Colossians, Philemon (Believers Church Bible Commentary | BCBC)
Overview
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.
Overall Outline
The commentaries are organized into sections according to the major divisions of the text. 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
Colossians, Philemon
Ernest D. Martin takes Bible students into the rich text of the letter to the church at Colossae and the highly personal letter to Philemon. Martin draws on his experience as pastor, teacher, and writer to engage the reader in the complexities of the text. All the while, he focuses on a Christ-centered biblical theology and the amazingly revelant pastoral concerns that shaped these letters.
In commenting on Colossians, Martin highlights a wholistic Christology in contrast to the past and present perversions of the gospel. In the section on Philemon, he draws attention to the social implications of the koinonia of faith for the servants of Jesus Christ.
Top Highlights
“active integrating principle of the universe, yet separate from the universe” (Page 64)
“ In contemporary language we speak of all things as the universe” (Page 62)
“The reality of two kingdoms, the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of this world, stands out in Col. 1:13. These kingdoms are as different as light and darkness. The fact of two kingdoms is generally recognized in Christian circles. Yet there is no uniform answer on how we should understand these two kingdoms and how participants in the kingdom of Christ should relate to the kingdom of this world. A theology of two kingdoms was a key element in the sixteenth-century believers church efforts to restore faithfulness to the NT. That perspective deserves serious attention as the church in each generation seeks to be intentional about the relation of the church to the culture of its world.” (Page 300)
“Paul recognizes that these desired Christian responses to life go beyond the potentials of the human spirit. They are imparted by God (cf. Rom. 15:5; Gal. 5:22).” (Page 48)
“But biblical usage of firstborn indicates a predominate emphasis on being first in rank and honor.” (Page 62)
- Title: Colossians, Philemon
- Author: Ernest D. Martin
- Publisher: Herald Press
- Publication Date: 1993
- Pages: 344