undertaken to provide earnest students of the New Testament with an exposition that is thorough and abreast of modern scholarship and at the same time loyal to the Scriptures as the infallible Word of God . " That statement reflects the underlying purpose of The New International Commentary on the New Testament . Begun in the late 1940s through a cooperative effort by leading New Testament scholars in Europe , South Africa , and North Amer ica , the NICNT series has become recognized by both pastors and scholars as a critical yet orthodox commentary , having gained a reputation for solid biblical scholarship . The NICNT continues to develop ; not yet finished , it is always in process . In order to keep the commentary " new " and contemporary , the NICNT volumes have been- and will be - revised or replaced as necessary . While based on a thorough study of the Greek text , the commentary introductions and expositions contain a minimum of Greek references . The NICNT authors evaluate significant textual problems and take into account the most important exegetical literature . More technical aspects - such as gram matical , textual , and historical problems - are dealt with in footnotes , special notes , and appendixes .