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ESV Church History Study Bible: Voices from the Past, Wisdom for the Present
Featuring Notes on the Bible Text from Important Figures in Church History, Including Augustine, Martin Luther, Jonathan Edwards, and C. S. Lewis The ESV Church History Study Bible is designed to help believers in all seasons of life understand the Bible with notes from over 300 of church history’s most prominent figures. Edited by Stephen J. Nichols, Gerald Bray, and Keith A. Mathison, this Bible features 20,000+ study notes from historical figures including Athanasius of Alexandria, John Chrysostom, Martin Luther, John Bunyan, Jonathan Edwards, and Charles Spurgeon. This study Bible also includes articles by trusted scholars on major aspects of church history, a glossary of historical figures, and “This Passage in History” callouts. Created for serious readers, students, and teachers of God’s Word, the ESV Church History Study Bible highlights voices from the past offering wisdom for the present.
2112 pages, Hardcover
Published December 8, 2022
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* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author
Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.
See also: Anonymous
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 11, 2023
First sentence: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
I love, love, love, love the Church History Study Bible in the English Standard Version translation. Depending on your sources, it released mid-December to early January. I received my copy just before Christmas. (Merry Christmas to me!) I started reading it almost immediately.
This is not the first nor the last study Bible Crossway will publish. They publish a LOT of study Bibles. The framework for this one is church history. The notes for each chapter, each book, come from ages of church history: from the earliest beginnings of the church to the twentieth century. I would NOT want to be responsible for matching quotes (aka study notes) with specific chapters and verses of scripture. But I am so incredibly thankful for the person(s) responsible for making all these decisions.
Each book of the Bible has a brief (super brief) introduction. Just a paragraph or two. (Perhaps the only feature in the Bible to be in single column).
There are notes for each chapter of the Bible. I wouldn't go so far as to say that each verse in each chapter has a note. (That would be a little extreme.) But there's enough notes for each chapter that you feel fed. The notes are at the bottom of each page. Some pages have more Scripture than notes. Other pages have more notes than Scripture. But you can always clearly distinguish between Scripture and study note.
The font size of the Scripture is 9 point. The notes are much smaller. The layout is double column. It is black letter.
There are special features. There are three creeds: Apostles' Creed, Nicene Creed, Chalcedonian Definition. There are twelve articles (located at the back) covering various aspects of church history (these articles are also in double column). There is a reading plan. There is an author index. There is a concordance. There are maps (which I'll never use).
In a perfectly perfect world, the author index would be the index of my dreams. (I love a good index). This isn't so much an index-index as it is an alphabetical listing of each author included in the notes. It tells you when each one lived. It includes a 'teaser' about each one. These aren't even in complete sentences. But it's a teeny-tiny bio. I'm thankful for that much at least. (I am.) I would have LOVED a proper index that marks the *pages* on which these authors' quotes can be found. That way, if you find an author that you are just absolutely loving and want more, more, more, more, MORE...you can see ALL the places these authors appear. Granted, the index would have probably tripled in size (at least) if it had been more like an index.
Quotes:
If gold were thrown plentifully before every man's face, and everyone could have it without any labor or industry, it would not be prized as now it is. But God gives it to us in mines; we must dig for it if we are to get it, and that makes it precious. So God gives us divine truth in mines, as it were--in allegories and parables and types--where we must dig for it to come at it. ~ Jonathan Edwards
Every time we open our eyes, we must remember that two gates have been opened for the devil to enter our hearts, unless God guards us by his Holy Spirit. ~ John Calvin
It is Satan's strategy to lead people blindfolded into hell. ~ Richard Baxter
Our pulpits ring of nothing more than doing no one any harm, living honestly, loving your neighbor as yourselves and doing what you can, and then Christ is to make up the deficiency--this is making Christ to be half a savior, and man the other part. But I say, Christ will be your whole righteousness, your whole wisdom, your whole sanctification, or else he will never be your whole redemption. ~ George Whitefield
Start praising now if you intend to praise forever ~ Augustine, ESV Church History Bible
Let us "hear this parable" not to judge others but ourselves. Let us examine to which of the foregoing classes we belong. What has been the disposition with which we have heard the Word? What are the benefits we have received from the preached gospel? Have we labored to treasure up the truth of God in our hearts? Has it overpowered the corrupt desires that would obstruct its growth? And are we rising daily beyond the form, to the life and power of godliness? ~ Charles Simeon, ESV Church History Bible
If I fear death and do not like to die, I find in this Christ a comfort and medicine, so that I care nothing for death. If terrified at the anger of God, I have here a Mediator. Many a one runs into the desert or puts on garments of coarse hair and thinks he will force God not to be angry with him, but it will amount to nithing. Whoever has not this Christ, on him the wrath of God remains forever, for it is decreed. ~ Martin Luther, ESV Church History Bible
Evangelical repentance complies with spiritual joy and is a friend unto it. You grieve for sin, and you rejoice in God, and when you rejoice in God you grieve for sin. ~ William Bridge
The best and holiest of men have need of Christ, and the better they are, the more they see that need. ~ Matthew Henry
There is no hook more dangerous to the members of Christ than that which is baited with Scripture misinterpreted and misapplied, which Holy Whit always is when it is so interpreted or so applied as to be made an argument to sin. ~ Matthew Poole
We must grow and not be dwarves in Christianity for in Christianity there is no old age but only growth till such time as all rebellion and imperfection are taking away in the kingdom of God. ~ Thomas Cartwright, ESV Church History Bible
I am afraid that, if you and I had been there, we should have begun talking to Elijah and have worried the poor man by telling him how wrongly he had been acting. Instead of doing that, the angel let him have a cake and then let him go back to sleep. That was the best way of caring for him--and there is many a hungry and weary child of God who needs food and rest more than anything else. The spirit needs to be fed, and the body needs feeding also. ~ Charles Spurgeon, ESV Church History Bible
Nothing is more dangerous than to be satisfied with that measure of spiritual benefits that has been already obtained. Whatever, then, may be the height of our attainments, let them be always accompanied by the desire of something higher. ~ John Calvin, ESV Church History Study Bible
It is sweet to the soul to love Christ. It is an holy affection that fills the soul with sweetness. and then you will have the pleasure of living a life of communion with Christ, which will be a very sweet life. If you love Christ above all, it will tend to make you love everybody, which will be greatly to the benefit of your life. ~ Jonathan Edwards, ESV Church History Bible
Our prayers depend on no merit of our own, but all their worth and hope of success are founded and depend on the promises of God, so that they need no other support. ~ John Calvin
Every Christian is a saint. You cannot be a Christian without being a saint, and you cannot be a saint and a Christian without being separated in some radical sense from the world. ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones, ESV Church History Study Bible
There are people who seem to think that the right thing to do in the house of God is just to go on singing choruses and a certain type of hymn until you are almost in a state of intoxication. Indeed the whole service is with a view to "conditioning."...The test of the value of these things is not whether it makes me feel better or not, but whether it gives me understanding. ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones, ESV Church History Bible
The Lord makes his people willing to pass through afflictions, because he is with them and able to bear them. ~ John Gill, ESV Church History Bible
Religious controversy is rarely carried on with that meekness and candor that are necessary to render it profitable to the soul. ~ Charles Simeon, ESV Church History Bible
I love, love, love, love the Church History Study Bible in the English Standard Version translation. Depending on your sources, it released mid-December to early January. I received my copy just before Christmas. (Merry Christmas to me!) I started reading it almost immediately.
This is not the first nor the last study Bible Crossway will publish. They publish a LOT of study Bibles. The framework for this one is church history. The notes for each chapter, each book, come from ages of church history: from the earliest beginnings of the church to the twentieth century. I would NOT want to be responsible for matching quotes (aka study notes) with specific chapters and verses of scripture. But I am so incredibly thankful for the person(s) responsible for making all these decisions.
Each book of the Bible has a brief (super brief) introduction. Just a paragraph or two. (Perhaps the only feature in the Bible to be in single column).
There are notes for each chapter of the Bible. I wouldn't go so far as to say that each verse in each chapter has a note. (That would be a little extreme.) But there's enough notes for each chapter that you feel fed. The notes are at the bottom of each page. Some pages have more Scripture than notes. Other pages have more notes than Scripture. But you can always clearly distinguish between Scripture and study note.
The font size of the Scripture is 9 point. The notes are much smaller. The layout is double column. It is black letter.
There are special features. There are three creeds: Apostles' Creed, Nicene Creed, Chalcedonian Definition. There are twelve articles (located at the back) covering various aspects of church history (these articles are also in double column). There is a reading plan. There is an author index. There is a concordance. There are maps (which I'll never use).
In a perfectly perfect world, the author index would be the index of my dreams. (I love a good index). This isn't so much an index-index as it is an alphabetical listing of each author included in the notes. It tells you when each one lived. It includes a 'teaser' about each one. These aren't even in complete sentences. But it's a teeny-tiny bio. I'm thankful for that much at least. (I am.) I would have LOVED a proper index that marks the *pages* on which these authors' quotes can be found. That way, if you find an author that you are just absolutely loving and want more, more, more, more, MORE...you can see ALL the places these authors appear. Granted, the index would have probably tripled in size (at least) if it had been more like an index.
Quotes:
If gold were thrown plentifully before every man's face, and everyone could have it without any labor or industry, it would not be prized as now it is. But God gives it to us in mines; we must dig for it if we are to get it, and that makes it precious. So God gives us divine truth in mines, as it were--in allegories and parables and types--where we must dig for it to come at it. ~ Jonathan Edwards
Every time we open our eyes, we must remember that two gates have been opened for the devil to enter our hearts, unless God guards us by his Holy Spirit. ~ John Calvin
It is Satan's strategy to lead people blindfolded into hell. ~ Richard Baxter
Our pulpits ring of nothing more than doing no one any harm, living honestly, loving your neighbor as yourselves and doing what you can, and then Christ is to make up the deficiency--this is making Christ to be half a savior, and man the other part. But I say, Christ will be your whole righteousness, your whole wisdom, your whole sanctification, or else he will never be your whole redemption. ~ George Whitefield
Start praising now if you intend to praise forever ~ Augustine, ESV Church History Bible
Let us "hear this parable" not to judge others but ourselves. Let us examine to which of the foregoing classes we belong. What has been the disposition with which we have heard the Word? What are the benefits we have received from the preached gospel? Have we labored to treasure up the truth of God in our hearts? Has it overpowered the corrupt desires that would obstruct its growth? And are we rising daily beyond the form, to the life and power of godliness? ~ Charles Simeon, ESV Church History Bible
If I fear death and do not like to die, I find in this Christ a comfort and medicine, so that I care nothing for death. If terrified at the anger of God, I have here a Mediator. Many a one runs into the desert or puts on garments of coarse hair and thinks he will force God not to be angry with him, but it will amount to nithing. Whoever has not this Christ, on him the wrath of God remains forever, for it is decreed. ~ Martin Luther, ESV Church History Bible
Evangelical repentance complies with spiritual joy and is a friend unto it. You grieve for sin, and you rejoice in God, and when you rejoice in God you grieve for sin. ~ William Bridge
The best and holiest of men have need of Christ, and the better they are, the more they see that need. ~ Matthew Henry
There is no hook more dangerous to the members of Christ than that which is baited with Scripture misinterpreted and misapplied, which Holy Whit always is when it is so interpreted or so applied as to be made an argument to sin. ~ Matthew Poole
We must grow and not be dwarves in Christianity for in Christianity there is no old age but only growth till such time as all rebellion and imperfection are taking away in the kingdom of God. ~ Thomas Cartwright, ESV Church History Bible
I am afraid that, if you and I had been there, we should have begun talking to Elijah and have worried the poor man by telling him how wrongly he had been acting. Instead of doing that, the angel let him have a cake and then let him go back to sleep. That was the best way of caring for him--and there is many a hungry and weary child of God who needs food and rest more than anything else. The spirit needs to be fed, and the body needs feeding also. ~ Charles Spurgeon, ESV Church History Bible
Nothing is more dangerous than to be satisfied with that measure of spiritual benefits that has been already obtained. Whatever, then, may be the height of our attainments, let them be always accompanied by the desire of something higher. ~ John Calvin, ESV Church History Study Bible
It is sweet to the soul to love Christ. It is an holy affection that fills the soul with sweetness. and then you will have the pleasure of living a life of communion with Christ, which will be a very sweet life. If you love Christ above all, it will tend to make you love everybody, which will be greatly to the benefit of your life. ~ Jonathan Edwards, ESV Church History Bible
Our prayers depend on no merit of our own, but all their worth and hope of success are founded and depend on the promises of God, so that they need no other support. ~ John Calvin
Every Christian is a saint. You cannot be a Christian without being a saint, and you cannot be a saint and a Christian without being separated in some radical sense from the world. ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones, ESV Church History Study Bible
There are people who seem to think that the right thing to do in the house of God is just to go on singing choruses and a certain type of hymn until you are almost in a state of intoxication. Indeed the whole service is with a view to "conditioning."...The test of the value of these things is not whether it makes me feel better or not, but whether it gives me understanding. ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones, ESV Church History Bible
The Lord makes his people willing to pass through afflictions, because he is with them and able to bear them. ~ John Gill, ESV Church History Bible
Religious controversy is rarely carried on with that meekness and candor that are necessary to render it profitable to the soul. ~ Charles Simeon, ESV Church History Bible
November 7, 2025
Don't get me wrong- I LOVE my Bible! 5 out of 5 stars for my Bible! (Especially the ESV)
However, I wasn't a huge fan of this specific study Bible for a number of reasons. Having engaged with a substantial amount of historical theology, I found the scholarship in the notes to be extremely lackluster. On multiple occasion, I came across passages with a rich history of patristic commentary that had been completely neglected. It seems like a solid 30% of the quotes are from Matthew Henry. Lots of Calvin, lots of the Puritans, lots of Augustine (all excellent guides), but I think this study Bible tends to highlight a narrow section of church history, particularly of the reformed baptistic/presbyterian type. I am a Reformed Baptist, so I agree with the stance, but I would've appreciated a broader and more comprehensive scope. The notes were certainly edifying, but I think I would have gained more from reading through Sproul's Reformation Study Bible or something with notes more tied to the text instead of random snippets from commentaries and sermons.
However, I wasn't a huge fan of this specific study Bible for a number of reasons. Having engaged with a substantial amount of historical theology, I found the scholarship in the notes to be extremely lackluster. On multiple occasion, I came across passages with a rich history of patristic commentary that had been completely neglected. It seems like a solid 30% of the quotes are from Matthew Henry. Lots of Calvin, lots of the Puritans, lots of Augustine (all excellent guides), but I think this study Bible tends to highlight a narrow section of church history, particularly of the reformed baptistic/presbyterian type. I am a Reformed Baptist, so I agree with the stance, but I would've appreciated a broader and more comprehensive scope. The notes were certainly edifying, but I think I would have gained more from reading through Sproul's Reformation Study Bible or something with notes more tied to the text instead of random snippets from commentaries and sermons.
January 7, 2025
My review is of the notes, not the ESV Bible that I have always given five stars. I found some of the notes to be helpful but many of them were little help in understanding the passage.
July 15, 2023
*Haven’t read every footnote. Fantastic study Bible and my go-to for daily reading. There are voices from the entirety of Christianity’s tradition of faith from Athanasius to Gregory and Edwards or Simeon. It includes the necessary creeds and confessions of church history while even including sweet essays from historians such as Carl Trueman and Michael Haykin on topic from the Patristics to confessionalism.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews