In New Testament times there did not seem to be any doubt that Jesus said he was God. But nearly 300 years later a priest in Alexandria, Egypt, taught that although Jesus had divine attributes, He Himself was not God—a viewpoint that remains among some groups today. Recognizing that the doctrine of the deity of Christ was under attack, Dr. William J. Martin, lecturer at University of Liverpool, and Dr. F.F. Bruce, professor at the University of Manchester, wrote a little book stating the c...

For more than twenty years F.F. Bruce answered questions submitted by readers of "The Harvester," a magazine published by Paternoster Press primarily for members of Brethren assemblies. It was one of the magazine's most popular features. The first half of this book covers questions and answers on the biblical text; the second half covers questions and answers on Christian doctrine and the Christian life. Two indices will help the reader find topics of interest. However, reading through the...

This book is perhaps the most accessible introduction to the writings of St. Paul ever written in modern English. That’s because Professor Bruce does not approach his “expanded paraphrase” as a Bible translator, but as a storyteller recounting the life of Paul after his conversion and his correspondence with churches and individuals. This expanded paraphrase “is designed to make the course of Paul’s argument as clear as possible,” says F.F. Bruce. One unique aspect of The Letters of Paul i...

The Epistles to John were written to Asian Christians at the end of the first century to encourage them in the face of false teachings and to assure them that they were following the truth of Christ. John's clearly stated purpose is that his reader "may know that ye have eternal life" (1 John 5:13) and "that ye also may have fellowship with us: yea, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ and . . . that your joy may be fulfilled." (1 John 1:3-4). Believers stil...

In recounting Israel's story from the Exodus to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, F.F. Bruce reveals the historical context of the nation of Israel in a way that reads more like a novel than an academic text. In doing so, he makes the Bible come alive. For instance, the book gives a context to Psalm 137 in which Edom rejoices over Jerusalem's fall to Babylon, and it gives context to John 4 where a woman says, "Jews have no dealings with Samaritans." The chief distinction of Israe...

Who was Jesus and what did he do? These questions are right on target for understanding Jesus as a figure of history. But Christians mean more than that when they ask these questions. They go on to ask, Where did he come from? What is he doing? What is he going to do? For Christians, Jesus is the preexistent Son who became incarnate. And as the resurrected and living Christ, he continues to act, and he will yet do great things in the future. In this book, F.F. Bruce, one of the eminent New...

Christianity Today Awards: Readers' Choice—1st placeChristianity Today Awards: Critics' Choice—1st placeECPA Gold Medallion Award winnerHow did the books of the Bible come to be recognized as Holy Scripture?Who decided what shape the canon should take?What criteria influenced these decisions?After nearly nineteen centuries the canon of Scripture st...

"“. . . undertaken to provide earnest students of the New Testament with an exposition that is thorough and abreast of modern scholarship and at the same time loyal to the Scriptures as the infallible Word of God.”"This statement reflects the underlying purpose of The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Begun in the late 1940s by an international team of New Testament scholars, the NICNT series has become recognized by pastors, students, and scholars alike as a crit...

Build your Bible study library with this essential book on the cultures and history of the biblical world. Each article comes from Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary. This volume of the Unlock the Bible series includes articles on the most important kingdoms, peoples, and events in Scripture.Under the direction of Ronald F. Youngblood, the world's leading evangelical scholars updated and revised classic articles drawn from Herbert Lockyer, F. F. Bru...

The Gospel of Matthew, written for Jewish Christians, focuses on who Jesus is, why he came, and how he fits into God’s bigger purposes. Matthew shows that Jesus is the long-expected Messiah, the bringer of God’s kingdom. The most prominent feature of this gospel is the teaching of Jesus, which is arranged in five discourses that dominate the book’s structure. This commentary is written by one of the most influential biblical scholars in recent times. F.F. Bruce’s writing is clear, illumina...

It is plain from Paul’s writings that presentations of the Christian message other than his own were current during his apostolic career. This concise and scholarly study describes four of the non-Pauline movements in the early church, each of which can be identified with a particular leader: Peter, acknowledged leader of the apostles; Stephen and the Hellenists (Jews who spoke Greek culturally and linguistically); James and the Church of Jerusalem; and John and his circle, including his i...

How did the books of the Bible come to be recognized as Holy Scripture? Who decided what shape the canon should take? What criteria influenced these decisions?After nearly nineteen centuries the canon of Scripture still remains an issue of debate. Protestants, Catholics, and the Orthodox all have slightly differing collections of documents in their Bibles. And many Christians today, while confessing the authority of all of Scripture, tend to rely on only a few books and particular ...