One Faithful Life: A Harmony of the Life and Letters of Paul

by John F. MacArthur Jr.

“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ...” So goes Paul’s typical self-introduction, an unassuming title for Christianity’s most influential figure apart from Christ Himself. Now, for the first time, experience Paul’s world-changing writings in the full context of his life story―from Pharisee and persecutor of the church, to broken and humbled convert, to the apostle of the gospel of Jesus Christ.From pastor and teacher Dr. John MacArthur, One Faithful Life is a first-of-its-kind integration of Paul’s message and life, weaving together Paul’s letters, the book of Acts, and important background information from the Gospels into a seamless, chronological narrative.

Genres: Christian, Theology, Nonfiction, Spirituality, New Testament, Religion, Biography

528 pages, Paperback

Published March 19, 2024

About the author

John F. MacArthur, Jr. was a United States Calvinistic evangelical writer and minister, noted for his radio program entitled Grace to You and as the editor of the Gold Medallion Book Award-winning MacArthur Study Bible. MacArthur was a fifth-generation pastor, a popular author and conference speaker, and served as pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California beginning in 1969, as well as President of The Master’s College (and the related Master’s Seminary) in Santa Clarita, California.

Reviews

[Rod Innis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. It takes the book of Acts which is a history of the early church from 30 AD to 60 AD and puts the letters of Paul in the places where that fit in that narrative. It also has lots and lots of notes on the text explaining the meaning of words and descriptions of places and customs etc. You get to read 14 books of the New Testament in chronological order!

[Cullen Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an incredible resource for those who want to read Paul’s letters in their historical context and understand the progression of his ministry. Recommend.

[Carol Arnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cannot believe I am giving only 3 stars to a book by MacArthur or to the Bible!!! In actuality this is not written by MacArthur, at least not a new writing. He did originally write the multitude of footnotes. It IS the Bible, the NKJV text. MacArthur is listed in the book as the General Editor, not the author. He has taken the words of scripture relating to Acts and the life of Paul and put them in chronological order. He centers it on the book of Acts and intersperses Paul's letters into the time period of Acts when Paul wrote them. The text is entirely from the MacArthur Study Bible, along with MacArthur's study notes. It is just in a different, chronological order.

The main drawback for me was that for some reason, all the verse numbers from the text were removed. So, when reading the footnotes, he may refer back to a previous verse in the same chapter or a recent text but you can't just turn back a page to read it. You need another Bible to look up the verse. This happened repeatedly! I really don't understand why the verse numbers were removed. So, all in all, I was mainly disappointed with the format of the book and the fact that it was just a repetition of the study Bible which I already had.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence: Paul was unique among the apostles.

One Faithful Life could easily be the companion to MacArthur's book, One Perfect Life. One Perfect Life was the harmony of the gospels--with a blending of select Old Testament and New Testament verses that point to Christ. One Faithful Life is essentially a chronological 'harmony' of Acts with all the letters of Paul. (Some letters of Paul are inserted into Acts. Many are not. But they are presented chronologically.)

Both One Faithful Life and One Perfect Life use the New King James Version of the Bible. Both feature study notes by John F. MacArthur, Jr. Both are arranged into small portions or sections.

I personally enjoyed One Perfect Life more. Just about anyone can read Acts and the letters of Paul chronologically. There isn't any real blending occurring. There is no true harmonizing.

Is it essential? Is it necessary? Probably not. Is it nice to have? Sure.

[Becky Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the past 2 years, our ladies Bible study has prayed, read, studied, researched, listened to online sermons, and combed multiple commentaries in order to dig deep into the life of Paul. My understanding of Paul’s life and letters has deepened my faith and my relationship with Christ. MacArthur’s numerous notes and exhaustive Scripture references are rich and meaningful. They have led us into deep discussions as we have sought to make personal applications of spiritual truths. The theme of Paul’s life is the GOSPEL and how that Gospel undergirds doctrinal truths.
Studying Paul’s “One Faithful Life” has certainly impacted my thinking and my life. I am very grateful to John MacArthur and his staff for producing this invaluable study.
It has been quite a journey!
I am also grateful for the fellowship of the inquiring minds, the Spirit-filled insights, and the shared experiences of my beloved friends in the faith.

[Anton Berg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading MacArthur's "One Perfect Life", which is a harmonisation of the gospels, and gave it 5 stars. Even though "One Faithful Life" is the same principle, I can't recommend spending money on it.

Why not? It is basically the letters of Paul in Chronological order, and the book of Acts serves as the "starting point", and then the letters are placed in the correct place in Acts. While it is absolutely nothing wrong with it, I find that you can preferably buy the MacArthur Study Bible, since this book is directly from the MacArthur Study Bible, and read instead. If you are interested in when the letters were written, you can easily find out.

I don't give it 3 stars for the content, since the Bible is always 5 stars, I just don't think it is worth spending your money on this book.

[Elie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chronological ordering of Paul's writings with notes. I read "One Faithful Life" and all the notes as a bible study which took around 9m. MacArthur's book is a good starter book for Paul.
I found Paul very convicting, humbling, and inspiring. An unclouded vision for the gospel.
However I had just 2 complaints with MacArthur: 1. the extra mental gymnastics he went through on certain versus to stick with his 5 point calvanist doctrine. 2. His teaching of the rapture as settled fact. For these reasons I'm left wondering on what other controversial points MacArthur only represented one side.

[Jacob Sabin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Usually I like John MacArthur, even if I do not agree on every point. He drops the ball here. Amongst saying tongues are only used by questionable groups? So by "questionable groups" anyone is charismatic? Max Lucado who recently spoke in tongues? Other balls dropped, too many to name. There is good stuff too, but that is a pretty egregious thing to say on his part. I like his stuff a lot, but I will be trying to sell this for whatever I can get. If not, I will just give it away.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information is first rate but I bought it thinking it was a biography and it is actually a study Bible for Paul’s writings.

[Lizette Vega · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging look at the life and writings of the Apostle Paul in chronological order.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. In this book, the events of the New Testament life of Paul are put in a harmony in chronological order. Practically what this means is that all of Paul's letters are ordered from earliest to latest with a chapter or two of Acts interspersed between each of them as appropriate. This is quite helpful in gaining an understanding of the events around each letter and of the larger picture of the New Testament. As always, MacArthur gives cogent and clear commentary and never apologizes for the truth of Scripture. While I think he is wrong on a few of the issues that come up here, his opinion is well thought out and worth considering, especially for those who have a knee-jerk reaction against any form of dispensationalism. One Faithful Life is the first harmony I have ever read, and I would highly recommend it for someone who has read the New Testament many times and is looking for something to give him a different perspective on how it all fits together.

[Steve Schofield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read when doing a study in paul

God led me to study Paul in summer of 2020 and I have read a couple books by John on paul. Decent book...

[Salvador · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best study of Paul's epistles I've read.