Myrtlefield Expositions (5 vols.)

by David Gooding

Publisher:

Myrtlefield House

, 2013

Overview

Scholarly, engaging, and accessible, each book in the Myrtlefield Expositions addresses the reader’s mind and heart to increase faith in God and to encourage obedience to his Word. Veteran Bible teacher David Gooding writes with the expertise of a professor and the compassion of a pastor. Gooding’s background in the Old Testament enriches these New Testament studies, always keeping the Bible’s overarching narrative in view. Teachers, preachers, and all students of the Bible will find Gooding’s approach to Scripture in these volumes both instructive and enriching.

Key Features

• Enriches the study of the New Testament with the overarching narrative of the Bible
• Addresses the heart and mind of readers with expertise and compassion
• Provides valuable preaching and devotional resources

Product Details

• Title: Myrtlefield Expositions
• Author: David Gooding
• Publisher: Myrtlefield House
• Publication Date: 2013
• Pages: 2,076
• Christian Group: Evangelicals
• Resource Type: Commentaries
• Topic: Biblical Studies

The Riches of Divine Wisdom: The New Testament’s Use of the Old Testament

• Author: David Gooding
• Series: Myrtlefield Expositions
• Publisher: Myrtlefield House
• Publication Date: 2013
• Pages: 456

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Drawing upon many years of biblical research and teaching, Professor Gooding addresses the interactions of the Old and New Testaments by expounding key New Testament passages that use the Old Testament. First he examines the importance of the general relationship of the two testaments. He then considers five major thought categories of the New Testament’s interpretation that encompass the many insights that it employs as tools for harvesting the wealth of the Old. Finally he formulates guidelines for interpreting Old Testament narrative and illustrates them from three familiar passages. Taken together these insights provide invaluable help for appreciating the richness of God’s multifaceted wisdom, which has come down to us as the revenue of all the ages.

The Riches of Divine Wisdom is a tour de force. Many Christians fail to take the Old Testament seriously. Others find the New Testament’s use of the Old problematic. In this work Professor Gooding offers sane guidance to both groups with eloquence and clarity. He shows how the New Testament itself instructs us in interpreting the Old. Teachers, preachers and all serious Bible students will find it an invaluable resource.

—Gordon J. Wenham, professor emeritus of Old Testament, University of Gloucester

In this exceptionally informative book, Professor David Gooding addresses with outstanding clarity the challenging task of explaining how New Testament writers draw on the Old Testament. As a highly-gifted, experienced Bible-teacher and academic scholar, he has produced a profoundly helpful, and yet remarkably accessible, guide to this complex topic. Fully focused on using Scripture to interpret Scripture, Professor Gooding skilfully enables the diligent reader to see with greater clarity the ‘riches of divine wisdom.’ For anyone interested in understanding better the unity of the Bible, this book is essential reading.

—T. Desmond Alexander, senior lecturer in biblical studies, Union Theological Seminary

I would not use the word lightly, but this really is ‘vintage Gooding.’ All the great characteristics are here: his very special ability to discern the literary structure of books and passages, his love of the Bible as the Word of God, his ability to express each nugget of truth with conciseness, clarity and helpfulness. If you do not have time to read this whole book, then don’t open it. You will be gripped from page one, as I was. And I certainly would not have wished to miss a single sentence or page. Gooding subtitles his book ‘The New Testament’s Use of the Old Testament’ but in fact has given us a comprehensive (and highly readable) account of the basic principles of biblical interpretation

—Alec Motyer, former principal, Trinity College, Bristol

According to Luke: The Third Gospel’s Ordered Historical Narrative

• Author: David Gooding
• Series: Myrtlefield Expositions
• Publisher: Myrtlefield House
• Publication Date: 2013
• Pages: 444

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

With a profound understanding of both the Scriptures and the classical world that influenced Luke, David Gooding leads the reader through the artistry of Luke’s presentation. However familiar the terrain of this Gospel, the reader will find that having an experienced guide makes a difference. By bringing out the significance of the narrative as a whole, David Gooding’s analysis helps readers arrive at a confident understanding of Luke’s message and open up insightful lines of application at each step along the way.

According to Luke is an exceptionally valuable resource for reading and preaching the third Gospel. David Gooding’s rare sense for narrative flow helps students and teachers see the wider context for each passage and makes this one of the best commentaries available for understanding the meaning of Luke.

—Philip G. Ryken, president, Wheaton College

Insightful comments and warm and piercing pastoral application are the features of this writing. I try only to have three commentaries with me in any series and in both Luke and Acts, David Gooding’s commentaries are part of the trio.

—David Cook, former principal, Sydney Missionary and Bible College

Professor Gooding’s exposition of the Gospel of Luke is a lively work, free from technicalities, in which he explains and vigorously applies its message for the contemporary reader. At the same time he throws fresh light on the way in which Luke constructed his Gospel. Such a commentary does not go out of date, and I am glad that it is now available again. Preachers and all students of the Gospel will find much of value in these pages.

—I. Howard Marshall, professor emeritus of New Testament exegesis, University of Aberdeen

True to the Faith: The Acts of the Apostles: Defining and Defending the Gospel

• Author: David Gooding
• Series: Myrtlefield Expositions
• Publisher: Myrtlefield House
• Publication Date: 2013
• Pages: 580

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

The Acts of the Apostles is about more than the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth. By the time the ascended Christ had sent the Holy Spirit to guide his disciples, they had no doubt what the basics of the gospel message were: that Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again the third day and would one day come again. But, according to Luke’s account, difficult questions and challenges arose for the apostles as they began to spread this message. These questions, when once settled by the apostles, would further define the gospel with answers that are authoritative for us today. By carefully tracing Luke’s presentation of the historical material, David Gooding shows us that Luke has arranged his historical material into six sections, each containing a set of issues and a dominant question that confronted the church.

The last time I preached through Acts, True to the Faith was constantly at my side. My copy is marked up on every page—some highlighting, some pencil, some ink, different colors of ink, indicating it has been consulted diverse and sundry times. With good reason. Gooding not only explains, he stimulates thinking and stirs gratitude. Why any preacher would preach from Acts and not have Gooding at his elbow is beyond me.

—Dale Ralph Davis

In this valuable book David Gooding applies to the Acts of the Apostles the approach that yielded such dividends in According to Luke—close analysis of the text, acute observation of the inter-relations of the individual sections, a clear understanding of the movement and intention of the whole—and throughout a firm understanding of the Bible as the written Word of God, and a delight in its study, and in the emergence of its truth. Happy are those (and surely they will be many) who ‘catch the bug’ of Bible analysis from David Gooding. His work on Acts proves that this is the way into the Bible, the most fruitful and accurate entry into what the Holy Spirit has planned for our instruction. I commend his book on Acts not only for its intrinsic worth (pure gold!) but as an example to follow and a standard to which to aspire.

—Alec Motyer, former principal, Trinity College, Bristol

I own around a dozen commentaries on the Book of Acts and this is by some distance the best of them. David Gooding combines a remarkable variety of expertise—linguistic, literary, theological, philosophical—with the experience of a lifetime of teaching the Bible to bring us a fresh, original and brilliant analysis, with compelling logic and accessible style. In addition to the superb exposition the reader—and especially the Bible teacher—will find much in the way of contemporary application to some of the biggest issues facing the church.

—Gilbert Lennox, Bible teacher and elder, Glenabbey Church

In the School of Christ: Lessons on Holiness in John 13–17

• Author: David Gooding
• Series: Myrtlefield Expositions
• Publisher: Myrtlefield House
• Publication Date: 2013
• Pages: 296

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

David Gooding’s exposition reveals the significance of the lessons Jesus taught inside the upper room (John chapter 13–14), their connection to the lessons taught outside in the streets (chapters 15–16), and how both parts of this course on holiness relate to the Teacher’s prayer to his Father (chapter 17). With a scholar’s care for the text of Scripture, he expounds both the devotional richness and the practical nature of the lessons. He shows that to understand Christ’s teaching on holiness is to know his power to change lives.

Of all David Gooding’s books this is the one that merits the description ‘beautiful.’ It is beautiful in its subject matter, as we are privileged to join Mary in ‘sitting at Jesus’ feet to hear his word.’ It is beautiful in its discernment of the structure and contours of the Lord’s teaching. It is beautiful in its objective—to create us in the image of the Son of God in holiness. And it is beautiful in expressing its message, for Gooding’s prose seems to me to rise to fresh heights to match the requirements of its subject. I come from this book with a much clearer understanding of John 13–17, but (even more) with a deeper, more informed, longing to be made like unto the Son of God in all things.

—Alec Motyer, former principal, Trinity College, Bristol

If holiness is a reflection of the heart and character of God, then only God himself can teach us to be holy. In his final hours alone with his disciples Jesus does exactly that. The way in which David Gooding unpacks this crucial teaching not only demonstrates his profound scholarly understanding but is at the same time enthusiastic, clear and extremely readable. He reminds the reader that holiness is rooted in a deep personal relationship with God, through Christ, and is expressed in a life that flows out of that intimacy. This book is a treasure trove of insight which I recommend without hesitation to anyone who desires to be more like Jesus.

—Heidi Johnston, author, Life in the Big Story

An Unshakeable Kingdom: The Letter to the Hebrews for Today

• Author: David Gooding
• Series: Myrtlefield Expositions
• Publisher: Myrtlefield House
• Publication Date: 2013
• Pages: 300

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Informed by pastoral concern, David Gooding explains the meaning of Hebrews’ warnings as he expounds the letter as a whole. He carefully examines the position and temptations of its original readers in the first century. Many were undergoing such severe persecution that they might easily have wondered why, if Jesus really were the Messiah, they had to experience such pain and loss. He expounds its major themes in order to show that its unified message is that hope and enduring faith in Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, will never be put to shame. As he guides us step by step, he reaches outside the limits of the letter itself in order to explore rich fields of Old Testament history, prophecy, ritual and poetry from which the letter has drawn so many of its insights.

This practical and readable exposition elucidates Hebrews’ searching questions about the progress we are making in our own pilgrimage of faith. It is an invaluable help for understanding that both its beauties and its difficulties are intended to strengthen that faith. For, as the letter’s original readers discovered, faith finds its only secure resting place in the true and coming King whose kingdom will stand even when everything else is shaken to pieces.

Some years back I got hold of David Gooding’s An Unshakeable Kingdom and read it with much profit and stimulation, as the exclamation marks and nota benes in the margins attest. This happy experience also moved me to lay my hands on every other Gooding publication I could find. Here then is a guide to Hebrews written with the expertise of the scholar, the clarity of the expositor, and the heart-beat of the preacher; like baby bear's porridge, it is ‘just right.’

—Dale Ralph Davis, professor of Old Testament, Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi

An Unshakeable Kingdom communicates both an inspiring hope and a solemn warning to all those who are following Christ on a journey of faith. This book is written with serious scholarship, penetrating reflection and challenges the reader to uncompromising discipleship.

—Patrick Fung, general director, OMF International

Hebrews is without doubt the crown of the whole Bible. All its great lines of revealed truth flow into and converge here, and are given their full and final expression and application. David Gooding rises to the occasion. His unique gifts as a Bible analyst and expositor are given full play; his delight in the glories of our Lord Jesus Christ matches that of Hebrews itself. It is a bit invidious to single anything out for special mention, but I have never read anything more helpful or perceptive on the Psalm-list in Hebrews chapter one. The whole book is worthwhile for that alone! We owe a great debt to the Myrtlefield Trust for this republication.

—Alec Motyer, former principal, Trinity College, Bristol

About David Gooding

David Gooding (1925–2019) was Professor Emeritus of Old Testament Greek at Queen’s University, Belfast and a Member of the Royal Irish Academy. He taught the Bible internationally and lectured on its relevance to philosophy and world religions. He published scholarly studies on the Septuagint and Old Testament narratives, as well as expositions of Luke, John 13–17, Acts, Hebrews and the New Testament’s Use of the Old Testament. His expositions of Scripture are enhanced by what F. F. Bruce once called David Gooding’s ‘rare combination of gifts: spiritual insight, classical learning and literary appreciation’.