The Expositor's Bible: The Epistles of St. Paul to the Colossians and Philemon

Alexander Maclaren was one of the great Victorian preachers, a man whose sermons combined the precision of exact scholarship with the fire of genuine spiritual passion. This volume, drawn from his monumental "Expositions of Holy Scripture," offers his treatment of two of Paul's most distinctive epistles. The letter to the Colossians receives extended treatment as Maclaren unpacks Paul's triumphant assertion of Christ's supremacy against a backdrop of early heresies that blended Jewish ritual with Eastern mysticism. Here is Paul's great Christological declaration: the fullness of God dwelling in Christ, the head of the church, the firstborn of all creation. Maclaren guides readers through Paul's warning against empty philosophy and human tradition, showing why this ancient letter remains urgently relevant. The companion epistle to Philemon offers something different: a masterful, tender exposition of the personal letter concerning the runaway slave Onesimus, where Maclaren reveals the profound implications of the gospel for human relationships. This is devotional theology at its finest, where careful exegesis serves the higher purpose of spiritual formation.