Eastside Baptist Church, Winfield, Alabama
Religion & Spirituality:Christianity
Knowing God by J. I. Packer
"God Only Wise" Chapter 9
“Wisdom is the power to see, and the inclination to choose, the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it.” – J. I. Packer
Wisdom: Ours and God’s
“Power is as much God’s essence as wisdom is. Omniscience governing omnipotence, infinite power ruled by infinite wisdom, is a basic biblical description of the divine character.” – J. I. Packer
“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
“And though we have fallen, God has not abandoned his first purpose. Still he plans that a great host of humankind should come to love and honor him. His ultimate objective is to bring them to a state in which they please him entirely and praise him adequately, a state in which he is all in all to them, and he and they rejoice continually in the knowledge of each other’s love—people rejoicing in the saving love of God, set upon them from all eternity, and God rejoicing in the responsive love of people, drawn out of them by grace through the gospel.” – J. I. Packer
God Dealing with His People
“Once again, we are confronted with the wisdom of God ordering the events of a human life for a double purpose: the individual’s own personal sanctification, and the fulfilling of his appointed ministry and service in the life of the people of God.” – J. I. Packer
Our Perplexing Trials
“Perhaps his purpose is simply to draw us closer to himself in conscious communion with him; for it is often the case, as all the saints know, that fellowship with the Father and the Son is most vivid and sweet, and Christian joy is greatest, when the cross is heaviest.” – J. I. Packer
“We may be frankly bewildered at things that happen to us, but God knows exactly what he is doing, and what he is after, in his handling of our affairs. Always, and in everything, he is wise: we shall see that hereafter, even where we never saw it here.” – J. I. Packer
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9)
“because of these surprisingly great revelations… in order to keep me from becoming conceited” (2 Cor. 12:7)
“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Cor. 12:9)
“Whatever further purpose a Christian’s troubles may or may not have in equipping him for future service, …they will have been sent us to make and keep us humble, and to give us a new opportunity of showing forth the power of Christ in our mortal lives. And do we ever need to know any more about them than that?” – J. I. Packer
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