The renowned author of Knowing God, Dr. J. I. Packer, went to be with His Savior and Lord today at the age of 93. Justin Taylor from Crossway wrote this very fitting and moving mini-bio blog post about his remarkable life: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/j-i-packer-1926-2020/
Here is my response to Justin:
I was moved reading your mini-bio of J.I. Packer. It is really outstanding. I’d like to share two little special tidbits about Packer. First, years ago, I spent some time with Packer at Calvin College (I had phoned and corresponded with him a fair bit and we always talked and wrote about the Puritans). During that fellowship at Calvin College, he told me that he had one major desire yet for his writing career—and that was to do a major Systematic Theology (ST) with a spiritual/experiential emphasis. He felt that that could bind the godly together, he said. I told him that I had a similar dream, and we agreed that day that we would talk through the details of co-authoring a 3 or 4 volume ST. I even promised him that if the Lord were to take him home before we could complete it, that I would take anything he had written on the sections not completed, and be sure to finish it the best I could. And then, shortly after that, the ECT debacle transpired and those dreams were dashed.
But now, you, Justin Taylor and Crossway, have been the instruments God has chosen to fulfill my dream after all through Reformed Systematic Theology, coauthored with Paul Smalley! God’s ways are above our ways, and His thoughts above ours. I truly feel indebted to you, brother, and am thrilled with your team’s able work.
By the way, Paul Smalley and I have just completed volume 3 of RST. About 75% of it is already in Greg Bailey’s able hands. The last section is being edited by our own editor at the moment, but we will have that to Greg by August 15 as promised. Two weeks from now, we hope to begin volume 4—the finale—on church and the last things.
The second tidbit on Packer was when I called him to ask if he would kindly endorse volume 1 of our projected 10-volume set, The Works of William Perkins, which I had sent to him in typeset form by snail mail because he had no computer. He was so thrilled that we were doing this and that he was being asked to endorse it, that he told me, “You just made my week,” and wished me Godspeed. He then said, in his memorable tone, these impeccable words which I quickly scribbled down, “And this is what I would like to say in the endorsement: ‘On the broad shoulders of William Perkins, epoch-making pioneer, stood the entire school of seventeenth-century Puritan pastors and divines, yet the Puritan reprint industry has steadily bypassed him. Now, however, he begins to reappear, admirably edited, and at last this yawning gap is being filled.’ But never mind, friend, I shall send you these words tomorrow.” We chatted a few more minutes, but all I remember him saying was, “I do wonder if I shall see the completion of your work on Perkins.” I know he couldn’t read anymore near the end, but volume 10 was published just a few months ago!
The next day, I heard the fax machine running, which we had not used for a few years, I think. I went over to see what was going on. Here was the exact endorsement word for word that Dr. Packer told me he was going to write! Vintage Packer, it was typed on an old-fashioned typewriter, with three white-outs, and only these words were added: “Profound thanks to the publisher and heartfelt praise to God have become due.”
Now, Dr. Packer is in that land of Beulah with his Lord where he no longer has to battle with sin and infirmity but where his Savior is all-in-all. The author of Knowing God knows God far better than he ever has in this life. Happy day, when this mortality puts on immortality, and this corruption, incorruption.
