Biblical Theology in the Life of the Early Church: Recovering an Ancient Vision - Paperback

by Stephen O. Presley (Author)

2025 Gospel Coalition Book Award (Theological Studies)

Southwestern Journal of Theology 2025 Book Award (Honorable Mention, Theological Studies)

Biblical Theology in the Life of the Early Church recasts biblical theology as a practice cultivated in Christian community rather than a solely academic pursuit. Stephen Presley argues that the early church fathers crafted an ecclesial biblical theology that was lived out communally and oriented believers toward beholding God's glory.

This volume brings patristic biblical interpretation into conversation with contemporary biblical theology, exploring how assumptions and methods of figures such as Irenaeus and Augustine can guide modern hermeneutics. Presley shows how early Christian theologians emphasized virtue and discipleship alongside exegesis, patiently shaping readers to inhabit Scripture's narrative. He illuminates the catechetical and liturgical scaffolding that informed patristic biblical theology, centered on Christ as the cornerstone.

Students and scholars of theology, church history, hermeneutics, and patristics will find valuable new insights.

Back Jacket

Recasts Biblical Theology as a Practice Cultivated in Christian Community

In this book, Stephen Presley helps readers interested in biblical theology consider how the early church, from the apostolic fathers to Augustine, thought about the unity of Scripture.

"A profound and comprehensive, yet also very accessible, introduction to the ecclesial biblical theology of the first centuries of Christianity, as it created a world and shaped Christians. This volume is offered to, and in dialogue with, contemporary biblical exegetes and theologians and all readers of Scripture, and it is sure to enrich the theological understanding and spiritual lives of all who read it."
--John Behr, University of Aberdeen

"Biblical theology was something done well, even best, by early-century bishops when teaching and catechizing their churches, something that is rare today but might possibly be recaptured. This book offers a vision that presupposes a revelation-based social imaginary together with glimpses of God as triune. It is replete with the idea--in true Irenaean tradition!--that biblical salvation history informs and forms Christian lives, beginning with those of the interpreters who read Scripture in the context of worship and community. This is what inspires Presley, and the inspiration communicated through these pages is catching!"
--Mark W. Elliott, Highland Theological College and Wycliffe College, Toronto

"Presley argues that even modern biblical theology needs the tools of retrieval. The early church practiced an 'ecclesial biblical theology' that included the catechesis of those within the Christian community. Biblical theology can be rightly practiced only within the community of the church. I resonated so much with this book that I couldn't stop underlining it. Presley brings clarity to patristic interpretation that only an expert can, and he has produced a gift that will serve the church for years to come."
--Patrick Schreiner, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Author Biography

Stephen O. Presley (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is senior fellow for religion and public life at the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy and associate professor of church history at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He has also served in a variety of ministry positions. He is the author of several books, including Cultural Sanctification: Engaging the World like the Early Church, and is the coeditor of Explorations in Interdisciplinary Reading.