Power and Magic: The Concept of Power in Ephesians

by Clinton E. Arnold

"Power and Magic is one of those few books which literally cannot be ignored by any serious bible student. In fact, it makes the classical commentaries on Ephesians that I am familiar with virtually obsolete. Clinton Arnold has done us all a great favor by throwing vital new light on our understanding of what really motivated the Apostle Paul to write one of his most important epistles." Peter Wagner, Fuller Theological Seminary "This scholarly book is a valuable contribution to understanding the spiritual world we live in. Clinton Arnold helps us to understand Paul's message to the early church and consequently to the church at the end of twentieth century." Neil Anderson, Freedom in Christ Ministries "Power and Magic is one of the most helpful biblical teachings available on the subject. I know it will be helpful to any reader." John Wimber, Association of Vineyard Churches "I consider Power and Magic to be one of the most valuable books in my library. Arnold's research into the world view held by the inhabitants of the Greco-Roman world focusing on spiritual power is outstanding. I continually recommend this book to pastors, missionaries, seminary professors, students, and thoughtful Christians in all my seminars worldwide on spiritual warfare." Ed Murphy "I have found this book extremely enlightening and consistently biblical. Reading it is a definite must for those who wish to understand the biblical world view." Ed Silvoso, President, Harvest Evangelism

Genres: Christian, New Testament, Theology

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1997

About the author

Clinton Arnold (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is the Dean and Professor of New Testament Language and Literature at Talbot School of Theology.

Dr. Arnold enjoys teaching, speaking and writing on various aspects of the New Testament. He has had a special interest in the historical and cultural setting of the letters of Paul. He is currently serving as the Vice President of the Evangelical Theological Society. Arnold is the editor of the four-volume Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary for which he wrote commentaries on “Acts," "Ephesians” and “Colossians”. He is the general editor of the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament for which he has written the volume on “Ephesians.” Arnold has published in Christianity Today and was a regular columnist for Discipleship Journal. His research articles have appeared in such journals as New Testament Studies, Novum Testamentum, Journal for the Study of the New Testament and the Journal of Psychology and Theology. Arnold, his wife and three boys are vitally involved in their local church.

Reviews

[Anne Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I entered a bookshop not long ago and the owner asked me if I was looking for anything special. 'I don't know at the moment,' I told him. 'I'll only know it when I find it.' He knew just what I was talking about: the still small voice of a book that says, 'Pick me! Pick me!' even though you're not really interested in what it has to say.

This was one of those books. I glanced at it in a bookstore sometime last century and it was a case of 'resistance is futile'. I read it back last century and didn't get much out of it. It was way above my head.

But just recently, when I came to the conclusion that there were several layers of allusions in Paul's passage about the armour of God - some of which I discuss in God's Panoply including a series of puns on thresholds, a link to Psalm 85:10-11 based around the Hebrew thought that to put on armour is to kiss - it suddenly dawned on me that the density and richness of the allusions was too deep.

I spent a couple of weeks taking my personal library apart looking for this book. And I found it superb. Its discussion of the powers and the milieu of Ephesus filled in a lot that I was missing. It was so good I went out to buy several more of Clinton Arnold's books. And these, I have to say, are a much more accessible read. Power and Magic: The Concept of Power in Ephesians is based on Arnold's thesis and is thus very academic in tone. Whereas his other books, such as 3 Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare are comparatively easy to read.

[Mick Hyam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this incredibly helpful as I thought about the place of "the powers" in Ephesians. It is very easy to read (though uses the Greek with out translation at points) and provide helpful summaries at the end of each section.

For those interested in "spiritual warfare" this is a great an thoughtful text on the subject.

[Thomas Smyly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong argument for the influence of the Artemis cult, magical practices, and their correlation to the demonic “powers” in Ephesians.