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The Story of God Bible Commentary
Philippians
Emphasizing the historical distance between the New Testament and contemporary culture, Philippians---part of the new, highly-anticipated Fidei Commentary series on the New Testament---provides pastors, students, Sunday School teachers, and lay people a clear and compelling exposition of the text in the context of the Bible's overarching story. The authors move away from 'application' language, which has been criticized as being too simplistic, instead encouraging discussion of how the Bible's story can be lived today. Offering a new type of application commentary for today's context, the Fidei series explains and illuminates Scripture as God's Story, with each New Testament text examined as embedded in its canonical and historical setting, in order to foster discernment in living the story faithfully and creatively with and for the Church in the 21st Century
- GenresBiblical Studies
304 pages, Hardcover
First published October 29, 2013
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72 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 28, 2014
This is a solid, evangelical commentary of Paul's letter to the Philippians that is grounded in good exegesis and gives the reader a place for the role of this epistle within the scope of the Bible. What will make this book useful and unique is its structure and organization. The structure of the writing is attractive, for while remaining intensely focused on the work of the text, and interpreting it, the writing also draws the reader into the wider Greco - Roman and Jewish world of the first century, that the Apostle Paul was writing in context, to the nascent church in Phillipi. The reader will certainly encounter redemptive historical themes, as the epistle is placed within its Biblical role in redemptive history.
Dr. Lynn Cohick, a New Testament professor at Wheaton College (Ill.), writes with real clarity, avoiding dry jargon when possible, and explaining concepts clearly when necessary. Her specialty is the NT, and specifically its context of the 1st century, and the real effect that this epistle would have had on its first hearers within the Phillippian congregation.
As a result of first starting with the text, then its role and context within the Bible, and then its role within the wider world it was originally interacting with, today's readers should find this a much clearer approach than merely an accessible commentary that seeks only to apply the text broadly to contemporary concerns. True to our times, this commentary, and I suppose this whole series does focus on the narrative 'story' aspect of the text, and in a sense, ensuring that the audience for this book can have opportunity to place themselves in the ongoing work and application of the Bible in their lives. The audience of this commentary are urged, through the book's layout, to listen, explain and impart the story. Not only is this a good teaching process, but it allows the reader to come alongside the teacher, who has given her professional career to the study of the NT, and apply and understand it, to their particular situation.
This should be a useful commentary for creating and teaching studies, lessons and sermons by pastors and lay leaders in the church. This is not a dumbed down commentary, but it represents serious study and thought of the text and the literature of the subject. Yet the non trained reader should not be overwhelmed with the content. The writer is obviously a teacher who wants her audience to grasp and ingest the text, and use it as a tool for real change in the lives of people.
Dr. Lynn Cohick, a New Testament professor at Wheaton College (Ill.), writes with real clarity, avoiding dry jargon when possible, and explaining concepts clearly when necessary. Her specialty is the NT, and specifically its context of the 1st century, and the real effect that this epistle would have had on its first hearers within the Phillippian congregation.
As a result of first starting with the text, then its role and context within the Bible, and then its role within the wider world it was originally interacting with, today's readers should find this a much clearer approach than merely an accessible commentary that seeks only to apply the text broadly to contemporary concerns. True to our times, this commentary, and I suppose this whole series does focus on the narrative 'story' aspect of the text, and in a sense, ensuring that the audience for this book can have opportunity to place themselves in the ongoing work and application of the Bible in their lives. The audience of this commentary are urged, through the book's layout, to listen, explain and impart the story. Not only is this a good teaching process, but it allows the reader to come alongside the teacher, who has given her professional career to the study of the NT, and apply and understand it, to their particular situation.
This should be a useful commentary for creating and teaching studies, lessons and sermons by pastors and lay leaders in the church. This is not a dumbed down commentary, but it represents serious study and thought of the text and the literature of the subject. Yet the non trained reader should not be overwhelmed with the content. The writer is obviously a teacher who wants her audience to grasp and ingest the text, and use it as a tool for real change in the lives of people.
July 16, 2017
I enjoyed this commentary. It was a good middle-ground commentary, with plenty of technical information, and some good devotional material. There were some gaps in the text, that this commentary seemed to skip over. It was not much, but there are sections where I was looking for information on several verses in a row, without any input from this commentary. However, it was better than many I have read, just not as comprehensive.
April 1, 2022
This commentary was ok, but I found it's organization a bit underwhelming. Rather than work verse by verse, she works topic-by-topic through a passage. This actually might be a bit more welcoming to those without a formal theological education. Her exegesis and exposition are thorough, it's just that the organization was a bit underwhelming from what I expect from a commentary.
Many of her applications draw upon evangelical history and her own missionary experience.
Many of her applications draw upon evangelical history and her own missionary experience.
February 13, 2023
I fully enjoyed Lynn Cohick's commentary on Philippians, particularly how she consistently pointed to the overarching Story of God, as the commentary series suggests, and the "Living it Out" section, which consistently provided great stories and current application to the letter. I'm a fan of this commentary series in general.
April 10, 2025
If you’re looking for a commentary series that is readable, helps with application, and is meant for people who don’t know Greek/Hebrew, this is one I’d pass along. Also, Dr. Cohick is a fabulous Pauline scholar.
August 10, 2016
The introduction gets right to the main points of what the book is about. It compels you to read the book again. There is no need to entertain theories where there is a very small minority, like whether or not Paul wrote the letter.
"This commentary examines Paul's teachings and biographical notes always with an eye to the church today--the men and women who desire a deeper relationship with God, a stronger foundation for their walk, and a clearer vision for God's working in the world beyond their immediate circle." This commentary series goes beyond exegesis and to what it means for today. Since the book is only 262 pages long, it doesn't dwell on any one subject for very long, but deals with subjects and passages in a complete and satisfying way.
Other reviewers have written about the three sections for each passage of the book. Listen to the Story has the Bible text using the NIV 2011. I like it when the translator comes up with their own translation. But since there is minimal discussion of the Greek, an existing one works fine. When she does mention Greek, it's always something helpful, usually regarding grammar, and like a good preacher, sometimes doesn't even need to mention the specific words, as if to show off her knowledge. Adjustments are made when the commentator likes a different word better, like 'slave' instead of 'servant' (which I strongly agree with) in Philippians 1:1. There are cross references, and a synopsis of the passage that will be exposited in Explain the Story, which I would say is more exposition that exegesis, of every 1-4 verses. Live the Story is where plenty of space is used to go into what it means for today--usually picking out a single idea from the passage and writing about that throughout. This is somewhat limiting, but at the same time, thoroughly goes into the main subject matter of a passage--something that most commentaries don't do any of, being mainly exegesis. This makes the series good for preachers and lay people who would like to connect the original meaning with how we can understand how it may relate to contemporary living. While I believe this is largely the work of the Holy Spirit related to an individual's circumstances, the Holy Spirit also uses gifted teachers to point things out can help us learn to make these connections. She also writes about contemporary issues within the Explain the Text portion and isn't afraid to bring up problems in the modern church similar to those that Paul addressed, and sometimes using modern analogies to explain something. So this commentary is thorough, yet not a more technical exegesis-only type of commentary either.
She has a way of coming at the Scripture with an open mind. At the risk of sounding like she's wishy washy, she'll say if she thinks that Paul may be intentionally ambiguous, like the well-known "faith in Christ" or "faith of Christ" passage. She doesn't see everything in black or white, or either or.
As far as where she comes from theologically, it's hard to pin down, which I see as a good thing. I'm Reformed, but didn't find anything real objectionable. There are minor things I disagreed with, but I'll let other reviewers who are more qualified to comment on those things.
While this commentary won't answer all of your questions satisfactorily, it's a very good exposition for preachers and lay people to understand what Philippians is about, as opposed to a detailed exegesis of every verse. I would recommend it to those who are looking for that type of book.
This book was provided by the publisher for an unbiased review.
Buy it from Amazon
"This commentary examines Paul's teachings and biographical notes always with an eye to the church today--the men and women who desire a deeper relationship with God, a stronger foundation for their walk, and a clearer vision for God's working in the world beyond their immediate circle." This commentary series goes beyond exegesis and to what it means for today. Since the book is only 262 pages long, it doesn't dwell on any one subject for very long, but deals with subjects and passages in a complete and satisfying way.
Other reviewers have written about the three sections for each passage of the book. Listen to the Story has the Bible text using the NIV 2011. I like it when the translator comes up with their own translation. But since there is minimal discussion of the Greek, an existing one works fine. When she does mention Greek, it's always something helpful, usually regarding grammar, and like a good preacher, sometimes doesn't even need to mention the specific words, as if to show off her knowledge. Adjustments are made when the commentator likes a different word better, like 'slave' instead of 'servant' (which I strongly agree with) in Philippians 1:1. There are cross references, and a synopsis of the passage that will be exposited in Explain the Story, which I would say is more exposition that exegesis, of every 1-4 verses. Live the Story is where plenty of space is used to go into what it means for today--usually picking out a single idea from the passage and writing about that throughout. This is somewhat limiting, but at the same time, thoroughly goes into the main subject matter of a passage--something that most commentaries don't do any of, being mainly exegesis. This makes the series good for preachers and lay people who would like to connect the original meaning with how we can understand how it may relate to contemporary living. While I believe this is largely the work of the Holy Spirit related to an individual's circumstances, the Holy Spirit also uses gifted teachers to point things out can help us learn to make these connections. She also writes about contemporary issues within the Explain the Text portion and isn't afraid to bring up problems in the modern church similar to those that Paul addressed, and sometimes using modern analogies to explain something. So this commentary is thorough, yet not a more technical exegesis-only type of commentary either.
She has a way of coming at the Scripture with an open mind. At the risk of sounding like she's wishy washy, she'll say if she thinks that Paul may be intentionally ambiguous, like the well-known "faith in Christ" or "faith of Christ" passage. She doesn't see everything in black or white, or either or.
As far as where she comes from theologically, it's hard to pin down, which I see as a good thing. I'm Reformed, but didn't find anything real objectionable. There are minor things I disagreed with, but I'll let other reviewers who are more qualified to comment on those things.
While this commentary won't answer all of your questions satisfactorily, it's a very good exposition for preachers and lay people to understand what Philippians is about, as opposed to a detailed exegesis of every verse. I would recommend it to those who are looking for that type of book.
This book was provided by the publisher for an unbiased review.
Buy it from Amazon
March 4, 2014
Philippians is one of the inaugural volumes of a the new Story of God Bible Commentary series. It is meant to illuminate the book under consideration, and the various passages within it, to the larger story of the Bible and to help the reader relate their own story to the biblical story. This is carried out by highlighting helpful biblical parallels beneath the text of each passage, and by discussing these chosen parallels in the explanation and especially in the application of the various passages. Functionally, this series is very similar to the NIV Application Commentary series, though dispensing the "Bridging Contexts" section and peppering that type of information as needed in either the explanation or application sections.
Cohick has done an outstanding job commenting on Philippians. I have found her explanations of the various passages both clear and deep. Her discussion of the Christ hymn, for example, illuminates how the way you understand the structure of the first three verses has a profound bearing on how you interpret them. That simple move really helped open up the passage and help me understand the differences between a few of the major interpretive options. Throughout she draws on other major commentators, such as Fee, Hansen, and O'Brien among many others, though she seems to find particular resonance with Marcus Bockmuehl. Her application sections are often insightful, and she fills them with interesting personal stories or helpful parable-type examples that can be quite illuminating, as well as more straight-forward reflection and application. I think this approachable commentary will make good devotional reading even as it provides helpful Bible-study preparation.
Cohick has done an outstanding job commenting on Philippians. I have found her explanations of the various passages both clear and deep. Her discussion of the Christ hymn, for example, illuminates how the way you understand the structure of the first three verses has a profound bearing on how you interpret them. That simple move really helped open up the passage and help me understand the differences between a few of the major interpretive options. Throughout she draws on other major commentators, such as Fee, Hansen, and O'Brien among many others, though she seems to find particular resonance with Marcus Bockmuehl. Her application sections are often insightful, and she fills them with interesting personal stories or helpful parable-type examples that can be quite illuminating, as well as more straight-forward reflection and application. I think this approachable commentary will make good devotional reading even as it provides helpful Bible-study preparation.
August 2, 2014
Excellent commentary for the pastor-teacher.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews