The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians

Bruce’s exquisite commentary is packaged together with Colossians and Philemon. Therefore, the section on Ephesians is rather brief, but I recommend owning every commentary Bruce has written! His historical knowledge is encyclopedic and his theological insight often incisive. He is from an earlier generation, so his work does not engage the latest debates and controversies (e.g., Paul and politics). [Full Review]

Not Bruce's finest work. But Bruce at less than his best is still reliable. I'm not too sad to see McKnight and Cohick breaking up the three epistles into separate volumes. This volume is good, but I think Joel Green made the right call to have this volume replaced. It moved the conversation forward at the time of its publication, but much more can be done. This volume is far less comprehensive than others in the series, in part because all three epistles are being covered in too little space.

Bruce’s contribution to the NICNT is a substantial work that covers not only Ephesians, but Colossians and Philemon as well. From what I have read, there is a consider fall-off in quality between the first three recommendations and those that follow, so this volume is probably more of a luxury than a necessity. [Full Review]

Bruce’s contribution to the NICNT is a substantial work that covers not only Ephesians, but Colossians and Philemon as well. From what I have read, there is a consider fall-off in quality between the first three recommendations and those that follow, so this volume is probably more of a luxury than a necessity. [Full Review]

What Bruce does, he does very well. His style is excellent, and his interaction with other sources is good (though now dated). He understands and explains the text. His lexical and textual notes are worthwhile. What Bruce does not do is extensive grammatical/literary analysis. For this type of analysis, you must look elsewhere. I am thrilled to see that David W. Pao is releasing a Colossians commentary this year, which hopefully will fulfill this need.

I've read Bruce's comments on Colossians and Ephesians. I wouldn't really recommend this volume as all that helpful if you're looking to get a lot out of the text. What Bruce does well is cross-reference each verse to the rest of Paul's writings. He doesn't, however, do literary analysis or application very well at all.

There are certain authors whose work serious students of Scripture should go out of their way to read. F.F. Bruce is one of those authors. Before his death, he wrote on as astounding variety of subjects, covering all aspects of biblical studies. Among these works were a number of commentaries on various books of the Bible. His commentary on Colossians and Philemon is a perfect example of his unique combination of scholarship and readability. [Full Review]

F.F. Bruce was one of the last generation's most prolific evangelical authors. He wrote numerous commentaries and other works, and I have personally benefited from everything that I have read by him. His commentary on Ephesians is in a volume that also contains his commentaries on Colossians and Philemon, so it is not as thorough as some of the commentaries mentioned above, but Bruce is always worth consulting. [Full Review]

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