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Cover courtesy of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

PNTC

The Letter to the Ephesians

by Peter T. O'Brien

The Edition

Series editor
D. A. Carson

Publication

Publisher
Apollos
Co-publisher
Inter-Varsity Press
Series
The Pillar New Testament Commentary (PNTC)
Date published
October 1999
Print status
Out of print

The Physical Book

Binding
Hardcover
Dust jacket
Yes
Total pages
539 pages
ISBN-13
9780802837363
ISBN-10
0802837360
LCCN
99027734
Copyright
1999

Reference

Plagiarism check
Flagged
Notes
Withdrawn from sale by Eerdmans in 2016, along with O'Brien's Pillar Hebrews and his Philippians in the New International Greek Testament Commentary, after the publisher's editors and outside consultants found the volumes failed to meet accepted standards for the use and documentation of secondary sources; remaining stock was destroyed. This one was judged less pervasively affected than the Hebrews. One printing, jointly published: the back cover carries both barcodes, Eerdmans' 9780802837363 and Apollos' 9780851117591. Open Library gives 450 pages for the Apollos number and 539 for the Eerdmans one; 539 is right, and the lower figure is a cataloguing error rather than a different setting.

Contents

  • Series Preface
  • Author's Preface
  • Chief Abbreviations
  • Select Bibliography
  • Introduction
    • I. Authorship
      • A. The Impersonal Character of Ephesians
      • B. Language and Style
      • C. The Literary Relationship between Ephesians and Colossians
      • D. The Theological Emphases of Ephesians
      • E. The Picture of Paul
      • F. Authorship and Pseudonymity
      • G. Conclusions
    • II. Destination of the Letter
    • III. Life-Setting, Purpose, and Provenance
      • A. The Life-Setting of Ephesians
      • B. The Purpose of the Letter
      • C. The Provenance of Ephesians
    • IV. The Central Message
    • V. Contents and Genre
      • A. Contents
      • B. Genre
  • Commentary on Ephesians
    • I. Prescript, 1:1-2
    • II. The New Humanity a Divine Creation, 1:3–3:21
      • A. Introductory Eulogy: Praise for God's Blessings in Christ, 1:3-14
        • 1. Praise to God for Every Spiritual Blessing, 1:3
        • 2. Praise for Election and Adoption, 1:4-6
        • 3. Praise for Redemption and the Forgiveness of Sins, 1:7-8
        • 4. Praise for the Mystery — God's Plan to Sum Up All Things in Christ, 1:9-10
        • 5. Praise for the Assurance of the Believers' Heritage, 1:11-14
      • B. Thanksgiving, Intercession, and Praise to God for Exalting Christ, 1:15-23
        • 1. Thanksgiving for the Readers' Faith and Love, 1:15-16a
        • 2. Intercession for Their Growth in Knowledge, 1:16b-19
        • 3. God's Mighty Strength Shown in Raising and Exalting Christ, 1:20-23
      • C. Saved by Grace: Raised and Exalted with Christ, 2:1-10
        • 1. Dead in Transgressions and Sins, 2:1-3
        • 2. Because of His Mercy and Love God Made Us Alive with Christ, 2:4-7
        • 3. God's New Creation, 2:8-10
      • D. The Inclusion of Gentiles in the One Body, 2:11-22
        • 1. The Gentiles' Former Plight and Now, 2:11-13
        • 2. Through Christ We Have Access to the Father by One Spirit, 2:14-18
        • 3. The Gentiles' Membership of God's House, 2:19-22
      • E. The Divine Mystery and Paul's Stewardship, 3:1-13
        • 1. Paul's Intercessory Prayer Begins, 3:1
        • 2. Paul's Stewardship of the Mystery, 3:2-7
        • 3. Making Known the Mystery in God's Purposes, 3:8-13
      • F. Paul's Intercession for Power, Love, and Spiritual Maturity, 3:14-21
        • 1. Prayer for Power, Love, and Maturity, 3:14-19
        • 2. Doxology to God Who Can Do More Than All We Ask or Imagine, 3:20-21
    • III. The New Humanity in Earthly Life, 4:1–6:20
      • A. Unity, Diversity, and Maturity within the Body of Christ, 4:1-16
        • 1. The Unity of the Church as an Urgent Concern, 4:1-6
        • 2. Diversity in Unity That Leads to Maturity, 4:7-16
      • B. Live according to the New Humanity, Not the Old, 4:17-24
      • C. Specific Exhortations about the Old Life and the New, 4:25–5:2
      • D. From Darkness to Light, 5:3-14
        • 1. Abstain from Immorality and Greed, 5:3-7
        • 2. Once Darkness, But Now Light, 5:8-14
      • E. Be Careful How You Live: Generally and within the Christian Household, 5:15–6:9
        • 1. Be Careful, Then, How You Live, 5:15-21
        • 2. Relationships within the Christian Household, 5:22–6:9
          • a. Wives and Husbands: Christ and the Church, 5:22-33
          • b. Children and Parents, 6:1-4
          • c. Slaves and Masters, 6:5-9
      • F. Spiritual Warfare, 6:10-20
        • 1. Be Strong in the Lord, 6:10-13
        • 2. Stand Firm and Put On God's Armour, 6:14-17
        • 3. Watch and Pray, 6:18-20
    • IV. Letter Closing, 6:21-24
  • Indexes
    • I. Subjects
    • II. Authors
    • III. Scripture References
    • IV. Extrabiblical Literature

Sources

  1. [1]Best Commentaries — The Letter to the Ephesians [Withdrawn] (page count, withdrawal, destruction of stock)
  2. [2]Anglican Ink — “NT Commentaries withdrawn over plagiarism allegations” (16 August 2016)
  3. [3]Anglican Ink — “Details emerge in Eerdmans plagiarism affair” (25 August 2016)
  4. [4]Wikipedia — Peter O'Brien (theologian)