This modern classic in New Testament studies offers a compelling defense of the reliability of the Christian Scriptures. Christianity Today named "The New Testament Documents" one of the top 50 books that have shaped Evangelicals. "Our object," says F.F. Bruce, "is to find out what historical research reveals about the origin of the New Testament canon." Concise chapters explore dates and origin of various New Testament books, the formation of the New Testament canon, and examines the Gosp...

The story of the New Testament is best understood when it is set in its historical context, which is what F.F. Bruce does brilliantly in this book. He begins by explaining the political, social, intellectual, and religious aspects of the Jewish people after their return from exile. The life and ministry of Jesus is then set within that culture. After the crucifixion of Jesus, "none of the authorities . . . could have reckoned with the event that confounded all their calculations," says Bru...

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...

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 . . ...

After His resurrection, Jesus met Cleopas and another disciple on the Road to Emmaus and explained to them everything the Old Testament said about Himself. To understand the Old Testament themes that were fulfilled in Jesus, we need to understand Old Testament thought. F.F. Bruce reveals the context of the New Testament writers’ understanding of the Old Testament by focusing on seven Old Testament themes. “These and other themes,” he says, “are fulfilled in Jesus.” • The rule of God over a...

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 ...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...