Study Bibles for Expositors--NIV Zondervan Study Bible--Zondervan Publishing
We have been reviewing several study Bibles that I thought
would be helpful to those who are making a concerted effort to become effective
expositors. An expositor is a preacher
who has a commitment to preach through the Bible dealing with the context, the
doctrinal content, and the application to a New Testament apostolic
church. Expository preaching can be best
summed up in this threefold manner: Read
the text, explain the text, and apply the text.
On the other hand don’t let that greatly simplified form lead you to
think that this makes for simple preaching for it does not. I have been working at this angle of
preaching for a little over ten years now and it is the most demanding sort of
preaching that a minister can give himself to.
It requires great discipline and you have to get control of your
personal schedule so that you can effectively work somewhere that is free from
interruptions. However, the soul
building that takes place in the preacher and in the life of the church will be
astounding! So all of these study Bibles
that I have been reviewing for the last four posts is nothing more than an
effort to encourage men to be students of Scripture.
The next study Bible on the agenda is the NIV Zondervan
Study Bible. I would be more than
The publishers are very much driven by a
profit margin for their companies. But
the competition among these publishers has allowed those students of Scripture
to also benefit by adding some muscle to their study efforts. The Lockman Foundation published the initial
NIV in 1973 and there have been several updates to that initial text and this
particular study Bible has a more modern update from 2011. It is not my desire to get involved in a
debate as to whether or not this was good or bad. My motive is to show another tool that can be
very useful to those who are preaching on a regular basis.
The general editor of the NIV Zondervan Study Bible is D. A.
Carson. If you haven’t read any of his
books particularly in the area of apologetics, he has done yeoman’s work that
is highly beneficial to respond to atheists, agnostics, moralists, and the
academic elite who do not believe in God or the Bible. While he worked with a wide range of biblical
scholars, he noted several characteristics about this particular study
Bible. First, all of the scholars who
had a part believed that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and they
did not believe there were errors, contradictions, and that God’s Word is the
highest authority that man has to answer to.
Second, it is based on the NIV that is the top-selling and most popular
English Bible although the King James Version is the most widely read version
by a long shot (55% to 19%) among English readers. So we know that people are buying and think
the NIV may be easier to understand but the KJV is still the most read. I think that we need to remember that as
preachers. There is strength to a church
that has one primary translation that it recommends and uses to preach
from. Third, the editors worked to make
sure that certain questions would be addressed without overloading the camel
with proverbial straw. The NIV Zondervan
Study Bible worked its editing process so that people would not be overwhelmed
with the commentary that is presented.
Fourth, the editors have been very motivated to provide correlating
pictures, charts, and graphics that are throughout this edition of the study
Bible. Last, Dr. Carson and his
colleagues worked to make sure that a pattern of theology was presented
accurately and succinctly to assist the reader as they went through the text.
QUICK START
GUIDE: I have to confess that over
the years I have never been one who has been overly accustomed to user owner’s
manuals. I would just jump in and go at
it. But time and experience has caused
me to somewhat mend my ways and now I do look at the owner’s manual. This beginning for the NIV Zondervan Study
Bible is very helpful because it keys you in to certain matters that can be
looked for as you study. It prompts you
to Book Introductions that have become very advantageous when you are
considering who wrote the book and what time frame it fit into. This section will open up your eyes
especially in the role of the OT major/minor prophets as well as the other
books of the Bible. There is also an
explanation for the cross reference system which is huge for expositors. The best way to explain Scripture is with Scripture and this is where cross
referencing assists. It informs you
about the study notes although be careful about using study notes in that you
do not immediately read them and then move on to the next thing. I believe it adds to our understanding when
we wrestle with Scripture so as to grasp it for ourselves.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS: This is often another
neglected area when we get a new Bible.
What Zondervan did with this TOC was list not just the Book
Introductions along with the books of the Bible, they included a section that
supplies the maps, charts, illustrations, and articles. There are times when you read the TOC that
something will jump out to you that you would want to follow up with or even
dig out to add to what you are preaching.
If you are also teaching a Sunday school class or a mid-week Bible
study, this section is indispensable for you because it just beefs up your
presentation of the message.
TIMELINES: There are also a couple of timelines that
are directly before the OT and NT. This
is just another tool to help you to get down the chronological flow of
Scripture in your mind. Were these
prophets pre, post, or exilic in their writings? What year was Paul on a certain missionary
journey? What was the year of Saul,
David, and Solomon’s reign and who were the prophets associated with their
rulership? All of these questions have
answers in the timelines.
OUTLINES: I am certain I have mentioned this before
in the past but I have come to rely on outlines and see them as important in
preaching. I am not necessarily saying
that you have to define your outline per se to those whom you are preaching to. But an outline serves well as the skeleton of
your preaching. As the years stack up
with my own preaching, I am very concerned that I want the congregation to
grasp the content of the message so that they will see the power in the Word
and not the heroics of the preacher.
Scattergun preaching will soon be forgotten but when we can walk through
a passage and point out certain matters that deal with life and flow of a
church, it is very helpful. I am sure
that there are some detractors of this idea would say this leads to “dead”
preaching to which I would boldly debate with them. If a man is a dead preacher, it has nothing
to do with the message; it has everything to do with his soul. There have been times we have heard dead
preaching that was loud, emotional, and empty and an outline adds so much
structure to what you are doing. You do
not have to use them woodenly but I think that outlines helpful you to look at
and see Scripture in a unique way and will help you to even adapt that outline
for your own use.
DISLIKES: There are only a couple of dislikes that
I have with this study Bible and both of them are necessary evils that all
study Bibles grapple with. First is the
size of the Bible, it is huge and we live in a time when very few ministers are
carrying Bibles to the pulpit anymore and this one would be a huge one to take
to the pulpit. On this idea of us moving
away from taking our Bibles to the pulpit, perhaps this is a cultural issue
with me or even a traditional matter but in my heart of hearts I cannot think
this is a good thing. I still like to
hear pages turning when I am preaching.
We need to be not just people of the Name but also people of the
Book. My second dislike with this study
Bible is another necessary evil and that is with the font size. It is probably an 8-9 font, which makes it a
bit difficult to read. Those are matters
that we probably just have to deal with to the best of our ability.
I have a few more study Bible reviews to get to in the coming
days before the end of the year and I hope you are find them useful.
God Bless,
Philip Harrelson
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