The New Testament Commentary by William Hendriksen (1900-1982) began in 1954. The series includes commentaries on all four Gospels and the majority of the Epistles of Paul.

The commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians which first appeared in the USA in 1955 and was published by the Trust in 1972 in the United Kingdom is joined in this one-volume edition (first published in 1983) by the commentaries on 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus, published in 1957 in the USA and then in 1960 in the UK.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

REVIEWS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY

There are three features of the New Testament Commentary which call for special mention:

(1) Dr Hendriksen’s ability to anticipate, propound and answer the kind of questions likely to occur to the thoughtful reader. This he accomplishes, without pandering to idle curiosity and conjecture.

(2) His gift of applying the apostolic teaching and its lessons to present day circumstances in the church and in the world.

(3) His use of simple and happy illustrations, suggestions and contrasts.

These are merits which at once serve to facilitate the reading of the Commentary and greatly enhance its value. – FRASER MACDONALD

One mark of a good commentator is that he does not shirk the difficult passages. Judged by this standard Hendriksen gets high marks. – H.M. CARSON, The English Churchman

The biblical commentaries of William Hendriksen look like becoming classics even during their author’s lifetime … The New Testament Commentary is admirably clear, both in analysis and exegesis. While dealing realistically with interpretative problems when they arise, its primary interest lies in the positive elucidation of the text. Dr Hendriksen succeeds in satisfying the demands both of the biblical student and the preacher in search of homiletical material – a combination all too rare today. – A. SKEVINGTON WOOD, The Life of Faith

The post New Testament Commentary: 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, and Titus appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

When William Hendriksen died in 1982 he had established a reputation as an outstanding biblical commentator. His New Testament Commentary had become undoubtedly the foremost conservative and reformed commentary of the twentieth century. A master linguist, a painstaking scholar, an erudite theologian with wide experience in pastoral ministry and seminary teaching, Dr Hendriksen possessed those talents essential for undertaking a work such as this.

Each commentary is so arranged that it serves the needs and answers the questions of the advanced scholar, while at the same time satisfying the demands of the pastor and the layman. There are several distinctive features which may be noted. A thorough introduction deals with the date, authorship and background of the biblical book, as well as suggesting reasons for its study. An outline of the whole book shows its organic structure. Moreover, each section is preceded by the author’s own translation of the Greek text, which reproduces the true flavour of the original in idiomatic, modern English. After the commentary, which deals with the scriptural text on a verse-by-verse basis, a synthesis brings into focus and summarizes the central ideas. Points of grammar essential to a clear interpretation, and other specialised problems are dealt with separately to ensure full and adequate treatment without impeding the free flow of the commentary.

The commentary on Philippians which first appeared in the USA in 1962 and was published in 1963 in the Trust’s Geneva Series of Commentaries is now joined in this one volume edition by the commentaries on Colossians and Philemon, published in 1964 in the USA and then in 1971 in the United Kingdom.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

The New Testament Commentary by William Hendriksen (1900-1982) began in 1954. The series includes commentaries on all four Gospels and the majority of the Epistles of Paul.

The post New Testament Commentary: Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

It is not surprising that Galatians, the most controversial and explosive of Paul’s letters, was Luther’s favourite book of the Bible – ‘my own epistle to which I have plighted my troth.’ But it was Ephesians to which John Calvin reputedly turned for his choice as the book which meant most to him.

Certainly, together, these letters plumb the depths of the gospel and soar to the heights of the grace of God which it reveals. Galatians anchors Christian living in justification by grace; Ephesians teaches the significance of union with Christ and its practical implications. The study of these two books and the appreciation of their message is calculated to encourage true knowledge of God and obedient Christian living.

For these reasons William Hendriksen’s masterly commentaries on these two epistles are here combined in one volume. All the characteristic marks of his work are present: a thorough introduction to each epistle; a comprehensive outline showing the structure of Paul’s thought; a careful translation of the text which brings out the flavour of the original. Dr Hendriksen’s commentaries are scholarly, yet are written with a warmth and lucidity which comes from his pastoral concern to introduce Bible readers, students, and scholars of all kinds to the truth which Scripture unfolds.

The combination in one volume of the commentaries on Galatians and Ephesians provides the reader with a valuable resource-book for a lifetime of Bible study.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

The post New Testament Commentary: Galatians and Ephesians appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

Like the Apostle Paul, William Hendriksen (1900-82) did not write merely as an academic specialist, but for the blessing of the Christian church at large. Nowhere is this more evident than in his treatment of the Epistle to the Romans. At the very letter in which many commentators become most technical and abstruse, Hendriksen’s work is marked by clarity, vigour and a strong sense of the spirit as well as the content of Romans.

In this one-volume edition, the profound theology of chapters 1 to 11 is linked with the searching practical application of chapters 12 to 16. This double volume bears witness to the author’s own claim:

A heart-warming book is Romans. It is filled with instruction touching both life and doctrine. It imparts comfort in life and, as every faithful pastor knows, and ever so many other people have testified, also in the hour of death.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

The post New Testament Commentary: Romans appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

For myself I have to say that it is the most satisfying commentary that I have ever read on this Gospel. Dr Hendriksen is acknowledged and recognised as an outstanding New Testament scholar who is thoroughly up-to-date and fully aware of all modern movements of thought. He leaves nothing to be desired in that respect, but at the same time his outlook and teaching are thoroughly Reformed, conservative and evangelical.

There is an excellent Introduction, and a peculiarly interesting feature is the way in which he gives a synopsis of the argument of each section. At the same time there is a verse by verse commentary, and all bathed in the warm devotional spirit of a pastor’s heart.

Here is an invaluable aid for all preachers, Sunday School workers and Bible Class leaders, and indeed for all who ‘desire the sincere milk of the word that they may grow thereby.’ All who enter into the riches of this great Gospel under the guidance of Dr Hendriksen will find their minds informed, their faith quickened and strengthened and established, and their hearts moved to adoration. At any rate that has been my experience. That is what one is entitled to ask and to expect of any commentary, but alas, it is a desideratum that is but rarely satisfied by modern commentaries.

– MARTYN LLOYD-JONES in the foreword to the first British edition of this outstanding commentary.

Book Description

The New Testament Commentary by William Hendriksen (1900-1982) began with this volume in 1954. The series includes commentaries on all four Gospels and the majority of the Epistles of Paul.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

The post New Testament Commentary: John appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

Dr Hendriksen’s success as a commentator has been rendered noteworthy by his refusal to accept the prevailing assumption that the best commentaries are written primarily for specialists and for academics. His justification lies in his understanding of the intention of Scripture itself. Thus in his Introduction to Luke he writes:

This Gospel is a book of Doctrine showing us what to believe . . . a book of Ethics telling us how to live . . . a book of Comfort teaching us why to rejoice … a book of Prophecy informing us what to expect.

It is because the New Testament Commentary stays so close to Scripture in aim and content that its popularity and usefulness will outlive the present age. No 20th-century author has done more to restore the belief that commentaries should be a part of the common reading of the church. Hendriksen, writes The Baptist Standard, is ‘a penman for all people,’ and many would share the conviction of Edwin Palmer (Executive Secretary of the New International Version of the Bible), ‘I know of no finer commentaries in the English language.’

This volume – which was the last of the series on the four Gospels to be produced – has various new features which probably express the writer’s final decisions on the best arrangement for a commentary, notably:

• A more basic and lengthy discussion of critical theories.
• The treatment of Greek words, phrases, and constructions has been separated from the main text.
• A special introduction to Luke’s central section (9:51-18:14), because this part of the book has given rise to doubts and problems.
• ‘Practical lessons’ at the close of indicated sections.
• Two special studies on locating and interpreting parables.
• A Subject Index for the synoptic Gospels.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

The post New Testament Commentary: Luke appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

Mark’s Gospel, ‘written between AD 40 and 65, with the balance of evidence now favouring the earlier part of this period,’ has its own distinct importance, and, in introducing this Gospel, Hendriksen deals in turn with what he considers to be its three main characteristics, compactness, vividness and orderliness. It is ‘definitely the action Gospel,’ and ‘in ever so many passages or paragraphs Mark presents lively little touches that are not found elsewhere.’

Hendriksen does not accept that Mark is chiefly concerned to supply a record of events; rather the Gospel has a doctrinal and thoroughly practical aim – to bring about transformation and furnish an incentive for living to the glory of God. ‘This Gospel was intended to reach the entire Greek speaking world: its message was, is and is going to be meaningful for everybody’; at the same time, he accepts the tradition of the Gospel’s origin in the needs of the church at Rome and points out the relevance of its emphasis in that context:

The manner in which Mark pictures the Christ, namely, as an active, energetic, swiftly-moving, warring, conquering King, a Victor over the destructive forces of nature, over disease, demons and even death, would be of interest especially to Romans, people who, in their lust for exercise of power, had conquered the world. To them Mark pictures a King who excels any earthly conqueror. His Kingdom is far more extensive, his armour far more effective, and his rule far more enduring than anything originating here below.

This volume of the New Testament Commentary fully maintains the high standard associated with the author. While technicalities are kept out of the text itself, genuine problems receive due attention.

Writing on the assumption that a commentator’s business is to expound the Scripture with lucidity and simplicity, it is no small part of the value of these volumes that they set aside a whole spectrum of opinion which has no permanent value for the church. Above all, the author aims, in the spirit of the New Testament itself, to direct attention to one who is both Saviour of sinners and ‘Lord of all’.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

The post New Testament Commentary: Mark appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

I know of no finer commentaries in the English language — EDWIN PALMER

Book Description

The first Gospel, written by one of the least conspicuous of the twelve apostles, is a book of primary importance. Dr Hendriksen’s massive commentary soon reveals why this is so, and why, for the author, the reading of Matthew ‘at one sitting is a thrilling experience. The book is simply irresistible.’

While holding that the purpose of Matthew’s Gospel was ‘fully to win the Jews to Christ,’ Dr Hendriksen does not find the Gospel’s most distinctive feature in Christ’s kingship. Rather it is seen in the prophetic emphasis, in the plan of God’s grace revealed in the Messianic predictions of the Hebrew Scriptures (forty of which Matthew uses), and now shown to be realized in history.

More than this, the Gospel holds forth Christ himself as the Chief Prophet (Matt. 17:5). So among the first three Gospels it is to Matthew that one must turn for Christ’s great discourses. ‘Whatever parallels the other Gospels contain, it is the former publican who has given us this material in its fullest and most organized form.’ Matthew gives us not only the Sermon on the Mount, but the seven ‘kingdom’ parables, the rules for church discipline, the seven woes denounced upon Pharisees and scribes, and Christ’s vivid and detailed prophecy of the future of Jerusalem, the church and the world. The majestic portrayal of the final judgment provides the grand climax of Christ’s prophetic ministry.

The commentary on the text is preceded by one hundred pages of Introduction in which Dr Hendriksen deals with the ‘synoptic problem.’ Dating the Gospel at around A.D. 63-66, he shows the ineffectualness of the attempted liberal ‘reconstruction’ of the Gospel history.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

The post New Testament Commentary: Matthew appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.