One Perfect Life: The Complete Story of the Lord Jesus
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Excellent Reference
One Perfect Life is more than just a harmony of the New Testament Gospels. It tells the complete story of Christ, weaving together prophesies from the Old Testament as well as the New Testament Gospels. Dr. John MacArthur was able to put together something I have never seen before and I am so excited that this book is now a part of my resource library. Not only does it read as a narrative, combining pieces of scripture from different books of the Bible, it allows the reader to more fully understand the life of Christ in a more linear fashion. I especially enjoyed reading the footnotes provided, as they provided explanation and details that I hadn't thought about before.
As a life-long Christian and someone who has studied the Bible for many years, I appreciate the easy format of this book. Unlike Parallel Bibles, which present different accounts in a column format, this book weaves the accounts together into a complete story. It shows how the different accounts fit together.
MacArthur begins with the Creation of the World with Jesus Christ - the Preexistent Creator and Savior. He continues with the Fall of the Human Race Into Sin and through Old Testament prophesies which fortell of the Messiah's birth. It demonstrates how everything in the Bible was put together to tell the story of Christ, from the beginning of Creation and through the Gospels.
When I first received this book I was excited to dig right in and wanted to read it cover to cover. What I found was that I really want to take some time and read the footnotes and really ponder and understand what was happening and how the accounts came together. I learned so much while reading and I know I will refer to this valuable reference tool again and again.
This book would be beneficial to those wanting to read straight through the narrative, as well as others who want to take time to read and understand footnotes, savoring each piece of the story. I highly recommend this addition to your reference library.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade CommissionâÂÂs 16 CFR, Part 255 : âÂÂGuides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.âÂÂ
April 17, 2013
Composite Harmony of the Gospels
As a church girl, born and raised, I spent many a Sunday morning in front of a flannel board, which means IâÂÂve heard and read some of the same Gospel accounts over and over and over again. So, IâÂÂm always on the lookout for ways to make the Gospels fresh, and John MacArthurâÂÂs One Perfect Life certainly did that for me.
It is essentially a âÂÂcomposite harmonyâ of the New Testament Gospels, with text taken straight from the New King James Version of the Bible. The accounts of all four Gospel writers are blended together and progress through ChristâÂÂs life and ministry chronologically. This is a spectacular tool for old and new believers, theology students and lay persons alike.
For one thing, we have so many misconceptions and really so much misinformation within even our church communities. We often mis-tell the Gospel accounts, combining them, mistaking one for another, and even teaching falsities such as Mary Magdalene was the prostitute who anointed Jesusâ feet with perfume and wiped it with her hair. Scripture doesnâÂÂt tell us that was Mary Magdalene at all and doesnâÂÂt indicate that she was a prostitute. ItâÂÂs a mistake someone made and then propagated over time, ultimately perpetuating biblical illiteracy. Seeing the Gospels blended together, though, corrects many of these false teachings.
MacArthurâÂÂs book is meant to be read as a smooth narrative, starting with Creation itself, progressing through the fall of man and the prophecies of the Old Testament before moving on to the Gospel accounts. This, again, provided so much information, helping the reader to see how all of Scripture points to Christ and how Jesus specifically fulfilled prophecies all the way back to Genesis.
I confess, though, that I didnâÂÂt really move through the book quickly and didnâÂÂt treat it as a narrative in the beginning sections. I was too intrigued by the way MacArthur layered passages from the epistles, the Gospels, the prophets, and the Pentateuch, interweaving them line after line. I wanted to see where each verse came from and how it connected up with the other verses MacArthur used surrounding it.
I also stopped very frequently to read the great quantity of notes at the bottom of each page, mostly from the MacArthur Study Bible. Those who want to read this straight-through as a simple narrative could do so and still benefit and learn. Others, like me, who work through it slowly, note by note, passage by passage, will benefit so much from the teaching and insight MacArthur provides. This is one book IâÂÂll be keeping close at hand to enhance my personal study and understanding of the Bible.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade CommissionâÂÂs 16 CFR, Part 255 : âÂÂGuides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.âÂÂ
April 12, 2013
Study tool of Jesus's ministry
The moment I saw this book, claiming the complete story of Jesus Christ, I knew this would be a great companion to reading the gospels. I was especially pleased that it takes the scriptures from my version of choice, the New King James version. This book studies the gospels chronologically - taking the exact text from the bible and puts them in an easy to read format with no extra narrative provided by the author besides the notes, which range from not too explanatory to a small bit of depth. As I was beginning the book, I was a little taken aback at the structure as I was learning how it flowed, but just a few chapters in I felt I was settled and could organize my thoughts alongside this presentation of the gospels.
I say easy to read only because the text is separated my mini-topics, sometimes leaving blank spaces where the text would be and at the bottom are the notes. So while the 480 pages as a whole might look like a lot, taking into account much of the blank space throughout the book it reads swiftly. Because of the many references if you are flipping line by line back and forth it is not going to read 'easy', but if you overlook that hindrance, overall the book is worthwhile. It is not adding any new information then what is already provided in the bible, but it is the portrayal of the bible verses that makes this different.
I loved how the text incorporated the verses from across the gospels to create the harmony of the story, and that is what the book is all about: a look at Jesus and his ministry WITHOUT adding an author's take or interpretation of the bible. The entire book is a blending of the bible (from Matthew to Luke for instance) in the same paragraph, but using their words from the New King James version to create a cohesive look at a particular event or teaching of Jesus. For example, with the topic of The Transfiguration of Christ (Chapter 88) the text incorporates the biblical verses from Matthew, Luke and Peter.
For those readers looking for a narrative on Jesus in story format, this is not it. This is a study bible focused on Jesus's ministry which puts together all the gospels in one page when portraying a particular event.
One Perfect Life succeeded in its task to present the life of Jesus using the Scriptures as its beginning and end, and it should be an inspiring tool for those readers who have read the bible but wanted to focus their bible studies on a more central theme of Jesus and his ministry. Because of the format, I also think it is a book that can be referred to over and over so the reader can highlight the passages that are important to their journey of faith and use One Perfect Life as an excellent companion to their bible.
April 9, 2013
I though it would was more of like his books on the disciples. The comments written in the footnotes which is most of the book other than scripture are written too small. I was totally let down with this book, had I view it before it came out I wouldn't of purchased it
April 5, 2013
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