The Drama of Ephesians

In the book The Drama of Ephesians, Timothy Gombis classifies the letter to the Ephesians as a drama where God triumphs over the dark universal powers that oppose His purpose for creation. And Gombis understands the letter to the Ephesians not as a doctrinal treatise, but as a drama in which Paul portrays the powerful, reality-alerting, cosmos-transforming acts of God in Christ to redeem God’s world and save God’s people with their participation, all for the glory of His name. He also builds his perspective by exploring the Drama of Ephesians, mentioning the heavenly language of Ephesians and the cosmic dark powers that function against God’s kingdom purpose.

Summary of the Book 

Purpose of the Book: Gombis's purpose is to make the Church aware of the dark cosmic powers so that the Church can think rightly about spiritual warfare and understand its role. So, he directs the Church to live in this world with discernment and an awareness of these dark powers so they may resist the constant pull of the dark powers that leads to destructive patterns, hindering God’s redemptive drama. 

Church Participation: Gombis encourages the Church to develop and foster a pattern of life that can become performances of the redemptive power of God in the world. He also emphasizes the Church’s role in resisting the broader injustice system. He encourages the Church to pray for wisdom so that they can find creative pathways of renewal that are redemptive, and life-giving, and represent a return to shalom, which has been marred and hindered by dark cosmic powers. 

The mind of Christ: Gombis also stresses the opening of the letter to the Ephesians, which shapes and transforms the reality of God’s people. A call to help Jesus’ audience see that they are the people of God, renewed with a transformed imagination in Christ. This perspective then would help the Church truly inhabit the gospel characters, which is necessary because the Church must become a faithful and joyful cast of players to effectively participate in God’s drama of redemption. 

Spirit of Humility & Love: Further, Gombis appeals for the Church to participate justly in the drama to implement the message of Ephesians. According to Gombis, when the Church participates in this drama, they can’t apply modern methods of triumphing. Instead, they need to act with humble cruciform faithfulness like Jesus and Paul, who gave themselves for the sake of others. Gombis titles this as “Embodying God’s Victory as an Apostle.” Therefore, Gombis explains that the true spiritual warfare in this drama is not for the body of Christ to act superciliously, but rather, to participate with a humble and loving spirit. 

Cruciform Life: Gombis also highlights that the Church should not act as a militant group, but rather in a more helpful and redemptive way. Therefore, according to Gombis, the purpose of the Church in this spiritual drama is to embody God’s love in Christ. If the Church fails to do so, then God’s victory is diminished. Indeed, the Church should be a cross-shaped community, embodying the love, humility, and cruciform life of Jesus. 

Brief Evaluation

Gombis's perspective on the letter to the Ephesians in this book is clear and engaging. It serves as a refreshing view for the Church to participate with a humble spirit in God’s triumph over the dark cosmic powers. The exposition of the text is also rightly interpreted and appropriately woven. Gombis’s deep efforts are evident as he gives his theological reflection on the letter to the Ephesians. Spiritual insights for the Church are also highlighted in the context of spiritual warfare. 

Book Title: The title of this book, The Drama of Ephesians, may be very attractive to young Christians and may invite them to read and understand their role as the Church in the drama. However, for more mature Christians, the title may not be as appropriate because the Word of God should not be understood primarily from a dramatic perspective. Gombis should not strongly emphasize Ephesians as a drama. But certainly should not deny the letter as a doctrinal treatise either. The book of Ephesians should still be viewed from a doctrinal principal perspective shared by Paul for the Church, rather than solely from a dramatic perspective. However, if the author intends to convey the message creatively, there’s no theological error in that. 

Need for More Spiritual Warfare Insight: The perspective or understanding of spiritual warfare in this book is somewhat shallow. Gombis talks about winning this drama by being humble and living in a cruciform way, which is a great reminder and must be applied in every individual’s life because it’s a biblical truth. However, it would have been beneficial to expound more on what this looks like in our modern context. Becasue the Church still needs to know and comprehend more about spiritual warfare when they participate as gospel characters. For example, in Ephesians 6:11b, we read: “that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” We can pause here and reflect on what this verse means. And since Gombis's major focus in this book is on warfare, he should have expounded on verse 6:11b profoundly. 

When we look into this verse, certainly there are key patterns that are schemes of dark powers against the people of God: temptation, deception, condemnation, and accusation. Gombis skips these aspects in his book. So, it’s not enough to counter spiritual warfare by merely mentioning humility, love, or acting in a cruciform way. Many more spiritual disciplines need to be discussed so that the people of God can participate in spiritual warfare, fully equipped for a victorious living over dark powers. While all the Orthodox Evangelical believers would agree with Gombis that living in a cruciform manner is one of the most or even the complete, strategy against the agents of darkness. However, when Gombis continuously invites the people of God to live in this way, he must elaborate more so readers can grasp what he truly means. 

Additionally, Gombis neglects other spiritual truths that are important for the people of God to consider in spiritual warfare against dark cosmic powers. For instance, Gombis could have provided his perspective on Ephesians 2:3, where Paul talks about the “desires of the flesh and the mind.” Essentially, it’s a warning for the people of God to leave their old patterns of lifestyle, which are filled with the passions of fleshly desires. These desires, influenced by dark cosmic powers, affect the Church's effectiveness in God’s restoration plan. 

In scriptural context, the sins of the flesh, the world, and dark powers are not different classes of sin, but rather different aspects of sin, and the enemy uses them all in warfare. Gombis neglects this spiritual truth, making his perspective on spiritual warfare somewhat shallow. Gombis’s concern for the people of God to participate in God’s triumph and bring complete restoration in this broken world is a valid and important invitation. However, more emphasis is needed to reclaim this world holistically. 

Spiritual Issue of Steroids: Finally, I would say there are still many new and beneficial insights in this book for the Church. One aspect of the book that particularly caught my attention is Gombis’s emphasis on the usage of steroids in sports to enhance performance. I have always wanted to raise my voice in the Christian community to discourage the use of steroids in sports because it’s inappropriate. But when Gombis points out this doping issue from a spiritual warfare perspective, I understand that it’s not only inappropriate but something the Church should see as a spiritual warfare issue, as it is evil. Athletes are attempting to magnify themselves, catch people’s attention and make millions by exploiting their bodies. Certainly, dark powers are using this platform of drugs to violate the human body, which is the temple of God. A few people would look at this issue from a spiritual warfare perspective. Therefore, this is a relevant insight that Gombis has shared to raise awareness and discourage the use of drugs in sports. 

Conclusion‍ ‍

Gombis’s perspective on Ephesians is insightful. His invitation for the Church to participate in God’s triumph with a humble, cruciform spirit challenges and reminds the Church to play its role faithfully. This perspective should be shared with churches that are unaware or have forgotten their roles in spiritual warfare. However, considering that the author’s main intention is to address spiritual warfare, I believe there is a need for a deeper biblical and theological understanding of spiritual combat, which seems to be lacking in Gombis’s treatment of warfare against dark cosmic powers.