Philippians, Colossians (Reformation Commentary on Scripture, New Testament)

Preaching's Preacher's Guide to the Best Bible Reference

Paul's letters to the Philippians and Colossians celebrate the glory and supremacy of Jesus Christ and his saving work, a refrain that the reformers never grew tired of singing. While their tones are diverse, the clarity of their compositions and the power of their voices still reverberate today.

Reformation commentators found the main themes of these Pauline letters deeply applicable to their circumstances, and volume editor Graham Tomlin urges that they are just as relevant to our own: Philippians overflows with thanksgiving in the midst of persecution and trials; Colossians defends the superiority of Jesus as Lord over all principalities and powers. For the Reformers as well as for Paul, all goodness and grace flows from Christ in whom "all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell" (Col 1:19), the Son who "made himself nothing" (Phil 2:7) in order to bring many daughters and sons to glory.

This volume assembles a diverse chorus spanning place, time, and confessional differences: from Italian Reform-minded Catholic Gasparo Contarini and German Lutheran Martin Chemnitz, to Dutch Anabaptist Menno Simons, to French Reformed Theodore Beza and English Puritan Richard Sibbes. Scholars and pastors alike will find many fruitful insights from these and a number of other significant figures--most of whom enjoy fresh translations from the original, many for the first time in English.

Graham Tomlin, formerly Dean (now President) of St Mellitus College and Principal of St Paul’s Theological Centre, London, is Bishop of Kensington. Among his publications are Looking Beyond Brexit (SPCK, 2019), The Widening Circle (SPCK, 2014), Looking through the Cross: The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Book 2014 (Bloomsbury Continuum) and The Provocative Church (SPCK, fourth edition, 2014).