How to Read and Use Commentaries Well — A Pastor’s Guide
How to Read and Use Commentaries Well — A Pastor’s Guide
Commentaries are servants of the Word, not substitutes for sitting under it.
Every preacher, teacher, and serious student of Scripture knows the pull of letting other people’s study replace
our own wrestling with the text. Commentaries can be an immense blessing when rightly used: they sharpen our
exegesis, expose our blind spots, and connect us to the wider fellowship of the church across the centuries.
But they must never become a shortcut that dulls dependence on the living God who speaks through His Word.
1. The Role of Commentaries
Commentaries are best viewed as wise counsellors in the study. They slow us down, correct hasty assumptions, and
help us test our conclusions. A good volume does not impose itself over Scripture; it stands beside the expositor,
pointing back again and again to the text itself. When commentators honour the authority of Scripture, handle it
carefully, and keep Christ central, their work strengthens both our confidence and our clarity.
Used well, commentaries protect the preacher from isolation and imbalance. Used badly, they encourage laziness,
imitation, and second-hand conviction. The difference is not in the books alone, but in the heart and habits of
the one who uses them.
2. The Right Order of Work
The sequence in which we study is crucial. If we begin with commentaries, we tend to borrow outlines and phrases
rather than think and pray our way through the passage. If we begin with Scripture, we approach the commentators
as helpers, not masters.
The Right Order of Work
Step 1: Read, re-read, and meditate on the passage itself.
Step 2: Observe structure, key words, context, and flow.
Step 3: Do your own exegesis: outline, theme, and theology.
Step 4: Then consult a small number of trusted commentaries to test,
refine, and deepen your work.
This pattern keeps the preacher under the authority of Scripture. It also means that when you finally open the
commentaries, you come with questions, convictions, and a listening posture. You are not asking, “What shall I
say?” but, “Have I handled this text faithfully?”
3. Evaluating Commentaries Theologically
Not every commentary is equally useful, and a confessional stance on Scripture matters. Before trusting a voice,
consider its foundations. A reliable commentary will normally display:
A high view of Scripture — treating the text as fully inspired, coherent, and authoritative.
Christ-centred reading — showing how the passage relates to His person, work, and kingdom.
Redemptive-historical awareness — recognising the unity of God’s saving purposes.
Doctrinal integrity — standing within the historic, orthodox, evangelical faith.
Where these marks are lacking, a commentary may still offer linguistic or historical help, but it must be weighed
carefully. We do not farm out discernment. The faithful expositor tests every voice by the Word of God.
4. Reading Devotionally and Critically
The study should be both workshop and sanctuary. Technical work and warm-hearted devotion belong together. As you
read, let genuinely illuminating insights lead you to praise, confession, and renewed love for Christ. The goal is
not to collect clever phrases, but to have your mind renewed and your heart humbled.
At the same time, read critically. When trusted commentators agree, pay attention; when they differ, dig deeper.
Ask what assumptions drive their exegesis. Disagreement among careful scholars is not a threat; it is an invitation
to handle the text more thoughtfully and prayerfully.
We read widely, not to weaken conviction, but to sharpen it against the anvil of Scripture.
5. Practical Habits for Using Commentaries
Keep a trusted core. Select a small band of reliable commentators for each book of the Bible.
Let them form your primary council, then add other voices for breadth where needed.
Look at structure first. Before diving into details, compare how different authors outline the
passage. Structure often reveals theological instincts and will clarify your own preaching path.
Summarise, don’t copy. Note key insights in your own words. This fixes truth in the mind and
guards you from importing another’s style wholesale.
Measure quantity. Three or four well-chosen commentaries are usually enough. Beyond that, extra
volumes may repeat rather than enrich.
Begin and end with prayer. Every engagement with secondary literature should be bracketed by
dependence on the Lord. Only He opens the Scriptures to His servants.
6. Guarding against Mere Imitation
One of the quiet dangers of heavy commentary use is the loss of a living voice. Sermons can begin to sound like
stitched quotations rather than the faithful, clear preaching of a pastor who has stood under the text. Your
calling is not to recite commentators but to proclaim the Word.
Let commentaries inform you, not replace you. They should push you back into Scripture, help you see more of Christ,
and strengthen your confidence to preach with conviction in your own context.
7. Study as Worship
Behind every worthwhile commentary lies a costly labour offered for the good of Christ’s church. We honour that
labour best when we allow it to lead us beyond human insight to adoration of the God who speaks. The finest fruit of
study is not a polished footnote, but a preacher whose mind is gripped and whose heart is warmed by the truth.
Used rightly, commentaries remind us that we are not alone in the task of exposition. We stand in a long line of
servants who have sought to unfold the same Scriptures with reverence and joy. Their voices help us, but only one
voice rules us. Our constant aim is that every aid, every page, every insight would bring us back to this settled
conviction: the Word of God is sufficient, clear, and worthy of our whole trust.
In summary: We turn to commentaries as grateful servants of the Word, not as borrowers of second-hand
conviction. We begin with the text, test all things by the text, and preach in such a way that our people hear not
the scholars, but the Shepherd who still speaks through Scripture.
How to Read and Use Commentaries Well — A Pastor’s Guide
Commentaries are servants of the Word, not substitutes for sitting under it.
Every preacher, teacher, and serious student of Scripture knows the pull of letting other people’s study replace our own wrestling with the text. Commentaries can be an immense blessing when rightly used: they sharpen our exegesis, expose our blind spots, and connect us to the wider fellowship of the church across the centuries. But they must never become a shortcut that dulls dependence on the living God who speaks through His Word.
1. The Role of Commentaries
Commentaries are best viewed as wise counsellors in the study. They slow us down, correct hasty assumptions, and help us test our conclusions. A good volume does not impose itself over Scripture; it stands beside the expositor, pointing back again and again to the text itself. When commentators honour the authority of Scripture, handle it carefully, and keep Christ central, their work strengthens both our confidence and our clarity.
Used well, commentaries protect the preacher from isolation and imbalance. Used badly, they encourage laziness, imitation, and second-hand conviction. The difference is not in the books alone, but in the heart and habits of the one who uses them.
2. The Right Order of Work
The sequence in which we study is crucial. If we begin with commentaries, we tend to borrow outlines and phrases rather than think and pray our way through the passage. If we begin with Scripture, we approach the commentators as helpers, not masters.
This pattern keeps the preacher under the authority of Scripture. It also means that when you finally open the commentaries, you come with questions, convictions, and a listening posture. You are not asking, “What shall I say?” but, “Have I handled this text faithfully?”
3. Evaluating Commentaries Theologically
Not every commentary is equally useful, and a confessional stance on Scripture matters. Before trusting a voice, consider its foundations. A reliable commentary will normally display:
Where these marks are lacking, a commentary may still offer linguistic or historical help, but it must be weighed carefully. We do not farm out discernment. The faithful expositor tests every voice by the Word of God.
4. Reading Devotionally and Critically
The study should be both workshop and sanctuary. Technical work and warm-hearted devotion belong together. As you read, let genuinely illuminating insights lead you to praise, confession, and renewed love for Christ. The goal is not to collect clever phrases, but to have your mind renewed and your heart humbled.
At the same time, read critically. When trusted commentators agree, pay attention; when they differ, dig deeper. Ask what assumptions drive their exegesis. Disagreement among careful scholars is not a threat; it is an invitation to handle the text more thoughtfully and prayerfully.
5. Practical Habits for Using Commentaries
Keep a trusted core. Select a small band of reliable commentators for each book of the Bible. Let them form your primary council, then add other voices for breadth where needed.
Look at structure first. Before diving into details, compare how different authors outline the passage. Structure often reveals theological instincts and will clarify your own preaching path.
Summarise, don’t copy. Note key insights in your own words. This fixes truth in the mind and guards you from importing another’s style wholesale.
Measure quantity. Three or four well-chosen commentaries are usually enough. Beyond that, extra volumes may repeat rather than enrich.
Begin and end with prayer. Every engagement with secondary literature should be bracketed by dependence on the Lord. Only He opens the Scriptures to His servants.
6. Guarding against Mere Imitation
One of the quiet dangers of heavy commentary use is the loss of a living voice. Sermons can begin to sound like stitched quotations rather than the faithful, clear preaching of a pastor who has stood under the text. Your calling is not to recite commentators but to proclaim the Word.
Let commentaries inform you, not replace you. They should push you back into Scripture, help you see more of Christ, and strengthen your confidence to preach with conviction in your own context.
7. Study as Worship
Behind every worthwhile commentary lies a costly labour offered for the good of Christ’s church. We honour that labour best when we allow it to lead us beyond human insight to adoration of the God who speaks. The finest fruit of study is not a polished footnote, but a preacher whose mind is gripped and whose heart is warmed by the truth.
Used rightly, commentaries remind us that we are not alone in the task of exposition. We stand in a long line of servants who have sought to unfold the same Scriptures with reverence and joy. Their voices help us, but only one voice rules us. Our constant aim is that every aid, every page, every insight would bring us back to this settled conviction: the Word of God is sufficient, clear, and worthy of our whole trust.