Category Archives: Packer, J.I.

Authority and freedom

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Notes from chapter 1 of Freedom, Authority and Scripture, by J.I. Packer.

“Authority” – makes most people think of law and order, direction and restraint, command and control, dominance and submission, respect and obedience. The word has almost become a “dirty word”. Opposition to authority is now the name of the game.

The Quest for Freedom

“Freedom”, on the other hand, is today the “in word”; World War II was described in terms of Four Freedoms: want, fear, speech, religion.…

What happens after death?

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J.I. Packer has a helpful summary of biblical teaching.

  • The separation of body and soul at death is both a fruit of sin and a divine judgement, Gen. 2:17; 3:19, 22; Rom. 5:12; 8:10; 1 Cor. 15:21.  This separation is a sign of the separation from God that first brought about physical death, and will be deepened after death for those who leave this life without Christ.  Death is, accordingly, to be seen as an enemy, 1 Cor 15:26 and a terror, Heb 2:15.
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Death

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Summarising ch. 17 of God’s Words, by J.I. Packer

Death as an uninvited intruder, evoking panic. “He passed, however, a not unsuccessful life in his profession, and the only Intruder he found himself unable to deal with was death.” (Charles Williams)

Fear of death universal. Heb 2:15 ‘through fear of death were subject to life-long bondage.’ Job 18:14 ‘the king of terrors’. “Nineteen times the Bible calls the prospect of death its ‘shadow’.”

Some ‘shrug it off’ – ‘morbid’. …

Jonathan Edwards on communion with God

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If George Whitefield was the great evangelist of the Great Awakening in its North American phase, then Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) was the great thinker.  But he was by no means a detached analyst.  This is clear from his account- especially in his Personal Narrative – of his own spiritual experience.

Like the psalmists of old, Edwards delighted in God’s handiwork in creation:

‘I often used to sit and view the moon, for a long time; and so in the daytime, spent much time in viewing the clouds and sky, to behold the sweet glory of God in these things: in the meantime, singing forth with a low voice, my contemplations of the Creator and Redeemer.

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Communion with God – an evangelical blind spot?

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Various teachers have identified a lack of attention to communion with God in current evangelicalism.  Richard Lovelace refers to a

‘sanctification gap among Evangelicals, a peculiar conspiracy somehow to mislay the Protestant tradition of spiritual growth and concentrate on frantic witnessing activity, sermons on John 3:16 and theological arguments over eschatological subtleties.’ (Dynamics of Spiritual Life, p232)

J.I. Packer agrees:

‘When, however, experiential aspects of life in the Spirit come up for treatment (as distinct from convictional, volitional, and disciplinary aspects), it is a different story.

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The doctrine of election: practical relevance

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The doctrine of election, far from being an embarassment or an encumbrance, has a number of practical implications:

1. In Eph 1:3ff, it prompts Paul to issue an invitation to praise.  ‘Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.  For he chose us in Christ…’

2. In Rom 8:33, it leads to assurance and encouragement.  ‘Who will bring any charge against God’s elect?…

Arminianism and Calvinism – what’s the difference?

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J.I. Packer writes:

‘The basic difference between the two positions is not, as is sometimes thought, that

  • Arminanism follows Scripture while Calvinism follows logic, nor that
  • Arminianism knows the love of God while Calvinism knows only his power, nor that
  • Arminianism affirms a connection between believing and obeying as a means and eternal life as an end which Calvinism denies, nor that
  • Arminianism discerns a bona fide “free offer” of Christ in the gospel which Calvinism does not discern, nor that
  • Arminianism acknowledtes human responsibility before God and requires endeavour in the Christian life while Calvinism does not.
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Biblical revelation

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J.I. Packer writes:

If we ask what in a nutshell was God revealing in the biblical period, several things must be said together.

First, God was revealing Himself. He was showing His ‘eternal power and deity’ (Rom. 1:20) as maker and master, and with that His character and His ways with men (see Exod. 34:6f.; 5:9f.; Jer. 9:24; 1 John 1:5; 4:7-10), so that He might be acknowledged and worshipped for all that He is and does and gives.

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Grow in grace

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The New Testament writers show great concern for the spiritual growth of their readers.  Paul, for example, writes to the Corinthians, “But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not ready” (1 Cor. 3:1–2).

The writer to the Hebrews similarly: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God.…

A ‘fully clothed’ gospel

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It is tragically possible for God’s people to limit their understanding and preaching of the gospel to its essential components, while neglecting all-important implications.

Write J.I. Packer and Gary Parrett:

‘Sadly, even tragically, evangelicals have sometimes been guilty of preaching and teaching a Gospel that is not, shall we say, “fully dressed.” They may have focused properly on the central features of God’s atoning work at the cross, faithfully preached Christ crucified for sinners, celebrated the resurrection as proof that Christ’s self-offering for our sins has been accepted, and urged hearers to be reconciled to God.
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