This commentary highlights both the socio-political context of 1 Corinthians and the clash of significantly different religious viewpoints represented by Paul and the congregation he had founded in Corinth. In particular, Richard Horsley shows that this letter provides a window through which one may view the tension between the Corinthians' interest in cultivating individual spirituality and the apostle's concern for building up a social-religious community devoted to the common advantage, for the flourishing both of personal dignity and a humanizing solidarity.
From the second century to the present, 2 Corinthians offers its riches grudgingly,if at all; and even then it demands only the most careful and attentive inquiries. The Abingdon New Testament Commentaries series provides compact, critical commentaries on the writings of the New Testament. These commentaries are written with special attention to the needs and interests of theological students, but they will also be useful for students in upper-level college or university settings, as well as for pastors and other religious leaders. In addition to providing basic information about the New Testament texts and insights into their meanings, these commentaries are intended to exemplify the tasks and procedures of careful, critical biblical exegesis. "2 Corinthians is a treasure hidden in a thorny thicket. It is so rich, so full of theological insight, so packed with hope and possibility, so aware of dark human tendencies and human vulnerability, and so radical in its reevaluation of what is true and real." From the Introduction
Paul's first letter to the Corinthians is one of the most important epistles in the New Testament. David Garland's thoughtful new commentary draws on extensive research and engages the best of contemporary scholarship while providing a readable study that will be accessible to thoughtful readers as well as students, pastors, and scholars. After considering the context of the letter and the social and cultural setting of Corinth, Garland turns to his exegetical work. An introduction to each major unit of thought is followed by the author's own translation of the Greek text. In the course of his verse-by-verse commentary, he incorporates references to other ancient writings that help explain particular aspects of Paul's meaning or provide information on the social and cultural context. He also refers to the work of other commentators and provides extensive notes for further reading and research.
Accepting the widespread view that 1 Thessalonians is the earliest surviving Pauline letter, Furnish commends reading it as fully as possible on its own terms, without presupposing or imposing themes or positions that are explicit only in letters of a later date. While he agrees with commentators who note this letter's pastoral aims and character, he is more convinced than some that it also exhibits a rich and coherent theological point of view. Furnish interprets 2 Thessalonians as the work of an anonymous Paulinist writing several decades after the apostle's death. He regards this letter, too, as historically and theologically valuable, although less for what it discloses about Paul's ministry and thought than for what it shows about the reception and interpretation of Paul in the late first-century church.
The Cornerstone Biblical Commentary series (18 volumes) provides students, pastors, and laypeople with up-to-date, accessible evangelical scholarship on the Old and New Testaments. Presenting the message for each passage, as well as an overview of other issues relevant to the text, each volume equips pastors and Christian leaders with exegetical and theological knowledge so they can better understand and apply God's Word. This volume includes the entire NLT text of 1st and 2nd Corinthians. Ideal for the NLT reader who wants to do more in-depth study. William R. Baker, Ph.D., University of Aberdeen, is professor of New Testament at Cincinnati Bible Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the general editor of Stone-Campbell Journal and the author and editor of several books and articles, including Evangelicalism and the Stone-Campbell Movement and Sticks and Stones: The Biblical Ethics of Talk. He has also written a commentary on 2 Corinthians for the College Press NIV Commentary Series. Ralph P. Martin, Ph.D., University of London, is in his fifth decade as a teacher, scholar, and mentor. He is Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Fuller Theological Seminary, at the Graduate School of Theology of Azusa Pacific University, and at Logos Evangelical Seminary in Pasadena, California. He is the author of numerous studies and commentaries on the New Testament, including Worship in the Early Church, the Philippians in The Tyndale New Testament Commentary series, and James in the Word Biblical Commentary, for which he also serves as New Testament editor. He also co-edited the Dictionary of Paul and His Letters and the Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments. Ordained to the Baptist ministry in 1949, Dr. Martin has pastored churches in Dunstable, Southport, and Gloucester, England. Carl N. Toney, Ph.D., Loyola University Chicago, is adjunct assistant professor of New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He edited and contributed to the revised edition of 2 Corinthians in the Word Biblical Commentary series and is the author of Paul's Inclusive Ethic: Resolving Community Conflicts and Promoting Mission in Romans 14-15. A licensed minister in the American Baptist Convention, Dr. Toney is also a member of the Society of Biblical Literature.
Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.
Written by prominent professor and skilled interpreter Charles Cousar,An Introduction to the New Testamentprovides a concise overview of the content and purpose of the books of the New Testament within the context of the church's early development. This cogent introduction gives serious attention to the history of earliest Christianity but always returns to the texts' theological meaning and significance, highlighting the relevance of these books for the church today.
