THE WEALTH WALK AND WARFARE - Pembroke Bible Chapel

1 THE WEALTH walk AND WARFARE OF THE CHRISTIANByRUTH PAXSON (Edited and placed in PDF Format by DJ Axford April 2005) 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.

2 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 heterodox in his conduct.

3 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.

4 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.

5 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION - THE GRAND CANYON OF SCRIPTURE 3 PART I THE WEALTH OF THE christian 8 1. THE WEALTH GLIMPSED 2. THE WEALTH BEQUEATHED 3. THE WEALTH DESIGNATED 4. THE WEALTH MEASURED 5. THE WEALTH LOCATED 6. THE WEALTH DEPOSITED 7. THE WEALTH DEFINED 8. THE WEALTH REVEALED 9. THE WEALTH UNFOLDED 10. THE WEALTH REALIZED PART II THE walk OF THE christian 52 1. A walk IN UNITY 2. A walk IN HOLINESS 3. A walk IN LOVE 4. A walk IN LIGHT 5. A walk IN WISDOM 6. A walk IN PRAISE 7. A walk IN HARMONY PART III THE WARFARE OF THE christian 103 1.

6 A CALL TO ARMS 2. THE ANTAGONISTS 3. THE BATTLEFIELD 4. THE WRESTLERS 5. THE TACTICS OF THE ENEMY 6. THE christian WRESTLER S VICTORY 7. PRAYER WARRIORS THE AFTERGLOW 144 INTRODUCTION THE GRAND CANYON OF SCRIPTURE One time when in need of special spiritual inspiration and refreshment I went to the Grand Canyon of Arizona. Of all God's wonders in His natural creation, which He has given me to see, none seems more wonderful than the Grand Canyon.

7 Two never-to-be-forgotten days were spent there. On the first day I just skirted a bit of the Canyon's rim, getting first-hand impressions of its magnitude, majesty and matchless beauty of colouring. For an hour or two I sat trying to compass in imagination the vast breadth of the gorge which at that point was thirteen miles across. Then I moved on to another spot, where, looking straight down one mile, the sizeable river below looked like a white ribbon. At sunset I went to a distant point where the Canyon stretched itself out over eighty miles before one's eyes, and where it was all ablaze with a veritable orgy of indescribable colour, which left one silent and worshipful in the presence of the Canyon's Creator. Physically tired, but spiritually renewed, I tumbled into bed for a brief sleep before rising at four to find my way, alone and unaided save by the tiniest ray of light, to the road that led me again to the sunset point, that I might there see the sunrise.

8 On and on I went, until in semi-darkness, standing on the rim of the Canyon, I looked down into an absolutely black abyss. Not even one ray of the sun's light shone upon its rocks to bring out their exquisite beauty. All was unrelieved, awesome darkness in that gaping gorge. As one strained the eye in the vain attempt to discern something to lighten the awful, terrifying blackness, shades of darkness seemed discernible, - the blackness at the bottom seeming to shade off into dark purple and then into lighter purple. Still all was darkness every where in the Canyon before sunrise. I am not ashamed to admit that, looking into the Canyon devoid of sunlight, I trembled from head to foot. Soon the sun began to rise, first flashing its glory light upon the heavens above, making them look like the divine painter's palette; then gradually touching one point after another in the Canyon and lighting it into gorgeous colouring.

9 One stood transfixed in wonder and worship at each transforming touch. Finally, the sun was fully up, and with all its resplendent, full orbed light flooded the Canyon and made the thing which was terrifying in the darkness something of transcendent beauty and glory in the light after sunrise. Reluctant to leave this spot, and yet oh! so eager to get still more of the Canyon into my vision and into my heart, I walked rapidly back to the hotel to eat a hasty breakfast before going with a party down the steep, winding trail of the Canyon, seven and one- half miles, to the river below. I rode a burro. At one time the trail was so sharp in its curve that the forefeet of that sure-footed little animal were on the very edge of a sheer precipice, a depth straight down of twelve hundred feet.

10 After a short time at the river, we began our ascent. There were times in ascending the trail when all below was out of sight and thought, and one was just lost in the wonder of the height of the Canyon, of continually going up and up, with always more above and beyond, until finally the very expanse of the heavens seemed to roof the Grand Canyon, beyond which one's sight could not go. The ascent over, and again on the Canyon's rim, I could not leave till I had one last view with the afterglow of the sunset upon it. From darkness to dawn, and from full sunlight to twilight, this wonder work of God had poured out a WEALTH of inspiration. Only this once have I seen the Grand Canyon, and that was twenty-eight years ago, but to-day, with eyes closed and memory active, its stands out before me as though it were seen only yesterday.