Colossians and Philemon
by Holly Beers
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Feb 25 2025 | Archive Date Mar 28 2025
Baker Academic & Brazos Press | Baker Academic
Talking about this book? Use #ColossiansandPhilemon #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!
Description
The Spirit who inspired the authors of the New Testament is at work today around the globe, as evidenced by the explosive growth of pentecostal, charismatic, and renewalist movements; the number of adherents is now estimated at more than half a billion.
The Word and Spirit Commentary on the New Testament meets the need for a balanced, affordable, and accessible commentary series aimed at Christians who identify as Spirit-filled.
Features include:
· Written by pastorally sensitive biblical scholars from the Spirit-filled tradition
· Paragraph-by-paragraph commentary
· Images, illustrations, and sidebars on pentecostal/charismatic/revival history or insights
· Engages biblical books in their ancient setting
· Emphasizes how we listen alongside ancient audiences for the Spirit's voice in our time and contexts
Series volumes explore how God works in the biblical texts and how Christians can expect God to work today, even if in new or culturally surprising ways. Series editors are Holly Beers, Westmont College, and Craig S. Keener, Asbury Theological Seminary.
Advance Praise
“A wonderfully readable initiation into the letters of Colossians and Philemon. Holly Beers is a trustworthy and winsome guide to the history, text, and theology of these New Testament letters. Her writing is fresh and insightful, warm and inviting. The accent on hearing the text within the pentecostal tradition is a welcome lens for understanding and contemplation.”—Jeannine K. Brown, Bethel Seminary, Saint Paul, Minnesota
“From the early days of Christianity, Spirit-filled followers of Jesus have understood the Bible as a book of power, not just a relic of history or a collection of sound advice. Holly Beers does more than recognize that fact; she lives, moves, and has her being in that reality. She speaks the language. She has created a series and written a commentary that emerge from a world infused with the Spirit. Well informed. Nuanced. And at times downright colloquial. A careful reader may feel the Spirit wind blowing across these pages.”—David B. Capes, director of academic programming, Lanier Theological Library
“Beers offers a clear and thoughtful exploration of Paul’s letters, balancing diverse interpretations while uncovering each passage’s core meaning. Drawing on textual nuances and insights from the pentecostal tradition, this commentary invites readers into a deeper engagement with Paul’s message of faith and discipleship for today.”—Rodolfo Galvan Estrada III, assistant professor of New Testament, Vanguard University
“Holly Beers brings two undervalued Pauline letters out of the shadows and reestablishes their contributions to God’s redemptive plan for humans and the renewal of creation. Beers establishes that in Colossians the ever-pastoral pastor Paul links his cosmic Christology to daily discipleship. In discussing Philemon, she extends Paul’s specific exhortation toward communal embodiment of restorative hospitality. Beers reminds readers that gospel-centered theology prepares a path for flourishing Christian relationships and communities.”—Martin Mittelstadt, professor of New Testament, Evangel University
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781540963864 |
| PRICE | $22.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 184 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Jennifer B, Reviewer
Such a great resource! Great insights!
I received a copy of this from NetGalley and all opinions are my own.
Olivia P, Reviewer
If you’re looking for a commentary that is both attentive to Greek Exegesis, but also the presence of the Spirit’s movement in the world, then this is an excellent option for you.
Insights on My lens for Reading:
My position on theology is rooted in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition, and I pastor in the Wesleyan Church. While I am not a Pentecostal scholar like Holly Beers, I deeply resonate with her position on the movement, power, and presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers. I guess we might say that in this, we are theological cousins.
I have also taught and developed college courses for Koine (Biblical) Greek. I deeply appreciate when studies of Scripture begin in the work of discerning how we can better understand the language used in the New Testament. This being said, I am also aware of how quickly this work of discernment can move away from the spiritual and into the clinical.
I tend to focus more on Johannine Literature in my work, but I love Colossians and Philemon as books for personal study and formation.
I also tend to favour social-scientific approaches to textual criticism and practical theology.
The Value of This Book:
This commentary was like drinking from a firehose.
While communicating important information about the world of Scripture, this commentary offers a reflective lens into the world of the reader as well. This book is a part of a series called the Word and Spirit Commentary on the New Testament (WSCNT), which is listed as a a non-technical commentary. As a pastorally-sensitive commentary, this felt accurate in many ways, and yet, it does not capture the full scope of this work.
It was arguably the most personal commentary that I have ever read. It emphasized language, interpretation, and practice that was reflexive and pastoral. Yet, all of this was accomplished while also attending richly to the exploration of Greek exegesis.
Throughout my academic career - as a student and as a professor - it has been emphasized that scholarly work is clinical and detached. There was no question that this commentary is rooted extremely well in the deep work of exegesis and theological reflection. Yet, the lens through which Beers writes is deeply personal, reflective, and invitational to the reader.
In this way, this commentary is very reminiscent of the work of Walter Brueggemann and his use of imagination in study.
Beers’ use of deeply personal language does not diminish the commentary in any way. Instead, this pattern invites the reader to connect their faith engagement and personal lives in the work of discernment. This challenges our expectations, and invites awareness to both our biases related to Scripture and the world in which we live.
The richest challenge of this commentary is in the vulnerability demanded of the reader.
This commentary uses section headings to explore specific ideas within the text as it relates to pericopes (sections) of Scripture. These headings include: Biblical Background, Pentecostal Interest, and Application.
In terms of specific reflections on the work of historical and biblical interpretation, there were a few key elements that I would like to highlight from this work:
Beers provides an excellent background of Scripture - especially in relation to the historical understanding of slavery
There is an extremely solid list of recommended resources and an excellent bibliography to draw from for future study
There is a compelling discussion of Colossians 1:28 & 3:16 - and how it calls Christians to interact with one another
The discussion of love as a command to husbands as an “addition by Paul to the basic format of the household code” was an important framework to offer for the modern reader.
Holly Beers and Craig S. Keener are the Series Editors for WSCNT.
Ideally, this book is suited for individuals who are in any (or all) of the following categories of readers:
Individuals who are Pentecostal scholars
Individuals who are currently pastoring or involved in ministry at some level (whether that is in vocational ministry, in the marketplace, or at home)
Individuals looking for a refreshing approach to biblically rooted commentary
Individuals starting out in ministry - and seeking to better understand the intersection of Scripture, Ministry, and Practice
