Thousands of books have been written on the Fourth Gospel, but few have had the lasting impact of this modern classic by respected missiologist Lesslie Newbigin. Developed over a period of thirty year
Thousands of books have been written on the Fourth Gospel, but few have had the lasting impact of this modern classic by respected missiologist Lesslie Newbigin. Developed over a period of thirty years during which Newbigin led Bible studies as a bishop in the Church of South India, this excellent commentary on John is unique both in its power to prepare pastors and teacher to effectively declare the Word of God to others and in its ability to clearly communicate John's message to contemporary Western readers.
—Christian Century
"A rather orthodox, pastorally lively reading of the Gospel. Newbigin's writing is unburdened and accessible to people who do not read much technical theology."
—Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
"For those who want a clear, simple, and conservative explanation of the theological significance of the Fourth Gospel, Newbigin has provided a very useful volume.. It is lucidly written, well informed, articulately reasoned, and practical for modern Christians."
—Living Church
"Here is a person putting together his experience and his scholarship in the church's service; the result is exposition, that middle ground between exegesis and proclamation that is indispensable to understanding and, hence, to preaching."
View Review quote
(1909-1998) Lesslie Newbigin was born in Newcastle-on-Tyne, U.K., in 1909. He completed his undergraduate studies in Cambridge and then served as Staff Secretary of the Student Christian Movement in Glasgow, Scotland. He studied theology at Westminster College at Cambridge and was ordained by the Presbytery of Edinburgh, Church of Scotland in 1936. That same year Newbigin married Helen Henderson and the two of them left for India where he was to be missionary of the Church of Scotland.
In 1947 Reverend Newbigin was consecrated Bishop in the Church of South India, formed by the union of Anglican, Methodist, and Reformed churches. He also served on the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches and as Chairman of the Advisory Committee on the main theme of the Second Assembly. Other members of the committee included famous theologians such as Barth, Brunner, and Niebuhr.
In 1959 Newbigin was called to be General Secretary of the International Missionary Council with offices in London and New York. He was responsible for carrying through final negotiations for the merger with the World Council of Churches. In 1962 he became the first director of the Division of World Mission and Evangelism, and Associate General Secretary of the World Council of Churches with headquarters in Geneva.
In 1965 he was recalled by the Church of South India as Bishop in Madras and remained there until his retirement in 1974. He lived in London, England, until his death in 1998.
View Biographical note
