Tools for sharpening your sword

Grab that sharpening stone

Recently, Pastor Aaron Rock had a great episode of the Leadership Now Podcast on how Christians should study their Bible (check that out here). In it he mentioned the importance of various study tools, including commentaries and other resources to enrich one’s study of the Scriptures. After listening to it, I thought it would be helpful to create a list of my own that was both a little more detailed and demographic specific. For example, should there be a different resource set for pastors and non-pastors? Should there be different books depending on whether or not you are leading any sort of Bible study of small group?

Full disclosure: I am not a an academic. I am not a seminary professor. I do not have 30+ years of vocational ministry and preaching under my belt. I cannot read the Bible in its original languages. So, take my suggestions with that understanding, and the sincere desire to help equip followers of Jesus in every stage of their Christian walk and in various levels of ministry and service.

Commentaries

Commentaries, as the name suggests, provide comments on the Bible in a myriad of different ways. There are single volume commentaries that have notes on the entire Bible. There are commentaries that are split into the Old and New testaments. There are single volume commentaries on each individual book of the Bible, and even some that are multi-volume sets on just one book of the Bible alone.

Commentaries vary in size and detail. They cover the full spectrum of theological thought and doctrinal positions. Some are much more technical in examining the original languages and historical context, while other focus on application for the believer. I have owned about 25 different full commentary sets with a different volume for each book of the Bible. I also have many individual commentaries for specific books of the Bible.

I believe that every Christian should have at least some sort of commentary or commentaries to aid in the study and understanding of their Bibles. With that in mind, I want to offer 4 different suggestions that will address different needs and demographics of people: the regular Christian that wants help understanding what they’re reading in the Bible, the regular Christian that wants to go much deeper in their theological knowledge, the Christian (elders and non-elders) who is leading Bible studies and small groups, and the elder who is teaching or preaching on a regular basis.

1. The “I just want to understand a little better” Christian.

For something that won’t take up too much room and won’t be that expensive, I would recommend Matthew Henry’s Commentary, either the abridged single volume or the larger four or six-volume. This one is a classic from a solid Puritan. And, for those of you who go the digital route (which I personally do not recommend), because it is in the Public Domain, you can access it for free online.

I would also recommend the Bible Speaks Today Commentary set from IVP covering the Old and New Testaments with single volumes for each book of the Bible. It is very accessible, and it goes into a bit more detail that Matthew Henry’s commentary, all for a very reasonable price.

2. The “I want to go much deeper” Christian

If you want to do more than skim the surface of your theological and Bible studies, I would recommend the Expositor’s Bible Commentary from Zondervan. It covers the Old and New Testaments in 13 larger volumes. There is lots of good detail presented in a very accessible way.

I would also recommend the Tyndale Old and New Testament Commentaries from IVP. It contains one volume for each book of the Bible. It goes into a decent amount of detail, and many of the contributors to this series are rock solid. I still use this set when I am studying or teaching, just to round out my research.

3. The “I am teaching and leading” Christian

If you are actually leading a small group or teaching a Bible study, you want to be a little more equipped to both understand the Scriptures, get into some more technical detail, and help apply it to those you are teaching. This means reading commentaries that deal with historical context, literary context, and original language study, while still being accessible for someone who might not theologically trained.

I cannot think of a better commentary set to recommend that the Pillar New Testament Commentary set from Eerdmans. D.A. Carson is the lead editor on this set, and he is probably one of the greatest New Testament Greek scholars ever, and certainly over the last 50 years. I have used several of these commentaries in my preaching over the years, and for some books of the New Testament, the volumes in this set just might be the best commentary you can find on that particular book.

For another set that covers both the Old and New Testament, I would recommend the New American Commentary set from Holman. These volumes are reasonably sized, and many of the contributions to the Old Testament books are in the top 3 commentaries you can get fore each book. It also deals with original language issues in decent detail for anyone who is teaching God’s Word.

4. The “I am teaching and preaching regularly” pastor/elder

Well, we come to the most specialized group in the bunch, and as you would expect, these suggestions stand apart form the others so far in a few ways. First, these commentaries will be much larger and go into much more detail than what I have mentioned so far. Second, they will be very technical in their handling of original languages. Third, for both of these and other reasons, they will be the most expensive commentaries on the list. However, if you want to wield the sword of the Spirit in the most effective and faithful way possible, you have to pay for the best equipment.

Without a doubt, at the tippy-top of this list, and, in my humble opinion, the best commentary set that can be purchased, would be the New International Commentary set on the Old and New Testaments from Eerdmans. The contributors to this series are the most knowledgeable Hebrew and Greek scholars in the world today and maybe ever. These are men who are the senior editors of various English translations of the Bible; men who have devoted 40+ years to the study of original languages. Whenever I teach anything from the Bible, or whenever I want to understand a passage better, I grab this commentary set first. It is very detailed and very technical, which is what people who feed the sheep need. I really can’t say enough good things about this set.

If you are looking for a not-too distant second, and still a solid set, I would recommend the Word Biblical Commentary set on the Old and New Testaments from either Zondervan or Thomas Nelson. This complete commentary set would fill an entire 3-foot by 7-foot bookshelf (I know from personal experience). This might be one of the most technical commentary sets out there. It has been a very valuable tool in my study and teaching.

5. Honourable Mention

I also have to mention several commentaries that are not found in any of these sets, but given their excellence, they stand out as being the best commentary (in my opinion) on their particular book of the Bible:

Luke – Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament from Baker
Acts – An Exegetical Commentary by Craig Keener from Baker
Revelation – Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament from Baker

And now the clean-up

With that out of the way, I want to offer another list of important resources that are really good for all Christians, both the preacher and the non-preacher. These will be a valuable part of your personal study, your teaching others, and your weekly handling of God’s Word for the church.

Systematic Theology
Level 1 – Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology
Level 2 – Louis Berkhof’s Systematic Theology
Level 3 – l Reformed Systematic Theology by Joel Beeke
Level 4 – Reformed Dogmatics by Herman Bavinck
For All – John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion

Language Studies
Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon
Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words

Other
“The Treasury of David” by Charles Spurgeon
“Christian Ethics” by Wayne Grudem
“New Testament Theology” by Thomas Schreiner
“Philosophical Foundations of a Christian Worldview” by J.P. Morland

These should be enough to get you going and drain your bank accounts. Enjoy!