The epistle to the Ephesians is about a dynamic community. Such a community is what stands behind the writing of this commentary. I taught this epistle in a basic exegesis course at Dallas Theological Seminary for well over twenty years. The interaction with students and their enthusiasm to get serious about the study of the Greek text kept this study from becoming old. My thanks go to the many students who taught me much as we discussed this letter, as well as to the New Testament Department where I have served for more than thirty-five years. These are some of the best colleagues one could spend a career working alongside.
I also must express appreciation to my team past and present at the Hendricks Center. My more recent work on cultural engagement has sought to encourage the application of much of what this letter calls for from believers. So my thanks go to Bill Hendricks, Pam Cole, Kymberli Cook, Amanda Stidham, Mikel Del Rosario, Heather Zimmerman and Carol Rosell, all of whom have taught me much about faith in practice. Special thanks go to Peter Green, who read over this manuscript and made many helpful observations about it in terms of content and clarity. I have used the New English Translation (net) or Revised Standard Version (rsv) in most cases. In other places, the translation is my own.
I am grateful for the invitation of Eckhard Schnabel to participate in this series and for giving me the choice to work on this great epistle. It was a risk on his part to let this mostly Jesus and Gospels person work on a piece from Paul.
Once again, I must thank my wife of well over forty years, Sally Bock. She has been a great life partner and during these years has experienced many an hour when I have been at my computer working on one commentary or another.
So I offer this treatment of a wonderful short epistle whose impact far outweighs its length. No words are adequate to summarize its content and value, but perhaps this commentary will encourage its readers to the good works God prepared beforehand by his grace that we might walk in them (Eph. 2:10).
Darrell L. Bock