After reviewing several volumes in the IVP New Testament Commentary series, I find this volume on First Corinthians as one of the best it has to offer. Alan Johnson writes with such heart. Scholarly endeavors never obscured the simple believer in Mr. Johnson. That is not to say that this volume lacks in scholarship, but that it doesn’t lose sight of what’s most important.

In the author’s preface, Mr. Johnson says, “my life has been transformed by the words of Paul in this ancient letter.” He sees First Corinthians as Paul working “through his theology of the cross as lifestyle”.

In the Introduction, Mr. Johnson begins by setting Corinth in its first-century setting. He feels that setting is essential to grasping what First Corinthians is attempting to say. Further, he feels that too much emphasis on Greek culture overlooks the Roman character of Corinth. When Mr. Johnson spoke of the market-service economy in Corinth as well as the impact of tourism on the culture, he brought up points that are not well stated in several other works. He briefly describes the religious environment and social status inconsistencies in Corinth too.

From there, he tackles the subject of Paul, who he states is the author. He tries to fit in Corinth with Paul’s overall chronology. He sees Paul’s purpose for First Corinthians as:” status seeking, self-promotion, a competitive drive for adulation and success, even use of the Christian church as a means of self-promotion and advancement”. He briefly overviews scholarly viewpoints on the integrity of First Corinthians, followed by discussion of rhetoric, major theological themes, and contemporary relevance.

After an outline, he jumps into the commentary itself. It is well done! In my judgment, he always struck the right balance that you are looking for in one of these mid-length commentaries. He got to the heart of the issue quickly without being superficial. I see this commentary as an excellent addition to the library of any pastor or Bible student. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

The young Biblical Theology for Christian Proclamation (BTCP) series continues its impressive start with this fine volume on Romans by scholar David Peterson. When I saw that Mr. Peterson was scheduled to produce this commentary on Romans, I fully anticipated an excellent volume because of his track record in producing a top-flight commentary on the Book of Acts in the Pillar New Testament Commentary series. Though this series may not go as deep on the exegetical level, it creates its own niche by carefully probing biblical theology with competent exegetical work behind it. Mr. Peterson has proven himself adept at both types of commentary. In other words, he has succeeded with this BTCP volume on the Book of Romans.

The learning that Mr. Peterson brings to the table is clear in the Introduction he writes on the Book of Romans for this volume. Although this series required that he summarize more on introductory matters, the research behind what he says is obvious. He begins by discussing the character of Romans and dives immediately into the epistolary framework of the book. This approach requires deeply probing what Paul was doing at this point of his ministry. The next section is on structure and argument. He agrees with those who see four main divisions in the argument Paul presents. He finally arrives at a new approach that he presents in four literary factors: alternation, refrain, progression/digression, and recursion. Next, he tackles purpose and puts Jews and Roman Christianity in its proper context along with Paul’s mission. He ends with a discussion of continuing relevance for the Book of Romans and an outline of the book.

There’s another introductory chapter that discusses biblical and theological themes found in the Book of Romans. This chapter effectively draws out in accordance with the aims of this series what will be developed throughout the commentary itself. In my view, there’s much to glean in this section to greatly enrich one’s understanding of Romans.

The commentary itself begins with the text, a discussion of context, another of structure, followed by verse by verse commentary. That is followed by a section entitled “bridge” that ties the discussion together and makes some helpful conclusions.

All the volumes in this series so far have been of high quality, and snagging Mr. Peterson for the Romans volume is something of a coup for the editors. It raises the stature of this series. This volume will be appreciated by pastors and I recommend it.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

The NIVAC commentary series has successfully found a niche as a resource to pick up after you’ve studied the major exegetical commentaries and now need to think about application and contemporary significance. This commentary on Esther by Karen Jobes fulfills the aims of the series effectively.

In the Introduction the author begins with a somewhat subversive illustration to turn our minds toward the subject of the Book of Esther, but becomes much more helpful when she discusses the Book of Esther itself. The style is more succinct, and even breezy, than in some other series, yet the main points are still well covered. The historical background, as well as authorship and date, are all well covered before the author asked the question: is Esther reliable history? I appreciated, especially after having read as many commentaries on Esther as I have, her saying that the objections raised against the historicity of Esther are not “beyond explanation”. She approaches genre in a section about ancient storytelling and argues that Esther has great value whether it’s historically accurate or not. I’m a firm believer in the historicity of Esther, but love seeing her say that the relationship between biblical narrative and history “consciously rests on the concept that God has in fact worked in history through events that really happened”.

Her love of Esther’s story becomes clear in the section on literary structure. Again, this section is not as lengthy as in some of the larger commentaries, but the bases are still well covered. The same could be said of the section on the theology of Esther. Even more in line with the design of this series is the final section on contemporary significance. You will gain some helpful insights.

After a bibliography, she jumps right into the commentary itself. As with every volume in this series, it is divided into original meaning, bridging contexts, and contemporary significance. That design can’t help but have some repetition, but the author did a good job with it. I rate this volume as a success and a worthy addition to your library.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.