Literary ESV is Unapologetically Complementarian

The new ESV takes an unapologetically biblical stance on God's gracious plan regarding the complementary roles of men and women.

With the recent release of the ESV Literary Study Bible, our friends at Crossway Books/Good News Publishers have once again provided Christians with a profoundly helpful resource for understanding God's Word.

The work, edited by the renowned father-son team of Leland and Philip Graham Ryken, helps readers to properly interpret God's Word in all its literary richness and beauty by examining in detail the various literary genres of Scripture.

The Rykens provide concise yet substantive introductions to each book of the Bible, tracing theological themes and literary elements and also include brief introductions to each chapter. Thousands of insightful study notes accompany the ESV text.

Best of all, the editors help readers to understand each individual part of the Bible in terms of its dramatic overarching storyline-God's cosmic rescue mission that culminates in the redeeming love of Christ.

Michael Spencer gives 10 reasons to love the ESV Literary Study Bible to which I will add No. 11: The editors take an unapologetically biblical stance on God's gracious plan regarding the complementary roles of men and women. 

In commenting on Ephesians 5:22-6:9, the editors write: "The roles we have in these relationships are not symmetrical. The apostle addresses each person directly, depending on his or her situation in life. In each case, he pinpoints the area of individual responsibility that is most necessary (and perhaps also the most spiritually demanding!) for the total relationship to fulfill its God-given purpose. The instructions to husbands and wives are justifiably famous for their stress on submissive (for wives) and sacrificial (for husbands) love. But marriage itself turns out to reveal a deeper mystery: it is a real-life metaphor for the love relationship between Christ and his church."