| Title | : | Alive in Him: How Being Embraced by the Love of Christ Changes Everything |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1433549778 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781433549779 |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 192 |
| Publication | : | First published March 1, 2017 |
Alive in Him: How Being Embraced by the Love of Christ Changes Everything Reviews
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C.S. Lewis said it well. Theologically, we often resemble little kids, happy to live in the ignorance of mud pies because we’ve never stood on the sandy boundary that slopes into oceanic depths. This is a critique with teeth, and it bites. But sometimes we need to be told to theologically grow up (Heb. 5:11–14).
But Lewis’s aim is to awaken us to greater and more glorious things than we have ever seen before, to see new oceanic depths in Scripture, for those willing to push out into deeper water by asking questions over things like God’s glory as the purpose of creation, and what it means that Christ as the first-born from the dead, and the re-creator of all things. And what does it look like for me to participate in God’s kingdom today?
What the Bible tells us is that “God is about to do a big world event and not just a big *individual* event — a cosmic thing and not just a heart thing. What happens when God comes is not going to be grapeshot; it is going to be nuclear, a kind of explosion, a reshaping of the earth” (Bruner). The resurrection of Christ ignited “a cosmic shockwave” of something more to come (NTW).
But this cosmic theology is also a hard sell for readers today. Self-help, felt needs, lifehackery, solutions to all the immediate demands of life dominate our attention, even digital distractions meant to tickle our amusements — all of these aims seem to drive the popular book publishing and viral memes of our day. But as Christians we know there are higher and greater priorities at work in the competing powers in unseen realms.
All of this is why I am THRILLED to commend this book.
Gloria Furman celebrates the ocean-deep theology of Ephesians, Paul’s most important letter in describing the far-reaching, cosmic consequences and Christ-victory sermon of our rather routine activities that comprise most of our daily lives. Or as Furman puts it: “We live our lives on a cosmic stage” (57). YES! Once you see this, and embrace it with a whole heart, everything else changes, too. Then you see the Christ-centered plan of God to reclaim lost sinners and fallen creation.
She writes: “Because of Jesus there is a ‘new creation order’ in effect from the highest echelon of the angelic order in heaven to the lowliest invertebrate growing in the deepest part of the deepest ocean” (19). But Furman — taking her queues from the Apostle Paul’s development in Ephesians — takes this cosmic victory, and the coming re-creation, and then works the victory back into daily life, shining a spotlight on the newfound glory of our everyday obedience.
“Jesus is about his business of redeeming all things and making all things new,” Gloria writes — “from the way a wife trusts her husband’s leadership, to the way a husband lays down his comfort for the sake of his wife; from the way a believing child relinquishes her opinion to follow mom and dad, to the way parents choose to be gentle and patient toward their kids instead of rude and exasperating; from the way a worker honors his boss at work, to the way supervisors generously give their employees everything they need plus more. These acts of submission are not for the sake of mere efficiency in light of the motherland, but they are the tiny mustard seeds of Christ’s kingdom, which is growing as its branches spread throughout the whole earth” (148–149).
The nuclear re-creation of the cosmos to come is now breaking out in atomic pinlights of daily actions of God’s new creations (those of us united to Christ).
It’s hard for me to express in a short space how well Gloria has captured the heart of Paul in Ephesians. J.I. Packer voices his excitement in the foreword (with gushing prose). I’d simply like to add my small voice to his. *Alive in Him* is a magnificently executed study of Ephesians for all of life — and easily one of the top five Christian books of 2017. -
"Alive in Him" is a thematic study of Ephesians. Rather than studying Ephesians verse-by-verse, the author took a section at a time and explored its theme. She assumed you will read the text in your Bible before reading this book. The first half is about what Christ has accomplished through the cross, and the second half is about how we can walk in the light of that reality. I liked how she pulled verses in from other parts of the Bible to help us better understand the points made in Ephesians.
While the author is very enthusiastic about the topics covered, this is a dense book as she didn't use many stories to illustrate her points. I normally prefer this style, but there were times I'd have to re-read sentences and was still left unsure exactly what she meant. It sounded profound but needed more or clearer explanation. Overall, though, I enjoyed this study of Ephesians.
I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. -
First sentence: In the cult classic film Back to the Future, teenager Marty McFly travels back in time and interacts with people in the 1950s. When Marty begins to understand the potential repercussions of his time travel exploits, he says that it’s “heavy.” His friend Doc, confused by the colloquial phrase from the future, asks, “Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the earth’s gravitational pull?” Doc is awestruck by the idea that something as fundamental to life as gravity could be an entirely different experience for people in the future. The irony in the script, of course, is that Doc is also thinking about something that is “heavy.”
Premise/plot: Gloria Furman's Alive In Him is a study on the book of Ephesians. The book covers each chapter in the book of Ephesians. The goal is not so much to overwhelm the reader with commentary--with insights big and little--for every single verse. The goal is to strengthen and encourage readers to pick up the Bible for themselves to TASTE AND SEE how good God is. The book offers highlights from the book of Ephesians. (Meatier than a movie trailer, perhaps, but not the movie itself.)
My thoughts: I love that she keeps the Bible the main thing. Early on, she writes: "When we hold the Bible in our hands, we are holding a book of unfathomable significance and authority because it is God’s Word. Our ability to acknowledge this fact is evidence of God’s mercy in our lives. Our Creator does not owe us anything; it is benevolence of infinite kindness that God would speak to us and to do so in such a way that we might understand. Living wholeheartedly according to his Word, as we are well aware, requires a powerful work of grace that comes from the almighty God himself."
I definitely enjoyed reading this one. And, yes, it did make me hungry to read the book of Ephesians again. It made me excited. But it also made me think. For example, when she writes: "Not only do we need to be individually on guard against believing false doctrine, but we need to watch out for one another. The adversary’s lies affect my brother and sister, and because they are joined to me and I to them, those lies affect me as well. I care deeply whether my sister is being carried away by winds of false doctrine through the pages of the latest chart-topping, so-called Christian book. I care deeply whether my brother is being tossed to and fro by the waves of the so-called prosperity gospel. Ephesians teaches us that each of us has a self-interest in the discernment of our brothers and sisters, because self actually refers to all of us—we are one body. The whole church must stand against the schemes of the Devil (Eph. 6:11)."
Favorite quotes:At the moment of our conversion we were altered at the very core of our being. The life of Christ is now in us.
I am always excited to remind brothers and sisters of this profound truth: there is no such thing as a boring “born-again birth story.” If you have been redeemed out of the kingdom of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of God’s Son, then your salvation was planned before time in the council of the triune Godhead. Any rescue that required the blood of the perfect Lamb of God and was planned by the Trinity could never be a boring rescue.
So we behold the glory of God in his rich mercy and his great love, but to what end? Why? We hang onto the “But God” of the gospel by faith through grace, because in that gospel we trace the echo back to the source of all things. We find Joy himself. And O, what kindness we have been shown by God in Christ Jesus! For we were not even looking for him when he found us. Our deadness is interrupted by rich mercy, and we are raised to life in the throes of un-looked-for upheavals of joy. This kind of tasting and seeing of God’s goodness tells us that there is more to life than what we can taste and see. Then we become hungry for more and more of it. And our eyes will not stop searching the horizon of eternity, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Beloved who promised that he would return for his bride. In the meantime, until his longed-for appearing, we wait. And in our waiting we live. We live! First, we are granted the mercy of living outside the garden of Eden even though we had been dead in our sin. Second, God’s grace sees to it that those who are “in Christ” are made alive together with Christ (v. 5). The soul is raised to life; we are raised up with Christ and seated with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (v. 6).
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This book can be described as a collection of devotional thoughts on the main themes of Ephesians. There are eight chapters which covers the six chapters of Ephesians. Furman doesn't really discuss the details of Ephesians, such as the historical background, grammar, or syntax, but she does talk about the bigger themes in the book.
There are a lot of positive things about this book. First, Furman uses a lot of scripture. Which I always appreciate when reading christian books -- not just full opinions. Second, her enthusiasm and passion for Ephesians is obvious in her writing. She has a passion for this book and wants to share it. Third, she seems very sincere. I have no doubt she loves Jesus wholeheartedly.
But from the very start, the introduction seems like she took one big breath and then spoke all the words she wrote as fast as she could. Throughout the book it feels like language gets in the way. She uses large million dollar words when a simpler word would work better.
I actually found it quite hard to get into the book because of the writing style; I had to read many sentences two or three times to understand them. Would rate 3 out of 5. -
I absolutely adored this book, and actually found myself in tears at points. This is an absolutely beautiful overview of Ephesians, and is packed full of scripture. It is one I will be purchasing to add to my personal library, and expect to read again and again.
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I appreciate her wisdom and the way she graciously but boldly says things that many might be afraid to write (like not abandoning the church Christ loves and died for to go off on our own "personal spiritual journey"). But most of all, I love that she continually points us back to the text (it's best read with your Bible open too) and ties Ephesians in with the greater narrative of Scripture. A very encouraging book.
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Adding to the shelf! A great, compelling exposition on the book of Ephesians. While I can understand why others may view it as dry, I thought the content was appropriate for Furman's goal of explaining the text of Paul's letter. The length was just right for the depth of Furman's writing. With plenty of other Biblical cross-references, Alive In Him does an excellent job of tying Paul's message into the larger New Testament context.
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I wish Ms Furman would write a book about every book of the Bible because reading her books makes me excited about reading the Bible and following Christ in a way that many other books fall short. And this book has its foundation in scripture, not post-modern, post-Christian, post-truth philosophies.
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41. A book endorsed by J. I. Packer*
I really enjoyed this one! It is so full of truth and was a joy to read. I feel like we just scratched the surface. I definitely recommend this one.
* VT Reading Challenge
https://www.challies.com/resources/th... -
This is an excellent guidebook to the book of Ephesians. Read the Word, study it, and then use this to help bring sense to some of your questions. Gloria Furman does an excellent job of writing about deep theological truths in a way that is understandable and helpful. She uses scripture to interpret scripture and uses real-life stories to help explain the text.
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Though "Alive in Him" is not in Bible-study-format, I feel as if I just finished an in-depth study. Furman offers helpful illustrations which helped me to understand Ephesians better. It is a quick read, but I found myself pondering each chapter bringing up the content while talking with friends.
As someone who is part of an international church attended by people from numerous countries, cultures, languages, and backgrounds, I especially appreciated her chapters on the beauty and diversity of the church. Here is one of my favorite quotes:
"A motley crew of racist, sin-sick, spiritual zombies is now one body under Christ. And individually they are new creations walking in humility, gentleness, and patience. They lean in to all the creative Word-filled, Spirit-given gifts in order to build up one another. See how they love one another! Together, the life of Jesus is being progressively manifested in the flesh of this mortal body, the church (2 Cor. 4:11). We walk in a manner worthy of our calling - a bridal march unlike the world has ever seen." -
Great commentary on a personal level. Loved connecting the dots with Gloria Forman.
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This is an encouraging introductory commentary on the book of Ephesians.
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In Alive In Him, Gloria Furman will clearly define the purpose of the letter that the apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, how it applies to us, and what we are supposed to do with it. It was a wonderful read, and definitely made to be used alongside your Bible reading. I listened to this as an audiobook but do not recommend this because there is a plethora of great information and insights that she gives and (for me at least) it is harder to retain the info by just listening instead of physically reading.
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As always, Gloria Furman has excellent theology. She continues to assert that women need theology just as much as men do and that they have access to its richness for their own. I do feel like she does tend to elaborate her points too much, including concepts that are really basic, but I could see how that could spread her range of people who are able to read this book. This is a great book for beginning to understand Ephesians, but I don’t think it is set up to be a side-along to your devotions like I was hoping for- the chapters are much too long and the verse breakdown doesn’t lend toward that. I wish I would have realized that beforehand to change my expectations. Overall though, each chapter had a few really good sentences that helped capture the message of Ephesians.
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I did enjoy this book, it just wasn’t what I was expecting.
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Alive in Him: How Being Embraced By The Love Of Christ Changes Everything by
Gloria Furman is a book about Jesus. It is a book that dives into what it means to be in Jesus through the book of Ephesians. Alive in Him is not a commentary, but neither is it a Christianised self-improvement book. Rather, Furman’s book is Biblically rich as it wrestles with the issues of Paul’s letter. The approach allows the reader to grasp the big pictures of Ephesians and in ways that become applicable to everyday life.
Alive in Him helps the reader to lift their eyes from themselves to Jesus. The subtitle, How Being Embraced by the Love of Christ Changes Everything, is apt, our identity as followers of Jesus is rooted in the person of Jesus. Central to this is Paul’s use of the theme of the body of Christ. Furman is clear on this point, to follow Jesus is to be united with other followers. This is not merely a word against an individualised and privatised version of faith, but an urgent call to build and support each other as we follow Christ.
Alive in Him helpfully uses narratives throughout. These help to illustrate the points Furman is making and transition between points. On the whole the illustrations and imagery work well and add clarity to the points made. In particular, Furman’s use of the ‘zombie’ motif was especially good in clarifying our pre-Jesus state and bringing out the point that life in Christ is resurrection life.
I integrated reading Alive in Him with reading and teaching on the book of Ephesians. Normally I would simply read a book straight through, but reading it with the Bible in one hand and Alive in Him in the other is definitely the best way to approach this book. You can either do this individually or as part of a group.
Overall I really liked this book. Gloria Furman’s passion is evident in her writing and she has the clarity to match. Even better, Furman’s book directs you back to the pages of the Bible. She isn’t writing in to garner the spotlight but rather to guide the reader to Paul’s letter of Ephesians. Most of all, Gloria Furman has got the order right. She realises it ‘is in beholding the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ that we are changed.’ In other words, we are changed because God has accepted us in Christ, not in order that he will accept us.
This review originally appear on
darryleyb.com -
Taking the book of Ephesians in her book, "Alive in Him: How Being Embraced by the Love of Christ Changes Everything", Gloria lays the foundation of Christian doctrine (Ephesians 1-3) and continues with right living (Ephesians 4-6).
She quotes, "In light of what we know about God and His plan, walking in this way is fitting worship."
Alive in Him captivated me from the very beginning to the very end. When I came to the last paragraph, I was craving for more. More of God. More of His Word. More growth.
I have read Ephesians various times, sat through an excellent module in Bible school, and read through John Phillips commentary, yet Gloria brought to my attention how being embraced by the love of Christ changes everything. She says, "Love compels us to study the Word of God deeply and handle it rightly so we don't sacrifice its true meaning on the altar of our culture or personal preferences."
While reading Alive in Him, I have grown deeper in my knowledge and understanding of Who God is, what unity truly means as a body of believers, and how "spirit-filled living and wise walking" "bring Him maximum glory".
Gloria has an amazing way of writing that encouraged me to grow and dig deeper into God's Word. I have 6 full pages of notes and quotes from Alive in Him, and even though I rarely read a book twice, this is one book that I already cannot wait to read again as I once again study out one of my favorite books of the Bible, Ephesians.
I received a complimentary review copy by the publisher, and I was not required to do a review on the book, Alive in Him. This review is my honest opinion. -
I have loved everything put in front of me written by Gloria Furman. She has been one of my most appreciated mentors from afar. I have gleaned so much from her titles geared towards reminding mothers of the treasures found in Christ and the power of the gospel in everyday "stay at home, work never ends" life. I loved going through Missional Motherhood with my church's Mom's group. Gloria has a powerful gift for both em-pathetically relating with christian women and also exhorting us out of and above our fleshly natures. She brings everything back to the gospel- and I just love her for it!
I was excited to see in this title, Alive in Him: How Being Embraced by the Love of Christ Changes Everything, that Gloria branches out of addressing the topic of motherhood in Christian living to a commentary centered on a particular book of the bible- Ephesians. Studying the bible with a complementary commentary is a favorite method of mine and Ephesians has always been an intriguing book as well!
Gloria does a great job of breaking the book into it's main themes and really delving into each and how to truly apply the truths found therein to our everyday lives. I am really excited to re-read thru the last chapter entitled, "Cruciform Armor: The Church's subversive Spiritual Warfare" as our Pastor just went through this passage and we are going to be leading our youth group through it as well.
Thanks to Crossway Publishing for providing me with this great book to review. -
Overall, really appreciated this book. My only qualm with the book is pg. 37 and pg. 54 where she interprets Ephesians 1:18, “having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,”
Ephesians 1:18 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/eph.1.18.ESV that we are God’s inheritance. I’d never interpreted this verse that way because of how Paul and Peter in other passages describe the inheritance as something we’ve been given out of God’s grace. Furman does point this part out as more of a three-form inheritance, “We are his inheritance, we have obtained an inheritance, and we are yet waiting for our inheritance.” She points back to Deuteronomy 4:20, “But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day.”
Deuteronomy 4:20 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.4.20.ESV
I don’t know if it is wrong or not, but I would’ve appreciated hearing both sides of the thought process as John Piper did in this q&a (
https://www.desiringgod.org/interview...) I don’t think it changes the context of Ephesians and the book overall was really well-written. Just leaving this article here for others who may be taken aback from the interpretation from these pages. -
Furman takes us on a spiritual journey that began before time itself. Its course is plotted out in Ephesians, and Furman guides us through this.
She brings us about face with the realization that Christ is coming soon, and how we must prepare for His return.
Furman writes a glorious journey that we, as Christians can take. She charts the course right from the Scriptures, so you'll want to read this with your Bible at hand.
A highly recommended read for all those who seek a closer walk with the One Who will soon appear.
I give this book Five Stars,
a BIG thumbs up,
and I highly recommend the read.
You can purchase the book on Amazon.com. It is available in paperback for $12.37 plus shipping and handling, and in Kindle version for $9.99.
****DISCLAIMER: This book was provided by Amazon Vine in exchange for a fair and impartial review. The opinions above are solely those of this reviewer and may not reflect those of other reviewers. -
Ephesians has never been a simple book to understand for me, and I am certain this is true for others. The author does not pretend to do a verse-by-verse analysis of Paul's epistle, but rather expounds on the concepts or themes of the passages. It is important to read the actual scripture, ideally in more than one translation (including the ESV the main version used by the author) as you read this book. I appreciate how Ms Furman uses much scripture to back up her statements. In all, she fulfills the goal set out in the introduction: that Ephesians teaches us how to interpret the world around us according to eternal truths, and then takes us into how it applies to our walk with Christ. She has given me a grounding in the letter. (The author leans a little too much on contemporary words like "zombies" and "cosmos" for my liking, but I don't hold that against her.)
I received a free copy of this book from Amazon in exchange for my honest review. -
The message of Ephesians jumps off the page in new ways as I read it side by side with this book. Alive in Him is like a commentary of sorts but full of references to old and New Testament scripture, details about what things mean and also personal illustrations and application. The author dissects the book of Ephesians topic by topic going through the book of Ephesians in small sections. She explains practically speaking how it should impact our lives. I have a much better picture of not only what Paul was trying to say to the Ephesians but also how this impacts me as a believer today. So very practical and applicable. This book will be read and reread. The depth of information is astounding. It is presented in a way that's easy to understand. Reading this book has really helped me process who I am in Christ and what's a God has done for me. Some great times of meditation and worship have resulted.
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Ephesians is one of my favourite books of the Bible, so I really appreciated Furman's approach to this gem hidden in the New Testament. "Alive in Him" is a thematic study of Ephesians. Instead of plodding through verse-by-verse, Furman takes one chunk at a time and goes through it's topic, and it's theme. Her subtitle - how being embraced by the love of Christ changes everything - is well suited to this book, and really brings to light the magnificent work Jesus did on the cross. This is a lovely new book for devotion times or quiet times, while working through the book of Ephesians.
I received this book very graciously from the publisher in return for my fair and honest review. -
I hate giving this book three stars. It is well written. It contains no error. The author's love for God and his Word are clear. However, my choosing it for a small group Bible study for spiritually mature women was a mistake. It did not lend itself well to that application. And the text is often rambling and repetitive. The only chapter that I thought was very well done was chapter 7: Sacrificial Love. If you are not familiar with the letter to the Ephesians, this may be of great benefit to you, but if you are like me and have taught it and studied it many times, you may be disappointed.
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Read this one with the ladies from my church. Really enjoyed this one and brought up some great discussions. Didn't find this book to be too" fluffy " but had some real good theological points. I also appreciated how you were expected to have your Bible open and to read the book of Ephesians while reading each chapter. Also how she had many Biblical references to back up each of her points. It wasn't a book purely based off of her opinions, feelings, or experiences, it was Biblically sound. I recommend this one!😊
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A great accompaniment to reading Ephesians, Gloria is very Gospel-focused, and with the material she's covering, she is really in her comfort spot here. Several great moments throughout this book and great weaving together of this rich rich text from Paul. Not as many personal stories as the motherhood book I read, but still some appreciated breaks that I really enjoy as a previous UAE expat myself.
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Theologically rich while also being practical to the daily life of obedience to Christ, Gloria Furman uses her own life experiences and relatable illustrations to illuminate the glory of God in the book of Ephesians. I read this as a companion guide as I studied Ephesians, and this book helped me gain a comprehensive understanding of the central message of the book as I dove into the details on my own. Wholeheartedly recommend!
