Thomas D. Lea and Hayne P. Griffin Jr. treat the three Pastoral Epistles together as Paul's instruction on the ordering and guarding of the church. The volume works through the confrontation of false teaching at Ephesus, the qualifications for elders and deacons, the conduct of worship and the care of widows, the charge to preach the word in season and out, Paul's final testimony, and the appointment of elders in Crete.

The New American Commentary is written from a conservative evangelical standpoint and keyed to the English text, with the original languages handled in the notes. Each volume aims at both exegesis and theology, which makes the series usable by pastors who have let their languages lapse as well as by those who have not. These letters govern how most churches are actually constituted, which makes the volume directly useful to elders and to men preparing for pastoral ministry. The authorship question is addressed in the introduction without displacing the exposition.