The Logos Academic Blog
Students and pastors should have a few really good introductions to the New Testament in their personal library. The good news is that there are lots to choose from. But with such a wide selection comes questions about preferred academic level, theological distinctives, methodological preferences, and “best bang for your buck.”
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Nijay Gupta shares his final post in this helpful series on best commentaries by listing two essential works on Philemon.
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The Pastoral Epistles have long been regarded as wise instruction for the benefit of the church. But in the last two centuries these texts have often been sidelined in the academy due to suspicions of pseudepigraphal (false) authorship and seemingly negative sentiments towards women. On the other hand, the 21st century has seen numerous detailed commentaries that are a harbinger of renewed interest.
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Colossians is an underappreciated jewel in the Pauline corpus, often sidelined from academic conversations because of its debated authorship. It is a beautifully-crafted meditation on the cosmic-and-crucified Christ.
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This short Pauline epistle has long fascinated scholars, especially the so-called “Christ Hymn” (2:6-11), offering the possibility that Paul embedded here a piece of liturgy or tradition from earliest Christianity (or Paul proves himself here a poet as well as a theologian). More recently, attention has turned to Paul’s shaping of Christian identity, his attitude towards his own Jewish identity and his pre-Christ past, and how he teaches the Philippians to navigate their life together in a potentially hostile context. Exegetical and theological wisdom is widely available in existing commentaries.
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Ephesians is widely considered one of the most beautifully composed texts of the New Testament. And yet, because some scholars argue that Paul did not write the letter, it is often left out of academic conversations about Paul, his ministry, and his theology. Since the authorship question is so crucial to how Ephesians is interpreted, we will note where each commentary writer lands on the matter.
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Scholars have long been fascinated by the window that 1 Corinthians provides into life of the early Christians. In this letter we also have creedal information, gender relationship teachings, and—what’s up with “baptism for the dead” (15:29)? Thankfully, there are many excellent 1 Corinthians commentaries available.
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Nijay K. Gupta, associate professor of New Testament at Portland Seminary (PhD, University of Durham) is beginning a blog series at theLAB on biblical commentaries on the Pauline epistles. Dr. Gupta has written three commentaries (Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, Lord’s Prayer), and he has another commentary in production (Philippians, Cambridge University Press, co-written with Michael F. Bird), and is currently writing the Galatians volume for the Story of God commentary series. You can follow Gupta’s personal blog @ www.cruxsolablog.com
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I have already offered thoughts for the preaching scholar concerning first things and meditation, as well as my suggested exegetical resources for preaching (including exegetical commentaries). Here I want to pass on my favorite theological resources to move from biblical text to theology and application.
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Pastors of different types and in different contexts have varying amounts of time for “sermon prep.” We all know 5 hours is not enough, but most do not have the luxury of 20+ hours.
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