The Prison Epistles: Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon

by Farley, Lawrence R.

• ISBN13: 9781888212525
• ISBN10: 1888212527
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-09-01
• Publisher: Conciliar Pr

Summary

From the depths of a Roman prison, words of encouragement and instruction from the great Apostle Paul were sent in a series of letters to communities throughout the Roman Empire. St. Paul may have been fettered and shackled to a series of Roman guards, but the Word he preached remained unfettered and free.This volume contains commentaries on the epistles that St. Paul wrote while in prison to the Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon.About the Orthodox Bible Study Companion Series:This commentary was written for your grandmother. And for your plumber, your banker, and the girl who serves you French Fries at the nearby McDonald's. That is, it was written for the average layperson, for the nonprofessional who feels a bit intimidated by the presence of copious footnotes, long bibliographies, and all those other things which so enrich the lives of academics. It is written for the pious Orthodox layman who is mystified by such things as Source Criticism, but who nonetheless wants to know what the Scriptures mean.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 9
Key to the Format of This Work	p. 13
The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Philippians: St. Paul in Philippi	p. 15
Opening Greetings (1:1, 2)	p. 19
Opening Thanksgiving--for support in his imprisonment (1:3-8)	p. 21
Opening Prayer--for their growth despite his imprisonment (1:9-11)	p. 24
Good News from Prison--a reason for rejoicing (1:12-26)	p. 25
Exhortation to Unity--a comfort to St. Paul while in prison (1:27-2:18)	p. 32
Future Planned Visits (2:19-30)	p. 43
Warnings Against False Teachers (3:1-4:1)	p. 47
Final Personal Admonitions (4:2-9)	p. 58
Added Final Thanksgiving for Their Gift (4:10-22)	p. 62
Concluding Blessing (4:23)	p. 65
The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians: St. Paul in Ephesus	p. 67
Opening Greetings (1:1, 2)	p. 71
Opening Thanksgiving--for God's salvation in Christ (1:3-14)	p. 72
Opening Prayer--for them to know this glorious salvation (1:15-23)	p. 80
Their Glorious Salvation (2:1-3:13)	p. 84
Saved while God's enemies (2:1-10)	p. 84
Saved while strangers to God's covenant (2:11-22)	p. 88
Paul now their servant of this mystery of salvation (3:1-13)	p. 95
Prayer for Them to Mature into the Love of Christ (3:14-21)	p. 100
Exhortation to Mature into the Love of Christ (4:1-6:9)	p. 105
Maturity of unity (4:1-16)	p. 105
Maturity of putting on love (4:17-5:2)	p. 117
Maturity of shunning darkness for light (5:3-21)	p. 124
Maturity of living together in family (5:22-6:9)	p. 130
Exhortation to Stand Fast in Conflict with Darkness (6:10-20)	p. 137
Final Personal News (6:21-23)	p. 142
Concluding Blessing (6:24)	p. 143
The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Colossians: The Church at Colossae	p. 145
Opening Greetings (1:1, 2)	p. 149
Opening Thanksgiving--for their faith, love, and hope (1:3-8)	p. 150
Opening Prayer--for them to know God's will and be strengthened to persevere (1:9-12)	p. 152
The Cosmic Christ and His Salvation (1:13-23)	p. 154
St. Paul Their Servant of This Mystery (1:24-29)	p. 163
Warning Against Gnostic Heresy (2:1-3:4)	p. 168
Exhortation to Holiness (3:5-4:1)	p. 180
Putting off the old life (3:5-11)	p. 180
Putting on the new life (3:12-17)	p. 183
Living together in family (3:18-4:1)	p. 187
Final Admonitions (4:2-6)	p. 189
Final Personal News and Greetings (4:7-17)	p. 193
Concluding Blessing (4:18)	p. 199
The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to Philemon: Slavery in the Ancient World	p. 201
Opening Greetings (1-3)	p. 207
Opening Thanksgiving (4-7)	p. 208
Appeal for Onesimus (8-22)	p. 209
Final Greetings (23, 24)	p. 215
Concluding Blessing (25)	p. 216
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