Power and Magic: The Concept of Power in Ephesians

Power and Magic is a great read!!! The author describes how the 1st century Christian read the letter to the Ephesiansand ancient concepts found in the letter, allowing the contemporary Christian a powerful approach to applying the letter.Wonderful read!!! Highly recommended!!!

We are in a strange time filled with evil power and magic. The One True God is in control. Praise our Lord Jesus Christ, the redeemer.

very deep read on Ephesians. better for a person who also reads Greek. I would have gotten more out of it if I could

The nature, purpose and contents of the epistle Ephesians have been variably hypothesized . Beare , Martin and Goodspeed , theorize Ephesians as a comprehensive summary of Pauline theology. Dahl understands Ephesians to be addressing disunity in the church, calling the church back to its beginning to remind them that they share in the privileges God has granted to them all. Many regard it as an anti-heretical tract against Gnostic tendencies, with the author employing Gnostic language and thought to provide a point of contact with the readers. Others point out parallels to the language and theology in the Dead Sea Scrolls of the Qumran community. Ephesians has also been suggested as a liturgical document, perhaps for specific events like baptism, the Eucharist, or Pentecost.In contrast to the above, Arnold suggests that the "life setting" or circumstances behind Ephesians was the need of "a group of churches in western Asia Minor needing help in developing a Christian perspective on the "powers" and encouragement in their ongoing struggles with these pernicious spirit-forces." (p. 167). Ephesus bore the reputation of being a center for magical practices widely influential in Greco-Roman culture, with its patron goddess Artemis (a.k.a. Diana) being claimed as a "cosmic" goddess of the underworld superior to the alleged power of any other deity, astrological fate and evil spirits. This "life situation" would sufficiently explain the prominence of the power-motif in Ephesians - that God's power working on behalf of the believers is juxtaposed to the might of the "powers" of evil working against believers -- as a primary theme to address its recipients' strong belief and fear of the demonic realm.This theme has six key points:First, God's power's superiority and Christ's supremacy have been demonstrated especially in Christ's resurrection from the dead and his exaltation to a preeminent position. , , This message would bring great comfort to the Christians. There is no longer any reason to fear the tyrannical evil "powers" in light of the superior power of God the Father, who brings about all things in accordance with his will through Christ.Second, the believer now has access to God's power , through having been transplanted from one sphere of power into another.Third, God's people are brought onto the closest-possible union with their resurrected and exalted Lord., such that the believers are already co-resurrected and co-exalted with Christ. Christ and the Holy Spirit indwell in each believer, providing him/her with strengthening and making them sharers of the divine power to be appropriated through faith.Fourth, There exists an evil spiritual order led by "the prince of the authority of the air" (Ephesians 2:2), who wields an enslaving influence over the pagan world , leading people into disobedience and sin . While all these evil forces still retain a large measure of their power, their authority and sway has been effectively broken by Christ's resurrection and exaltation. Hence, all who are "in Christ" need not succumb to the authority of the "powers". At the consummation, these powers will be completely subjected by Christ.Fifth, Believers are admonished to take up a resistant stance, by appropriating God's power to withstand these forces' vicious attacks.Sixth, God's supernatural power imparted to believers has others in view, whereas the pagan magical practices have almost exclusively the practitioner's self-centered interest in view. God's power strengthens the believer to love, after Christ's pattern. This love's rigorous responsibility requires divine enablement.The above perspective suggests that Ephesians needs not primarily be a response to cosmic speculation such as an anachronistic and dubious first-century Gnosticism. The cosmic "powers" can be better explained by the folk-religion's evident involvement in the demonic realm. Ephesians could be addressing the felt needs of common people in churches of western Asia Minor, who perceived themselves as oppressed by the demonic realm. Ephesians' distinctive accentuation of cosmic Christology" and "realized eschatology" was thus motivated by the author's pastoral intention of admonishing the readers to depend completely on Christ in their struggle against the forces of evil.

This review was first posted at[...]I would like to thank Wipf and Stock for providing this review copy.Clinton Arnold is professor of New Testament language and literature at Talbot School of Theology and author of the Ephesians volume in the ZEC series of which he is also the editor.This volume is reprint of Arnold's 1986 dissertation at the University of Aberdeen. The thesis of the book is easily determined by the title, it is simply an explanation of the `power' language in Ephesians including Christ's power over the powers and authorities that is seen throughout the book.The first chapter in the volume surveys the Greco-Roman religious practices and beliefs that were common in Asia Minor, with special emphasis on the city of Ephesus in the first century. Here, Arnold explores the presence of Gnosticism and the cult of Artemis. In addition, Arnold also argues for the special place of Ephesus in the religious life of Asia Minor as the center of pagan worship in that area. Next, Arnold turns to how the powers are presented in Ephesians. After surveying the history of scholarship on the role of the spiritual powers in the New Testament, referencing Dibelius, Wink, Carr and others. Then Arnold examines a number of texts where the powers are discussed (1.10,1.15-23, 2.2, 3.10, 3.14, 4.8-10, 6.10-20). This then ends with a summary on the Ephesian teaching on powers. The next section turns to how God has empowered believers in Ephesians to stand against the powers. Here, the relationship between Christ and the believer's power is very well understood. The fifth chapter describes the conflict of the powers with Christ and the Church. The final section reviews some important theological topics within the book of Ephesians following the understanding of the powers laid out here, including Christology, election, humanity, the New Creation, eschatology, salvation and ecclesiology. The text ends with a conclusion chapter, bibliography, and author and passage indices.This book is excellent all around. It really laid the foundation for the best of current Ephesians scholarship and I do not think Gombis could have progressed in this understanding without this monumental effort by Arnold. The two critiques that I would mention are simply technical. First, while this is a reprint it is still based on a dissertation and a number of the things that make reading a dissertation tiresome remain. In addition, the volume uses end notes at the end of the book instead of footnotes, which always hurts the ease of reading.

Arnold provides a wealth of material for the student working in Ephesians. This book establishes the basis for a novel (as in "new") rationale for the letter to the Ephesians. The evidence presented is well documented. This reviewer finds Arnold's arguments both convincing and relevant.This book is not designed for popular consumption. It is a scholarly treatise and uses terms that are familiar to New Testament researchers. However, anyone with interests in Ephesians, the cultural situation, the religious influences in Asia-minor, or in magic practices of antiquity, would benefit from this book.

A development of Dr. Arnold's doctoral thesis this is a valuable insight into the teaching and background of first Century Ephesus. It's relevance for today is unmistakable and can been seen in modern day mis-beliefs (my own word but I think you know what I mean). A valuable book for a thoroughly biblical perspective about the practices of the misguided both then and now!

Great book! It's filled with thought provoking content and a must read for any Intercessor. My only wish was that I could read Greek (the author often refers to the original Greek text but provides little to no interpretation for those words)