https://www.logos.com/products/search?Publisher=Zondervan&Product+Type=Zondervan+Prepare+for+Easter+Sale
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John Kight: https://www.logos.com/products/search?Publisher=Zondervan&Product+Type=Zondervan+Prepare+for+Easter+Sale
I was just about to jump in and post on this. I picked up the commentary on John which is the one I did not have.
Pastor, North Park Baptist Church
Bridgeport, CT USA
Mark Smith:I picked up the commentary on John which is the one I did not have.
Same here!
Mark Smith: John Kight: https://www.logos.com/products/search?Publisher=Zondervan&Product+Type=Zondervan+Prepare+for+Easter+Sale I was just about to jump in and post on this. I picked up the commentary on John which is the one I did not have.
John is also not included in the 10 volume ZECNT set that features in March Madness, so this is a good opportunity to pick up the John volume cheaply
Thanks for sharing, John!
Mmm - wondering if I should get them now or hold off until ZECNT's gets eliminated in LMM.
David Carter: Mark Smith: John Kight: https://www.logos.com/products/search?Publisher=Zondervan&Product+Type=Zondervan+Prepare+for+Easter+Sale I was just about to jump in and post on this. I picked up the commentary on John which is the one I did not have. John is also not included in the 10 volume ZECNT set that features in March Madness, so this is a good opportunity to pick up the John volume cheaply
Missed this. Thanks for highlighting!
Nice
How do these compare to other commentaries? I'm not familiar with the zecnt
Thanks John, I was waiting for a sale on the John volume.
Logos, purchased John on prepub back in September for 31.99. How can I apply for a credit?
Mattillo: How do these compare to other commentaries? I'm not familiar with the zecnt
They compare with the Baker Exegetical and Pillar commentaries rather well. They deal with the Greek but start with an English translation so that non-Greek folks can utilize them.
The format consists of six main parts (this is from Ephesians 1:1-2):
Literary Context
Letter writing was a common practice in the Graeco-Roman world. Over the past century, hundreds of papyrus letters have been discovered. Paul availed himself of this medium of communication to stay in touch with churches and to send instructions to coworkers. His letter opening follows the typical pattern of letters in antiquity. He begins by naming himself as the sender of the letter, indicates the recipients of the letter in the dative case, and then extends a greeting.
I. Introduction to the Letter (1:1–2)
II. Praise to God for His Remarkable Plan of Redemption (1:3–14) A. Praise to God! (A Summary of the Section) (1:3) B. Because He Chose and Predestined Us (1:4–6) C. Because He Forgave Our Sins and Revealed His Plan to Us (1:7–10) D. Because He Chose and Predestined Us (1:11–12) E. Because He Sealed Us with His Spirit (1:13–14)
Main Idea
Paul demonstrates his pastoral concern for these believers by writing a letter to them and praying for the new covenant blessings of grace and peace to permeate their lives.
Translation
Ephesians 1:1–2
1a Sender Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, b Recipients to the saints who are in Ephesus who are also believers in Christ Jesus. 2 Greetings Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Exegetical Outline
I. Introduction to the Letter (1:1–2) A. Sender (1:1a) B. Recipients (1:1b) C. Greetings (1:2)
Explanation of the Text
1:1a Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God (Παῦλος ἀπόστολος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ).
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Theology in Application
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They include a 'translation' (no original language included) that deals with the structure of the text. Here is an example from Ephesians 1:3-14:
They also have a Theology in Application section where the author attempts to reflect on the theological and contemporary concerns the text deals with. Here is the section from Ephesians 1:3-14:
Paul is writing this letter into a situation nearly six or seven years after he has last been with the Ephesian believers. During this time, presumably numerous Gentiles have become Christians and streamed into the local house churches in Ephesus and throughout western Asia Minor. It must not be forgotten that these Gentiles have not come from a background of secular materialism and scientific naturalism; they have turned to Christ from a background of devotion to Artemis, Cybele, Isis, Dionysus, and an array of other deities. They have practiced magic and forms of ritual power, observed omens and signs, and were vitally concerned about the implications of astral fate for their lives. What Paul says in the introductory eulogy is perfectly suited to help these many new Gentile believers in the process of transforming their worldview from a pagan perspective to a Christian set of convictions.Contrary to contemporary belief in some circles, theology is not sterile and dry. It is such life-changing truth that Paul deems it essential to growth and sanctification. The theological truths he contemplates and shares lead him to fall on his face in emotional exclamations of praise to our awesome God.There are a variety of truths to reflect on stemming from the main point of this passage.
The Sovereignty of God
There is one God who is sovereignly unfolding his plan for all of creation that includes the redemption of humanity. Behind this poetic passage of praise is the conviction shared by all of Judaism and early Christianity that there is one true God who revealed himself to Israel and is sovereign over all history. As a Jew, Paul continues to hold unswervingly to the confession of Israel in the Shema, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deut 6:4). While there were small groups of people in Asia Minor who worshiped one deity known as Theos Hypsistos (“God Most High”) while still acknowledging the existence of other deities (henotheism),54 Paul maintains a conviction that there is truly only one God (monotheism) and worship is due to him alone. The implication of this for these Gentile believers is that there are not numerous gods and goddesses who need to be feared and honored. Nor is there an ultimate dualism with two gods of relatively equal power contending with one another. There is one sovereign God who deserves their full devotion and worship.This passage also reflects some of the central convictions of a Jewish apocalyptic worldview, which was prominent in the Judaism leading up to the time of Jesus and the apostles. In the forty years, there was an increasing recognition by scholars of the importance of the book of Daniel (the fountainhead of apocalyptic) to the thought of Ephesians and especially to this introductory eulogy. At the heart of apocalyptic is the belief that God is sovereign over all of creation and has a plan for the ages that he is unfolding as the times reach their fulfillment. This is particularly prominent in Daniel, where the book speaks of a periodization of history that will climax in a decisive intervention by God when he establishes his King to rule over an everlasting kingdom that spans all of creation (see Dan 2; 7).These elements are also central to Eph 1:3–14. The sovereign will and plan of God are repeatedly stressed with a variety of different expressions: “he chose before the foundation of the world” (ἐκλέγομαι; 1:4); “he chose” (κληρόω; 1:11); “he predestined” (προορίζω; 1:5, 11); his “good pleasure” (εὐδοκία; 1:5, 9), his “will” (θέλημα; 1:5, 9, 11), “he revealed” (γνωρίζω; 1:9), “the mystery” (μυστήριον; 1:9); his “plan” (οἰκονομία; 1:10); he “designed” and his “plan” (προτίθημι; πρόθεσις; 1:9, 11), and his “counsel” (βουλή; 1:11). The net impact is that the readers can be assured that they are not left to an inescapable fate charted somehow in the stars. Nor is their future in the hand of capricious deities fighting among themselves. Their future is bound up with the will of the one true God, who has chosen them and predestined them even before the world was created. All who are in Christ can be assured that they were planned, loved, chosen, pursued, and included.
Our Election before Creation
This passage makes it clear that God sovereignly chose us before he made the heavens and the earth. The two parallel sections (1:4–6 and 1:11–12) strongly emphasize God’s initiative, decision, and choice in our salvation. The motivation for the election is his love (1:4c, 6b), the basis is expressed as his “good pleasure” (1:5d) and “the counsel of his will” (1:11d), and the purpose is that we would be a people “to himself” (1:5c). It is conspicuous that Paul never says that we chose God or that the basis of election is rooted in God’s choice of those who would believe in him. It is difficult to find within this text any notion of God foreseeing those who would exercise faith. “Hearing” and “believing” are expressed in the application section of this text (1:13–14), but as subsequent to God’s electing and predestining.Why has God revealed his teaching about election in this passage? He wants to encourage our hearts by helping us see not only God’s sovereignty, but also his extraordinary love for us. As it did for Paul, these truths should lead us to praise God and thank him for his indescribable kindness to us in pouring out his grace.This text, of course, raises a question that has gripped many theologians throughout the ages. That is, if God chose some for salvation, then has he necessarily selected others to suffer eternal damnation? Although this is certainly a logical question to ask as the other side to the overwhelmingly positive teaching of this passage, it is an implication that Paul does not draw here or elsewhere.55
A Rupture in Creation Needing Resolution
A rupture has taken place in the creation that needs resolution. Looming ominously in the background of this awe-inspiring praise to God is the assumption that a serious disturbance has taken place in the creation. Paul indicates that people have engaged in transgressions (παραπτώματα; 1:7) against the law of God from which they need forgiveness. What the passage says about “redemption” (ἀπολύτρωσις; 1:7, 14) presupposes that people have fallen into slavery and bondage to sin, which is precisely what Paul draws out in the next chapter. In fact, their bondage to the world, the flesh, and the devil has resulted in death (2:1–3). Paul also suggests that this rebellion is not only limited to people on earth, but extends to the angels in heaven. All of creation, then, needs to be brought back under the lordship and ruling authority of God (ἀνακεφαλαιόω; Eph 1:10).This understanding of the plight of humanity is at the heart of the Pauline gospel and the early Christian preaching as a whole and thereby establishes the need for Christ to die as a sacrifice (διὰ τοῦ αἵματος; Eph 1:7) on the cross. This passage also points ahead to the resurrection as the basis for Christ’s sovereign power as Lord (see 1:19–23), which will enable him to bring all of the rebellious creation under his reign (1:10).It suggests that people have been stricken so deeply by the power of sin that they have become willing accomplices to its enticements and are unable to choose God in any objective, neutral way. This further highlights God’s grace and favor by choosing people to be his own sons and daughters who were delighting in their own sinful and self-centered pursuits.
Jesus’ Preexistence and Revelation
Christ preexisted with the Father and has now been revealed as the means of redemption and the source of intimacy with God. This passage portrays the Father in eternity past as not alone, but jointly planning with Christ the redemption of humanity (προέθετο ἐν αὐτῷ; 1:9). This plan involved making Christ the means for atonement by his death and then the connection point of a relationship with God. Paul emphasizes this in 1:3–14 with his repeated emphasis on “in Christ.” Some form of this expression occurs eleven times in these twelve verses. Paul thus prefigures this as a major theme throughout this letter.It is also a principal theme in Paul’s theology that speaks of our participation in Christ. It refers objectively to our participation in his death, resurrection, ascension, as well as to his present position of power and authority at the right hand of God. Because of this identification with the victorious Lord, those who are “in Christ” will have power for living lives of obedience and for engaging in spiritual warfare (6:10–20). But “in Christ” also refers to the present dynamic experience of closeness and unity with Christ, who cherishes them, nourishes them, provides for them, and gives them direction. A strong relational experience is suggested by this expression.
The Role of the Spirit
The Spirit imparts God’s blessings to us, marking us as belonging to God and assuring us of our future with him. The passage begins and ends with the Spirit of God (1:3, 13), as it likewise does with reference to the Father, yet Christ is at the center of the text. There is thus a strong Trinitarian character to this passage with the Father as the main planner and initiator of redemption, Christ as the central figure of the plan, who secures the redemption and becomes the nexus point for the relationship the redeemed have with God, and the Spirit now as the agent who bestows the blessings on the people God has redeemed.In a context where people were seeking help and inspiration from a wide variety of spirit beings, this passage would be instructive in helping them to see that there is only one Spirit they should seek. God’s Spirit does not come alongside as a divine supernatural assistant (paredros) to fulfill our every self-serving demand. In the first place, this Spirit comes to abide with us as a sign of God’s presence; we are God’s property until the final redemption. This Spirit is also a powerful presence within us as a resource for living the Christian life. The Spirit, in fact, has his own agenda, which involves promoting and empowering a holy life (1:4). This is consistent with the fact that he is the Holy Spirit.
Generally I appreciate these commentaries, especially for the Translation and Theology in Application sections which are rarely found in other commentaries at this level.
I'd consider most of these as 4 star commentaries, but none as a 5 star commentary.
JFritschJr:Logos, purchased John on prepub back in September for 31.99. How can I apply for a credit?
You'd have to contact Customer Service, but after 30 days I don't think they will adjust the price.
Call or email Customer Service. They can arrange for your store credit.
Mark Smith:You'd have to contact Customer Service, but after 30 days I don't think they will adjust the price.
Pre-Pub orders will have a 6-month lowest-price guarantee, LN members get a 1-year lowest price guarantee. The Pre-pub pricing policy has more details.
Thank you Mark! I think I'll take the plunge and play with these. I searched for zecnt on logos and only the 10 volume set and John popped up. Are these only sold as a set? I'll assume no dynamic pricing either
Disregard the set question. The others aren't labeled as zecnt
Mattillo
I'm a lay preacher. If I were starting over again I'd prioritise this set over all my other mid-level technical commentaries. I'd then supplement with the Reformed Expository Commentaries, Boice Commentaries and Christ Centered Expositions, which give me some useful pointers in sermon writing.
That's not to say I don't value my NICNT, Pillar, New American Commentaries, Mentor, EP Study Commentaries, Tyndale Commentaries, IVPNT commentaries, REBC, NIVAC, etc, but I do find the ZECNT series has a nice blend of detailed exposition and application. Plus the series is not so technical that I get lost in the detail.
Purchased Mark, was on my wish list but I did not see the red color in price tag this morning!
Gold package, and original language material and ancient text material, SIL and UBS books, discourse Hebrew OT and Greek NT. PC with Windows 8.1
This is a really good price. Thank you for highlighting it.
PetahChristian:Pre-Pub orders will have a 6-month lowest-price guarantee, LN members get a 1-year lowest price guarantee. The Pre-pub pricing policy has more details.
If it he bought it as a pre-pub you are correct. He didn't say.
Thanks for the ZECNT sample. I'll give the one on John a go.