Ephesians and All that Jazz: Riffing with Paul: A Transliteration is a fresh commentary on the book of Ephesians. The author, Tom Anderson, describes this book as jazz. It’s named after jazz because the art of jazz invites the audience to take the journey with the musician. Jazz is subjective. It’s sometimes good and sometimes bad, but it’s always authentic.

With this frame of mind, Tom Anderson sees Paul as a jazz musician. He proclaimed the good news that was distilled within him before he started teaching others. In this way, God used Paul to teach the infectious message of God to others. Paul communicates the message in two ways: through the letter (like reading from a musical score) and through the spirit (playing jazz).

Anderson first establishes this train of thought with Paul to help set up the rest of the book; showing how his own thoughts have, like jazz, disrupted and stretched his understanding of Paul’s teachings. The author’s goal is to express the heart and mind of Paul through his own and provide fresh insights into the book of Ephesians.

The commentary has a devotional feel, almost like you’re talking one-on-one with the author and he’s providing insights and thoughts about the text. It has a “life lessons” feel, and the approach is as if Paul were the one speaking the commentary. It’s well-written and insightful.

Ephesians and All that Jazz is a fascinating book. I enjoyed reading it. Although it’s more devotional in quality, it does include some theology, so I recommend using it as a reference and do your own study. The author’s real goal is to get the reader to think about Scripture as a jazz musician. This is a goal that Tom Anderson riffs with every beat.

Ephesians and All that Jazz: Riffing with Paul: A Transliteration is available for purchase in paperback and Kindle at Amazon.

The author provided the paperback book in exchange for an honest review.