THE WEALTH, WALK AND WARFARE
OF THE CHRISTIAN
By
RUTH PAXSON
THE AUTHOR'S NOTE
This book does not purport to be an exposition of Ephesians verse by verse, or doctrine by doctrine. Some rich nuggets out of this vast gold mine will not be dug up at all, but left for you to mine for your self. The book will deal with the content of the epistle rather than its contents.
The message will be distinctly personal, for it is written of what one's eyes have seen and ears beard, and what has entered into one's own heart of all those wondrous things which God has prepared for them that love Him. If this message stimulates you to dig deep and to dwell deep in Ephesians, then the most fervent prayer for it will have been answered. To that end, will you read Ephesians until you can think through the entire epistle with your Bible closed; will you reread it until it is written on the table of your heart as truly as on the pages of your Bible; will you continue to read it until it permeates the warp and woof of the fabric of your spiritual life, and until you are so saturated with it that you think, talk and live Ephesians. The message purposely will be practical. It is possible for a Christian to know categorically the doctrinal teachings of this epistle, to believe all of them, and so to be quite orthodox in his creed, while he may never have grasped the vital relatiOnship between truth and life so vividly presented here, and so remain quite beterodox in his conduct. Our desire is to show the essential order in and connection between the first three chapters, which deal with doctrine, and the last three, which deal with experience. We shall see in Ephesians how our wealth is to be manifested in our walk and maintained in our warfare.
You will profit immeasurably by committing to memory 1:4-7; 2:4-7; 6:10-12, and the two inspired prayers 1:15-23 and 3:14-21. Make a few of the key verses your very own, such as 1:3, 21, 23; 2:5, 6: 3:19, 20;4:1, 22, 24, 30; 5:18, 30; 6:12, 13. To do this will be like having ready cash against the time of spiritual emergency.
For the sake of economizing space sometimes only part of a verse will be quoted; also in giving references from Ephesians the name of the epistle will be omitted, and only the numerals indicating the chapter and verse will be given. Whenever the words, "the Church," are used, the meaning will be that of the Body of Christ as revealed in the epistle, unless otherwise stated. Our purpose will be to let Scripture interpret Scripture, which it will always do if we but search far enough and dig deeply enough. In this way some of the more difficult passages may be understood and errors avoided. After reading Ephesians through several times, study the chart to help in getting the book as a whole before you.
With the prayer that God will use this message to enable some of His children to appropriate more fully their wealth in Christ; to walk worthily of their high calling; and to be victorious wrestlers, this book is now sent forth.
RUTH PAXSON.
Tryon, North Carolina.