Galatians, Ephesians - (Reformation Commentary on Scripture) by Gerald L Bray (Hardcover)

About the Book

In this first volume of the Reformation Commentary on Scripture, you will encounter the reformers? fervor for the gospel of justification by faith as they retrieve it from these two letters of Paul. Spanning Latin, German, French, Dutch and English authors from a variety of streams within the Protestant movement, this commentary speaks with singular passion to a diverse contemporary church.

Book Synopsis

The gospel of justification by faith alone was discovered afresh by the Reformers in the epistolary turrets of the New Testament: the letters to the Galatians and the Ephesians. At the epicenter of the exegetical revolution that rocked the Reformation era was Paul's letter to the Galatians. There Luther, Calvin, Bullinger and scores of others perceived the true gospel of Paul enlightening a situation parallel to their own times--the encroachment of false teachers and apostates upon the true teaching of salvation by grace through faith.In Ephesians, the Reformers gravitated to what they understood to be the summit of Paul's vision of salvation in Christ. Finding its source, beyond time, in the electing love of God, the Reformers disseminated the letter's message of temporal hope for Christians living under the duress of persecution.For the Reformers, these epistles were living, capsule versions of Paul's letter to the Romans, briefs on the theological vision of the celebrated apostle. Probed and expounded in the commentaries and sermons found in this volume, these letters became the very breath in the lungs of the Reformation movements.The range of comment on Galatians and Ephesians here spans Latin, German, French, Dutch and English authors from a variety of streams within the Protestant movement. Especially helpful in this volume is Gerald Bray's editorial presentation of the development of tensions among the Reformers.The epistles of Galatians and Ephesians open up a treasure house of ancient wisdom, allowing these faithful Reformation witnesses to speak with eloquence and intellectual acumen to the church today.

Review Quotes

"The format of this volume makes it eminently usable either for extended reading or for single reference for devotional or scholarly purpose."

About the Author

Volume EditorGerald L. Bray (Ph.D., University of Paris--Sorbonne) is director of research for the Latimer Trust, based in London, and a research professor at Samford University, teaching in the Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. A priest of the Church of England, Bray has also edited the post-Reformation Anglican canons. He has edited several volumes of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture and Ancient Christian Texts, as well as volume one of the Ancient Christian Doctrine series, all for IVP Academic.General EditorTimothy George (Th.D., Harvard University) is a renowned Reformation historian and author of Theology of the Reformers, as well as many other theological and historical works. He is founding dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University and an executive editor of Christianity Today.Associate General EditorScott M. Manetsch (Ph.D., University of Arizona) is associate professor of church history at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and author of Theodore Beza and the Quest for Peace in France, 1572-1598.