Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon: Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, NT Volume 9 [ACCS]
Stock No: WW81494
Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon: Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, NT Volume 9 [ACCS]  -     Edited By: Peter Gorday, Thomas C. Oden
    By: Peter Gorday, ed.

Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon: Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, NT Volume 9 [ACCS]

InterVarsity Press / 2000 / Hardcover

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While patristic commentary on St. Paul's shorter letters was not so extensive as that on his longer letters, certain passages in these letters proved particularly important in doctrinal disputes and practical church matters. Pivotal in controversies with the Arians and the Gnostics, the most commented-upon christological text amid these letters was Colossians 1:15-20, where Jesus is declared, "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation."In other texts scattered throughout the Pastorals, the fathers found ample support for the divinity of the Son and the Spirit and for the full union of humanity and divinity in the one redeemer, the "one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus"1 Timothy 2:5). These early Christian commentators also looked to the Pastorals, where Pauline authorship was assumed, for important ethical and moral teaching, as well as explicit qualifications for choosing church leaders and guidelines for overseeing the work and behavior of widows.Chief among the Eastern commentators and widely excerpted throughout this volume is John Chrysostom, praised for his pastoral insight and shrewd, generous empathy with the apostle Paul. Other Greek commentators whose works are cited include Theodoret of Cyr, Theodore of Mopsuestia, Severian of Gabala, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Athanasius, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa. Among Western commentators Augustine dominates. His work is joined by that of Ambrosiaster, Pelagius, Jerome, Hippolytus, Tertullian, Novatian, Cyprian of Carthage, Hilary of Poitiers and Ambrose, among others. Of particular interest for their ascetical and devotional insight are works from Syrian and Egyptian churches, including Aphrahat, Ephrem the Syrian, Isaac of Nineveh and Philoxenus of Mabbug.This volume opens up a treasure house of ancient wisdom that allows these faithful witnesses, some appearing here in English translation for the first time, to speak with eloquence and intellectual acumen to the church today.

Product Information

Title: Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon: Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, NT Volume 9 [ACCS]
By: Peter Gorday, ed.
Format: Hardcover
Number of Pages: 350
Vendor: InterVarsity Press
Publication Date: 2000
Dimensions: 10 X 7 X 1.25 (inches)
Weight: 2 pounds 2 ounces
ISBN: 0830814949
ISBN-13: 9780830814947
Series: Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture
Stock No: WW81494

Publisher's Description

Christianity Today Book of the Year

For the early church fathers, certain passages in the shorter letters of St. Paul proved particularly important in doctrinal disputes and practical church matters. Pivotal in controversies with the Arians and the Gnostics, the most commented-on christological text in these letters was Colossians 1:15-20, where Jesus is declared "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation."

The fathers found ample support scattered throughout the Pastorals for the divinity of the Son and the Spirit and for the full union of humanity and divinity in the "one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5). These commentators also looked to the Pastorals for important teaching on ethics and church life.

Chief among the Eastern commentators and widely excerpted throughout this volume is John Chrysostom, praised for his pastoral insight. Other Greek commentators cited include Theodoret of Cyr, Theodore of Mopsuestia, Severian of Gabala, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Athanasius, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa. Western commentators include Augustine, Ambrosiaster, Pelagius, Jerome, Hippolytus, Tertullian, Novatian, Cyprian of Carthage, Hilary of Poitiers, and Ambrose. Of particular interest for their ascetical and devotional insight are works from Syrian and Egyptian churches, including Aphrahat, Ephrem the Syrian, Isaac of Nineveh, and Philoxenus of Mabbug.

This Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture volume opens up a treasure house of ancient wisdom that allows these faithful witnesses, some appearing here in English translation for the first time, to speak with eloquence and intellectual acumen to the church today.

Author Bio

Thomas C. Oden (1931–2016) was a pioneering theologian and served as the architect and general editor for the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. He was also the general editor of the Ancient Christian Doctrine series and the Ancient Christian Devotional series, as well as a consulting editor for the Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity. A prolific writer and seasoned teacher, Oden also served as the director of the Center for Early African Christianity at Eastern University in Pennsylvania and was active in the Confessing Movement in America, particularly within the United Methodist Church.


Peter J. Gorday (PhD, Vanderbilt) is a priest of the Episcopal Church and serves parishes in Georgia and North Carolina. A clinical staff member with the Georgia Association for Pastoral Counseling, he is also the author of Principles of Patristic Exegesis: Romans 9-11 in Origen, John Chrysostom and Augustine, as well as journal articles in the history of biblical interpretation.

Editorial Reviews

"This volume continues the valuable exploration of patristic interpretation."

-- Mark Bilby, Religious Studies Review, September 2009

"A 'must' for all theological libraries."

-- International Review of Biblical Studies, Vol. 55, 2008-2009

"Chronological snobbery--the assumption that our ancestors working without benefit of computers have nothing to teach us--is exposed as nonsense by this magnificent new series. Surfeited with knowledge but starved of wisdom, many of us are more than ready to sit at table with our ancestors and listen to their holy conversations on Scripture. I know I am."

-- Eugene H. Peterson, James Houston Professor of Spiritual Theology, Regent College

"The Ancient Christian Commentary Project fills a long overdue need for scholars and students of the church fathers. Professor Oden has pulled together a sterling team of scholars to provide for all of us fresh translations of the Latin and Greek texts of the fathers relating to their interpretation of the Bible and Apocrypha. Such information will prove immeasurable to those of us who have felt inundated by contemporary interpreters and novel theories of the biblical text. We welcome some new insight from the ancient authors in the early centuries of the church. Many thanks to Thomas Oden and the other editors for this unparalleled work which will be the standard for generations."

-- H. Wayne House, professor of biblical and systematic theology, Michigan Theological Seminary

"We are pleased to witness publication of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series. It is most beneficial for us to learn how the ancient Christians, especially the saints of the church who proved through their lives their devotion to God and his Word, interpreted Scripture. Let us heed the witness of those who have gone before us in the faith."

-- Metropolitan Theodosius, Primate, Orthodox Church in America

"As we approach the advent of a new millennium there has emerged across Christendom a widespread interest in early Christianity, both at the popular and scholarly level. The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture holds the promise of occupying a significant place in the study of early Christianity with its focus upon sacred Scripture in the writings of the church fathers. Christians of all traditions stand to benefit from this project, especially clergy and those who study the Bible. Moreover, it will allow us to see how our traditions are rooted in the scriptural interpretations of the church fathers while at the same time seeing how we have developed new perspectives."

-- Alberto Ferreiro, professor of history, Seattle Pacific University

"Here is a nonpareil series which reclaims the Bible as the book of the church, by making accessible to earnest readers of the 21st century the classrooms of Clement of Alexandria and Didymus the Blind, the study and lecture hall of Origen, the cathedrae of Chrysostom and Augustine, and the scriptorium of Jerome in his Bethlehem monastery. May the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture not only stand alongside Ancient Christian Writers (1946-) and the Fathers of the Church (1947-), but complement and surpass them."

-- George Lawless, Patristic Institute and Gregorian University

"Contemporary pastors do not stand alone. We are not the first generation of preachers to wrestle with the challenges of communicating the gospel. The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture puts us in conversation with our colleagues from the past, that great cloud of witnesses who preceded us in this vocation. This commentary enables us to receive their deep spiritual insights, their encouragement, and guidance for present-day interpretation and preaching of the Word. What a wonderful addition to any pastor's library!"

-- William H. Willimon, dean of the chapel and professor of Christian ministry, Duke University

"Modern church members often do not realize that they are participants in the vast company of the communion of saints that reaches far back into the past and that will continue into the future, until the kingdom comes. This commentary should help them begin to see themselves as participants in that redeemed community."

-- Elizabeth Achtemeier, Union Professor Emerita of Bible and Homiletics, Union Theological Seminary

"The initial cry of the Reformation was ad fontes--back to the sources! The Ancient Christian Commentary Series is a marvelous tool for the recovery of biblical wisdom in today's church. Not just another scholarly project, the ACCS is a major source for the renewal of preaching, theology and Christian devotion."

-- Timothy George, dean, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University

"Few publishing projects have encouraged me as much as IVP's recently announced Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture with Dr. Thomas Oden serving as general editor. . . . How is it that so many of us who are dedicated to serve the Lord receive seminary educations which omitted familiarity with such incredible students of the Scriptures as St. John Chrysostom, St. Anathasius the Great and St. John of Damascus? I am greatly anticipating the publication of this commentary."

-- Fr. Peter E. Gillquist, director of the Department of Missions and Evangelism, Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

"This new, but old, commentary takes us out of the small, closed-minded world in which much modern biblical scholarship is done into an earlier time marked by a Christian seriousness, by robust inquiry, and by believing faith. This commentary is a fresh breeze blowing in our empty, postmodern world."

-- David F. Wells, Andrew Mutch Distinguished Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

"A wealth of information for the classic Bible scholar."

-- Ravonne A. Green, American Reference Books Annual, 2006, Volume 37

"The fathers of the ancient church were enabled, by the grace of God, to interpret the divine Scriptures in a way that integrates spirituality and erudition, liturgy and dogma, and generally all aspects of our faith which embrace the totality of our life. To allow the fathers to speak to us again, in our contemporary situation, . . . provides a corrective to the fragmentation of the faith which results from the particularization and overspecialization that exists today in the study of the Holy Bible and of sacred Theology."

-- Fr. George Dragas, Holy Cross Seminary

"In the desert of biblical scholarship that tries to deconstruct or get behind the texts, the patristic commentators let the pure, clear waters of Christian faith flow from its scriptural source. Preachers, teachers and Bible students of every sort will want to drink deeply from the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture."

-- Richard John Neuhaus, president of Religion and Public Life and editor-in-chief of First Things

"The conspectus of patristic exposition that this series offers has been badly needed for several centuries, and the whole Christian world should unite to thank those who are undertaking to fill the gap. For the ongoing ecumenical conversation, and the accurate appreciation of early Christian thought, and the current hermeneutical debate as well, the Ancient Christian Commentary will prove itself to be a really indispensable resource."

-- J. I. Packer, Board of Governors' Professor of Theology, Regent College

"Contemporary Christians would do well to draw the hermeneutical circle broadly enough to include not only cross-cultural voices from around the world but also the voices to be found in the Ancient Christian Commentary series. This is an excellent sermon-preparation resource for pastors."

-- Christian Century, May 2, 2006

"All who are interested in the interpretation of the Bible will welcome the forthcoming multivolume series Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Here the insights of scores of early church fathers will be assembled and made readily available for significant passages throughout the Bible and the Apocrypha. It is hard to think of a more worthy ecumenical project to be undertaken by InterVarsity Press."

-- Bruce M. Metzger, professor emeritus of New Testament, Princeton Theological Seminary

"For those who think that church history began around 1941, when their pastor was born, this commentary will be a great surprise. Christians throughout the centuries have read the biblical text and nursed their spirits with it and then applied it to their lives. These commentaries reflect that the witness of the Holy Spirit was present in his church throughout the centuries. As a result, we can profit by allowing the ancient Christians to speak to us today."

-- Haddon Robinson, Harold John Ockenga Distinguished Professor of Preaching, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

"There is no shortage of new books on the market and it may be a surprise to some to see IVP producing the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series. But, bearing in mind C. S. Lewis's admonition, 'It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between,' this series will fill a great need that many of us may not even be aware of--the need to read those who have gone before us."

-- D. Stuart Briscoe

"We speak abstractly in scholarly circles of the need to transcend looking at Christianity through the spectrum of modern presuppositions. This series, based on the commentaries of early Christians, gives us a concrete way to do this. It's a great idea."

-- Don S. Browning, Alexander Campbell Professor of Ethics and Social Sciences, The Divinity School, University of Chicago

"The Scriptures have been read with love and attention for nearly two thousand years, and listening to the voice of believers from previous centuries opens us to unexpected insight and deepened faith. Those who studied Scripture in the centuries closest to its writing, the centuries during and following persecution and martyrdom, speak with particular authority. The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture will bring to life the truth that we are invisibly surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses."

-- Frederica Mathewes-Green, commentator, National Public Radio

"Composed in the style of the great medieval catenae, this new anthology of patristic commentary on Holy Scripture, conveniently arranged by chapter and verse, will be a valuable resource for prayer, study and proclamation. By calling attention to the rich Christian heritage preceding the separations between East and West and between Protestant and Catholic, this series will perform a major service to the cause of ecumenism."

-- Avery Dulles, S. J., Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society, Fordham University

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