I have several Bibles, and I have Logos Bible Study software. I have the Literary Study Bible, which I enjoy for casual reading. My go-to Bible for studying, the ESV Study Bible, is practically falling apart. It’s stained with soda (I don’t drink coffee) highlighter markings, pages that are falling out—you know the type. It’s an excellent resource for commentary notes to refer to after I do my own scripture work.
But I was really curious when I saw that Crossway was coming out with a new ESV Study Bible, called The Gospel Transformation Bible. I went ahead and pre-ordered it and have thoroughly enjoyed it since it arrived.
I think the words on the cover just about sum up what makes this Bible different. “Christ in all of Scripture. Grace for all of life.” You see, this particular Bible pays particular attention to the Gospel message as seen throughout the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.
What’s the Gospel message? That Jesus is the son of God. That God gave His loved son as a sacrifice for our sins through his heinous death on a cross. That He was buried and that He arose on the third day according to scriptures. And that He lives eternally and some day we will join Him in eternity.
How can this message be throughout the entire Bible? Even in Genesis? Yes, it is and yes, even in Genesis. The study notes that accompany the scriptures are Gospel centered. I’ve already underlined several notes as I’m finishing up studying Joseph’s life–and the notes have opened my eyes to how his story fits into the Gospel story. It’s creating a renewed hunger and excitement in me to study God’s word. I recognize several of the contributors, and those I recognize I highly respect and trust their interpretation and exposition.
The Bible comes with a code to get an online version of The Gospel Transformation Bible. I’ve not tried that out yet; instead I’m hoping that it will quickly become available as a part of Logos–at least the notes–for study purposes.
