The Epistle to the Ephesians
Overview
Karl Barth is widely acknowledged as one of the great theologians of the church. This masterful example of theological interpretation of the biblical text presents Barth’s insights on an important Pauline epistle.
In 1921-22, the same period he prepared the groundbreaking second edition of his Romans commentary, Barth lectured on the exposition of Ephesians at the University of Göttingen. As he did for his courses on other New Testament texts, Barth lectured from a detailed and carefully researched manuscript. The resulting set of lectures, now available in English for the first time, introduces theological and exegetical issues pertinent to the study of Ephesians. The book also includes introductory essays by two world-renowned scholars, Francis Watson and John Webster.
Key Features
- Presents Karl Barth’s exposition on the epistle to the Ephesians
- Features introductory essays by Francis Watson and John Webster
Top Highlights
“Holiness is a relationship with God. This relationship is established by God. It is never simply a given. It is never a finished event.” (Page 66)
“Through Jesus Christ we encounter the God who intercedes for us and therefore makes faith and obedience possible.” (Page 101)
“a peace agreement in which the divine victory over the rebellious human being is acknowledged” (Page 18)
“It is utterly impossible for faith not to be accompanied by good works, as Luther says.” (Page 99)
“We are placed before God, claimed by God, born from God, and determined for God.” (Page 82)
Praise for the Print Edition
With this carefully translated and edited text of Barth’s lectures on Ephesians from the early 1920s, Ross Wright takes us into Barth’s Göttingen classroom during the exciting days of the turbulent debate set off by his Romans commentary. The volume, with its excellent interpretive essays by Francis Watson and John Webster, is an important enrichment of the Barth library in English. It demonstrates how relevant Barth’s theological project continues to be, especially for the Christian church struggling with the decline of western Christendom. Baker Academic is to be warmly commended for publishing this exciting book.
—Darrell Guder, Henry Winters Luce Emeritus Professor of Missional and Ecumenical Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary
Throughout my more than forty years of preaching, Karl Barth’s scriptural exegesis and exposition have been a constant companion and most valued source. After I have done all the preparatory work, I turn to Barth for final inspiration. It is therefore a major event to have his lectures on Ephesians translated into English for the first time. This great epistle lends itself particularly to Barth’s powerful proclamation of the gospel, as anyone who has read his sermon ‘Saved by Grace’ knows. Preachers, heed this opportunity!
—Fleming Rutledge, author of The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ and Not Ashamed of the Gospel
The publication of Barth’s early lectures on Ephesians, while a noteworthy event in itself, is even more significant in light of, first, ongoing debates about Barth’s later revolutionary understanding of Jesus Christ as subject and object of election and, second, continuing ferment over the relationship of exegesis and theology. That the book includes essays by Francis Watson and the late John Webster on precisely these points is simply the hermeneutical and dogmatic frosting on the dialectical cake.
—Kevin J. Vanhoozer, research professor of systematic theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
This is an exciting addition to the libraries of the theologian and the Bible scholar. Barth is one of the greatest theological minds in the church and arguably one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century, period. His thinking always took shape in close relation to the biblical text, which he read carefully, imaginatively, and provocatively. As so many today are asking how to relate the Bible to theological concerns, having this window into Barth’s engagement during his Göttingen period with this magisterial Pauline text is both fascinating and highly instructive.
—Douglas A. Campbell, professor of New Testament, Duke Divinity School
- Title: The Epistle to the Ephesians
- Author: Karl Barth
- Publisher: Baker Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2017
- Logos Release Date: 2017
- Pages: 187
- Era: era:modern
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Bible. N.T. Ephesians › Commentaries
- ISBNs: 9781493410064, 9780801030918, 1493410067, 0801030919
- Resource ID: LLS:EPHESIANSBARTH
- Resource Type: Bible Commentary
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T23:41:56Z
Karl Barth (May 10, 1886–December 10, 1968) was a twentieth-century Swiss theologian in the Reformed tradition. A vigorous opponent of theological liberalism and modernism, he is sometimes called “the Father of Neo-Orthodoxy.”