Even though it was written some two millennia ago, Ephesians still speaks to Christians today in themes quite familiar to the modern reader. In a context where the church had become overwhelmingly, if not exclusively, Gentile, the Christian community needed to be reminded of the priority of Israel and the astonishing work of reconciliation that God willed to accomplish in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This new volume in the highly acclaimed New Testament Library series reveals the great theological promises of Ephesians while discussing issues of context, authorship, and style.

In this book Fowl examines the role played by three poetic texts, Phil. 2.6-11, Col. 1.15-20, and 1Tim. 3.16 in the arguments of their epistles. Rather than functioning as criteria of christological orthodoxy, these poetic narrations of Christ's person and work are used by Paul to support various ethical positions. For Paul and the Christians he addresses, these stories of Christ are exemplars for the life and practice of the church.

No one purposefully chooses to become an idolater. No one consciously abandons the living Godto fall prey to a pantheon of earthly gods. Yet idolatry has a way of subtly seeping intothe cracks ofhuman life. In Idolatry , Stephen E. Fowl explores how believers lapse into idolatry, a process he insists is much different from the decision of those who have rejected belief in God. He asserts thatthe Old Testament's account of Israel's idolatry as dramatic folly and betrayal describes the after effects of idolatry, not the process of how believers lapse into idolatry. Idolatry is a process of slowly diverting love and attention away from the one true God andtowardfalse gods. Fowl identifies the various habits, practices, and dispositions that can lead to this process, using Scripture to demonstrate different ways believers become inclined to idolatry. He first turns to Deuteronomy to show how to combat idolatry by remembering the grace of God.He then examines Ephesians and Colossians to demonstrate how the suggested practices of thanksgiving and gratitude can serve as the antidotes to idolatrous greed. He looks to 1 John to find the love that casts out the fear andinsecurity that the books of Kings, Isaiah, and Luke name as the forerunners of idolatry. Finally, he examines curiosity, traditionally considered a vice, and how it turns believers toward idols unless it is countered by an undistracted focus on Jesus. Idolatry looms over believers in a world overflowing with false gods, but Fowl offershope. By diagnosingand definingthe root causes of idolatry beforetheseinitial temptations become precipitated actions, Christians learn to navigate a worldlittered withfalse idols to live abundantly with the onetrue God.

In this guide Stephen E. Fowl introduces students to both theological fruit and critical issues of the letter to the Ephesians. On the theological front, Fowl shows how Ephesians offers an unparalleled cosmic vision of the significance of the death and resurrection of Jesus, of the role of heavenly powers in the universe, and of how the community of Christians is to engage with those powers. Fowl also opens up the major identity questions Ephesians shows existed for early Christians: how to conceive the relationship of Gentiles with the Jews from among whom their faith emerged, and how to live as a Christian within households ordered on patriarchal lines while not capitulating to patriarchy. On the critical front, Fowl provides an introduction to the key critical questions and issues, such as whether this letter was actually written to a church in Ephesus, and whether Paul the apostle was indeed the author of the letter. Yet, whilst there are demanding linguistic, historical and cultural questions to be answered, Fowl is careful to point out that this should not be done at the expense of reading the text closely and appreciating its meaning and message.

'Forty years of Biblical Studies at Sheffield provide cause for celebration and this book is an excellent expression of it ... There is a good balance between Old Testament and New Testament ... There are eighteen essays in the book altogether...all highly readable and informative. Sheffield is to be congratulated on its forty years, on this self-provided Festschrift, and more generally, on its phenomenal contribution to publishing in the biblical field.' (W.D. Stacey, Journal of Theological Studies)>

Description: Christians have been interpreting Scripture with an aim of deepening their life with God and each other from the very beginning of the church. The past twenty years or so have witnessed an explosion of scholarly writing devoted to the theological interpretation of Scripture. Stephen Fowl, as an active participant in and contributor to the burgeoning literature, has written an ideal companion for guests at the ""large and somewhat chaotic party,"" introducing them to important people, texts, and issues. The companion explores some of the connections between the long-running and essential Christian practice of theological interpretation and the more recent body of scholarly literature. Ultimately, the companion hopes to encourage readers to join the party in their own right. Endorsements: ""Steve Fowl has been both a pioneer and a leader in the return to theological interpretation. In this concise book, he offers us a truly theological and ecclesial account of theological interpretation. It is an inspiring, liberating, and practical work, encouraging all Christians to interpret Scripture so as to find our proper end in ever-deeper communion with God and one another in anticipation of the fullness of God's reign."" --Michael J. Gorman, author of Reading Paul (Cascade Books) and Inhabiting the Cruciform God ""In this brief companion we find a focused, clear account of major themes in Steve Fowl's approach as well as gracious interaction with the work of others and numerous illustrative appeals to Scripture itself. This is definitely a case in which less is more: attention to this little book will prove very fruitful for engagement in biblical interpretation as a theological practice."" --Daniel J. Treier, author of Introducing Theological Interpretation of Scripture: Recovering a Christian Practice ""Fowl here plays the role not only of companion but guide and host in this clear and compelling introduction to the most important turn-of-the-twentieth-century development in biblical interpretation. He argues that Christian readers should interpret the Bible with an overriding interest in God's interest in using the Bible to promote communion. He practices what he preaches: he is generous towards those with whom he disagrees and gives fair descriptions of other approaches to theological interpretation."" --Kevin J. Vanhoozer, general editor of the Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible ""Stephen E. Fowl's latest, Theological Interpretation of Scripture, displays gems in the treasure trove of the new-yet-venerable task: reading the Bible as Scripture of the Church. Fowl helps us to think theologically about reading Christian Scripture as the living voice of God. Fowl invites us into a 'cocktail party' with his conversation partners in this renewal of reading sacra scriptura for the Church's life and witness. Entirely accessible, thoroughly convincing, with a sense of adventure and hope. May his tribe increase --Rev. Kathryn Greene-McCreight, author of Galatians in the Brazos Theological Commentary Series (forthcoming). About the Contributor(s): Stephen E. Fowl is the Chair of the Department of Theology at Loyola College in Maryland. He is the author of several books, including Engaging Scripture: A Model for Theological Interpretation (Wipf & Stock, 2008); Reading in Communion: Scripture and Ethics in Christian Life (with L. Gregory Jones; Wipf & Stock, 1998); and the Two Horizons commentary on Philippians.

This original essay will be of interest to all those concerned with the inter-relationships between theology and the Bible.

Theological interpretation of the Bible is key to the health and vitality as well as the belief and practice of the church. Just how it is done has been the subject of much discussion and debate over the centuries. In "Reading Scripture with the Church, " four leading biblical scholars make the case for theological interpretation. Each author is given the opportunity to interact with the other three, and all four interact with premodern, modern, and postmodern approaches to biblical interpretation. This is an important book for pastors, teachers, and other serious students of the Bible who will be motivated to embrace the task of interpreting the Bible with greater energy, caution, and precision.

In this fine new commentary on Paul's letter to the Philippians, Stephen Fowl notes that for the great premodern commentators of the Christian tradition, the literal sense of Scripture is always regulated by theological concerns. Thus, unlike commentaries that simply append theology to historical criticism, Fowl's volume displays disciplined attention to the text of Philippians in ways that enhance rather than frustrate theological inquiry.

While Fowl engages the great scholars of the past, John Chrysostom and Thomas Aquinas among them, he also draws a novel theology of friendship from Paul's letter and unpacks how the teachings of Philippians might be embodied today by Christians in the West.