Ephesians (Believers Church Bible Commentary | BCBC)

by Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld

Publisher:

Herald Press

, 2001

Overview

Ephesians presents readers with a volatile mix of assurance, exhilarating worship, and forceful exhortation—a bracing challenge to today's church. The letter convinces Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld that the grace-gift of faithfulness leads to worship. Power, peace, and new creation are gifts of grace equipping the church to participate in God's reconciling embrace.

This commentary guides readers to a life-changing encounter with Ephesians, probing interpretations, refreshing Christian teaching, and calling everyone to "walk" accordingly, with a song in heart and throat.

About the Believers Church Bible Commentary

The Believers Church Bible Commentary Series is published for all who seek more fully to understand the original message of Scripture and its meaning for today—Sunday school teachers, members of Bible study groups, students, pastors, and other seekers. The series is based on the conviction that God is still speaking to all who will listen, and that the Holy Spirit makes the Word a living and authoritative guide for all who want to know and do God’s will.

Each volume illuminates the Scriptures; provides historical and cultural background; shares necessary theological, sociological, and ethical meanings; and, in general, makes "the rough places plain." Critical issues are not avoided, but neither are they moved into the foreground as debates among scholars. The series aids in the interpretive process, but it does not attempt to supersede the authority of the Word and Spirit as discerned in the gathered church.

The Believers Church Bible Commentary is a cooperative project of Brethren in Christ Church, Brethren Church, Church of the Brethren, Mennonite Brethren Church, and Mennonite Church. The commentaries are organized into sections according to the major divisions of the text.

Key Features

Each section comprises five parts:

• An introductory preview
• A summary outline of the section
• Explanatory notes
• The text in its biblical context
• The text in the life of the church

Contents

Top Highlights

“Blood and flesh are not the enemy. Blood and flesh are under the control of the enemy (2:2, notes). The church must struggle against that enemy, not against the victims of that enemy.” (Page 296)

“The overall gist of Ephesians can be summarized as follows: The secret is out! In Christ, God is gathering up all things. God’s mercy and grace not only extend forgiveness to sinners. The Creator has also taken the initiative to mend broken humanity by removing enmity and by re-creating humanity anew in Christ. This reclaimed human community is immediately drawn into the process of peacemaking: it has become a new home for insiders and outsiders, for humanity and God. But it is also summoned and empowered to take up the divine struggle against the powers of evil that still thwart the full realization of God’s peace, and to do so in the trenches of everyday existence.” (Page 19)

“The armor signals the nature of God’s intervention as judge and liberator. Righteousness is what God does as warrior—it is justice at work. We should not think of the breastplate of righteousness/justice in Ephesians as the safe cocoon of impunity (as many understand ‘justification’). Instead, it is the active participation in the divine battle against the powers on behalf of their victims.” (Page 300)

“Drunkenness is a metaphor for life in the darkness” (Page 238)

“After the initial address or greeting in 1:1–2, Ephesians opens with a eulogy or blessing of God in one sentence that is 12 verses long in Greek (1:3–14). It expresses the central conviction underlying the letter as a whole: the infinitely gracious God has blessed Jews and Gentiles alike in every conceivable way. He has chosen them, made them sons and daughters, and let them in on the secret, that in and through Christ, God is gathering up all things, especially all people, into a divine unity (1:10; 4:6).” (Page 16)

Reviews

Gives penetrating challenges to Anabaptist and mainline pastors and laity. Yoder Neufeld's deep love for Ephesians is evident throughout. His writing on the much-debated Household Code is the best I've seen. He takes the armor in Ephesians 6 as positive action to powerfully equip the church for waging God's justice and peace.

—Marva J. Dawn, Spiritual Theology, Regent College, Vancouver

Explores lofty confessional peaks and rich fields of practical application. Deftly handles even difficult passages, blending careful scholarship with a gospel interpretation that is provocative, fresh, and trustworthy. Encounter with God's boundless grace leads individuals and the church to become agents of salvation, peacemaking, and hope.

—J. Nelson Kraybill, President, Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Indiana

Product Details

• Title: Ephesians
• Author: Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld
• Series: Believers Church Bible Commentary
• Publisher: Herald Press
• Print Publication Date: 2001
• Logos Release Date: 2005
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Bible. N.T. Ephesians › Commentaries
• Resource ID: LLS:29.54.12
• Resource Type: Bible Commentary
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-08T22:06:37Z

About Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld

Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld is the professor of religious studies (New Testament) at Conrad Grebel University College at the University of Waterloo, Ontario. He is the author of numerous articles and several books, including a commentary on Ephesians in the Believers Church Bible Commentary series.