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Colossians, Philemon

[Product Image]

Product Code: 3621
ISBN: 9780836136210
Other ISBN: 0836136217
Publisher: Herald Press
Pages: 344
Binding Information: Kivar
Size: 6.25 X 8.75
Publication Date: Jun 04, 1993
Series Title: Believers Church Bible Commentary Series

Price: $24.99 (In stock. )

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.

Check out other commentaries in this series!

Table of Contents »

Praying: Giving Thanks, 1:3-8 . . . 34
  *Biblical Themes Early in Colossians . . . 40
  *Paul as a Team Person . . . 41
  +The Noble Vocation of Thanksgiving . . . 42
  +Keeping Faith, Love, and Hope in Balance . . . 42
  +An Unbounded Gospel . . . 42
  +The Human Element in Communicating the Gospel . . . 43

Praying: Interceding, 1:9-14 . . . 44
  *Understanding Is Not Enough . . . 53
  *Good Works Have a Place . . . 53
  *The Purpose of God-Given Power . . . 53
  *A Before-and-After Theme . . . 54
  *The Kingdom . . . 54
  *Thanksgiving Again! . . . 55
  +A Community Frame of Reference . . . 56
  +A Model for Intercessory Prayer . . . 56
  +Discipleship: Doing the Will of God . . . 57
  +Theology and Life . . . 58

Exalting Christ as Supreme, 1:15-20 . . . 59
  *Christ as the Firstborn . . . 70
  *The Contribution of the Christ-Hymn to Colossians . . . 71
  *One of the Several Christological Passages . . . 72
  *The Contribution of the Christ-Hymn to Biblical Theology . . . 72
  +Christology in the Life of the Church . . . 73
  +Pastoral Concerns . . . 76
  +Christology and Ecological Concerns . . . 77

Experiencing Christ, 1:21-23 . . . 78
  *Coversion as Before and After . . . 83
  *Describing the Human Predicament . . . 84
  +Once-Now . . . 84
  +Variations in Experiencing Christ . . . 85
  +The Gospel for Evangelism and Missions . . . 86
  +The Hope of the Gospel . . . 87

Explaining the Apostle's Ministry, 1:24-2:5 . . . 88
  *Colossians and Galations, Two Different Approaches . . . 98
  *God's Secret . . . 99
  *Paul's View of Ministry . . . 100
  *Mind as a Biblical Term . . . 101
  +Insights for Evangelizing . . . 102
  +Maturity in Christ . . . 102
  +The Gospel and Human Intellect . . . 103
  +Ministry that Fits the Gospel . . . 104

Exposing Warped and Inferior Teachings, 2:6-23 . . . 105
  *Tradition Comes in Several Varieties . . . 124
  *The Correlation Between Colossians 2 and Romans 6 . . . 125
  *The Thrill of Victory . . . 126
  *Christ is Front and Center . . . 127
  +Is Baptism the Counterpart of Circumcision? . . . 128
  +Perversions in the Gospel Today . . . 129
  +Christ and a "Spirited Universe" . . . 131

Living Oriented to the Exalted Christ, 3:1-4 . . . 133
  *Things Above Versus Things on Earth . . . 138
  *Imperatives and Indicatives-"Be What You Are!" . . . 138
  *Already Raised and Shall Be Raised . . . 140
  +Spiritual Resurrection . . . 141
  +A Radical Transformation of Values . . . 141
  +Life After Death . . . 142
  +Christ, Who Is Our Life . . . 143
  +Making Heaven's Agenda Our Agenda . . . 144

Putting Off and Putting On, 3:5-14 . . . 145
  *Christological Ethics . . . 159
  *Mataphors of Radical Change . . . 161
  *Vice Lists in the New Testament: A Comparison . . . 162
  *The Wrath of God . . . 163
  *Greed and Idolatry . . . 165
  *New Community As Well as New Individuals . . . 165
  *Parallel Texts About Equality in Christ . . . 166
  +Does Ethical Teaching Belong to the Gospel? . . . 166
  +Moral Teaching That Doesn't Go Out of Date . . . 167
  +Sexual Morality Without Denying Sexuality . . . 168
  +The Gospel Does Away with Walls-Or Does It . . . 169

Incorporating The New Life, 3:15-17 . . . 170
  *The Peace of Christ . . . 175
  *Hymnody and Music in the Early Church . . . 176
  *The Name . . . 177
  +The Peace of Christ in and Through the Church . . . 178
  +A People in Which "The Word of Christ" Is at Home . . . 180

Applying The Gospel in Domestic Relationships, 3:18-4:1 . . . 181
  *The Domestic Codes of the New Testament . . . 188
  *In Search of an Equivalent Translation . . . 189
  +How Can the Same Text Support Opposing Views . . . 190
  +How Do First-Century Rules Apply Today? . . . 192
  +The Gospel and Parenting . . . 192
  +The Early Church and Slavery . . . 193
  +The Gospel and the Workplace . . . 194

Calling to Prayer and Witness, 4:2-6 . . . 196
  *Synonyms for Prayer . . . 202
  *Pray, Watch and Pray, Pray for Us . . . 203
  *Insiders and outsiders . . . 203
  *Similarities: Col. 4:2-6 and Eph. 6:18-20, 5:15-16 . . . 204
  +Witness as Walk and Talk . . . 205
  +An Example of Knowing How to Repsond . . . 206
  +Believers CHurch and Mission . . . 207
  +Prayer Linkages . . . 208

Maintaining Connections, 4:7-18 . . . 209
  *A Glimpse of Church Life . . . 217
  *Greetings . . . 217
  *The John Mark Story . . . 218
  *The Person Paul Was . . . 219
  *A Servant (Slave) of Jesus Christ . . . 220
  *"Welcome" in the New Testament Vocabulary . . . 221
  *Grace as the Final Note . . . 222
  +Culturally Transferable Concepts of the Church . . . 222
  +Working for the Kingdom of God . . . 223
  +Interceding for Churches . . . 224
  +"History Belongs to the Intercessors" . . . 224
  +Church Leaders Working Together . . . 224

Synthesis: The Letter to the Colossians . . . 226
Outline of Colossians . . . 234

Philemon . . . 239

A Letter of Love and Faith: Introduction to Philemon

Salutation, 1-3 . . . 246
  *Paul's Primary Self-Identifications . . . 249
  *The Church as Family . . . 250
  +The Church as a Family System . . . 250
  +Grace and Peace Experienced Corporately . . . 251

Thanksgiving and Prayer for Philemon, 4-7 . . . 252
  *Another Prayer Anticipating the Burden of the Letter . . . 256
  *Koinonia in the New Testament . . . 256
  *Refreshing the Hearts of the Saints . . . 257
  +Koinonia in the Church Today . . . 258
  +Expressing Appreciation . . . 259

Appeal on Behalf of Onesimus, 8-22 . . . 260
  *Changed by the Gospel . . . 265
  *Spiritual Parenthood . . . 265
  *Appeal Instead of Command . . . 266
  *Hospitality in the Early Church . . . 266
  *Philemon and Paul's Other References to Slavery . . . 267
  +A Paradigm for Responsible Decision Making . . . 268
  +Motivations for Doing Right . . . 269
  +Why Did Paul Stop Short of Denouncing Slavery? . . . 270
  +An Echo of the Theme . . . 272

Greetings and Benediction, 23-25 . . . 273
*Common Elements in Philemon and Colossians . . . 274

Synthesis: The Letter to Philemon . . . 276
Outline of Philemon . . . 279

Abbreviations . . . 280
Essays . . . 282
Map of Palestine in New Testament Times . . . 326
Map of the New Testament World . . . 327
Bibliography . . . 328
Selected Resources . . . 339
The Author . . . 341

Also From MPN

Colossians, Philemon

Table of Contents:

Colossians . . . 17

Philemon . . . 239