The New Testament Church (Standard Reference Library New Testament, Vol. 2)

The New Testament Church comes to life in this look at its history and the letters written to address specific needs. This volume provides a series of studies drawn from the remaining books of the New Testament (Acts through Revelation). Douglas Redford compiles the most insightful, most helpful portions of commentary on certain key passages that have been covered on different occasions throughout the history of the Standard Lesson Commentary. The format for each chapter has been kept purposefully simple. Under the title of each chapter is a list of the passages to be examined within that chapter. Each passage is then studied under two main headings: “Establishing the Groundwork” and “Examining the Text.” The “Groundwork” section aims to place a passage in its proper context, providing background information about the significant people, places, and events. For example, in the first volume dealing with Christ’s life, the “Groundwork” portion explains where in Jesus’ life and ministry the passage occurred, and it also seeks to provide a smooth transition between passages so that the flow of thought is maintained. The “Examining the Text” portion presents a verse-by-verse explanation of the Biblical text being considered. In some cases, two or more verses will be grouped together (for example, verses that describe something that took place within one of Jesus’ parables).