Commentary Series Review – Pillar New Testament Commentary

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The Pillar commentary series has been slowly but surely growing for well around 20 years now, with thirteen published volumes, and authors assigned for all the remaining ones. In fact, it would appear that some of the earliest volumes are already in line for replacement. The target audience seems to be pastors and undergraduate level students of the Bible. The way that the exegetical options are discussed and current academic theories are interacted with will put it out of reach of the casual Christian reader, but they are not designed to compete with the technical and exhaustive commentaries. The series falls firmly within the conservative evangelical tradition, but draws commentators from a variety of church backgrounds.

The series editor is Don Carson, who supplied the Gospel of John and is also rumoured to be working on Revelation and Galatians in this series. He seems an ideal candidate for the editorship. Not only is he known for his exegetical prowess and engaging style of writing, but he is something of a commentary connoisseur, having written a review of New Testament commentaries that is now in its fifth edition. It comes as no surprise then, that he is assembling his very own “dream team” of commentators (notably O’Brien and Moo who have written two each) and apparently making an effort to plug some significant gaps in the evangelical commentary market.

The commentary itself is based on the NIV text (TNIV in some of the newer volumes), but the writers show no particular loyalty to its wording, often preferring to offer a completely different translation on which to comment. The biblical text is included in most, but not all the commentaries. Greek vocabulary and verb tenses are regularly discussed, but the Greek is always transliterated and translated (though sometimes in Greek script in the footnotes).

Recent volumes in particular have shown a greater interest in quoting ancient sources than interacting with multiple modern commentators, although there is a willingness to take on major proponents of opposing views where necessary. Footnotes direct the reader to further reading where appropriate and are sometimes used for more detailed grammatical analysis. The commentators are prepared to discuss variant readings, and even reject traditional interpretations but will not criticise the meaning of the text itself, treating it as God’s revealed word.

The introductions are usually fairly lengthy (50-100 pages) and it is here that the liberal tendency to reject traditional authorship, historicity and typical reformed interpretation is called into question. However, the authors are usually content to simply show the plausibility of traditional options rather than considering themselves to have ‘proved’ anything about dating, authorship, and structure.

To keep the comments on any particular verse from becoming unmanageably long, extended discussions are often moved into excursuses. The length and frequency of these varies with author, but they usually add significant value to the commentary and allow greater theological reflection.

The main focus of the commentaries is exegetical but with a view to aiding expositors. The meaning of each sentence is determined, and then it is shown how it fits in with the overall argument of the section and book. If there is an apparent discord with other New Testament passages, this will usually be discussed. The authors are free to make comments on the theological and practical implications of the verses for contemporary Christian life, but are never preachy. In most cases they prefer to let the text speak for itself. Where a verse has been used as a “proof-text” for a particular doctrinal position, the commentators will often mention whether they feel this to be justified or not, without entering wholesale into the debate.

At least two volumes in the series (Carson on John and O’Brien on Ephesians) are widely acknowledged as the premier evangelical commentary on their respective books, and I expect more equally highly-acclaimed volumes will follow. The prices are unfortunately not as competitive as some other similar series (e.g. Baker Exegetical), but your money will not be wasted, and they are worthy additions to any Bible teacher’s library.

I have reviewed a number from this series here on my site, and have so enjoyed the ones I have read that you can expect more to follow. Here’s the current list of volumes, with links to my reviews for the ones I have read.

(1988

The “New Testament Church”?

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Recently, Sven and Richard have made some very insightful comments on my post Am I still a Restorationist?, so I want to continue my look at the ongoing relevance of Restorationist thinking. This post has got a bit long, and isn’t quite as polished as I would like, but it might spark off a bit more debate among those working out where they stand on these issues.

One of the favourite themes of the Restorationism is getting back to the New Testament pattern of early church life. This notion often comes under fire from those from other church backgrounds as being both theologically and historically naïve.

First, it is questioned whether we indeed want to be like the early church. Was it really all that great? The church in Corinth was riddled with problems, the seven churches of Revelation were in a sorry state, the church of 3 John had an out of control leader, the church of Galatians were in danger of losing the gospel altogether, while the church of Acts had full-blown apostolic confrontations. Add to that the repeated pattern of heretical splinter groups arising during the first centuries of Christianity (some early enough to warrant opposition in the Pauline epistles), and it begins to look like the Restorationist vision of the early church is romantically viewed through rose-tinted spectacles.

Second, churches that have their stated aim to be like the early church are quite at ease with a number of features of modern church life that were unheard of in those early days. Worship leaders playing their guitars with a full band behind them and computerised words projected onto a big screen are assumed to be an obvious implication of being a New Testament church. Youth ministers, Kidz Klubs, worship CDs, What Would Jesus Do bracelets and teaching tapes are standard fare though the first apostles had not even heard of such things. Who gets to decide what parts of early church life we go back to? And how do we know what it was really like anyway?

Of course, most Christians in most denominations have simply not read up on their church history. The little they know is from deductions from the New Testament and biographical accounts of various believers. So the Pentecostals know about the healing evangelists of the early 1900s, and the Reformed Evangelicals know about Calvin and Luther. Others know a bit about various saints, missionaries and communes. But the fact is, when it comes to the early church, most of us know very little. And those who have done their reading of ancient history are wont to point out the many differences between a Jewish 1st century church and a western charismatic megachurch.

But much of the criticism of the Restorationist “New Testament church” tends to miss the point, probably thanks to careless rhetoric by Restorationists. What is being advocated is not a recreation of “early church practise” which was undoubtedly a mixture of good and bad, but the belief that there was an “New Testament pattern”, which the early church was in touch with in a way that has been lost somewhat. In other words, the basic principles of church government, community and worship were there right from the start. It makes New Testament the standard, and has no interest in embracing ecclesiastical structures or liturgical traditions that developed later.

Now to many evangelicals, this is not overly controversial. But the contention of Restorationists is that certain things have been lost over the years, that were part of this “New Testament pattern”. These include the charismatic gifts, the role of apostle, and a bigger vision of the “kingdom” that calls for a radical discipleship affecting every area of life. The established churches were seen to have jettisoned these dynamics of church life, resulting in a compromised and powerless church. This stands in stark contrast with the church in Acts in which the Holy Spirit was powerfully moving. But not everyone is convinced. Non-charismatic evangelicals do not take such a dim view of the post-apostolic early church, and see the reduction in supernatural Holy Spirit activity as a natural “salvation-history” progression, and the apostolic office as becoming redundant.

Where you stand on this debate will depend on your hermeneutics, theology, church background, and knowledge of church history. But I think there are lessons to be learned on both sides of the argument. Let me offer a few – first to the Restorationists (and evangelical charismatics, who tend to think along much the same lines):

  • There is a need to be continually willing to evaluate all we do in the light of Scripture. For example, in the area of worship, there is a danger of becoming performance oriented, experience centred and commercially driven, while treating “joy” and “freedom” as though they were the only Biblical essentials of worship.
  • It would help to have a better understanding of the ‘early’ years of church history (pre 1600s if you are reformed, pre 1900s if you are Pentecostal), and to take a slightly more respectful attitude to those who have gone before us. We may have theological differences with them, but the Holy Spirit has not been on one long holiday since Pentecost, and there is much to be learned from, without the need for uncritical acceptance.
  • Exegesis is becoming a lost art in the charismatic movement with less and less expository preaching. If we are serious about following a New Testament pattern, then we should be serious about understanding what it is really saying.

But let me also offer Challenges to the critics of Restorationism:

  • Just because you doubt that the Restorationists have rightly understood what the New Testament pattern is, doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything that needs to be restored. Too often the arguments of the Restorationists have been dismissed by appealing to their inconsistencies, without asking what the New Testament does teach in these areas.
  • Similarly, there is no point continuing to knock down a straw man that argues for a Restoration of the faults and heresies of early church life.
  • The point that Acts was not explicitly designed as a manual of church life does not mean that it can teach us nothing. A level-headed hermeneutic will still be able to deduce facts about many important aspects of mission, church government, priorities, community life, which give us a window onto how the apostles themselves saw fit to organise church life.
  • The phrase “salvation history” is not sufficient to explain away any hint of the experiential or supernatural dimensions of the Spirit’s ministry in the New Testament.

Book Review – The Letters of John (Colin Kruse)

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As I have studied through 1 John recently, I have noticed that while the author manages to make his main points abundantly clear (e.g. the importance of loving one another), he uses lots of sentences along the way that are somewhat cryptic. In his Pillar commentary, Colin Kruse has managed to shed considerable light on the meaning of these difficult phrases without losing the overall message of the book. With each statement he provides brief but compelling arguments for how each phrase or word is to be understood, without always being entirely dogmatic. The meaning of a word or phrase in the gospel of John is often decisive in deciding between alternatives.

There is a generous helping of helpful excursuses (called “notes”) that deal with some of the more difficult issues at greater length, allowing the commentary to simply refer to the excursus wherever the issue crops up. For example there are excursuses on the antichrist, on sinless perfectionism, and on the bases of assurance, as well as many on the meanings of various words. These notes typically review all the Johannine (or biblical) usage of a particular term, before coming to a brief conclusion about what is meant.

Another useful feature of this commentary is that the Scriptural text commented on is highlighted in bold, so that you can easily follow where he is up to in his comments. Like the rest of the Pillar series, it comments on the NIV text, but is quite willing to completely disagree with the translation in places.

The introduction deals with all three letters and argues for common authorship, who probably is also the author of the fourth gospel (which he considers to be the apostle John). There is also considerable discussion of the “secessionists”, a splinter group whose teaching the first letter is designed to combat. Kruse shows how John’s argument is directed in many places throughout the letter at these people, and sees this group as the likely background to the second and third Johannine epistles as well.

The apparent contradiction between 1:8-9 and 3:6-9, concerning whether Christians do or do not continue to sin is not resolved in the traditional fashion (occasional vs habitual sin), but appeals to Kruse’s analysis of the meaning of anomia, which is in his view not to be interpreted etymologically (i.e. lawlessness), but simply as the type of sinful rebellion that typified the secessionists (also the “sin that leads to death”).

The poem of 2:12-14 is not thought to refer to three distinct groups (children, young men, adults), but to two, with the ‘children’ referring to everyone, while the latter two refer to younger and older Christians respectively (in human age). The “water and blood” of chapter 5:6-8 are interpreted as Jesus’ ministries of baptism and atonement.

In 2 John the secessionists are still very much in view, and the “chosen lady” is understood to be the church, who is urged not to receive these false teachers. By contrast, 3 John encourages Gaius to welcome itinerant teachers who were not secessionists but were loyal to the truth.

The commentary closes with an appendix of biblical and extra-biblical material that refers to Cain. This seems a little out of place, as Cain only gets one brief mention in 1 John.

This commentary will prove very useful to those wanting to grapple with the meaning of individual sentences in the Johannine epistles, perhaps in preparation for sermons or group study. It does not focus so much on contemporary application, although the author will often briefly indicate the pastoral significance. Those simply wanting a devotional aid as they read through these letters would be better off choosing a more homiletical commentary such as the Bible Speaks Today commentary on John’s Letters by David Jackman. Having said that, Colin Kruse’s volume is a worthy addition to the excellent Pillar series which combines careful exegesis with a devout evangelical commitment to the authority of Scripture as God’s word.

Book Review – The Message of Genesis 1-11 (David Atkinson)

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Much of the discussion in evangelical circles about the opening chapters of Genesis revolves around the historicity of the events described, and in particular, whether the six days of creation were ‘literal 24 hour days’ or not. Atkinson does allow himself to get drawn into the complexities of these debates, although his own understanding of the issues becomes apparent. He broadly accepts theistic evolution, noting the structure of the six days of creation in Genesis 1 as being two groups of three, and seeing the first chapter as a hymn of praise. He sees the story as referring to other creation myths only to refute them and assert the one true creator God.

As you would expect, the creation story raises all sorts interesting issues that Atkinson takes up. For example environmental concerns, sexual equality (he is an egalitarian), the nature of time are all discussed. There is also a helpful section on marriage and Christian sexual ethics, where he addresses the issue of homosexuality. He also explores what it means to be made in the image of God, arguing for more than simply having certain capacities, but to be in relationship with God, and to act as his representatives.

Moving on to the story of the fall, Atkinson considers the nature of sin, and considers the origin of evil to be left as a mystery. The commentary on the first three chapters of Genesis fills the first half of the book. Unusually for BST Old Testament volumes, the full text of the first 11 chapters of Genesis is included in the book.

The rest of the book shows how there is repeated sin and judgement, but always with a hint of hope. The story of Cain and Abel provides opportunity to explore the “unfairness” of grace, while the story of the Ark introduces the themes of salvation and covenant. The story of Babel almost leaves us with an unhappy ending, but Atkinson continues the commentary through to 12:3, where the promise of blessing comes to Abraham, and so fittingly, the book closes with its focus on Jesus.

I found this book a very interesting read. The fact that it didn’t answer the type of questions like “was the Ark seaworthy, and large enough to hold all the animals?” meant that there was space to explore the theological themes in the book. His stance on evolution will no doubt please some and irritate others, but the 190 pages given to these opening 11 chapters of Genesis have been well used to explore a wide variety of important subjects.

Those wanting to nail down exact points of doctrine or exhaustively explore the background and possible interpretation of the early Genesis stories will need to consult the more technical commentaries, but those who simply want to get a feel for the story of creation to Abraham without getting embroiled in controversy over science and history, will find much useful material here.

Some Links

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Here are some miscellaneous sites I’ve come across, and places I’ve been in the last few weeks.

  • Jeremy Pierce has posted another in his series of reviews of commentaries on specific biblical books – this time Ephesians
  • He also gets a mention in the latest Biblical Studies Bulletin from Ridley Hall, Cambridge, which this month sees the return of the Comments on Commentaries -this month it is an update on Mark.
  • Church of Christ the King, Brighton sermons are finally back online. John Hosier is always worth listening to.
  • Biblical Training is a promising site offering the chance to listen to some lecture series by various evangelical scholars for free.
  • I H Marshall weighs in to the debate on “penal substitution” showing the weight of biblical evidence for the concept, particularly in response to Alan Mann’s writings (along with Steve Chalke) on the atonement. It was the first thing I have read by this highly respected evangelical scholar, (although his Arminian views creep in at one point!) and I was quite impressed. The paper comes from a joint Evangelical Alliance/London School of Theology Symposium on the Atonement.
  • I went to hear John Arnott speak in New Life Centre, Emsworth on Monday night. The worship was very contemporary complete with smoke machine and dancers. The talk was on healing, and he made some interesting points, although there were some things I was unsure of (giving the devil a ‘legal right’ to make you sick, getting people to ‘forgive themselves’ for injuries). By the end I was one of the few people still standing, which meant I had to do a lot of catching falling people. A number of the people I went with met with God in a powerful way, and I pray that it will result in lasting fruit in their lives.
  • Sonar 5 has been announced

Book Review – Luke for Everyone (Tom Wright)

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Tom Wright has been churning out new volumes of the “For Everyone” series at an impressive rate. The series features his own translation of the New Testament, broken into chunks of around 10 verses followed by a page or two of comments. The series is aimed at a broad readership, and most sections of comments are begun with an anecdote. Luke is covered in one relatively thick volume (about 300 pages). As usual key words are highlighted in bold, and defined in a glossary at the back.

The gospels are of course one of Wright’s acknowledged areas of expertise, and many of the themes he develops in “Jesus and the Victory of God” may be found in layman’s terms here. As you might expect, there are plenty of pieces of historical information to help us truly appreciate the culture of the day, and the impact that Jesus’ words would have had on his original audience.

Wright’s typical emphases on the Temple, Exodus and Exile can be detected throughout. He also may surprise new readers with his interpretation of the parables traditionally thought to be about the “second coming” and the “end times”. In Wright’s view, they describe the destruction of the temple in AD70 and the vindication that this event brought to Jesus, although they are not without contemporary relevance.

This is not however a merely academic analysis brought to a wider audience. The comments often encourage practical response and application as well as encourage Christians to think more deeply about how their faith should be put into action. The book ends with some themes from Wright’s “Resurrection of the Son of God”, describing what the Christian understanding of the significance and future hope or resurrection is all about.

This book will prove useful to those wanting a fresh look at the gospel of Luke from an evangelical historian’s perspective. It’s format lends itself to being used for daily devotions. It will get you thinking again about the meaning of Jesus’ parables, and brings a deeper understanding of the significance of Jesus’ message. Throughout it respects Luke as a first class historian in his own right, and seeks to interpret the way he has organised the material in the gospel.

Book Review – The Teacher’s Notebook (Mark Stibbe)

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This book is a part of a series of short paperbacks on each of the five “Ephesians 4 ministries”. The books seek to define each ministry, as well as discuss the principles behind it and including practical advice. Mark Stibbe is an ideal candidate for this volume as he is a gifted Bible teacher. He also has a very accessible and readable style.

The series is from a charismatic perspective, and as Stibbe acknowledges, the gift of teaching is perhaps a neglected one in charismatic circles, due to our eagerness to stress those of prophecy or apostleship. The book has five chapters, the first of which introduces and defines the gift of teaching. He stresses that it should be Biblically based, but with the charismatic dimension of being ‘revelatory’. He very briefly defends his position on women teaching (they can) without being antagonistic to those of a different persuasion. He also attempts to distinguish ‘teaching’ (to Christians) from ‘preaching’ (to non-Christians).

Chapter 2 sets out Jesus as the ultimate teacher. This helpful chapter draws out numerous lessons from not only Jesus’ teaching technique, but also his devotional life with the Father. The third chapter deals with ‘power’ and focusses on the dimension of the Spirit in the Bible teacher’s life.

The fourth chapter deals with the Bible, and how the teacher needs to know it, study it, and most importantly know the author of it. It includes some practical advice on using Bible study tools, and Mark Stibbe cleverly includes an study of Matt 13:52 both as an example of how to study a passage and to provide extra material on the gift of teaching.

The final chapter deals with preparing the sermon, using the analogy of preparing a meal. It is not overly prescriptive on what a good sermon should contain, but using principles of simplicity, structure and seasoning, he provides some clear and helpful guidelines.

Each chapter ends with some application questions, mainly geared towards those who are exercising some form of teaching ministry. The conclusion also includes a challenge to charismatic churches to put the same effort into training teachers as they do into other ministries. The book is refreshingly different from many non-charismatic books on teaching, which can solely focus on exegetical skills, presentation style and preparation technique. It is a call for teachers who know their God and know their Bible. Its by no means a comprehensive book, but recommended reading for anyone interested in this ministry.

Book Review – Restoring the Kingdom (Andrew Walker)

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This is actually the second time I have read this book, and for someone who’s church background includes considerable Restorationist influence, it is a fascinating read. Those who have not had much contact with Restorationism may not find it quite so interesting. Dr Andrew Walker writes as a sociologist and a Russian Orthodox Christian. He is not a charismatic evangelical as Restorationists are, but he does write sympathetically and is very fair even when dealing with and making criticisms of the movement.

It is now in its fourth edition, which has been expanded to include accounts of what the author believes to be the decline of Restorationism (p23: “They did not merely slow down: they settled into a regular church life and a principled charismatic evangelicalism”). For those not initiated, Restorationism is the name he gives to a broad range of apostolic house churches that grew significantly during the 80s in Britain. These include Pioneer, Ichthus, New Frontiers, Covenant Ministries and others. They held strongly to a vision of an end times move of the Spirit to restore the church to its New Testament pattern including restoring values of apostleship, discipleship, shepherding, theocracy, a pentecostal doctrine of the baptism in the Holy Spirit and a non-denominational approach.

Walker provides a number of chapters on the historical influences, focussing particularly on key leaders such as Arthur Wallis, Bryn Jones, David Tomlinson, John Noble and how they came to work together as a team of apostles. He discusses the input of the American “Fort Lauderdale Five” including Ern Baxter, and how tensions with them emerged. More than that, he delves back to find the ‘roots’ of Restorationism in Brethren, Pentecostal and even Catholic Apostolic churches.

He detects that at some point Restorationism as a movement came to separate into two distinct streams which he calls R1 and R2 (R1 being the more conservative and pure version of Restorationism), citing the law-grace issue as being one of the divisive issues (not so much theology as emphasis being the problem).

A few more chapters are devoted to the doctrinal distinctives of Restorationism. He particularly highlights the belief that the ‘new wine’ needed ‘new wineskins’ (i.e. new churches rather than simply reforming existing denominations). He suspects that sociologically Restorationism is a sect on its way to becoming just another denomination. The subjects of ‘shepherding’ or ‘covering’ and tithing open the door for him to examine some of the criticisms of the movement.

He acknowledges that it is a ‘radical’ movement, and that some of the allegations of heavy-handed authoritarianism are deserved. But he also indicates that many of the critics of Restorationism were guilty of bitterness, jealousy and even hypocrisy. In short, the movement was certainly not without its faults, but was not quite the devil that some made it out to be.

Of great interest to me was the discussion of the decline of Restorationism. R2 has all but disappeared, but R1 has survived in modified form, principally in movements like New Frontiers. He detects new features such as emphasis on big churches and even flirtations with the prosperity gospel. He also notes the decline of emphasis on issues such as shepherding. There is even a good relationship now with the denominational churches, although the belief in apostolic ministry remains strong.

What are those of us who are “Restorationist” to make of this book? It is humbling and enlightening. Is there still a vision of what the church should be? Are we still passionate about demonstrating the kingdom of God? Or are we now a bit embarrassed about our naïve enthusiasm and optimism? Perhaps reading this book will drive us back to the Bible and back to our knees in prayer, asking God to impress his own agenda for the church afresh onto our hearts.

Am I still a Restorationist?

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I have just returned from a week’s visit to Scotland, which gave me the opportunity to read a couple of books I bought at New Wine this year (reviews to follow shortly). The first was one I had read before but wanted to re-read in light of having joined a New Frontiers church since. “Restoring the Kingdom”, by Andrew Walker, tracks the history of Restorationism.

Note: if you have not heard of Restorationism before, please note that it has been used to describe a wide variety of teachings. I am referring to the British house-church movement of the 80s epitomised by the teachings of Arthur Wallis

The book is of great interest to me, as I was brought up in an independent Baptist church that was extremely Restorationist (at the time – it is nothing of the sort now). The pastor Stanley Jebb had previously worked with Denis Clarke, and Ern Baxter provided what was known as “covering” for the church and regularly visited. The church itself became known as a centre of restoration and many leading restorationists would come to speak. We even ran a Bible week called “Anglia Bible Week” for four years, which ran along similar lines to the Dales and Downs Bible Weeks.

At the present time I am in a New Frontiers church, which is one of the few strands of Restorationism that is still alive and well, although some of the emphases have changed and the name “Restorationist” is almost never used. My pastor, Martyn Dunsford is even listed on the first page of the book as being one of Andrew Walker’s sources, and his own background includes working with Bryn Jones. Again though, most people in our church probably don’t know what being “restorationist” is, even though many of the core values are still alive and well.

Reading the book has got me thinking about the whole Restorationist vision. So many of the original values are ones that I still hold dearly myself. It is true that many leaders lost that vision, and even those who have continued have modified it somewhat. Andrew Walker viewed the Dales Bible Weeks as crucial in passing the vision over to the people (and indeed recruiting new adherents), but with the closure of Stoneleigh Bible week, do church members even know what the vision is any more? Are we content to simply find a church whose worship and sermons are to our taste, or are we driven by a vision of what the bride of Christ could and should be?

It would seem that even the concept of there being a “New Testament model” of church life is decidedly out of fashion these days. It is viewed as arrogant, and out of touch with church history. And perhaps too much has been deduced from shaky exegetical foundations. But I am convinced that in the Scriptures we have the blueprints for something altogether more glorious than many have realised.

Forthcoming Commentaries

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Jeremy Pierce has a fantastic post on forthcoming commentaries. This details who is down to write missing or replacement volumes for a large number of excellent commentary series. It has also been slowly developing into the authoratitive resource on forthcoming commentaries as various people have posted ammendments and additions to his list. A word of warning though – reading it does feel a bit like sneaking a look at your Christmas presents before the big day arrives, and some of the volumes listed could be many years before publishing (so don’t get too excited).

While you’re over at his site, check out the first of his in depth looks at the commentaries available for individual books – Zephaniah. I’m looking forward to reading more of these in the coming months.