Brian Wintle Knihy

This commentary shows the relevance of Ephesians for the church in Asia today seeking to understand God's eternal purposes in Christ.

Focusing on the challenges faced by early Christians, the epistle to the Colossians addresses the struggle of reconciling faith in Christ with lingering Jewish and pagan traditions. Paul offers guidance on embracing a new identity through faith. In his letter to Philemon, he confronts the societal norm of slavery, illustrating the transformative power of the gospel in the lives of both slaves and their masters. Together, these epistles emphasize the importance of faith in reshaping cultural and personal identities.

Paul's epistle to the Colossians was written to a group of Christians who still held on to their past Jewish and pagan traditions alongside their faith in Christ. To help these believers, Paul provided guidance on how to deal with their past, showing them how faith in Christ brings new meaning to their situation. Similarly, in his epistle to Philemon, Paul addresses a culture where slavery was a common practice. He demonstrates the potential when slaves responded to the gospel and turned to Christ. Both of these epistles are extremely relevant to the church in Asia today, especially as it is confronted with syncretism, false teachings and the mistreatment of the less fortunate and marginalized in society. The Asia Bible Commentary series empowers Christian believers in Asia to read the Bible from within their respective contexts. Holistic in its approach to the text, each exposition of the biblical books combines exegesis and application. The ultimate goal is to strengthen the Body of Christ in Asia by providing pastoral and contextual exposition of every book of the Bible. --From publisher's description