Why Did God Give Us Commentators?
Have you ever wondered why we have commentaries on the Word of God? Perhaps you should so you have an answer when an unbeliever asks a question like this one. “If you Christians think your Bible is inerrant and authoritative, why in the world do your people write so many books trying to explain it? If it’s all that wonderful, it should speak for itself!
Perhaps this short essay might help you answer the question for yourself. Peter encourages us always to be ready to give an apologetic for our faith (I Peter 3:15).
Importance of Studying the Scriptures
In First Timothy three, Paul encourages Timothy to be engaged in the perpetual study of the Scriptures (6-11), and in his Second, he writes, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling the word of truth accurately.” Similarly, Peter writes,
“Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
In Proverbs 1:7, the writer tells us that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Later, in 9:10, he expands this a bit, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (NIV).
The Value of Commentators
So why should anyone write commentaries on the Word of God? A careful reading of Scripture will uncover a pattern of Biblical writers commenting on the works of other Biblical writers. Yes, they were all inspired, but the point is that they help the run-of-the-mill believers understand each other’s writings. Furthermore, Paul instructs us to teach one another, as does Jesus in the great commission.
However, keep in mind that it is the text that is inspired and that the Holy Spirit enables those whom He gifts and calls to illuminate the reader of the text. All the books of the Bible were written in cultural contexts; even the Old Testament, written in the ongoing Jewish community, was written in various cultural contexts, for example, Egypt and Babylon. Now, this same culturally located text needs understanding in a contemporary cultural context. This is the effort of the commentator.
I pray that the Holy Spirit will use the efforts of commentators to contextualize this Book for you. I also pray that He will protect you from anything I may have said or anything you may interpret me to have said that would be in error and/or damaging to your welfare as a believer in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
An Illustration from Paul’s Concluding Remarks of I Corinthians
In verses thirteen and fourteen, Paul reminds the Corinthians of five essential universal principles of the Christian life.
• Be on the alert! Paul has just led them in thinking about critical issues of Christian life. Now, he admonishes them to be alert, indicating they would need to consciously guard their lives less they yield to their former thinking and the behavior it produced.
• Stand firm in the faith! Remember, they live in a very religious society in which competing doctrines are plentiful and have formerly been committed to one or the other. It is important for them, and us who now live in a pluralistic society of competing religions, to know what we believe and be able to defend it for ourselves.
• Act like men! This was the Roman Legion’s military metaphor for being courageous. Perhaps Paul had Joshua (1:1-9) in mind when Moses commissioned him, especially in verse nine, “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest (KJV). Children, through octogenarians, must choose to be courageous.
• Be strong! No, this is not repetitive. Being a Christian is not for sissies. Every believer must develop their spiritual muscle. As Paul teaches repeatedly, and he had certainly taught it here in this eighteen-month stay, the believer must develop the mind of Christ (Phil 2) and thereby inform his emotions and his will to walk uprightly in Christ.
• The governing principle for how such living is done in relationships is love. This is undoubtedly a reminder for them of what he wrote in chapter thirteen. There is no room for bullies any more than for sissies. Regardless of the challenge, the believer is to wrap it in love for a neighbor—even if it is a persecutor, a cantankerous religious antagonist, or a fellow believer flaunting his Christian liberties. Hence, Paul closes with this final instruction of verse twenty-two, which might be phrased as, “If anyone chooses not to trust Jesus (love the Lord), then he chooses to be accursed, and you cannot change that for him.”
Concluding Words
Paul closes with a brief benediction (23) and the assurance of his love for the Corinthians. What a beautiful way to end a difficult letter. In this closing, we see Paul living out that which has been his challenge to them in verses thirteen and fourteen. He has been alert. He has stood firm. He has been courageous. And he has been strong. Paul would rather have written them a very different letter filled with compliments, rejoicing, and praise for the Lord they had chosen to be faithful executors of all he had taught them previously. However, being alert to the issues, addressing the issues, exercising courage, and demonstrating strength are all executed in love.
To God be the glory for the great things He continues to do generation after generation until we see Him return and establish His eternal Kingdom. In the meantime, He gives Augustins, Luthers, Calvins, Grahams, and Fergusons, along with many more “lights” of lesser identity, to teach, reprove, correct, and train in righteousness the disciples of Jesus in each generation and ever-changing cultures.