The Pastoral Epistles

The Pastoral Epistles are the three letters that Paul wrote to Timothy, who had pastoral oversight of the church at Ephesus, and Titus, who had pastoral oversight of a new church on the island of Crete. In these letters, Paul discusses basic principles governing church life. W.E. Vine's commentary on these letters is particularly rich, first because of his own warm pastoral heart, and second because of his concern for missionaries. He says, "these letters are the oldest missionary correspondence of the Christian era, written by one of the earliest missionaries." All of Vine's commentaries excel in the rich tradition of careful, exegetical word studies and expository insight. These two commentaries use a word study approach that takes into consideration every reference to a particular word in the Bible as well as its use in contemporary and classic Greek.

The Pastoral Epistles are the three letters that Paul wrote to Timothy, who had pastoral oversight of the church at Ephesus, and Titus, who had pastoral oversight of a new church on the island of Crete. In these letters, Paul discusses issues church overseers should know – matters of Christian living, doctrine, and church leadership. Paul shows how various members of the Church – bishops, deacons, men, and women – should behave. W.E. Vine's commentary on these letters is particularly rich. First is because of his own warm pastoral heart. Writing of another of Paul's letters, Vine says, "Here is the truth of God working itself out through love. Truth that saves is truth warm from the heart of God, glowing with the love that proved itself at the Cross, the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Second is because of Vine's concern for missionaries. He says, "these letters are the oldest missionary correspondence of the Christian era. They were written by one of the earliest missionaries. . . . It was, moreover, in the propagation of Christianity that its doctrines were formulated. The Faith was beaten out on the anvil of paganism by the missionaries of the cross." W.E. Vine's commentaries excel in the rich tradition of careful, exegetical word studies and expository insight. These two commentaries use a word study approach that takes into consideration every reference to a particular word in the Bible as well as its use in contemporary and classic Greek. Pastors, scholars, or serious students of the Word will enjoy these in-depth commentaries.

W. E. Vine is considered one of the world's foremost Greek and biblical scholars. His Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words has been a bestselling classic, popular with generations of Bible scholars and students. Yet he wrote much more than the famous dictionary. His timeless biblical commentaries were marked by careful exegetical word study and expository insight. W.E. Vine worked for Echoes of Service, an organization that supported missionaries around the world. At one time, he kept six secretaries busy corresponding with more than 1,000 missionaries. "Mr. Vine shows," said F.F. Bruce, "how great a service can be rendered to the Church by well-balanced, all-around scholarship when it is combined with reverent submission to the Word of God and spiritual insight into its meaning. . . . The Scriptures' chief function is to bear witness of Christ, and the chief end of their study is to increase our inward knowledge of Him. . . . Mr. Vine, in all his study and writing, would not be content with any aim lower than this for himself and his readers alike."