“One of the greatest books I’ve ever read is J. I. Packer’s Knowing God. Knowing God came out in 1973, when Nanci and I were in our first year at Bible college. We read it right away. It was an instant classic.” - Randy Alcorn
“In the second chapter, Packer explains that divine sovereignty and human responsibility are not at odds with one another. They are an ‘antinomy,’ which he defines as a situation ‘when a pair of principles stand side by side, seemingly irreconcilable, yet both undeniable.’” - London Lyceum
“If you mention Packer’s name … you may hear, ‘Yes, I read his classic Knowing God, and it transformed my understanding of who God is.’ That was precisely Packer’s goal” - TGC
“If there’s to be a healthy next wave of evangelicalism, foundation stones will need to be set in place, or perhaps simply cleared and used again. Packer has left at least four of these stones.” - TGC
“If we speak of Holy Scripture as altogether true and trustworthy, or as wholly reliable in its own terms, making no false assertions, claims or promises on its own account (however many lies told by good men, bad men, and devils it records), we shall be expressing in formula terms exactly what these words mean.” - Packer
“A Quest for Godliness, while perhaps not as well-known as Dr. Packer’s most famous works such as Knowing God or Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, absolutely deserves to be….This book is a collection of essays and writings by Dr.
“Packer authored hundreds of Christian books and articles over more than half a century, but he’s perhaps best known for his 1973 work Knowing God. Publishers have sold more than 1.5 million copies since the book’s release and have translated it into more than a dozen languages.” - WORLD
Related:
J.I Packer’s little book Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God is a great resource. His aim is to show that divine sovereignty and personal responsibility to repent and believe the Gospel are not mutually exclusive. He explained, “The supposition seems to be that you cannot evangelize effectively unless you are prepared to pretend while you are doing it that the doctrine of sovereignty is not true. I shall try to make it evident that this is nonsense” (10).
Here are some wise words on the eternal controversy between God’s sovereignty and man’s personal responsibility in salvation from J.I. Packer, from his classic little book, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (Pgs. 16-17):
