristianBooks.com for $11.99 (as of 1.2.2008)
		Purchase from Amazon.com for $12.24 (as of 1.2.2008)

Publisher's description

J. I. Packer's Knowing God has become a classic of the Christian faith. Why? While it gives us information about God with clarity and grace, it does much more---it aids us in actually knowing him, in building our relationship with him, and helps draw us closer to him in love and worship. This 20th anniversary edition of Packer's classic has new Americanized text, reader-friendly type, and a new preface. Study guide not included.