From a team of more than 50 international scholars comes the 'Word Biblical Commentary'.

Its more that 60 volumes offer the best in critical scholarship firmly committed to the authority of Scripture as divine revelation.

Ephesians is widely held to be a profound yet enigmatic epistle. It provides a magnificent statement of the Pauline message of God's gracious salvation and the appropriate human response of a life of love, bringing to the fore the vital role of the church.

In the first, full-length, critical English commentary on the Greek text of Ephesians for a considerable time, Dr Andrew T. Lincoln offers new ways of appreciating the distinctiveness of this great epistle. Scholars will find in this commentary a rich use of recent advances in understanding in linguistic, historical, social, literarly, and theological areas in order to ilumine the contents of the letter. Its thought is set firmly in the context of the Jewish and Greco-Roman worlds of the New Testament.

Students and Preachers, and teachers will benefit from the combination of detailed exegesis and clear, readable overviews of the argument. They will be rewarded by the sympatheric yet critical attempt to set out and appropriate the theology and ethics of the letter. They will encounter new ways of looking at many of its well-known passages, eg. Gentile believers' relation to Israel in 2:11-22, marriage in 5:21.33, and the Christian warfare in 6:10-20.

There is a thorough and sensitive discussion of the issue of the letter's authorship and its close affinity to Colossians with positive conclusions about the letter's authoritative message. Among other topics treated in the Introduction are:

* cosmic Christology
* Christ-centred eschatolgy
* salvation as a completed event
* the church's relation to Judaism
* the church and the world
Ephesians

By focusing throughout the commentary on the persuasive power of the writer's discourse, Dr. Lincoln shows how Ephesians is an attempt to reinforce its reader's identities as participants in the church and to underscore their distinctive role and conduct in the world.

This also encourages contemporary readers to see how the epistle can transcend its original setting and maintain a broad appeal. As Dr. Lincoln claims, 'There will always be Christians in a variety of settings in need of inner strength, further knowledge of their salvation, greater appreciation of their identity as believers and as members of the church, increased concern for the church's unity, and more consistent living in such areas as speech, sexuality, and household relationships.'

This commentary, therefore has broad appeal and should prove to be a valuable and stimulating resource for all who wish to engage seriously with the message of Ephesians.