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Thru the Bible #48
Philippians and Colossians
Radio messages from J. Vernon McGee delighted and enthralled listeners for years with simple, straightforward language and clear understanding of the Scripture. Now enjoy his personable, yet scholarly, style in a 60-volume set of commentaries that takes you from Genesis to Revelation with new understanding and insight. Each volume includes introductory sections, detailed outlines and a thorough, paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of the text. A great choice for pastors - and even better choice for the average Bible reader and student Very affordable in a size that can go anywhere, it's available as a complete 60-volume series, in Old Testament or New Testament sets, or individually.
192 pages, Paperback
First published December 12, 1993
43 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
J. Vernon McGee
485 books67 followersJohn Vernon McGee was born in Hillsboro, Texas, in 1904. Dr. McGee remarked, "When I was born and the doctor gave me the customary whack, my mother said that I let out a yell that could be heard on all four borders of Texas!" His Creator well knew that he would need a powerful voice to deliver a powerful message.
As a student pastor, Dr. McGee's first church was located on a red clay hill in Midway, Georgia. It was there that he received his greatest compliment: "It was from a country boy wearing high buttoned, yellow shoes. After a morning service he came to speak to me. He groped for words, then blurted out, 'I never knew Jesus was so wonderful!' He started to say more but choked up and hurried out of the church. As I watched him stride across the field, I prayed, 'Oh, God, help me to always preach so that it can be said, I never knew Jesus was so wonderful.'"
After completing his education (earning his A.B. from Southwestern University in Memphis, Tennessee; his B.D. from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia; his Th.M. and Th.D. from Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas), and after pastoring Presbyterian churches in Decatur, GA, Nashville, TN, and Cleburne, TX, he and his wife came west, settling in Pasadena, where he accepted a call to the Lincoln Avenue Presbyterian Church. He recalls this period as the happiest in his life, with a young family and a young congregation whom he loved.
Dr. McGee's greatest pastorate was at the historic, Church of the Open Door in downtown Los Angeles, where he served from 1949 to 1970. There he began a daily radio broadcast called "High Noon Bible Class" on a single station.
Dr. McGee began teaching Thru the Bible in 1967. After retiring from the pastorate, he set up radio headquarters in Pasadena, and the radio ministry expanded rapidly. Today the program airs on over 400 stations each day in the United States and Canada, is heard in more than 100 languages around the world and is broadcast worldwide via the Internet.
As a student pastor, Dr. McGee's first church was located on a red clay hill in Midway, Georgia. It was there that he received his greatest compliment: "It was from a country boy wearing high buttoned, yellow shoes. After a morning service he came to speak to me. He groped for words, then blurted out, 'I never knew Jesus was so wonderful!' He started to say more but choked up and hurried out of the church. As I watched him stride across the field, I prayed, 'Oh, God, help me to always preach so that it can be said, I never knew Jesus was so wonderful.'"
After completing his education (earning his A.B. from Southwestern University in Memphis, Tennessee; his B.D. from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia; his Th.M. and Th.D. from Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas), and after pastoring Presbyterian churches in Decatur, GA, Nashville, TN, and Cleburne, TX, he and his wife came west, settling in Pasadena, where he accepted a call to the Lincoln Avenue Presbyterian Church. He recalls this period as the happiest in his life, with a young family and a young congregation whom he loved.
Dr. McGee's greatest pastorate was at the historic, Church of the Open Door in downtown Los Angeles, where he served from 1949 to 1970. There he began a daily radio broadcast called "High Noon Bible Class" on a single station.
Dr. McGee began teaching Thru the Bible in 1967. After retiring from the pastorate, he set up radio headquarters in Pasadena, and the radio ministry expanded rapidly. Today the program airs on over 400 stations each day in the United States and Canada, is heard in more than 100 languages around the world and is broadcast worldwide via the Internet.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 13, 2024
Great, in-depth commentary on the two epistles; however, I did struggle a little to decipher the KJV Bible translation used within the chapters.
October 15, 2020
First sentence: The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians is one of the Prison Epistles. Paul wrote four epistles when he was in prison, and we have labeled them Prison Epistles.
I am reading the Bible in 2020 using the daily M'Cheyne (Robert Murray M'Cheyne) plan. I thought it would add a layer of substance to in addition to the four chapters a day, to also read commentaries for those chapters. For that I am using Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible. But the plan goes through the New Testament (and Psalms, I believe) twice. So now that I've finished Henry's commentary for the New Testament, I am tackling the New Testament commentary section of J. Vernon McGee's series.
This is not my first time reading J. Vernon McGee. I've read probably twenty or so of his commentaries. Most recently Ephesians.
Overall, I like his laidback, casual, straightforward, tell it like it is approach to teaching Scripture. There is something so grounded and down to earth about him. Each reader is "his" friend. It's hard not to feel like he is a friend too.
In this book, he is combining his commentary for Philippians AND Colossians. I suppose this makes sense because both books together are just eight chapters of Scripture. And also both epistles are prison epistles written by Paul. Still I am a bit used to reading commentaries focused on just one book of the bible at a time!
I am reading the Bible in 2020 using the daily M'Cheyne (Robert Murray M'Cheyne) plan. I thought it would add a layer of substance to in addition to the four chapters a day, to also read commentaries for those chapters. For that I am using Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible. But the plan goes through the New Testament (and Psalms, I believe) twice. So now that I've finished Henry's commentary for the New Testament, I am tackling the New Testament commentary section of J. Vernon McGee's series.
This is not my first time reading J. Vernon McGee. I've read probably twenty or so of his commentaries. Most recently Ephesians.
Overall, I like his laidback, casual, straightforward, tell it like it is approach to teaching Scripture. There is something so grounded and down to earth about him. Each reader is "his" friend. It's hard not to feel like he is a friend too.
In this book, he is combining his commentary for Philippians AND Colossians. I suppose this makes sense because both books together are just eight chapters of Scripture. And also both epistles are prison epistles written by Paul. Still I am a bit used to reading commentaries focused on just one book of the bible at a time!
July 28, 2019
Took me a while to read this. Just couldn't keep focused on it.
Read
August 1, 2020MY SUMMARIES
The Book of Philippians
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf51Y...
The Book of Colossians
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FExs...
The Book of Philippians
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf51Y...
The Book of Colossians
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FExs...
July 14, 2022
Love, love, love this book. I can hear Dr. McGee as I read it.
January 28, 2015
As far as a introductory commentary goes, I enjoyed Dr. McGee's effort. His style is engaging, accessible, and interesting. One notable strength is what he affectionately and repeatedly refers to as "homely examples." Taking simple examples from everyday life, he goes on to illustrate the abstract theological point of the text. I think without exception I found these illustrations helpful in understanding his interpretation of scripture.
On the other hand, too often I felt certain passages were basically skipped over or glossed over. Additionally, certain theological hobby horses were emphasized over against the text itself. For example, extended discussions on the rapture are the dominating feature of the commentary for the end of chapter 3 and beginning of 4. Ironically, in the midst of this discussion he criticizes such methods, before jumping right back into it (although we teachers are probably guilty of this more often than we realize as well).
I think the benefit of this commentary is its simplicity and "homeliness" in presentation. This provides great access to the typical lay leader, and I think the preacher and teacher will find many helpful illustrations and insights as well. I think the weaknesses are lack of more technical discussions, which help show the strength or weakness of the theological truths presented. Such discussions are inevitably skipped in introductory commentaries in the interest of accessibility, but the other side of the sword is that certain theological emphases are presented as absolute, uncontested truths to unsuspecting readers. Such discussions also help stay focused on the main point of the passage, keeping us from wandering into other discussions that are perhaps important and biblical, but entirely foreign to the text in hand.
On the other hand, too often I felt certain passages were basically skipped over or glossed over. Additionally, certain theological hobby horses were emphasized over against the text itself. For example, extended discussions on the rapture are the dominating feature of the commentary for the end of chapter 3 and beginning of 4. Ironically, in the midst of this discussion he criticizes such methods, before jumping right back into it (although we teachers are probably guilty of this more often than we realize as well).
I think the benefit of this commentary is its simplicity and "homeliness" in presentation. This provides great access to the typical lay leader, and I think the preacher and teacher will find many helpful illustrations and insights as well. I think the weaknesses are lack of more technical discussions, which help show the strength or weakness of the theological truths presented. Such discussions are inevitably skipped in introductory commentaries in the interest of accessibility, but the other side of the sword is that certain theological emphases are presented as absolute, uncontested truths to unsuspecting readers. Such discussions also help stay focused on the main point of the passage, keeping us from wandering into other discussions that are perhaps important and biblical, but entirely foreign to the text in hand.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews