Biographical Tribute
1900-1982
A commemorative word about William Hendriksen to acknowledge his prodigious writing and profound Christian commitment is a natural response of a grateful publisher. That these comments appear in an edition of More than Conquerors, however, is especially appropriate.
Publisher Herman Baker presented the first trade copies of More than Conquerors to the author in July 1939. The book has remained in print and is now in its twenty-fifth impression. Its long life parallels William Hendriksen’s prolific writing career.
Forty-two years later, William Hendriksen at the age of eighty-one was still writing as intensely and productively as ever—up to within a few months before his death in January, 1982. He was progressing well with his next work, a commentary on First Corinthians, having finished the introduction and first chapter.
The vibrancy of the words “More than Conquerors” was mirrored in William Hendriksen’s firm possession of a triumphant biblical faith. The fuller rendering of the apostle’s victory cry in Romans 8—“We are more than conquerors through him who loved us”—reverberated in William Hendriksen’s tenacious labors to interpret God’s Word with clear, rich, and irenic exposition. At his death, it was fitting to see a copy of More than Conquerors as the focal point of the floral tribute placed on his casket.
The wide distribution of More than Conquerors is evidence of consistent and broadening respect accorded William Hendriksen as a trusted and eminent New Testament scholar. Dr. Hendriksen gained most of his prominence through his commentaries. He began the New Testament Commentary series in 1952 with the first volume of the Gospel of John, and he most recently completed the Book of Romans (1981). As each volume was released, scholars enthusiastically endorsed it. Typical of the statements by reviewers are:
The volumes in the N.T.C. (New Testament Commentaries) are appealing in style, language, and exposition.
... style is concise, his language clear, and his exposition conservative
... demonstrates his indefatigable energy, his scholarly acumen, and his ardent desire for the proper understanding of the biblical revelation of God’s sovereign grace in Jesus Christ as understood in the Reformed tradition.
Another noticeable feature of Hendriksen’s commentaries is the care he takes to study thoroughly different points of view before drawing his conclusion.
... careful exegesis...
... reflects facility with the grammar and syntax
... awareness of the scholarly literature
... mature exegetical commentary
Dr. Hendriksen’s mastery of languages was a major factor in his incisive exposition. He was fluent in Hebrew as well as Greek (rare among New Testament scholars) and could read in twenty languages. He learned Spanish after he retired from the pastorate. His own Greek translation appears in each of his commentaries, and his familiarity with the theological literature of Germany and Holland added breadth to his expositions.
His linguistic competence prompted involvement as a consultant and translator in the preparation of the New International Version of the Bible. During the NIV editorial sessions, Dr. Hendriksen became a close friend of Dr. Edwin H. Palmer, whose high admiration for Hendriksen was published in a 1976 issue of The Banner, a magazine of the Christian Reformed Church, the denomination Dr. Hendriksen served. Dr. Palmer seemed to be making certain that William Hendriksen would be a prophet honored “in his own country.” The tribute titled “New Testament Giant” began:
While Dr. William Hendriksen is still hale and hearty, I want to draw the attention of the Banner readers to this New Testament Giant. . The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Dr. Hendriksen is his New Testament commentaries. I know of no finer commentaries in the English language. They are so superb that every church ought to buy a complete set for its pastor if he does not already have one.
Dr. Palmer continued, summarizing the features of the commentaries and asserted that they:
assume that the Bible is the completely authoritative, inerrant Word of God
presuppose the Reformed faith
have meat without being pedantic
are well organized
exhibit a wholesome emotional piety
Writing verse-by-verse commentaries, some of which have more than a thousand pages, at such a steady pace reveals Dr. Hendriksen’s driving will power and unwavering self-discipline. These traits emerged in part out of the fabric of his early family life. William’s perfectionistic bent had its parental model in his father, who by trade was a carpenter (and an excellent one), but one who also expressed a highly creative nature as a talented woodcarver. William Hendriksen remembers his father producing beautiful carvings, “working on them for weeks, often for months. When they were finished he would give them away.” As far as William knew, his father never accepted money for any of them.
William’s penchant for hard work came to him environmentally as well. Of hardy immigrant stock, he came at age ten with his family from the Netherlands to settle in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Family dreams of prosperity by starting fresh in America remained elusive—the family was large (William was the youngest of eight children) and the country was gripped by an economic depression. Older children were expected to work for the family’s financial survival. The livelihood of William’s father was so precariously small that at times the master woodcarver had no recourse other than to apply his skills doing minor repair work on items such as clocks and sewing machines.
William did his share to help support the family. After passing the eighth grade, he briefly attended a new high school, which folded several months after classes started in the fall. William went to work, finding jobs wherever he could. He began as a produce peddler and later worked in a gold-leaf printing company, in a radiator repair shop, in a grocery store as a clerk, and in a stationery factory.
A desire to become a minister of the gospel came early to William—even before his family emigrated from the Netherlands. Throughout his life, Dr. Hendriksen believed that when he was five or six years old God planted in his heart a resolve to become a minister.
The story of God’s love toward sinners, and of the cross of Christ, as told by excellent Sunday school teachers and, of course, also by my parents, had impressed me deeply. I wanted everybody to know about it. I loved our minister. So I was entirely sincere in wishing to become a preacher.
The intensity of this feeling for the ministry never faded from William’s heart. His father, however, did not encourage this dream of his youngest child. This is surprising since both his mother (who died when William was sixteen) and father taught their eight children to love the gospel. Furthermore, the lives of his parents exemplified loving service as well as believing correct Christian doctrine. The home was hospitable, and in personal ways his parents frequently helped those with special needs. When he was a teenager, William held this conversation with his father:
“I’m still planning to study for the ministry.” My father’s response was brief and decisive: “Daar komp toch niks van” [Nothing will ever come of that].
Nonetheless William pursued his goal of preparing for the ministry. On the job by day, he studied at night by enrolling in a Carnegie college correspondence course, which covered the first two years of high school. William completed this course in just nine months. At age eighteen he accepted a one-semester appointment to teach fourth-graders at a Christian school in Rose-land, Chicago. In January he started in his second teaching position—a one-room, eight-grade school near Hospers, Iowa. He continued with education by correspondence (with state-approved courses) to qualify for permanent certification for teaching. Of this phase of young Hendriksen’s education, Dr. Edwin Palmer relates that William studied for these courses in the winter
... wearing an overcoat in an unheated, rented room. Such self-discipline continued even into his state of retirement, where he maintained a regular schedule for work, starting the day at five in the morning.
At the age of twenty, William Hendriksen was accepted at Calvin College where he enjoyed science subjects—especially chemistry—along with his B.A. courses in languages and history. One college science professor attempted to lure William into lecturing on organic chemistry as an assistant professor, advising William against a career in the ministry because of his weak voice. Teaching on the college level was tempting, but William declined the offer and entered Calvin Seminary. With seminary training completed in 1927, William Hendriksen served large pastorates in Michigan for the next sixteen years. He also used this time for advanced studies, earning his Master of Theology degree at Calvin Seminary and a doctorate at Princeton Seminary. In 1943 he became Professor of New Testament at Calvin Theological Seminary and served in this capacity for nine years. Dr. Hendriksen then reentered the pastoral ministry, continuing until his retirement at age sixty-five.
William Hendriksen was married thirty-five years to Rena Baker, who died in 1960. They were the parents of three children. In 1961 he married again. For the rest of his life, he and his second wife Reta worked together on the commentary ministry.
Reta was a loyal and loving wife, and her proficiency in typing and editorial assistance was also highly valued by Dr. Hendriksen:
One can well imagine what this qualification of hers meant to me in my work as an author. Never could I have accomplished half as much had it not been for the constant help of Reta.... Capability, sympathy, warmth, and wisdom—all these are found in her in a very high degree.
William Hendriksen pursued his course actively up to the final months of his life when his last surgery drained most of his strength. A. A. Koning concluded his tribute with these words:
Even as his last illness began to lay hold on him, he received a request from England to come and speak. But he had to turn it down—he wanted to finish his writing. Now he is no longer gazing darkly into a mirror but seeing face to face.
Throughout the various stages of his career—whether pastoring, teaching, or writing, William Hendriksen remained in a profound sense a supreme educator. Part of the genius of his work was his unique ability to encase his commanding scholarship in simplicity and warmth that enlightened and inspired both advanced and beginning students of God’s Word.
The publications by Dr. William Hendriksen include:
More than Conquerors
Bible Survey
Lectures on the Last Things
Bible on the Life Hereafter
Israel and the Bible
Israel in Prophecy
Survey of the Bible
Beginner’s Book of Doctrine
Covenant of Grace
New Testament Commentary
(both separate and combined editions are listed)
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John (Vol. 1)
John (Vol. 2)
Romans (Vol. 1)
Romans (Vol. 2)
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians and Philemon
I & II Thessalonians
I & II Timothy and Titus
John (combined)
Romans (combined)
Galatians and Ephesians
(combined)
Philippians, Colossians,
and Philemon (combined)
I & II Thessalonians,
I & II Timothy
and Titus (combined)