J. I. Packer’s Theology of Discipleship

Towards a Contemporary Evangelical Spirituality

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to provide a systematic perspective on J. I. Packer’s theology of discipleship based on a descriptive, analytical, and critical methodology of theological investigation. Various references to discipleship in Packer’s Knowing God (1973, the 2021 edition) were identified, analyzed, and contextualized to demonstrate six features of Christian discipleship (knowledge of Christ, zeal for Christ, spiritual adoption, spiritual realism, biblical anticipation, turning the world upside down) in conjunction with two fundamental aspects (Christ’s personal impact and keeping God’s commandments, the “two pillars” of discipleship) that constitute its foundation and were extracted from his Keeping the Ten Commandments (2008) and Concise Theology: a Guide to Historical Christian Beliefs (2011). The article shows how the six theological features of discipleship, and its two pillars are used by Packer to put together a contemporary Christian spirituality.