The Expositor's Bible: The Epistles of St. Paul to the Colossians and Philemon

Alexander MaclarenProject Gutenberg · United StatesMar 2023

Rating 3.5
Word count
798K words
Chapters
80

Tags

Motivation and Growth Apostolic LetterBiblical ExpositionMoral TeachingsFaith in PracticeSpiritual PracticeMoral CultivationPopular ExplanationReligious SermonChurch TraditionDevotional Reading

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Expositor's Bible: The Epistles of St. Paul to the Colossians and PhilemonAuthor: Maclaren, Alexander, 1826-1910,Language: English, Class: BS: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Christianity: The Bible, Old and New Testament, Release Date: Sep 7, 2011

Editor's review

This book is Alexander Maclaren's commentary on Colossians and Philemon, written for The Expositor's Bible series and published as a public-domain ebook by Project Gutenberg. Maclaren is known for preaching-style exposition that attends to the flow of the text and connects it with the practice of faith, making the volume suitable for personal Bible study, small-group preparation, or sermon material. As a nineteenth-century English commentary, it carries a distinct period preaching style, and its scholarly vocabulary differs from that of contemporary commentaries; readers should treat it as a sample of the classic expositional tradition rather than as the latest research. The electronic edition makes it easy to search for verses and themes and to read alongside the biblical text. Overall, it is better suited to readers who already have some grounding in Bible reading and who wish to observe verse-by-verse exposition and faith reflection.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Read through Colossians and Philemon first, then work through the commentary section by section.
  2. After each section, summarize the main points in your own words and note any questions.
  3. If using it to lead a group, prioritize sections related to the practice of faith when preparing.
  4. Read it alongside contemporary commentaries and watch for differences in period vocabulary.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55
  56. 56
  57. 57
  58. 58
  59. 59
  60. 60
  61. 61
  62. 62
  63. 63
  64. 64
  65. 65
  66. 66
  67. 67
  68. 68
  69. 69
  70. 70
  71. 71
  72. 72
  73. 73
  74. 74
  75. 75
  76. 76
  77. 77
  78. 78
  79. 79
  80. 80

FAQ

Which two books of the Bible does this commentary cover? According to the source material, the book is a commentary on the Apostle Paul's Colossians and Philemon. It belongs to The Expositor's Bible series, is by Alexander Maclaren, and the English ebook is distributed by Project Gutenberg.
Can someone without theological training read this book? You can try, but it is advisable to read through the two biblical books first and learn the basic background. This is a nineteenth-century English preaching-style commentary whose vocabulary and structure differ from contemporary introductions, so readers without experience in Bible reading may find it demanding.
Is it suitable for preparing sermons? It is suitable as one reference. Maclaren's commentary emphasizes the flow of the text and the practice of faith and can offer sermon ideas and expressive material; but it is an older English work, so it is best used alongside contemporary commentaries and original-language tools.
How can I read it alongside the biblical text more conveniently in the electronic edition? Open the electronic biblical text and this book at the same time and compare them section by section according to chapter and verse. Use the search function to look up keywords or verse references, which helps you locate commentary sections quickly and review earlier discussion.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Alexander Maclaren Author · British · 1826–1910

Alexander Maclaren (1826–1910) was a Scottish Baptist minister and biblical expositor, born in Glasgow. He served as pastor of the Union Chapel in Manchester for forty-five years and became known for his Expositions of Holy Scripture series of sermons. He twice served as president of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and in 1905 was president of the Baptist World Congress, and was hailed as the "prince of expositors." The library holds twenty of his works, mostly verse-by-verse expositions and sermon collections covering Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, the Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Mark, and John. His writing follows the biblical text closely, explaining it passage by passage in plain yet moving language that combines exegesis with pastoral care, and it remains a resource for readers studying the Bible today.