What is the gospel? And how was it first preached—and defended? In their eagerness to tell the world about Jesus Christ, early Christians met religious opposition (from the Jews), cultural opposition (from paganism), political opposition (from the Roman empire), and philosophical opposition (from “Christian deviations” such as legalism, Gnosticism, and Docetism). F.F. Bruce shows how early Christians responded to each such opposition. They did not accommodate themselves to the worldviews t...

The Books and the Parchments is a classic text on the history and origins of the Bible. It explains the languages in which the Bible was written, how the books of the Bible were chosen, and the Bible's transmission and translation – from the earliest translations to the most popular English versions. Included are sections on the "Lost Books of the Bible" and the Apocrypha and other early Christian books. Professor Bruce makes it clear that he was writing for "non-specialists . . . and . . ...

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...

F.F. Bruce’s account of finding the Dead Sea Scrolls and learning of their importance will make you feel as if you are making the discoveries yourself. Although first written fewer than ten years after the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, this third edition (1964) is an excellent, readable introduction to "the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times.” F.F. Bruce’s balanced and thoughtful book answers the questions readers still want to know about the story, the Qumran community, th...

F.F. Bruce wrote this biography of Paul to share the rewards that he experienced in his study – the rewards that came, he said, because of the warmth of Paul's personality, his intellectual stature, his message of redeeming grace, and his single-minded devotion to preaching the gospel. The result, says Theology Today, is the magnum opus of F.F. Bruce, one of the best known and most respected biblical scholars. Paul is often considered to be the most important person – other than Jesus – in...

This ebook opens our understanding of the Acts of the Apostles so that “you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed.” Acts is the second volume of the history of Christian origins by Luke, a doctor who wrote “an orderly account” of the life of Christ and the early church. The first volume is Luke’s gospel. Written as part of Scripture Union’s Bible Study Commentary series, which encourages regular, systematic personal Bible reading, this commentary is also ...

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...

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...

"So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us," said the Apostle Paul. Yet some Christians seem to regard complete freedom from any kind of tradition as a sign of spiritual maturity. The fact is, when we seek to abandon old traditions, we create new ones. F.F. Bruce explains it this way: "It is noteworthy how often the renunciation of an old tradition is followed by the speedy development of a new one." Tradition Old and New traces the development of ...

A thorough verse-by-verse exposition of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. “Nowhere,” says Bruce, is God’s “glorious purpose unfolded so fully and clearly as in the Epistle to the Ephesians. . . . The message of Ephesians is that only through Christ, in the fellowship of his body, can iron curtains, color-bars, class-warfare and all other divisions of this kind be brought to an end. . . . Only Christ can bring together the people on either side of these barricades, by first bringing them to h...

To what sources other than the New Testament can we turn for information about the life of Jesus and the beginnings of the Christian church? F.F. Bruce has given an answer by creating, in essence, a catalog of non-canonical writings about Jesus and early Christians. At the time of the death of Christ, few people other than his followers knew much about him. However, as the number and influence of his followers increased, they aroused sufficient interest to gain considerable comment and man...

This outstanding commentary is easy to read, informative, and intended for the general reader interested in serious Bible study. The translation used is Bruce's own. He sets passages in their historical and cultural context, compares them with the other three Gospel accounts, and opens the meaning of the verses. The book has won such praises as "scholarly, concise, and practical"; "the best overall commentary on the Gospel of John"; and "clear-headed and consistently informative." Drawing ...