Another tool for studying the Bible is a commentary. Merriam-Webster defines a commentary as a systematic series of explanations or interpretations (as of a writing)1. A Biblical commentary explains and interprets the Biblical text and can help you understand difficult Biblical passages. Biblical commentaries are useful for both new and mature believers2. Most Biblical commentaries explain and interpret scripture verse-by-verse. Commentaries often include introductions to each book of the Bible, giving the book’s historical background, the author’s background, theological themes of the book, and other useful resources. Some study bibles include commentaries, or you can use a separate commentary.
There are many styles of commentaries: some are single volumes and some are multiple volumes, some cover the entire Bible, others cover only the Old or New Testament, still others cover only a single book of the Bible.
How to Choose a Commentary
The most important thing in choosing a commentary to use is to ensure it is in line with scripture – it must interpret scripture correctly. One way to determine if a commentary interprets scripture correctly is to understand the author’s theology, or what he believes about God. For authors who are still alive, you can usually find their statement of faith on their ministry’s website. For authors who have passed away, a bit more research may be needed. Commentaries written by John Calvin, Matthew Henry, Charles Spurgeon, and CJ Scofield are generally recognized as Biblically accurate. More modern commentaries that are also Biblically accurate include Tony Evans, John MacArthur, and Chuck Swindoll. When researching commentary authors and their theology, look for the following theological values:
- There is only one eternal God, consisting of three persons: the Father, Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit. Each person in the Godhead is completely God.
- Jesus is the Son of God and is God himself. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and died on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. He was resurrected on the third day, ascended to heaven, and now sits at the right hand of the Father. He will return in power and glory.
- All men will face the judgment of God and Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. Once saved, a person is regenerated by the work of the Holy Spirit.
- The Holy Spirit provides fruits and gifts, and His indwelling enables the Christian to live a productive, Godly life.
- Both the saved and the lost will be resurrected; the saved will be resurrected to eternal life and the lost will be resurrected to eternal punishment.
- There is spiritual unity of believers in Jesus Christ and all believers are members of His body – the church.
- Evangelism and discipleship is a responsibility of all Christians
- Christians are to dedicate their lives to prayer, in service of our Lord, to accept Christ’s authority over their lives, and in the ministry of evangelism.
- Human life is sacred from conception to its natural end, and Christians must have concern for the physical and spiritual needs of our fellow men.
Another consideration for choosing a commentary is its level of difficulty. Some commentaries are very technical and assume you have some understanding of foreign languages and how they work, as well as some level of understanding of theological concepts. If you’re a newer believer you may want to choose simpler commentaries to start with. Examples of technical commentaries include Tyndale OT, Tyndale NT, Hermeneia, Concordia, and Baker Exegetical. Commentaries that are less technical include John MacArthur, Charles Swindoll, and Matthew Henry.
How to Use a Commentary
A Biblical commentary should be used along with your Bible, not as a replacement for your Bible. It is important to remember, no matter how great the theologian is who wrote the commentary, he was still human and could have made a mistake in the interpretation. Start with prayer – asking the Holy Spirit for His help in interpreting the Biblical text. Then read the text, maybe several times. Think through what it means. If your Bible has cross-references to other verses, read them. After this, open your commentary and see what the author has to say about the passage you’ve read.
As you use your commentary, pay attention to how the author is interpreting scripture. In Acts 17:11, the Bereans are commended for listening to Paul’s teaching and comparing it to scripture to ensure what Paul was teaching was true to scripture, and this is how we should handle another’s writing or teaching about scripture. We should always refer back to scripture to ensure the author is interpreting scripture correctly as the Bereans did. It’s possible you might have misunderstood the passage – re-read the scripture and ensure you understand it well. Then re-read the commentary. If there’s still an apparent contradiction in the commentary, talk to other Christians or to your pastor to see if the commentary author could be one you need to stay away from.
1https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commentary, accessed 11/11/2021
2https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/, accessed 11/11/2021