Colossians and Philemon , livre ebook

Here you have a balanced, insightful, reliable and innovative commentary on two of Paul’s letters. Balanced, for it avoids extreme views and unnecessary technicalities and offers a convincing exegesis of the text in straightforward English. Insightful, because it contains many insights into the text that are unlikely to occur to the Western reader but will readily resonate with readers who have an Asian background. Reliable, for while it interacts with alternative understandings of the text, it always represents “informed orthodoxy.” Innovative, with its splendid special studies that are particularly relevant to Asian teachers and pastors – such as “Apostles and Apostolic Succession” and “Slavery: Then and Now.”
Warmly and highly recommended.
Murray J. Harris, PhD
Professor Emeritus of New Testament Exegesis and Theology,
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois, USA
Two eminent scholars with almost a century of collective teaching expertise have successfully excavated Paul’s efforts to build bridges between “truth and grace,” “hope of the future and a victorious present” as nascent Christians of the Lycus valley were constrained by “faith in the preeimnence of Christ” and the fear of their religious past. The sagely duo invest their first-hand knowledge of Asian philosophies and cultures to make the text speak to the context: Anatolia is bridged with Asia! This is a treasure of sagacious reflections, a must- read for pastors, theological educators and anyone who cares to hear God speak to Asians today through the gospel.
Idicheria Ninan, PhD
Professor of New Testament,
South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies, Bangalore, India

COLOSSIANS AND PHILEMON
Asia Bible Commentary Series
Brian Wintle and Bruce Nicholls
General Editor
Federico G. Villanueva
Old Testament Consulting Editors
Yohanna Katanacho, Tim Meadowcroft, Joseph Shao
New Testament Consulting Editors
Steve Chang, Andrew B. Spurgeon, Brian Wintle

© 2019 by Brian Wintle and Bruce Nicholls
Published 2019 by Langham Global Library
an imprint of Langham Publishing
www.langhampublishing.org
Langham Partnership
PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria CA3 9WZ, UK
www.langham.org
Published in partnership with Asia Theological Association
ATA
QCC PO Box 1454 – 1154, Manila, Philippines
www.ataasia.com
ISBNs:
978-1-78368-605-6 Print
978-1-78368-606-3 ePub
978-1-78368-607-0 Mobi
978-1-78368-608-7 PDF
Brian Wintle and Bruce Nicholls have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Authors of this work.
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Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are from the New International Version, copyright © 2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-1-78368-605-6
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and an author’s right to publish but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth and works referenced within this publication or guarantee its technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use, or interpretation of its published content.

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To my mother, Beryl Charity Wintle, my constant inspiration — Brian Wintle
To my late wife, Kathleen, without whose partnership this work would not have been completed
—Bruce Nicholls
Contents

Cover


Series Preface


AUTHORS’ PREFACE


List of Abbreviations


The Letter to the Colossians


INTRODUCTION


Paul, The Prisoner


Colossae: Its Location And Its People


Christ And The Powers


The Church as the New Society


Summary


OUTLINE


Colossians 1:1–2


1:1 “By the Will of God”


Apostles and Apostolic Succession


1:2 “God’s Holy People”


1:2 “In Colossae” and “In Christ”


Colossians 1:3–14


1:3–8 Paul Thanks God for the Colossians


1:9–14 Paul’s Prayer for the Colossians


Colossians 1:15–23


The Place of Creedal Confession in Worship


1:15–23 The Supremacy of Christ


Idolatry in the Asian Context


Colossians 1:24 – 2:7


1:24–25 Paul’s Mission to the Gentiles


1:26–29 Paul’s Ministry of the Gospel


2:1–5 Paul’s Concern for the Colossian Christians


2:6–7 Christ Our Life from Beginning to End


Colossians 2:8 – 3:4


2:8–15 Paul’s Defense of the Gospel


2:16–23 Warnings against Religious Syncretism


Colossians 3:5 – 4:6


3:5–11 Dead to the Old and Alive to the New


3:12–17 Do Everything in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ


3:18 – 4:1 Responsible Partnerships in Christian Households


4:2–6 Paul’s Appeal for Prayerful Support of His Ministry


Colossians 4:7–18


4:7–9 Paul’s Emissaries to the Church


4:10–15 Greetings from Paul’s Companions


4:16–17 Recipients of the Greetings


4:18 A Final Greeting from Paul


Folk Religion in the Lycus Valley


THE LETTER TO PHILEMON


INTRODUCTION


The Author and the Recipients


Purpose of the Letter


Paul’s Appeal to Philemon


OUTLINE


Philemon 1–3


Philemon 4–7


Philemon 8–21


8–9 Personal Appeal to Philemon


10–11 Paul’s Defense of Onesimus


12–13 Onesimus Is Philemon’s Representative


14–16 Philemon’s Obligations to Onesimus


17–21 Paul’s Offer to Philemon Demands a Response


Philemon 22–25


22 Final Request


23–25 Final Greetings


Slavery: Then and Now


Selected Bibliography


About Asia Theological Association


About Langham Partnership

Endnotes
Series Preface
In recent years, we have witnessed one of the greatest shifts in the history of world Christianity. It used to be that the majority of Christians lived in the West, but Christians are now evenly distributed around the globe. This shift has implications for the task of interpreting the Bible from within our respective contexts, which is in line with the growing realization that every theology is contextual. Thus, the questions that we bring into our reading of the Bible will be shaped by our present realities as well as our historical and social locations. There is a need therefore to interpret the Bible for our own contexts.
The Asia Bible Commentary (ABC) series addresses this need. In line with the mission of Asia Theological Association Publications, we have gathered evangelical Bible scholars working among Asians to write commentaries on each book of the Bible. The mission is to “produce resources that are biblical, pastoral, contextual, missional, and prophetic for pastors, Christian leaders, cross-cultural workers, and students in Asia.” Although the Bible can be studied for different reasons, we believe that it is given primarily for the edification of the Body of Christ (2 Tim 3:16–17). The ABC series is designed to help pastors in their sermon preparation, cell group leaders, lay leaders in their Bible study groups, and those training in seminaries or Bible schools.
Each commentary begins with an introduction that provides general information about the book’s author and original context, summarizes the main message or theme of the book, and outlines its potential relevance to a particular Asian context. The introduction is followed by an exposition that combines exegesis and application. Here, we seek to speak to and empower Christians in Asia by using our own stories, parables, poems, and other cultural resources as we expound the Bible.
The Bible is actually Asian in that it comes from ancient West Asia, and there are many similarities between the world of the Bible and traditional Asian cultures. But there are also many differences that we need to explore in some depth. That is why the commentaries also include articles or topics in which we bring specific issues in Asian church, social, and religious contexts into dialogue with relevant issues in the Bible. We do not seek to resolve every tension that emerges but rather to allow the text to illumine the context and vice versa, acknowledging that we do not have all the answers to every mystery.
May the Holy Spirit, who inspired the writers of the Bible, bring light to the hearts and minds of all who use these materials, to the glory of God and to the building up of the churches!
Federico G. Villanueva
General Editor
AUTHORS’ PREFACE
The letter to the Colossians is unusual in that it is addressed to a church that the apostle Paul did not found himself. The church in Colossae was apparently founded by someone named Epaphras, who had come to faith through Paul’s ministry. He was Epaphras, most likely from Ephesus and, went to Colossae to found and then pastor a Christian community in that city. However, when certain doctrinal errors began to surface, Epaphras appealed to the apostle Paul for help. Paul was in prison at the time – probably in Rome – but he wrote this letter in response to Epaphras’s call for help.
The doctrinal error in question related to Christology, and so, after the opening section of the letter, Paul concentrates on arguing the point that faith in Christ is adequate in itself and that there is no need for other requirements like asceticism, the worship of angels, or secret experiences of the deity. Then, in the second half of the letter, he draws out the