He grew up in South Carolina in a non-Christian home and became a Christian at the age of 17.
He attended Bob Jones University and then graduated from the Biblical Theological Seminary in 1972.
Will was a pastor in Pennsylvania for seven years, and during that time earned another masters degree in New Testament and had his first trip to Israel.
He then served for seventeen years with The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry in New Jersey while earning a third masters degree in Jewish Studies at Dropsie College and then a doctorate at Temple University in Philadelphia.
In 1996, Varner took a position at The Master’s University, where he teaches Bible exposition courses and Greek Exegesis.
He pastored the Sojourners Fellowship at Grace Community Church for twenty-three years.
Varner is the author of over twenty books, both for laymen and scholars, and dozens of journal articles.
Varner and his pastor, David Hegg, have collaborated on a Life of the Messiah with Matthew as the primary source, illustrated with images by Todd Bolen.
He is also working with his former student, Cliff Kvidahl, on an academic commentary on Hebrews.
Ancient Jewish-Christian Dialogues: Athanasius and Zacchaeus, Simon and Theophilus, Timothy and Aquila, Edwin Mellen Press, 2005.
Co-author of Big Greek Idea, Commentary on James, Kregel 2022 18.
Handbook on Praying Scripture from the Legacy Standard Bible, 316 Publishers, 2023.
Matthew's Messiah: His Jewish Life and Ministry, 316 Publishers, forthcoming, 2025.
“The Influence of Cabala on Christian Hermeneutics,” The Master’s Seminary Journal, 1997.
“A Discourse Analysis of Matthew’s Nativity Narrative,” Tyndale Bulletin, 58.2, 2007.
“In the Wake of Trypho: Jewish-Christian Dialogues in the Early Centuries,” Evangelical Quarterly, July, 2008.
“On the Trail of Trypho: Two Jewish-Christian Dialogues from the Ancient Church,” in Christian Origins and Hellenistic Judaism, Brill, 2012.
“A Majority Text Reading in James 3:3” Journal of Graeco-Roman Christianity and Judaism.
“From Baur to Bauer and Beyond: Early Jewish Christianity” (chapter in book, Wipf and Stock, 2014) 18.
Chapter on “Noah’s Sons” in Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy, 2019.
“Can Papyri Help Us Understand Paul’s ‘Large Letters’ in Galatians?” in Paratextual Features of Early NT Manuscripts.
“Was James the First Pope?” Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, Fall 2023.
"The Land of the Bible" Videos, Center for Thinking Biblically, The Master's University, 2023.
"Messiah and Josephus" Ariel Magazine, Fall 2022 / Volume 1 / #44, pp 22-26.
“Fragments of Papias” chapter in Apostolic Fathers book, Zondervan, forthcoming.
"Philo" chapter in Ancient Literature and the NT, Wipf & Stock, forthcoming.