Customer Reviews

The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians (Daily Study Bible (Westminster Hardcover))

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Barclay's book on The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians and Thessalonians is an excellent analysis of these books of the Bible.

Barclay provides an introduction to each book before proceeding to a line-by-line, verse-by-verse discussion of the text and its meaning.

The author has a very good understanding of the history and backround of these books and shows detailed knowledge of the language used by Paul. His commentary sheds light on the reasons for Paul's letters and clearly explains the specific guidance Paul was offering to these followers.

Finally, I liked the quotes and short stories Barclay tossed in with his analysis. It's a good book for Bible study. It's easy to read a little bit each day. It's also easy to spend a great deal of time reflecting on the most meaningful passages.

Dr. William Barclay (1907-78), an ordained minister in the Church of Scotland and Glasgow University Professor, is largely remembered today for his seventeen-volume Daily Study Bible. This book is part of the revised edition, which came out in 1975, and uses the Revised Standard Edition of the Bible, rather than the Authorized (King James) Version. In this book, each of the three sections begins with a wonderful, in-depth introduction, which gives a wealth of background information on the city and church involved, along with an explanation of the issues involved in the letter. After that, the author launches into a verse-by-verse examination of the letter.

This is a great commentary on Philippians, Colossians and the two Thessalonian letters! His analyses are both exhaustive, and yet easily grasped by the lay reader. I bought this book to assist me in a Sunday school class that I was teaching, and it was one of the best purchases that I have ever made. I highly recommend this book.

The Barclay commentaries are solid information biblically, and in a small book package which is far easier to handle than most Bible commentaries.

Barclay's writing is indicative of his own comments in regard to Colossians 4:6, where he states that "Christians must commend their message with the charm and the wit which were in Jesus himself. There is too much of the Christianity which stodgily depresses people and too little of the Christianity which sparkles with life" (195). This fascinating little commentary covers Philippians (102 pages), Colossians (102 pages), and 1 & 2 Thessalonians (51 pages). The reader should expect a paragraph (average of about 4-6 verses) followed by roughly a page or two of explanation and application. No knowledge of ancient languages is presumed. The only strained application seems to be the pressing of the Gnostic view of the heresy in the book, albeit a very common view of Barclay's day (cf. 112-115; 132-134; 157; 167-170).

Throughout the commentary, Barclay time and time again makes impressive applications driven directly from the text at hand. The applications are all fresh and easy to be understood. Barclay's ability to turn a phrase and illustrate with ease is evident throughout the little work. Overall, the theology is not overtly bizarre. In contrast to the fact that Barclay is often considered a quintessential liberal (holding to positions that most evangelical Christians would firmly oppose), his writing holds little resemblance to the extreme views that he held. For example, Barclay did not follow some of his era in attributing Colossians to another writer than Paul. Rather, he notes that "we need not hesitate to accept Colossians as a letter written by Paul." It seems to this reviewer that Barclay was more willing to admit points of weakness in his own theology than one may be willing to give him credit for. For example, regarding baptism, Barclay points away from his own paedobaptist tradition for the immersionist credobaptist position as the historical approach to baptism (162)!

There are a few points of liberal theology that do raise their heads in the book. First, in regard to the deity of Christ, Barclay walks all the way up to the line of saying that Christ was God, but does not cross that line. Second, the writer seems to discourage a substitutionary atonement in favor of what could be considered something of an example theory of the atonement (142-143). Last, he does make a quick shot at "rigid orthodoxy" (153). In spite of these comments, the notes on Colossians are of the highest caliber.

This book is for any believer who wants to gain a more practical insight into these books. Each unit will only take about 10-15 minutes to read and consider, and this reviewer would recommend it as an excellent daily devotional on the Scripture in question. It will not disappoint.

As always, the content in William Barclay's study guides to the books of the New Testament is excellent. However, when buying a used book, we need to know if it is musty or has a strong odor. This one needed lots of freshner and several days of airing before I could use it.

I lead a bible study, so I use a number of reference books. I find William Barclay's study on the book of Paul's Letter to the Philippians to be most informative. It is the study book that I turn to most often when defining a point or finding the real meaning of the scripture in what Paul is trying to convey to his readers.