The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians (New International Commentary on the New Testament) (Hardcover)

~ Frederick Fyvie Bruce (Author) "Colossae, the home of the church to which Paul's letter to the Colossians was addressed, was a city in the Lycus valley of Western Anatolia..." (more)
Key Phrases: few cursives, incipient catholicism, few other witnesses, New Testament, Christ Jesus, Lord Jesus Christ (more...)

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Product Description

F.F. Bruce's study of the Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians constitute a single volume in The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Prepared by some of the world's leading scholars, the series provides an exposition of the New Testament books that is thorough and scholarly while faithful to the infallible Word of God.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 470 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; 2nd edition (October 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802825109
• ISBN-13: 978-0802825100
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #72,998 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Expounding the essentials, March 20, 2004

By	Bahij Bawarshi (Beirut, Lebanon) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In these admirable but relatively brief commentaries on Colossians and Ephesians (each is 190 pages or so) the late, great F.F. Bruce manages to say a great deal. Verse by verse, with discernment and economy of words, he weaves a web of exposition and theology. Brevity is achieved by applying in general what he writes specifically in connection with Eph. 3:18, that "it would be pointless to examine all the interpretations that have been offered." He does not dwell much on critical questions, either; but with a mature understanding of the texts Bruce has focused his attention on expounding their essential meaning. Satisfactory detail is provided by the footnotes, which treat textual issues, Greek words and phrases, the (often divergent) viewpoints of other scholars, and give Biblical and bibliographic references. The introduction to the commentary on Colossians includes good background information on the "Colossian heresy." One notable feature of the main text is Bruce's drawing parallels throughout to the other writings of Paul; it is remarkable how often he finds occasion to refer to Romans, for example (specially in the case of Ephesians). As he rightly points out (p. 326), "Paul is his own best interpreter." While many scholars doubt that Paul was the author of Ephesians and, to a lesser degree, of Colossians, Bruce's cited parallels of thought and language leave little doubt that these letters are thoroughly Pauline, whoever the actual author(s) may have been if not Paul himself. There are recognizable similarities between Colossians and Ephesians, but which one depends on the other and to what extent is not clear and has been the subject of much debate. Having commentaries on them in one volume, by one author, with one exegetical approach makes the comparison of parallel verses/expressions/thoughts convenient and instructive, even if it does not resolve the debate. That commentary on the short letter to Philemon is included too is a plus, not least because of the letter's association with Colossians at more than one point.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bruce on Ephesians, June 29, 2005

By	David A. Bielby "Ev Xpistw" (Normal, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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As a practicing pastor who tries to develop sermons from the Greek text, I've been working through Ephesians. When I started my series a couple pastor friends recommended Stott's commentary on Ephesians, which I purchased. I also picked up about four or five other commentaries including this one. Then I've borrowed about a dozen more commentaries. As I have worked through the text (I'm now in chapter 5) I've found that Bruce is more accurate in his handling of the Greek text than Peter O'Brien or John Stott. One case is Ephesians 2:1 where Bruce correctly identifies trespasses and sins as synonyms. Stott & O'Brien come up with various theories which sound good but don't hold water with the lexical entries or scholars I've been interacting with online. I've found this repeated again in Ephesians 4:22-24 where Bruce identifies aorist infinitives not as past tense verbs, but as verbs that tilt towards imperatives (as most translators agree). However, Stott unconvincingly argues that these aorist infinitives must be past tense, even though he is flying in the face of Greek grammars on aorist tense and most biblical translators.

For these reasons I've learned to turn to Bruce first before I check my other commentaries. And if I don't have time to read several versions I tend to go to this one first.

I guess I would recommend preaching pastors/teachers to use Bruce to make sure that any great sounding phrases or things that might preach well from other commentators are really accurate.

If Bruce has a drawback it is in the very area that I love Stott for the most. Bruce doesn't always come up with great sounding phrases that would preach well. Stott does that all through his commentary. So I guess at least for Ephesians, I would use Stott for application and Bruce for exegesis.

There are a few times where Bruce doesn't give a lot of detail. My assumption is that there's not much worth commenting on in the scope of theories out there. Having said that, I can't imagine studying Ephesians in depth without Bruce. It's fantastic. Get a copy if you can! For a minister's library,
it might be the best commentary out there on Ephesians.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thorough, November 13, 2000

By	Mike Schroeder (Virginia) - See all my reviews

Since I started seminary, I've enjoyed F.F. Bruce's commentaries. Having started a study of the letter to the Colossians, I've consulted this commentary extensively. His insight and text critical footnotes help the reader to get a better grasp of the content and meaning of this letter. Highly recommended.