The Life and Work of St. Paul (2 vols.)
Overview
Of this work, F. W. Farrar writes, "My chief object has been to give a definite, accurate, and intelligible impression of St. Paul’s teaching; of the controversies in which he was engaged; of the circumstances which educed his statements of doctrine and practice; of the inmost heart of his theology in each of its phases; of his Epistles as a whole, and of each Epistle in particular as complete and perfect in itself."
"In our custom of studying the Bible year after year in separate texts and isolated chapters, we are but too apt to lose sight of what the Bible is as a whole, and even of the special significance of its separate books. I thought, then, that if I could in any degree render each of the Epistles more thoroughly familiar, either in their general aspect or in their special particulars, I should be rendering some service—however humble—to the Church of God..."
Top Highlights
“John was called a Son of Thunder; Simon was to be known to all ages as Kephas, or Peter, the Apostle of the Foundation stone.” (Volume 1, Page 1)
“The deadliest antagonist of Judaic exclusiveness was by birth a Hebrew of the Hebrews. The dealer of the death-wound to the spirit of Pharisaism was a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees;3 had been brought up from his youth at Jerusalem at the feet of Gamaliel;1 had been taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers; had lived ‘after the most straitest sect’ of the Jewish service.2 As his work differed in many respects from that of the other Apostles, so his training was wholly unlike theirs.” (Volume 1, Pages 4–5)
“tolerably certain that he was born during the first ten years of our era, and probable that he was born about A.D. 3.” (Volume 1, Page 14)
“Saul passed his earliest years in the famous capital of a Roman province, and must have recalled, with his first conscious reminiscences, the language and customs of the Pagan world.” (Volume 1, Page 14)
“The New Testament furnishes us with a favourable picture of the candour and wisdom of a Nicodemus and a Gamaliel.” (Volume 1, Page 46)
IN the Life of Christ I endeavoured, to the best of my power, to furnish, in the form of a narrative, such a commentary upon the Gospels as should bring to bear the most valuable results of modern research. By studying every line and word of the Evangelists with close and reverent attention; by seeking for the most genuine readings and the most accurate translations; by visiting the scenes in the midst of which our Lord had moved; by endeavouring to form a conception at once true and vivid of the circumstances of the age in which He lived, and the daily conditions of religious thought and national custom by which He was surrounded—I thought that, while calling attention in large to His Divine Nature as the Incarnate Son of God, I might be enabled to set forth in clear outline the teaching and the actions of that human life which He lived for our example, and of that death which He died for us men and for our salvation.
In that work it was no small part of my object to enable readers to study the Gospels with a fuller understanding of their significance, and with a more intense impression of their reality and truth. In the present volume I have undertaken a similar task for the Acts of the Apostles and the thirteen Epistles of St. Paul. My first desire throughout has been to render some assistance towards the study of that large portion of the New Testament which is occupied with the labours and writings of the Apostle of the Gentiles; to show the grandeur of the work and example of one who was indeed a "vessel of election;" and to bring his character and history to bear on the due comprehension of those Epistles, which have bequeathed to all subsequent ages an inestimable legacy of wisdom and knowledge.
In order to accomplish this task, I can conscientiously say that I have used my best diligence and care. Circumstances have precluded me from carrying out my original intention of actually visiting the countries in which St. Paul laboured; and to do this was the less necessary because abundant descriptions of them may be found in the works of many recent travellers. This branch of the subject has been amply illustrated in the well-known volumes of Messrs. Conybeare and Howson, and Mr. Thomas Lewin. To those admirable works all students of St. Paul must be largely indebted, and I need not say that my own book is not intended in any way to come into competition with theirs. It has been written in great measure with a different purpose, as well as from a different point of view.
My chief object has been to give a definite, accurate, and intelligible impression of St. Paul’s teaching; of the controversies in which he was engaged; of the circumstances which educed his statements of doctrine and practice; of the inmost heart of his theology in each of its phases; of his Epistles as a whole, and of each Epistle in particular as complete and perfect in itself. The task is, I think, more necessary than might be generally supposed. In our custom of studying the Bible year after year in separate texts and isolated chapters, we are but too apt to lose sight of what the Bible is as a whole, and even of the special significance of its separate books. I thought, then, that if I could in any degree render each of the Epistles more thoroughly familiar, either in their general aspect or in their special particulars, I should be rendering some service—however humble—to the Church of God...
- Title: The Life and Work of St. Paul
- Author: Frederic Farrar
- Publisher: E. P. Dutton & Co.
- Print Publication Date: 1902
- Logos Release Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Bible. N.T. › Paul
- Resource ID: LLS:LFEWRKSTPL
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-02-12T08:34:41Z
Frederic William Farrar (August 7, 1831–March 22, 1903), an English clergyman and author, was born in Bombay, India, and educated in England. In 1876 he was installed canon of Westminster and rector of St. Margaret’s. He became archdeacon of Westminster in 1883 and in 1885 he was appointed Bampton lecturer at Oxford, and took for his subject “The History of Interpretation.” He was appointed dean of Canterbury in 1895, in which capacity he served until his death. He was influential in the spread of the “Broad Church” movement and was one of the founders of the institution known as the Anglican Brotherhood. His writings cover a wide range, from school stories to Scripture commentaries and theological studies. His Life of Christ (1874) and Eternal Hope (1878) have seen several editions.