Ephesians and Colossians is the first of eighteen volumes in the new Paideia commentary series. This series approaches each text in its final, canonical form, proceeding by sense units rather than word-by-word or verse-by-verse. Each sense unit is explored in three sections: (1) introductory matters, (2) tracing the train of thought, (3) key hermeneutical and theological questions. The commentaries shed fresh light on the text while avoiding idiosyncratic readings, attend to theological meaning without presuming a specific theological stance in the reader, and show how the text uses narrative...

The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most familiar passages in the New Testament. In this concise and clearly-written introduction to and commentary on the Sermon, Charles Talbert pays particular attention to its role in character formation and ethical decision making.

After introductory chapters on reading the Sermon on the Mount, the book offers a section-by-section commentary. Talbert points out structural highlights, provides illuminating cross-references to Jewish and Greco-Roman literature, and concludes each section with a consideration of how it contributes to character formation...

Answers to the usual introductory questions do not yield sufficient harvest to enable an intelligent reading of Acts. The approach of Reading Acts is to ask how ancient Mediterranean auditors would have heard Acts when it was read in their presence. To be successful Talbert divides this approach into two parts--how Acts would have been heard in its precanonical context and in its canonical context.

Reading John concentrates on the literary and theological distinctives of the Fourth Gospel and the Johannine Epistles. New Testament scholar Charles Talbert's unique commentary considers the entire scope of these works attributed to John, their literary settings and particularities, and their continuing theological importance to the Christian story. Thoughtful and engaging, Reading John is an essential book for students and ministers studying the New Testament and the Johannine writings.

This volume is dedicated to the study of three late, little-known biblical works that historically have been relegated to the lesser works of the New Testament. "Reading 1 Peter, Jude, and 2 Peter" underscores the light that these letters shed upon one another and focuses on the snapshots they provide of early Christian communities as they encountered the social and religious environment in which they were situated. Careful reading of 1 Peter reveals the complex world of the post-apostolic period. Jude and 2 Peter provide a sober look at the early community's evolution in doctrinal and moral...

This volume pulls together thirteen essays written by the author since the late 1970's which give a distinctive, coherent reading of Luke-Acts. Twelve of the essays focus on the theological perspectives of Luke and Acts as they can be discerned from the angle of vision of the "authorial audience" as delineated by the non-biblical literary critic, Peter J. Rabinowitz. The final essay focuses on the possible historical value of Acts and the methodology involved in judging that possibility.

The primary focus of this book is to demonstrate how Hebrews represent, in view of its historical and religious context, human fidelity to God. In order to provide a fresh perspective on this issue Whitlark examines Hebrews understanding of fidelity from the perspective of its authorial audience. His conclusions have far reaching implications for understanding the soteriology of Hebrews, the authors and the auditors presumed experience of salvation in Jesus Christ, and how the message of the supremacy of Jesus Christ was heard in the context Hebrews presupposes.

Inside this issue:1. The Rehabilitation of an Exegetical Step-Child: 1 Peter in Recent Research, by John H. Elliott2. The Critical Exploration of 1 Peter, by Dennis Sylva3. Parenesis and Kerygma in 1 Peter, by Eduard Lohse, translated by John Steely4. 1 Peter, Its Situation and Strategy: A Discussion with David Balch, by John H. Elliott5. Hellenization / Acculturation in 1 Peter, by David Balch6. The Literary and Theological Function of 1 Peter 1:3-12, by David W. Kendall7. The Functional Christology of First Peter, by Earl Richard8. Once Again: The Plan of 1 Peter, by Charles H. Talbert

Innovative excursion into New Testament teaching on the earthly life of faith
What does it mean to -get saved-? Is conversion a gift of God's grace but the post-conversion Christian life in our own hands? Is the covenant relationship sustained by a sense of personal gratitude for God's past gift of conversion -- or is post-conversion faithfulness itself an ongoing gift from God?
In this book Charles H. Talbert and Jason A. Whitlark, together with Andrew E. Arterbury, Clifford A. Barbarick, Scott J. Hafemann, and Michael W. Martin, address such questions about God's role in the...