He was Vice-Principal of Clifton Theological College and vicar of St. Luke's, Hampstead, and Christ Church, Westbourne (Bournemouth) (1981–1989), before becoming Principal of Trinity College, Bristol.
Motyer was born in Dublin on 30 August 1924 and educated at The High School, Dublin, before going to Trinity College, Dublin, where he received Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, and Bachelor of Divinity degrees.
He trained to become an Anglican minister at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.
Tremper Longman III describes him as a "competent and popular expositor",[1] while Tim Keller has said that Motyer and Edmund Clowney were "the fathers of my preaching ministry".
I’m just a man who loves the Word of God.”[3] He died on 26 August 2016.