Book Of The Month For June 2015: Ephesians - Concordia Commentary

Ephesians - Concordia Commentary

by Thomas M. Winger

2015 / Hardback with Jacket / 895 Pages

Overview

Ephesians is a veritable compendium of St. Paul’s theology and a candidate for his most influential epistle. In it we learn of the reconciliation of the cosmos and our eternal election in Christ, as well as:

- Salvation by grace through faith apart from works
- The mystery of salvation also for the Gentiles
- One Lord, one faith, one Baptism
- The divine gift of the Holy Ministry
- The Church as Christ’s bride and body
- The Christological meaning of marriage
- The resplendent armor of God.

We today, no less than the Ephesians recently converted from their pagan lifestyle, need to appropriate these teachings because of the spiritual peril of the environment in which we live. Dr. Winger’s commentary unfolds the mysteries of the Gospel by his meticulous analysis of the Greek text and his reverent exposition of the epistle’s proclamation of Christ and His gifts for the sake of His Church.

A look inside

About the Series

The Concordia Commentary Series: A Theological Exposition of Sacred Scripture is written to enable pastors and teachers of the Word to proclaim the Gospel with greater insight, clarity, and faithfulness to the divine intent of the biblical text.

This landmark work will cover all the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments, interpreting Scripture as a harmonious unity centered in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Every passage bears witness to the Good News that God has reconciled the world to Himself through our Lord's life, death, and resurrection.

The commentary fully affirms the divine inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture as it emphasizes "that which promotes Christ" in each pericope.

Authors are sensitive to the rich treasury of language, imagery, and themes found throughout Scripture, including such dialectics as Law and Gospel, sin and grace, death and new life, folly and wisdom, demon, possession and the arrival of the kingdom of God in Christ. Careful attention is given to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek. Further light is shed on the text from archaeology, history, and extrabiblical literature. Finally, Scripture's message is applied to the ongoing life of the church in terms of ministry, worship, proclamation of the Word, Baptism, the Lord's Supper, confession of the faith--all in joyful anticipation of the life of the world to come.

Endorsements

"For too long we have had to wait for this commentary. The letter to the Ephesians had been neglected, not fitting into certain theologians’ way of thinking, and was believed not to represent authentic Pauline theology. This has now come to an end. We are gifted with an excellent and reliable explanation of this letter, its formation and contents. There is no question and no problem arising from this letter which Dr. Winger does not take up and discuss. There is no seemingly “dark” sentence or passage left unilluminated. He removes prejudices and opens our eyes to aspects and insights we had never noticed before. We have a sound teaching of apostolic Christology before us and will learn a lot about Baptism, ministry, and the church—right from the apostle’s writing. St. Paul is speaking to us again, quite directly. 

Years of intensive research and study lie behind this commentary, from which we can now profit. This solid, profound, and fascinating scholarly work is worthy of study, extremely helpful for preaching and teaching, and urgently needed in our day. I wish it would be in the hands of every pastor, teacher, and student, for it is a great gift to the Church."
—Dr. Jobst Schöne, Bishop Emeritus of the Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche (Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church), Germany

 
“Professor Winger has worked hard to produce this volume. I appreciate his manner of dealing thoroughly with classic scholarship. This solid volume will take a special place on my bookshelf. I warmly recommend it to everyone who appreciates both biblical and Lutheran theology.”
—Dr. Erkki Koskenniemi, Adjunct Professor, Finland (Åbo Akademi University, University of Helsinki, and University of Eastern Finland)

"If you want a commentary that takes a traditional approach to Paul's Letter to the Ephesians—no pseudonymous author here—and one that takes seriously both the Greek and the deep theology of this profound letter, then this is your commentary. Tom is fair in his assessment of positions but you always know where he stands. This is a great addition to the series." 
—Dr. James W. Voelz, Professor of Exegetical Theology, Concordia Seminary, Saint Louis