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The Knowledge of the Holy

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TL;DR

  • The Knowledge of the Holy argues that the most important thing about a person is what comes into their mind when they think about God.
  • A. W. Tozer’s central concern is that weak Christian living and shallow worship often begin with a diminished or distorted view of God.
  • The book is a devotional theology of the divine attributes, calling readers to recover awe, reverence, and right worship through a truer knowledge of God.

Source Info

  • Title: The Knowledge of the Holy
  • Author: A. W. Tozer
  • Publication Date: Originally published in the 1960s; many later reprints and editions exist
  • Themes: theology proper, divine attributes, worship, reverence, transcendence, holiness, Christian devotion

Key Ideas

  • What one believes about God shapes worship, morality, prayer, and the whole of spiritual life.
  • God’s attributes are not abstract doctrines only; they are truths meant to produce humility, wonder, and trust.
  • The decline of reverence in religion is closely tied to a reduced vision of God’s majesty.

Chapter Summaries

  • Preface

    • Main Idea: Tozer introduces the book as an attempt to restore the majesty of God to Christian thought and devotion.
    • Key Points:
      • The church often suffers from low thoughts of God.
      • Theology matters because worship depends on truth.
      • The book is written devotionally as well as doctrinally.
      • Tozer aims to awaken reverence rather than merely convey information.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Theology proper: The branch of theology concerned directly with the being and attributes of God.
    • Takeaway: The book begins with the conviction that renewal starts with recovering a right vision of God.

  • Chapter 1: Why We Must Think Rightly About God

    • Main Idea: A right conception of God is foundational to all true religion and spiritual health.
    • Key Points:
      • What a person thinks about God governs the direction of life.
      • False ideas about God lead to false worship.
      • Religious decline often begins in the imagination before it appears in conduct.
      • Tozer presents theological seriousness as a spiritual necessity.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Right conception of God: A true understanding of God’s nature as revealed rather than imagined.
      • Idolatry: Worshiping a false conception of God or a created substitute in place of God.
    • Takeaway: Spiritual life rises or falls with the truthfulness of one’s vision of God.

  • Chapter 2: God Incomprehensible

    • Main Idea: God can be known truly, but never exhaustively; his being exceeds human comprehension.
    • Key Points:
      • Human language about God is always limited.
      • Divine mystery does not cancel knowledge, but humbles it.
      • God’s incomprehensibility protects reverence.
      • Theology should lead to wonder rather than intellectual pride.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Incomprehensible: Impossible to grasp fully or exhaust completely.
      • Mystery: A truth real and knowable in part, yet beyond full human mastery.
    • Takeaway: God is knowable enough to be loved and worshiped, but too great to be contained by the human mind.

  • Chapter 3: A Divine Attribute: Something True About God

    • Main Idea: Divine attributes are not detachable pieces of God but ways of speaking truthfully about his one, perfect being.
    • Key Points:
      • God is not composed of parts.
      • His attributes are not additions to his essence.
      • Human beings study attributes to understand God better, though God remains one.
      • Sound doctrine prevents fragmented thinking about God.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Divine attribute: A true way of describing what God is like.
      • Divine simplicity: The idea that God is not made up of separable parts or components.
    • Takeaway: The attributes help human understanding, but God remains one undivided being.

  • Chapter 4: The Holy Trinity

    • Main Idea: God is one in essence and three in persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
    • Key Points:
      • The Trinity is central to Christian faith.
      • The doctrine transcends full human explanation.
      • The triune nature of God safeguards biblical revelation.
      • Worship is directed toward the one God known in three persons.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Trinity: The Christian doctrine that God is one being in three persons.
      • Person: In Trinitarian theology, a distinct personal subsistence within the one Godhead.
    • Takeaway: The triune God is not a puzzle to master but a reality to confess and adore.

  • Chapter 5: The Self-existence of God

    • Main Idea: God exists in and from himself, depending on nothing outside himself.
    • Key Points:
      • God does not derive life from another source.
      • All created beings are dependent; God alone is underived.
      • Divine self-existence sets God apart from all creatures.
      • This truth invites trust in God’s ultimate stability.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Self-existence: God’s underived and independent existence.
      • Aseity: The theological term for God’s self-existence.
    • Takeaway: God alone exists absolutely in himself, while all creation depends on him.

  • Chapter 6: The Self-sufficiency of God

    • Main Idea: God has no needs and depends on no creature for fulfillment.
    • Key Points:
      • God did not create out of lack.
      • Human beings cannot add to God’s fullness.
      • Worship benefits the worshiper, not God in the sense of supplying a deficiency.
      • Divine self-sufficiency magnifies grace.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Self-sufficiency: God’s complete fullness in himself without dependence on creation.
    • Takeaway: God’s love is free and generous precisely because he needs nothing from us.

  • Chapter 7: The Eternity of God

    • Main Idea: God transcends time and is not bound by temporal succession as creatures are.
    • Key Points:
      • God does not merely last forever; he stands above time.
      • Past, present, and future do not confine God.
      • Divine eternity deepens trust in God’s unchanging purpose.
      • Human life appears fragile and brief in contrast.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Eternity: God’s mode of being beyond temporal limitation and succession.
      • Temporal succession: The creaturely experience of one moment following another.
    • Takeaway: God is not simply very old or endlessly enduring; he is eternally beyond time.

  • Chapter 8: God’s Infinitude

    • Main Idea: God is without limit, boundary, or measure.
    • Key Points:
      • Divine being cannot be quantified.
      • God exceeds all creaturely categories of size, measure, and extent.
      • Infinity underscores divine majesty.
      • The human mind must approach God with humility.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Infinitude: Limitlessness; the absence of all boundaries proper to creatures.
    • Takeaway: God’s being is immeasurable, and this immeasurability calls forth awe.

  • Chapter 9: The Immutability of God

    • Main Idea: God does not change in his nature, character, or purposes.
    • Key Points:
      • Change in creatures often implies growth or decay, but neither applies to God.
      • Divine immutability grounds trust.
      • God’s faithfulness rests partly on his unchanging character.
      • The stability of God contrasts with the instability of the world.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Immutability: Unchangeableness in being, character, and purpose.
    • Takeaway: Because God does not change, his promises remain secure.

  • Chapter 10: The Divine Omniscience

    • Main Idea: God knows all things perfectly, immediately, and eternally.
    • Key Points:
      • Nothing surprises God.
      • God’s knowledge is not acquired by learning.
      • Divine knowledge is complete and unerring.
      • Omniscience offers both comfort and holy seriousness.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Omniscience: Perfect and exhaustive knowledge of all things.
    • Takeaway: God knows reality perfectly, and nothing lies outside his understanding.

  • Chapter 11: The Wisdom of God

    • Main Idea: God always acts with perfect understanding toward the best possible ends by the best possible means.
    • Key Points:
      • Wisdom differs from knowledge; it governs the use of knowledge.
      • God’s purposes are never confused or shortsighted.
      • Human beings often fail to understand providence because they lack God’s perspective.
      • Trust in God includes trust in his wisdom.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Wisdom: The perfect ordering of means toward good and fitting ends.
      • Providence: God’s wise governance of creation and history.
    • Takeaway: God’s wisdom means that even what puzzles us is never outside his perfect judgment.

  • Chapter 12: The Omnipotence of God

    • Main Idea: God possesses all power necessary to accomplish his holy will.
    • Key Points:
      • God’s power is limitless, though never irrational or self-contradictory.
      • Omnipotence is governed by God’s nature and wisdom.
      • Creaturely weakness highlights divine strength.
      • This attribute grounds confidence in God’s sovereignty.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Omnipotence: Unlimited divine power.
      • Sovereignty: God’s supreme authority and rule over all things.
    • Takeaway: Nothing can ultimately thwart the holy will of the all-powerful God.

  • Chapter 13: The Divine Transcendence

    • Main Idea: God is exalted above creation and infinitely distinct from it.
    • Key Points:
      • God is not simply the highest item within the universe.
      • The Creator-creature distinction must be preserved.
      • Transcendence protects against reducing God to human scale.
      • Reverence depends on recognizing God’s utter otherness.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Transcendence: God’s exalted existence above and beyond creation.
      • Creator-creature distinction: The fundamental difference between God and all created beings.
    • Takeaway: God is near to creation without ever being reduced to creation.

  • Chapter 14: God’s Omnipresence

    • Main Idea: God is fully present everywhere, not spread thinly across space but wholly present at every point.
    • Key Points:
      • No place is outside God’s presence.
      • Divine omnipresence is not identical with pantheism.
      • God is present in judgment, care, and sustaining power.
      • This attribute offers both comfort and accountability.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Omnipresence: God’s full presence everywhere.
      • Pantheism: The belief that God and the universe are identical.
    • Takeaway: God is everywhere present without ceasing to be distinct from the world.

  • Chapter 15: The Faithfulness of God

    • Main Idea: God is perfectly reliable and true to his word, character, and covenant.
    • Key Points:
      • Divine faithfulness sustains hope.
      • God never breaks promise or acts out of inconsistency.
      • Human unfaithfulness throws God’s constancy into sharper relief.
      • The believer’s confidence rests on God’s trustworthiness.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Faithfulness: Steadfast reliability and truthfulness in promise and action.
      • Covenant: A binding relational commitment established by God.
    • Takeaway: God’s faithfulness means he can be trusted absolutely.

  • Chapter 16: The Goodness of God

    • Main Idea: God is inherently and actively good in all his ways.
    • Key Points:
      • Goodness is not a standard above God; it belongs to his nature.
      • All true blessings flow from divine goodness.
      • God’s goodness invites gratitude and trust.
      • The believer’s moral vision is shaped by God as the highest good.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Goodness: The fullness of moral excellence and benevolence in God’s being.
      • Benevolence: The disposition to do good.
    • Takeaway: God’s goodness means that all he is and does is worthy of trust and praise.

  • Chapter 17: The Justice of God

    • Main Idea: God is perfectly just, always doing what is right and never violating moral order.
    • Key Points:
      • Divine justice is not arbitrary.
      • God’s judgments are righteous because his nature is righteous.
      • Justice belongs to the moral glory of God.
      • The chapter balances comfort for the oppressed with seriousness for the guilty.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Justice: The perfect rectitude of God in judgment and moral order.
      • Righteousness: Moral rightness and conformity to perfect holiness.
    • Takeaway: God’s justice assures that evil is neither ignored nor ultimate.

  • Chapter 18: The Mercy of God

    • Main Idea: God’s mercy is his compassionate disposition toward the miserable and guilty.
    • Key Points:
      • Mercy addresses human misery and need.
      • Divine mercy does not negate justice, but works in harmony with it.
      • The sinner’s hope depends on God’s merciful character.
      • Mercy reveals the tenderness of God.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Mercy: God’s compassionate kindness toward those in distress or guilt.
      • Compassion: Sympathetic concern joined to a willingness to help.
    • Takeaway: God’s mercy means that human misery is met by divine compassion rather than indifference.

  • Chapter 19: The Grace of God

    • Main Idea: Grace is God’s free favor toward those who deserve no such favor.
    • Key Points:
      • Grace is not earned.
      • Divine grace magnifies God’s generosity.
      • Human pride resists grace because it prefers merit.
      • Grace lies at the heart of redemption.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Grace: God’s unmerited favor toward the undeserving.
      • Favor: Positive regard or kindness bestowed freely.
    • Takeaway: Grace is the gift-character of God’s saving relation to sinners.

  • Chapter 20: The Love of God

    • Main Idea: God’s love is the affectionate and holy movement of his being toward his creatures.
    • Key Points:
      • Divine love is not sentimental weakness.
      • God’s love is consistent with holiness and justice.
      • Love explains both God’s nearness and his redeeming action.
      • The believer’s response is worship and imitation.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Love of God: God’s holy, benevolent, self-giving regard toward his creatures.
    • Takeaway: God’s love is profound and costly, never detached from truth or holiness.

  • Chapter 21: The Holiness of God

    • Main Idea: Holiness is the perfection of God’s being, his utter purity and majesty above all that is common or sinful.
    • Key Points:
      • Holiness is central to biblical revelation.
      • The holiness of God evokes awe, fear, and worship.
      • Human sin appears most clearly in the light of holiness.
      • Holiness is not merely one attribute among others, but a crowning aspect of divine perfection.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Holiness: God’s absolute moral purity and sacred otherness.
      • Majesty: The greatness and dignity proper to God alone.
    • Takeaway: To know God as holy is to be humbled, purified, and drawn into reverent worship.

  • Chapter 22: The Sovereignty of God

    • Main Idea: God rules absolutely and wisely over all things.
    • Key Points:
      • Sovereignty means no force rivals God’s ultimate authority.
      • God’s rule is not chaotic or tyrannical, but holy and wise.
      • Human history unfolds under divine government.
      • The chapter calls readers to trust rather than anxiety.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Sovereignty: God’s supreme and unrestricted rule.
      • Divine government: God’s ordering and ruling of creation and history.
    • Takeaway: God’s sovereignty assures believers that the world is never outside his rule.

  • Chapter 23: The Open Secret

    • Main Idea: True knowledge of God is available, but only to those willing to seek him in humility, worship, and obedience.
    • Key Points:
      • The “secret” is open because God has made himself known.
      • Knowledge of God is personal and experiential, not merely conceptual.
      • Pride obstructs this knowledge, while worship deepens it.
      • The book closes by moving from doctrine to devotion.
    • Defined Terms:
      • Open secret: A reality publicly available yet inwardly missed by the proud or inattentive.
      • Experiential knowledge of God: Personal, lived acquaintance with God, not mere information about him.
    • Takeaway: The goal of theology is not only correct speech about God, but reverent communion with him.

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