Ephesians has long been a favorite New Testament book among Christians. Its exalted language and soaring metaphors inspire devotion and worship. But too often the expositor's scrutiny has reduced this letter to a string of theological ideas and practical topics. Timothy Gombis has rediscovered Ephesians as a deeply dramatic text that follows the narrative arc of the triumph of God in Christ. Here Paul invites the church to celebrate and participate in this divine victory over the powers of this present age. In Gombis's dramatic reading of Ephesians we are drawn into a theological and cultural engagement with this epochal story of redemption. stands in the scantly occupied shelf space between commentaries and specialized studies in Ephesians, giving us a unified and dynamic perspective on this classic text. It is a book that will renew your excitement for studying, preaching and teaching this great letter of Paul.
The Drama of Ephesians: Participating in the Triumph of God
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Review
"The canon of Scripture is not merely a collection of ancient texts that provide an authoritative account of the past actions of God in the world. It is also the instrument through which the Spirit speaks to the church in the present and shapes its witness in the midst of the contemporary setting. In this marvelous theological and cultural encounter with Ephesians, Tim Gombis provides a powerful reading of the epistle that helps us to discern the voice of the Spirit and participate more faithfully in the mission of God. Read, listen and be transformed by the living and active Word of God." (John R. Franke, Clemens Professor of Missional Theology, Biblical Seminary)
"Timothy Gombis has written an eloquent and compelling engagement with Ephesians as an invitation to participate in God's subversive, dramatic rescue mission: to redeem a broken world through Christ and his cross-shaped church. It is a model of theological and missional interpretation of Scripture, and those who read it will see Ephesians--and themselves--in a whole new light." (Michael J. Gorman, St. Mary's Seminary and University, author of Cruciformity: Paul's Narrative Spirituality of the Cross)
"Tim Gombis knows Ephesians from the inside out, from what Paul meant in his world to what Paul means now--in our world, at the most mundane of levels. Gombis writes both as professor and pastor, as one who thinks clearly and one who applies thoroughly. The Drama of Ephesians blew strong winds on flickering flames in my own thought, and I hope it does the same for you. Pay attention to Tim Gombis, because he's a professor who knows the church is his community's center." (Scot McKnight, Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies, North Park University)
"Exposing the undergirding narrative of Ephesians, Tim Gombis's The Drama of Ephesians brings the text alive in fresh and stimulating ways. Combining interpretive sagacity and theological acumen, Gombis demonstrates how Ephesians challenges Jesus followers to adopt a new understanding of their place within the drama of God's triumph and of their responsibilities within the world." (Bruce W. Longenecker, W. W. Melton Chair of Religion, Baylor University)
"Timothy Gombis has written an eloquent and compelling engagement with Ephesians as an invitation to participate in God's subversive, dramatic rescue mission: to redeem a broken world through Christ and his cross-shaped church. It is a model of theological and missional interpretation of Scripture, and those who read it will see Ephesians--and themselves--in a whole new light." (Michael J. Gorman, St. Mary's Seminary and University, author of Cruciformity: Paul's Narrative Spirituality of the Cross)
"Tim Gombis knows Ephesians from the inside out, from what Paul meant in his world to what Paul means now--in our world, at the most mundane of levels. Gombis writes both as professor and pastor, as one who thinks clearly and one who applies thoroughly. The Drama of Ephesians blew strong winds on flickering flames in my own thought, and I hope it does the same for you. Pay attention to Tim Gombis, because he's a professor who knows the church is his community's center." (Scot McKnight, Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies, North Park University)
"Exposing the undergirding narrative of Ephesians, Tim Gombis's The Drama of Ephesians brings the text alive in fresh and stimulating ways. Combining interpretive sagacity and theological acumen, Gombis demonstrates how Ephesians challenges Jesus followers to adopt a new understanding of their place within the drama of God's triumph and of their responsibilities within the world." (Bruce W. Longenecker, W. W. Melton Chair of Religion, Baylor University)
About the Author
Timothy G. Gombis (Ph.D., University of St. Andrews) is associate professor of New Testament at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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More About the Author
There are 11 very important things about me, and here are three of them: I teach New Testament at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, I have incredible hand-eye coordination, and I blog at Faith Improvised (http://timgombis.com/).
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Did you know that God is the most high but not alone on the cosmic stage? It so declares Timothy Gombis in his book, The Drama of Ephesians. What Gombis has done is to take his doctoral thesis and novelize it and in doing so brings to light some modern thoughts in monotheism studies which, at least for him sets the stage for a radically different interpretation of Ephesians which is cosmic in scope.
His second chapter calls us to remember that the Jewish worldview at the time included cosmic actors on the supernatural stage and asks not to forget them in the great drama which is Ephesians. After a brief tour through the thought world that Paul inhabits, Gombis moves into a discussion on a modern take on these powers. On 49-57, Gombis launches into a needless and seemingly out of place explanation of modern powers. I say needless because it seems out of place in a scholarly assessment of Ephesians and a better way to read it, however, he does remind us through this action that he is a Christian scholar and theologian, with the adjective of the two positions being the most important. He is careful to point out that we are not to directly engage these spiritual powers (pg49) although he does follow in Yoder's footsteps and sees the Church as confronting the results of their influence. In this, he seeks to connect first, before he explains Ephesians in detail, the story to the modern reader. Do we still face unnamed powers and authorities? He contends yes, and cautions us not to go further than Paul (not to be adventurous, he writes) in confronting these powers but to simply recognize that the supernatural is still at play.
Gombis is low on Christology (although throughout the book, Christ is still Lord and still sent from the Father (p89), at least in content as his vision of Christ is somewhat muted (as it necessarily must be in a book such as this), but what he does for (Protestant) Ecclesiology is powerful (see his section on the Church as Divine Warrior, p157-158). He takes Ephesians and dramatizes it (p19), setting what would normally be a stiff commentary into an easily readable format. Gombis does what others should - he takes his doctoral thesis from his work at St. Andrews and shows that all of that time was not wasted and applies it to practical theology. He novelizes his doctoral work to make it available and useful to the Church at large. In other words, his first concern is for the church of Jesus Christ and her mission in the world. He simply wants to make use of his talents towards that goal. What's more, is that he sees the Church as the single most important force in the world for God. As he reiterates several times, the Church serves as the source in which Christ liberates the world (p90). His cross was the start of the new age, and the Church is pushing the world towards that goal.
His central thesis, that of the supernatural being a cosmic battlefield, is one not foreign to either the Scripture or to modern biblical studies. We see it in Job, Genesis (especially the first Creation account which is explained further in Job and Psalms), and especially developed during the so-called intertestamental period (which fed Paul's thought world, p36) where in the supernatural realm was a scene of battles between lower deities. He takes this and applies the divine warfare motif to Paul's letter to the Ephesians (he maintains Pauline authorship) and while not labeling the `powers' notes how Paul instructs the Church to rescue the perishing. In this, a new community is built upon the victory won by Christ who was sent by the Most High God to finally free humanity from the bondage to these powers (p40). It is interesting, then, his take on these powers (who he insists that we simply do not fight against) and how they play into our Church. From the need to have larger than life images of pastors and churches (`triumphalism, p119) to our (American) notion that we are a religious nation and that the Grace of God can be shed abroad not by the Spirit but by man-made laws (he calls us to resist these cultural challenges and fears, p125, and to give up all control in these issues to God). For him, political systems, financial systems, and even identifiable sociological preconceptions are `powers' in the Pauline sense, and it is these powers which Christ is waging war against through the Church, a church which meets these challenges by being the dramatized community of believers that Paul called it to be.
Gombis has written a book with several facets which highlights the importance - the equal importance to such books as Romans - of Ephesians. There is the commentary feature which takes passages and shows their interconnectedness where he argues against modern thought that Ephesians is not merely a set of theological reflections, but a cohesive book with a central theological goal. Further, there is the running commentary on this commentary wherein he applies his theological exploration to practical theological application. In this, he tackles not only what the powers mean to us today in examples such as poverty and government bureaucracy (as a Government bureaucrat, I found this true) but what the passages in Ephesians teaches us about dealing with those powers. Further, there is the simmering call to be the Church of Jesus Christ as Paul saw it (p113), as Paul preached it, and as Paul lived it (p11). But, what I found the most interesting is that Dr. Gombis was able to transform what to many, most likely, would be a boring doctoral thesis into a readily applicable tool for the Church at large, even if you don't accept that the ancient world and the modern world interact daily with the `powers.'
His second chapter calls us to remember that the Jewish worldview at the time included cosmic actors on the supernatural stage and asks not to forget them in the great drama which is Ephesians. After a brief tour through the thought world that Paul inhabits, Gombis moves into a discussion on a modern take on these powers. On 49-57, Gombis launches into a needless and seemingly out of place explanation of modern powers. I say needless because it seems out of place in a scholarly assessment of Ephesians and a better way to read it, however, he does remind us through this action that he is a Christian scholar and theologian, with the adjective of the two positions being the most important. He is careful to point out that we are not to directly engage these spiritual powers (pg49) although he does follow in Yoder's footsteps and sees the Church as confronting the results of their influence. In this, he seeks to connect first, before he explains Ephesians in detail, the story to the modern reader. Do we still face unnamed powers and authorities? He contends yes, and cautions us not to go further than Paul (not to be adventurous, he writes) in confronting these powers but to simply recognize that the supernatural is still at play.
Gombis is low on Christology (although throughout the book, Christ is still Lord and still sent from the Father (p89), at least in content as his vision of Christ is somewhat muted (as it necessarily must be in a book such as this), but what he does for (Protestant) Ecclesiology is powerful (see his section on the Church as Divine Warrior, p157-158). He takes Ephesians and dramatizes it (p19), setting what would normally be a stiff commentary into an easily readable format. Gombis does what others should - he takes his doctoral thesis from his work at St. Andrews and shows that all of that time was not wasted and applies it to practical theology. He novelizes his doctoral work to make it available and useful to the Church at large. In other words, his first concern is for the church of Jesus Christ and her mission in the world. He simply wants to make use of his talents towards that goal. What's more, is that he sees the Church as the single most important force in the world for God. As he reiterates several times, the Church serves as the source in which Christ liberates the world (p90). His cross was the start of the new age, and the Church is pushing the world towards that goal.
His central thesis, that of the supernatural being a cosmic battlefield, is one not foreign to either the Scripture or to modern biblical studies. We see it in Job, Genesis (especially the first Creation account which is explained further in Job and Psalms), and especially developed during the so-called intertestamental period (which fed Paul's thought world, p36) where in the supernatural realm was a scene of battles between lower deities. He takes this and applies the divine warfare motif to Paul's letter to the Ephesians (he maintains Pauline authorship) and while not labeling the `powers' notes how Paul instructs the Church to rescue the perishing. In this, a new community is built upon the victory won by Christ who was sent by the Most High God to finally free humanity from the bondage to these powers (p40). It is interesting, then, his take on these powers (who he insists that we simply do not fight against) and how they play into our Church. From the need to have larger than life images of pastors and churches (`triumphalism, p119) to our (American) notion that we are a religious nation and that the Grace of God can be shed abroad not by the Spirit but by man-made laws (he calls us to resist these cultural challenges and fears, p125, and to give up all control in these issues to God). For him, political systems, financial systems, and even identifiable sociological preconceptions are `powers' in the Pauline sense, and it is these powers which Christ is waging war against through the Church, a church which meets these challenges by being the dramatized community of believers that Paul called it to be.
Gombis has written a book with several facets which highlights the importance - the equal importance to such books as Romans - of Ephesians. There is the commentary feature which takes passages and shows their interconnectedness where he argues against modern thought that Ephesians is not merely a set of theological reflections, but a cohesive book with a central theological goal. Further, there is the running commentary on this commentary wherein he applies his theological exploration to practical theological application. In this, he tackles not only what the powers mean to us today in examples such as poverty and government bureaucracy (as a Government bureaucrat, I found this true) but what the passages in Ephesians teaches us about dealing with those powers. Further, there is the simmering call to be the Church of Jesus Christ as Paul saw it (p113), as Paul preached it, and as Paul lived it (p11). But, what I found the most interesting is that Dr. Gombis was able to transform what to many, most likely, would be a boring doctoral thesis into a readily applicable tool for the Church at large, even if you don't accept that the ancient world and the modern world interact daily with the `powers.'
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By A. Morgan
Format:Paperback
People tend to think that verse-by-verse expositional commentaries are always the best type of commentaries. However most commentaries are about scholars speaking to other scholars and while they have a place, they are not always accessible to everyone.
Some of the very best `commentaries' are ones that deal with the broad brush strokes and themes of a book - giving you the whole picture. Timothy Gombis' book The Drama of Ephesians does just that which makes it a very valuable commentary on Ephesians.
What Gombis does so well is to broaden our perspective to include both the earthly and spiritual message of Ephesians. He looks at the cosmic battle and the role of the Christian / Church as we live both in the here and now and yet also in the light of what is yet to come, the eternal kingdom of Christ.
Don't get me wrong, this is not some wild charismatic polemic about the demonic world but solid biblical insight about the realities of what the church in Ephesus faced and what the church is faced with today. This book does a GREAT job of bringing this book into the present and how it relates to us today. Although very accessible, make no mistake - this is high scholarship presented in a very readable way. It is obvious Gombis spent much time immersed in this letter.
I wish more books like this are being written on the biblical books - we need them.
Very Highly recommended.
Some of the very best `commentaries' are ones that deal with the broad brush strokes and themes of a book - giving you the whole picture. Timothy Gombis' book The Drama of Ephesians does just that which makes it a very valuable commentary on Ephesians.
What Gombis does so well is to broaden our perspective to include both the earthly and spiritual message of Ephesians. He looks at the cosmic battle and the role of the Christian / Church as we live both in the here and now and yet also in the light of what is yet to come, the eternal kingdom of Christ.
Don't get me wrong, this is not some wild charismatic polemic about the demonic world but solid biblical insight about the realities of what the church in Ephesus faced and what the church is faced with today. This book does a GREAT job of bringing this book into the present and how it relates to us today. Although very accessible, make no mistake - this is high scholarship presented in a very readable way. It is obvious Gombis spent much time immersed in this letter.
I wish more books like this are being written on the biblical books - we need them.
Very Highly recommended.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By marc mullins
Format:Paperback
Gombis, Timothy G., The Drama of Ephesians: Participating in the Triumph of God. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2010. 188 pp. $20.00
Timothy G. Gombis, Ph.D., associate professor of New Testament at Cedarville University has rediscovered Ephesians with a dramatic and engaging interaction with the text in his book The Drama of Ephesians. Gombis has literally reintroduced the book through a new and fresh view of this letter as a drama with cosmic battles of spiritual warfare with Christ as the victor sent by God and the church as soldier still in the trenches. Dr. Gombis has an extensive background in Ephesians, doing his Ph.D. dissertation on the notion of divine warfare within the book of Ephesians.
Summary
"Before we begin our study of Ephesians we need to ask ourselves, what in the world is Ephesians and what are we supposed to do with it" (1)? As the opening theme of the book, the reader is gradually introduced to a paradigm shift in reading Ephesians. Now this shift is not subtle, it is a very different approach to how we read Ephesians, the main activity of the book, and ultimately some of the conclusions one would come to by reading it.
Gombis begins the book orienting the reader to his interpretive approach. He has concluded that Ephesians"...often read as a doctrinal treatise, as if Paul sat down during one of his missionary journeys and composed a series of reflections on various theological topics"(14). Thus Christians have modernized our approach in its reading and extract data from the theological database we call the Bible and attempt to apply it as necessary or place it in our doctrinal buckets. Gombis proposes, understanding the Ancient Jewish worldview and certainly informed by some bit of grammatical and historical research that Ephesians should be read as "...a drama in which Paul portrays the powerful, reality-altering, cosmos-transforming acts of God in Christ to redeem God's world and save God's people for the glory of his name" (15).
Gombis represents to us in a much more profound way, the famous Ephesian theme of spiritual warfare not as something individuals play directly in, engaging and overcoming the cosmic spiritual powers and authorities that ultimately are acting counter to the very purpose God has created them for. Instead, he shows us how our activities collectively cannot engage them, but Christ has already conquered them. By working out or faith through good works deal the additional defeating blows to the powers of evil that are in a cosmic battle much bigger than the forces we can individually engage. And by this act overtime in love and humility living in righteousness and community establish the very church and presence of Jesus on Earth until the day Christ returns to deal the final mortal wound to the powers.
Analysis
Reading as Drama v. Reading Doctrinally
I am admittedly a bit intrigued and a proponent of reading dramatically and as narrative where the literary type is in fact narrative. What I was able to quickly grasp was the connection between the letter in its form as not merely doctrinal even though we often times pluck texts as needed out of the bucket to fulfill a doctrinal need. What the dramatic reading does for the reader and ultimately interpreter is allow them to hear the author's authentic true voice. The reader is able to incorporate the senses in its interpretation backed by historical, cultural, and worldview context to the text come to life.
I remain somewhat agnostic about who or how to refer to particular people or entities as characters in the plot, simply because I fear a possible disconnect, a sort of vicarious belief that could ultimately negate the very intent of the interpretive form. Ultimately the rule of faith and the goal of seeking the truth of God in our reading must remain the purpose and control in our reading.
Outstanding Questions and Author's Conclusions
Now I admit I walked away not opposed to the method of reading Ephesians as Drama. I certainly believe readers must seek to become intimately impacted by the text, seeking to hear God speak to us through the author.
What I found intriguing was the introduction of the Jewish worldview that informed the grander cosmic spiritual warfare theme that was found in the inclusio of the letter. I connected that to the interpretive style, through the text being illuminated by the historical background and also cultural influences as well as extra canonical literature that informed this conclusion. Gombis clearly anticipated the bridge between Ephesians as narrative and letter form to apocalyptical literature as something that would be hard to grasp. I fell prey to the very thing he anticipated.
Where I ultimately found the trend and voice of this work troubling was where I felt there was inadequate attention, lack of clarification or some gray areas I wish I could seek additional information on from the author.
As Gombis makes his case for dramatic interpretation he introduces by means of one's imagination and it being transformed from the influences of the world into that of God's kingdom held together by His spirit. He continues to show us the imagination is to be conformed to and shaped by the gospel. I agree totally! Where he lost me and I could ask him where he gets this several times was the conclusions that all of this ultimately rests on being part of the Kingdom of God, and that imagination must conclude that sweet community and peace is the pinnacle of this achievement. The point is that from that point on there seemed to be a subtle and not so subtle theme of sociological rehabilitation and not salvation of souls. I found only one small blurb regarding the idea of an eternal kingdom that salvation grants entry into. It seemed to rest heavily on repairing God's creation through social justice and reform and be light on eternal kingdoms.
Now I know that Ephesians is not the go to book to look for eternal promises of life, judgment of souls, but understanding the book in light of the canon leaves me in particular wondering if this commentary was redemptive only in terms of Creation order by ways of community, good works, and humble victory; or was it also to include assumed judgment of souls, and eternal life in Heaven. These questions ultimately leave one question. Am I so indoctrinated to reading doctrinally that I cannot see beyond these questions? Am I missing the boat here? I don't know, I do know that I have not questioned and sought out for more information on most books thus far in Seminary, but this one has definitely sparked an interest to seek more information and for that I am grateful and I am sure the author would appreciate that it was in fact so thought provoking.
Conclusion
As I turned the last pages of Gombis' work, I was a bit confused, concerned and frankly just had more questions. In many circles today people are quick to brand with conclusions and verdicts of our judgment of someone before we understand their intent and other factors that go into the ink people invest in their writing. I would conclude after reading this book that in order to come to final conclusions from this reading a discussion with Dr. Gombis would be certainly preferable and if not some understanding of his presuppositions, experiences, and theological leanings would be informative.
To make a long story short though this work offers fresh approach to reading Ephesians in an otherwise ordinary world, are we sure this is God's intent through his human authors? I cannot resolve to write the book off as hogwash, but I am not certain I am ready to adopt all of its recommendations without discussion with the author to discern where he wanted to go with it. Historically Ephesians has never been read dramatically. Historically, Christianity has not been defined as the sum total of good within the realm of evil humanity on this Earth. Acknowledging those differences I tend to lean on the side of theological conservatism, holding fast and true to the historically accurate interpretations, seeing His word as Creator-centric not creation-centric. The presentation of a new and changed hermeneutic or reading of Scripture is met with an equally heavy burden of proof to satisfy the need to justify a changed reading and ultimately a changed meaning of God's divine word.
My conclusions scripturally and where I believe the Author is ultimately going, with the outcomes of the works of the powers on the Earth but would love to confirm, is how I hear these men define Mercy Ministry:
<...>
Ministries of Mercy from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo.
Timothy G. Gombis, Ph.D., associate professor of New Testament at Cedarville University has rediscovered Ephesians with a dramatic and engaging interaction with the text in his book The Drama of Ephesians. Gombis has literally reintroduced the book through a new and fresh view of this letter as a drama with cosmic battles of spiritual warfare with Christ as the victor sent by God and the church as soldier still in the trenches. Dr. Gombis has an extensive background in Ephesians, doing his Ph.D. dissertation on the notion of divine warfare within the book of Ephesians.
Summary
"Before we begin our study of Ephesians we need to ask ourselves, what in the world is Ephesians and what are we supposed to do with it" (1)? As the opening theme of the book, the reader is gradually introduced to a paradigm shift in reading Ephesians. Now this shift is not subtle, it is a very different approach to how we read Ephesians, the main activity of the book, and ultimately some of the conclusions one would come to by reading it.
Gombis begins the book orienting the reader to his interpretive approach. He has concluded that Ephesians"...often read as a doctrinal treatise, as if Paul sat down during one of his missionary journeys and composed a series of reflections on various theological topics"(14). Thus Christians have modernized our approach in its reading and extract data from the theological database we call the Bible and attempt to apply it as necessary or place it in our doctrinal buckets. Gombis proposes, understanding the Ancient Jewish worldview and certainly informed by some bit of grammatical and historical research that Ephesians should be read as "...a drama in which Paul portrays the powerful, reality-altering, cosmos-transforming acts of God in Christ to redeem God's world and save God's people for the glory of his name" (15).
Gombis represents to us in a much more profound way, the famous Ephesian theme of spiritual warfare not as something individuals play directly in, engaging and overcoming the cosmic spiritual powers and authorities that ultimately are acting counter to the very purpose God has created them for. Instead, he shows us how our activities collectively cannot engage them, but Christ has already conquered them. By working out or faith through good works deal the additional defeating blows to the powers of evil that are in a cosmic battle much bigger than the forces we can individually engage. And by this act overtime in love and humility living in righteousness and community establish the very church and presence of Jesus on Earth until the day Christ returns to deal the final mortal wound to the powers.
Analysis
Reading as Drama v. Reading Doctrinally
I am admittedly a bit intrigued and a proponent of reading dramatically and as narrative where the literary type is in fact narrative. What I was able to quickly grasp was the connection between the letter in its form as not merely doctrinal even though we often times pluck texts as needed out of the bucket to fulfill a doctrinal need. What the dramatic reading does for the reader and ultimately interpreter is allow them to hear the author's authentic true voice. The reader is able to incorporate the senses in its interpretation backed by historical, cultural, and worldview context to the text come to life.
I remain somewhat agnostic about who or how to refer to particular people or entities as characters in the plot, simply because I fear a possible disconnect, a sort of vicarious belief that could ultimately negate the very intent of the interpretive form. Ultimately the rule of faith and the goal of seeking the truth of God in our reading must remain the purpose and control in our reading.
Outstanding Questions and Author's Conclusions
Now I admit I walked away not opposed to the method of reading Ephesians as Drama. I certainly believe readers must seek to become intimately impacted by the text, seeking to hear God speak to us through the author.
What I found intriguing was the introduction of the Jewish worldview that informed the grander cosmic spiritual warfare theme that was found in the inclusio of the letter. I connected that to the interpretive style, through the text being illuminated by the historical background and also cultural influences as well as extra canonical literature that informed this conclusion. Gombis clearly anticipated the bridge between Ephesians as narrative and letter form to apocalyptical literature as something that would be hard to grasp. I fell prey to the very thing he anticipated.
Where I ultimately found the trend and voice of this work troubling was where I felt there was inadequate attention, lack of clarification or some gray areas I wish I could seek additional information on from the author.
As Gombis makes his case for dramatic interpretation he introduces by means of one's imagination and it being transformed from the influences of the world into that of God's kingdom held together by His spirit. He continues to show us the imagination is to be conformed to and shaped by the gospel. I agree totally! Where he lost me and I could ask him where he gets this several times was the conclusions that all of this ultimately rests on being part of the Kingdom of God, and that imagination must conclude that sweet community and peace is the pinnacle of this achievement. The point is that from that point on there seemed to be a subtle and not so subtle theme of sociological rehabilitation and not salvation of souls. I found only one small blurb regarding the idea of an eternal kingdom that salvation grants entry into. It seemed to rest heavily on repairing God's creation through social justice and reform and be light on eternal kingdoms.
Now I know that Ephesians is not the go to book to look for eternal promises of life, judgment of souls, but understanding the book in light of the canon leaves me in particular wondering if this commentary was redemptive only in terms of Creation order by ways of community, good works, and humble victory; or was it also to include assumed judgment of souls, and eternal life in Heaven. These questions ultimately leave one question. Am I so indoctrinated to reading doctrinally that I cannot see beyond these questions? Am I missing the boat here? I don't know, I do know that I have not questioned and sought out for more information on most books thus far in Seminary, but this one has definitely sparked an interest to seek more information and for that I am grateful and I am sure the author would appreciate that it was in fact so thought provoking.
Conclusion
As I turned the last pages of Gombis' work, I was a bit confused, concerned and frankly just had more questions. In many circles today people are quick to brand with conclusions and verdicts of our judgment of someone before we understand their intent and other factors that go into the ink people invest in their writing. I would conclude after reading this book that in order to come to final conclusions from this reading a discussion with Dr. Gombis would be certainly preferable and if not some understanding of his presuppositions, experiences, and theological leanings would be informative.
To make a long story short though this work offers fresh approach to reading Ephesians in an otherwise ordinary world, are we sure this is God's intent through his human authors? I cannot resolve to write the book off as hogwash, but I am not certain I am ready to adopt all of its recommendations without discussion with the author to discern where he wanted to go with it. Historically Ephesians has never been read dramatically. Historically, Christianity has not been defined as the sum total of good within the realm of evil humanity on this Earth. Acknowledging those differences I tend to lean on the side of theological conservatism, holding fast and true to the historically accurate interpretations, seeing His word as Creator-centric not creation-centric. The presentation of a new and changed hermeneutic or reading of Scripture is met with an equally heavy burden of proof to satisfy the need to justify a changed reading and ultimately a changed meaning of God's divine word.
My conclusions scripturally and where I believe the Author is ultimately going, with the outcomes of the works of the powers on the Earth but would love to confirm, is how I hear these men define Mercy Ministry:
<...>
Ministries of Mercy from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Synthetic Approach to Ephesians
Gombis's approach to Ephesians is helpful. The most difficult aspect of exegesis is understanding the details of a passage within the larger picture. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Ben Simpson
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Innovative, Prophetic Take on Ephesians
A month ago I met Tim Gombis and was highly impressed with him as an intellectual and person. He is the author of the new book The Drama of Ephesians (IVP Academic). Read more
Published on March 4, 2011 by Jeremy Bouma
5.0 out of 5 stars
a book every pastor/teacher NEEDS to read! :-)
It's with a heartfelt thanks to Adrianna Wright of IVP that I write this review of Timothy Gombis' book The Drama of Ephesians: Participating in the Triumph of God (IVP, 2010). Read more
Published on December 7, 2010 by Brian Fulthorp
