I offer the following commentary and summary for ephesians in this article. Its authorship has traditionally been attributed to paul the apostle but starting in 1792, this has been challenged as deuteropauline, that is. In a previous essay on the authorship of ephesians link 1 below we proposed the thesis that that letter was composed by pauls son in faith, timothy, who had been influenced by his fellow ephesian transplant, the apostle john. Ephesians is the first new testament book referenced in early church writings that have come down to us. A common proposal is that paul wrote the letter to the colossians to deal with.
Ephesians baker exegetical commentary on the new testament. Does include some short authors translation portions, but the text is not part of the book. Ephesians was a circular letter intended for a number of churches. Best commentaries and books on ephesians logos bible. Paul wrote the letter to the ephesians sometime in ad 60 61, around the same time he wrote colossians and philemon. A salutation, and an account of saving blessings, as prepared in gods eternal election, as purchased by christs blood. Bests commentary on ephesians is an excellent replacement to the classic icc volume by t. As we continue in our faith from day to day, month to month, and year to year, the temptation to get comfortable will always exist. Study the bible online using commentary on ephesians and more. Exploring the links between the bible and our own times, klyne snodgrass shares perspectives on the book of ephesians that reveal its enduring relevance for our twentyfirstcentury lives. As with most of the commentaries in the word biblical commentary series, andrew lincolns commentary on ephesians represents a good deal of serious scholarship and is best suited to the serious student, particularly one who already has a good background in new testament studies and has a working knowledge of the greek.
Ephesians is the great pauline letter about the church. Ephesians intro to ephesians biblica the international bible. Ephesians bears much the same relation to colossians that romans does to galatians, a fuller treatment of the same general theme in a more detached and impersonal manner. Swindolls living insights new testament commentary. I dont think opponents to pauline authorship come close to putting ephesians with the apocryphal books, so i cant deny its pauline authorship. Its authorship has traditionally been attributed to paul the apostle but starting in 1792, this has been challenged as deuteropauline, that is, written in pauls name by a later author strongly influenced by pauls thought, probably by a loyal. The book of ephesians is a prison epistle letter written while in prison. I would have loved to have the entire ephesians text as translated by the author as part of the text. While this book begins, paul, an apostle of christ jesus through the will of god, to the saints who are at ephesus, and the faithful in christ jesus 1. The letter is addressed to the church in the city of ephesus, capital of the roman province of asia asia minor, modern turkey. Commentary on the bible and the jerome biblical commentary recognize the. The epistle to the ephesians, also called the letter to the ephesians and often shortened to ephesians, is the tenth book of the new testament. The essence of goodspeeds theory is that toward the end of the first century pauls letters were collected, and ephesians was written by. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament.
The letter has the most to say about the universal church and lacks the sort of specific problems which form the occasion for each of the previous letter of paul. Ephesians overview dummelows commentary on the bible. Though the book has a close affinity with colossians, critics claim that ephesians is uncharacteristic of paul. Some have taken the absence of the usual personal greetings and the verbal similarity of many parts to colossians, among other reasons, as grounds. The title of this book is the letter to the ephesians the pillar new testament commentary pntc and it was written by peter t. Ephesians overview, one of over 110 bible commentaries freely available, this commentary is one of the most respected interdenominational commentaries ever written. Ephesians by ernest best 9780567085658 best commentaries. The letter to the ephesian church is regarded as one of the masterworks of the nt, but it is also one of those books that the critics like to say wasnt authored by paul. Read ephesians commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible complete. It deals, however, not so much with a congregation in the city of ephesus in asia minor as with the worldwide church, the head of which is christ, the purpose of which is to be the instrument for making gods plan of salvation known throughout the universe eph 3. This summary of the book of ephesians provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of ephesians. John eadie, commentary on the epistle to the ephesians, p. Five of these words are not found in the new testament or the lxx, but are common in the apostolic.
Biblical scholars are divided over the authorship of ephesians and colossians. A word list at the end explains words with a star by them. The use of ephesians in early christian writings points to the firstcentury churchs belief that it was written by the apostle named in the text. Abbott, a critical and exegetical commentary on the epistles to the ephesians and to the colossians, icc, pp. Prior to writing his epistle to the ephesians in 6061 ad, paul had an established. Metzger, a textual commentary on the new testament, p. Readers are not expected to know greek or hebrew, only bring the willingness to understand the important issues in new testament scholarship and learn how they affect our reading and interpretation of the text. Ephesians places the burden of proof on contrary hypotheses. He is indicated as author in the opening salutation 1. Bruces commentary on the epistles to colossians, philemon, and ephesians in the new international commentary series is a valuable asset to any student of biblical theology, pastor, or layman. The epistles to the colossians, to philemon, and to the. Hoehner also probably gives the most robust defense of pauline authorship of ephesians of any commentary over 100 pages. Some critics think that the book reflects aspects of vocabulary, style, and doctrine that differ from pauls writings. Nov 27, 2009 to deny pauline authorship of a book in the bible is to challenge its authority as scripture.
An easyenglish bible version and commentary 2800 word vocabulary on pauls letter to the ephesians. Les painter bible text by cynthia green this commentary has been through advanced checking. Best ephesians commentaries updated for 2020 best bible. Authorship of ephesians at least three different scenarios are possible, and all three have attracted considerable support from interpreters in the modern era. Ephesians commentary the book of ephesians introduction 1. Some liberal critics have attempted to raise doubts, yet the authorship of the book is solidly established both by the clear statement in the book itself and by the records of the early uninspired christian writers. This is a lengthy commentary on ephesians over 900 pages, but well worth the purchase. Book of ephesians overview insight for living ministries. Ephesians contains more hymns and liturgical material than any other letter. This summary of the book of ephesians provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of ephesians.
Goodspeeds epochmaking book, the meaning of ephesians. Its authorship, origin and purpose, published in 1951, in which he basically agreed with goodspeeds hypothesis. The early church was in almost universal agreement that this epistle was addressed to the church at ephesus, and every known manuscript, without exception, bears the title to the ephesians. The letter to the ephesians the pillar new testament. The book of ephesians hits on a wide range of moral and ethical behaviors, designed to ensure believers are living up to our heavenly calling. Obrien does an excellent job of drawing from other scholars who previously written or commented on the book especially lincoln, bruce, and clinton arnold. Noted new testament scholar frank thielman offers a substantive technical commentary entitled ephesians in the latest addition to the awardwinning becnt series. The letter to the ephesians pillar new testament commentary by peter t. Sproul has himself written a very helpful introductory level commentary on it titled the purpose of god. The author of ephesians claims to be the apostle paul with. Because the name ephesus is not mentioned in every early manuscript, some scholars believe the letter was an encyclical, intended to be circulated and read. But this doesnt interfere with the quality of the commentary very often. The traditional view is that paul is the author as is claimed.
The author of the book of ephesus was the apostle paul. Introduction to ephesians bible exposition commentary. Ephesians commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. Best commentaries and books on ephesians logos bible software. With extensive research and thoughtful chapterbychapter exegesis, this lucidly written commentary leads readers through all aspects of the book of ephesians sociological, historical, and theologicalto help us better understand. While early lists of new testament books, including marcions canon and the. The first verse in the letter identifies paul as its author. Ephesians overview, one of over 110 bible commentaries freely available, this commentary, once the most popular commentary, is favored by christians of many denominations. The purpose of the book of ephesians was to warn the church elders about the false teachers that were teaching a false gospel and to maintain their first love that they held when they first became believers. The authorship of ephesians the letter to the ephesian church is regarded as one of the masterworks of the nt, but it is also one of those books that the critics like to say wasnt authored by paul. Ephesians and colossians were probably composed at the same time in rome.
That can be a formidable task when writing a commentary on ephesians, but carson selected one of the best in peter t. A selection of the best commentaries and bible study resources on the book of ephesians. Ephesians is one of four prison letters of paul in addition to colossians, philemon, and philippians. The key personalities of ephesians are the apostle paul and tychicus. I recommend this volume to anyone who is not familiar with the basic themes of this epistle. Yet the pauline authorship of ephesians has been greatly disputed in recent years. In addition to detailed exegesis, schnackenburg pays special attention to the history of interpretation of ephesians, taking account of comparative material in the history of religion and, at the end of each exegetical section, shows how findings are relevant for today. Karl barth on the authorship of ephesians and colossians. It was written to encourage believers to walk as fruitful followers of christ and to serve in unity and love in the midst of persecution. The letter was written from prison in rome acts 28. Objections to pauls authorship the first objections to pauls authorship of ephesians arose among scripture scholars in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century on the basis of internal evidence, that is, content that seemed inconsistent with pauls authorship. Best is more or less agnostic on authorship, called the author ae author of ephesians.
This is not a commentary to discuss other commentaries. Appealing to the general reader of the bible, the tntc series provides its evangelical audience with an exegetical and scholarly, but nontechnical commentary. A commentary on the epistle to the ephesians pdf ebook. There is no indication that the authorship of paul should be in question. Unlike other books like romans or 1 and 2 corinthians which are undisputedly pauline, it has been debated whether ephesians and colossians along with 2 thes. Commentary on the book of ephesians by matthew henry new. Answering bible contradictions, misunderstandings, and misinterpretations. While manuscripts vary on the destination, all agree that paul is the author. Klyne snodgrass, niv application commentary nivac, zondervan, 1996, 384 pp. Situating the epistle in its historical context, evaluating competing claims of authorship, and examining textual history of the book, lincoln offers a fresh reading.
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