Today I return to Knowing God (the book by J.I. Packer that I pleaded with you to read a few days ago) to provide the 5 basic truths that form a foundation for our knowledge of God.

These truths are important in the same way an alphabet is important to written language. Without a common, objective foundation of symbols (we call them letters), written language is nonsense. In order for the words and sentences and paragraphs to carry meaning, the basic building block of letters must carry precise, universal meaning.

Likewise, without a common, objective foundation of truth, information about God is incomprehensible. In order for us to gain a proper understanding of his love and justice and wrath, we must grasp and trust the basic building block truths.

1. God has spoken to man, and the Bible is his Word, given to us to make us wise to salvation.[1]
2. God is Lord and King over his world; he rules all things for his own glory, displaying his perfections is all that he does, in order that men and angels may worship and adore him.
3. God is Savior, active in sovereign love through the Lord Jesus Christ to rescue believers from the guilt and power of sin, to adopt them as his children and to bless them accordingly.
4. God is triune; there are within the Godhead three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; and the work of salvation is one in which all three act together, the Father purposing redemption, the Son securing it and the Spirit applying it.
5. Godliness means responding to God’s revelation in trust and obedience, faith and worship, prayer and praise, submission and service. Life must be seen and lived in light of God’s Word. This, and nothing else, is true religion.

Again, more than the alphabet for reading, these truths are essential for any pursuit of knowledge about God. Lay these truths aside and you cannot know Him. Manipulate or ignore any part of this foundation and you will find yourself seeking someone or something other than God. Because only on this foundation will the details of God’s nature and character become coherent.

Examine these statements. They are highly controversial in our culture. And know that if your view of God veers from these truths at any point, you do not know him accurately and you cannot know him well.

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[1] J.I. Packer, Knowing God, (Intervarsity Press: Downers Grove, IL, 1993), 20.