The Pastoral Epistles (International Theological Commentary | ITC)
Digital Logos Edition
Save on Publisher Spotlight through April 30!$39.19
Overview
This commentary offers a verse-by-verse theological interpretation of the First and Second epistles to Timothy and Titus. Bray reads the letters as authoritative scripture, moving beyond questions of whether they are pseudonymous, and of whether or not they are post-apostolic, instead looking closely at how they have been understood in the life of the Church.
Bray engages with the history of commentary surrounding these letters, ranging from the Fathers to contemporary theology and exegesis. He reads the epistles as the authoritative word from God to his people, and through his engagement with the history of interpretation shows the constant thread of witness and confession that unites believers across the ages. In so doing, Bray shows why the Pastoral Epistles have survived the passage of time and have retained the canonical authority that they have always enjoyed.
- Offers a corrective to the widespread pathologies of academic study of the Bible in the modern era
- Includes a thorough introduction to the interpretive and theological issues
- Treats the Pastoral Epistles as an authoritative word from God to his people that speaks today with the same power as they spoke when they were first revealed
Top Highlights
“For Christians, ‘piety’ and ‘impiety’ were spiritual concepts, more closely connected to attitudes of heart and mind than to particular actions.” (Page 101)
“In other words, Paul continued the theme of his own exceeding unworthiness in order to compare and contrast it with the superabundant grace of God. As throughout this passage, Paul’s reasoning was subjective, not objective.” (Page 121)
“For him, God’s oikonomia was the plan, purpose and intention for which he had given the law in the first place” (Page 89)
“According to the ontological scheme, Christ was an intermediate being who was neither fully God nor merely man” (Page 151)
“Open heresy is relatively rare, but subtle distractions are quite common” (Page 90)
As a distinguished church historian and theologian, in this commentary Gerald Bray dares enter where angels fear to tread, since it involves texts at the heart of debates over women’s ministry, ecclesial structure, and other controversies. Many will disagree with his verdicts, but all will learn from this experienced scholar.
—Gerald McDermott, Beeson Divinity School, USA
This is a rare book, a commentary that actually does something new. In addition to sound exegetical sense in the discussions of individual verses, this volume has an expansive vision of the gospel and the character of God. The theological discussion is an important contribution to scholarship on the Pastoral Epistles.
—Simon Gathercole, Reader in New Testament Studies, University of Cambridge, UK
- Title: The Pastoral Epistles
- Author: Gerald L. Bray
- Editors: Michael Allen and Scott Swain
- Series: T&T Clark International Theological Commentary
- Publisher: T&T Clark
- Publication Date: 2019
- Pages: 616
- Resource Type: Commentary
- Topic: Pastoral Epistles
Gerald Bray (DLitt, University of Paris-Sorbonne) is research professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama; distinguished professor of historical theology at Knox Theological Seminary; and director of research at Latimer Trust, Oak Hill College, London. A prolific author, he has written many books, including God Is Love, God Has Spoken, The Doctrine of God, and Biblical Interpretation: Past and Present. Bray is a minister in the Church of England and serves as editor of the Anglican journal Churchman.
Save on Publisher Spotlight through April 30!