Meet Clement of Alexandria and his search for truth fulfilled in Christ. Learn how he taught intimacy with God, opposed Gnosticism, and applied Scripture to prayer and wealth.
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This free audiobook course presents selected readings from Clement of Alexandria on what it means to know God intimately and to live in the footsteps of Christ. The introduction explains Clement’s search for truth, his conversion to Christ, his work as a teacher in Alexandria, and the way these selections are drawn from his larger writings. The course then develops a portrait of the person who is “intimate with God”:
bearing the cross, resisting worldly desire, praying continually, growing in holiness, living by faith, and loving neighbors and enemies. Several chapters address divisions, heresy, and the need to test teaching by Scripture rather than human opinion. The final section focuses on Clement’s treatment of Jesus’ words to the rich young man, asking whether wealth itself condemns a person or whether the deeper issue is the soul’s attachment to possessions.
The course closes with repentance, pastoral care, and the story of the Apostle John and the robber.
Clement begins by describing the one who is intimate with God as a person who follows the Lord’s footsteps by bearing the cross. The chapter emphasizes self-denial, endurance in trials, spiritual warfare, and freedom from being ruled by outward circumstances.
This chapter contrasts love for God with attachment to worldly pleasures. Clement discusses generosity, love for enemies, prayer, fasting, discipline of the senses, and the person whose whole life becomes prayer and conversation with God.
Clement portrays the godly person as a stranger and sojourner on earth who lives quietly before God. The chapter connects hidden obedience, generosity, thanksgiving, prayer, love, fear of God, and the example of Job.
This chapter develops Clement’s teaching that prayer is continual fellowship and conversation with God. He rejects the idea that prayer is unnecessary and urges prayer that seeks what is truly good for the soul.
Clement presents holiness as involving meditation, discipline, moral excellence, and God’s power. The chapter also describes daily sacrifices of prayer, praise, Scripture reading, instruction, and giving to those in need.
Clement teaches that knowing God means being molded after His image and imitating Him in self-control, endurance, righteousness, and generosity. He also argues that true nobility is found in choosing and practicing what is best, not in birth status.
This chapter explains faith as the foundation for receiving divine instruction. Clement connects faith with hearing, repentance, hope, obedience, love, and the knowledge of God.
Clement centers this chapter on love for God and neighbor, drawing heavily on 1 Corinthians 13. He also distinguishes outward actions from inward motives and addresses lust, chastity, and love that seeks the beauty of the spirit.
Clement describes growth into God’s image through divine instruction, obedience, courage, self-control, and love. He uses Joseph as an example of steadfastness and warns against reckless approaches to martyrdom.
This chapter applies intimacy with God to truthfulness, oaths, resentment, and legal disputes. Clement argues that the godly person’s life should be truthful enough not to require swearing and forgiving enough not to seek retaliation.
Clement reflects on Christian perfection through Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 6 and Jesus’ command to be perfect. He defines this perfection as blameless obedience, forgiveness, freedom from fleshly desires, and life joined to the Lord.
Clement teaches that men and women share the same goal of perfection, citing Judith, Esther, Susanna, and Miriam. He also discusses marriage, moral excellence, the role of a godly wife, and the shared end of faith.
Clement answers objections from Greeks and Jews who point to Christian divisions as a reason not to believe. He argues that heresies do not cancel the truth and that sincere seekers must distinguish true teaching from counterfeit claims.
This chapter places Scripture at the center of discerning truth. Clement warns that heretics misuse Scripture by quoting selectively, removing context, and twisting meanings, while true teaching is confirmed by the voice of the Lord.
Clement describes sin and false teaching as illnesses needing spiritual medicine. He distinguishes ignorance, opinion, and knowledge, and presents Scripture, discipline, chastisement, and love as remedies for the soul.
This chapter emphasizes forgiveness, prayer for others, and care for neighbors. Clement also describes the believer as God’s temple, called to a good conscience, gratitude, and use of worldly things in a way that pleases God.
Clement begins his extended treatment of wealth by warning against flattering the rich and by explaining why wealth can become spiritually dangerous. He also argues that the rich should not despair but should be taught the way of salvation with love and truth.
Clement turns to Jesus’ conversation with the rich young man in Mark 10 and urges careful attention to Jesus’ own words. He presents the young man as sincere under the law but still lacking the fullness found in Christ.
Clement focuses on Jesus’ words, “If you want to be perfect,” to discuss free will, desire, and what the rich young man lacked. He argues that the deeper renunciation is not merely giving up external possessions but removing materialistic desires from the soul.
This chapter continues the discussion of wealth by distinguishing pure and impure souls, true and false riches, and genuine and counterfeit poverty. Clement teaches that salvation depends on the virtues of the soul rather than the mere amount of one’s possessions.
Clement answers directly that salvation is not impossible for the rich, though wealth can seduce and ruin the soul. He calls the prosperous to learn how to use wealth rightly, to resist its power, and to choose Christ above all competing claims.
Clement presents love for God and neighbor as the greatest commandments. He explains the Good Samaritan, Matthew 25, and the command to make friends with unrighteous riches as calls to enduring compassion and practical care.
Clement urges believers to use their money to gather a peaceful army of the needy and faithful, whose prayers, counsel, and love guard the soul. The chapter rises into a meditation on God’s love, Christ’s self-giving, and love as the greatest virtue.
This chapter distinguishes true repentance from empty words. Clement teaches that repentance means ceasing from the sins being repented of, receiving God’s mercy, and submitting to disciplined care, including the help of a godly mentor.
Clement closes with the remembered story of the Apostle John pursuing and restoring a young man who had become a robber. The story illustrates hope, pastoral pursuit, repentance, and the joy of restoration.
The introduction presents Clement of Alexandria as a seeker of truth who found its fulfillment in Christ and became a teacher in Alexandria. It also explains the selected nature of the readings, Clement’s use of philosophy, his grounding in Scripture, his response to Gnosticism, and the early Christian setting of the work.
Insights from a 2nd-century Christian elder on knowing God
Clement of Alexandria was one of the outstanding teachers of the second-century church. After his conversion, Clement traveled throughout the ancient world to learn Christianity firsthand from the most respected teachers of his age — men who taught by deeds, not just words. Eventually Clement settled in Alexandria, Egypt, where he was appointed to mentor new Christians.
Intimacy with God is a collection of Clement's godly insights on what it means to know God and to walk with Him closely. The book is divided into two parts. Part One focuses on the day-to-day walk of a person who knows God intimately — bearing the cross, separation from the world, holiness, loving your neighbor, oaths and lawsuits, counsel to women, divisions in Christ's body, and appreciating Scripture.
Part Two focuses on the issue of wealth and how it can affect our relationship with God. Clement analyzes Jesus' words to the rich young man and demonstrates their true meaning. The book closes with Clement's account of the apostle John in the last years of his life and how he brought a robber back into the fold of Christ.
Translated into contemporary, readable English by David W. Bercot from the original Greek (formerly published under the title The One Who Knows God). At only 144 pages, it is one of the most accessible introductions in print to the spiritual writings of the early church.
What readers and reviewers have said about Intimacy with God. These are short, attributed quotes from public reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, the publisher's site, and independent book reviewers.
Designed to lead the reader to a deeper walk with God. A collection of godly insights on what it truly means to know God and to walk with Him closely.
— Editorial description, Scroll Publishing
One of the outstanding teachers of the second-century church. Clement traveled throughout the ancient world to learn Christianity first-hand from the most respected teachers of his age — men who taught by deeds, not just words.
— Strength to Strength Books (publisher catalog), Strength to Strength
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