Knowing God by J.I. Packer
Week 4: God Incarnate — Chapter 5
Read Chapter 5 of Knowing God ("God Incarnate"). Key Scripture: John 1:1–18; Colossians 1:15–20; Philippians 2:5–11.
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Having established God's majesty, Packer now turns to the most astonishing fact in history: that same God became a human being.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Packer argues that the incarnation is "the most profound and far-reaching event that has ever occurred in the history of the world." Why does he make such an absolute claim? Do you find it convincing, and why?
2.Packer describes what he calls the "condescension" of the incarnation — the infinite God stooping to finitude, the eternal entering time, the Creator becoming a creature. How does the picture of God's majesty from the previous chapter heighten the staggering nature of this condescension?
3.Packer works carefully through the two natures of Christ — fully God and fully human — and warns against the tendency to subtly reduce Christ's humanity (a heresy called Docetism) or His deity. Which of these two tendencies do you think is more common in ordinary church life today, and why?
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