Wednesday, September 26, 2012

OVERLAPPING DISPENSATIONS


OVERLAPPING   DISPENSATIONS


          Knowledge of dispensations form the foundation of Truth and it is the factor that decides how many Christians truly understand the Bible. The truth is many Christians have never heard the word dispensation in their church bible studies. Dispensational studies form the groundwork that allows believers to understand and interpret the Bible correctly. Dispensations are periods of stewardship under which time man is tested. The Biblical term for the English word dispensation, is the noun form of the verb dispense. This word is translated from the Greek word as oikonomia. The dictionary definition of dispensation when speaking about the Creator is:

Ø  The Divine order or
Ø  Dealings with mankind

The word dispensation means:

Ø  Administration
Ø  Management
Ø  Oversight, or
Ø  Dispensation of someone’s household

          Stewardship is also the Greek word oikonomia. The rich man of the Book of Luke is saying to “Give an account of thy dispensation,” meaning of my household and property.28 Dispensations are specific administrations, which cover a period of time, and some dispensations can overlap one another in that time.
          God gave Paul a dispensation to dispense the Gospel message to the Gentiles.29 Paul explains how he was made a minister, according to the dispensation of God, which was given to him for us to fulfill the Word of God. Even the mystery of the church Age that had been hid from Ages and from generations was entrusted to the Apostle Paul.30 According to the Bible, God has made known to us the mystery of His will. The mystery of His will is found only in the writings of Paul. The Dispensation of Grace was an unknown mystery before Paul, and the Dispensation of Grace continues today, and is unlike the previous Dispensation of Law.31 In this dispensation of the Grace of God, God gave His Son to die for the sins of the world.32 In the Dispensation of Law, God gave Moses tables of stone containing the first portion of the moral Law.
          Moses was instructed to give the Law to the children of Israel. When all of the law was in place it included the sacrifices of sheep and lambs to temporally cover the sins of the people. Under the Law sheep were sacrificed to cover sins not to take them away.33 All sin including those that were committed by the people in the Old Testament could only be completely taken away by the Blood of Christ Jesus. There will be future dispensations after this present dispensation of Grace, ends. Paul says, “[He planned] for the maturity of the times and the climax of the Ages to unify all things and head them up and consummate them in Christ, [both] things in Heaven and things on the earth”.34 In this verse Paul implies a future dispensation, which has not yet begun. There was a transition from the Law Kingdom program to Grace35. This dispensational transition took place sometime during 33 through 70 A.D.
          When we look at the state of the twelve Apostle’s ministry after Pentecost about 33 A.D. in comparison to the Christian ministry that came into existence after the General Titus and his army destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D. helps believers to see the picture of overlapping dispensations.



MINISTRY after THE Destruction of the
Temple IN 70 A.D.


The Gospel of Grace was preached predominantly to Gentiles with Jews included. In God’s sight, the human race consists of two people:

Ø  The Jews, and
Ø  The Gentiles

Any individual not born a Jew is a Gentile.1


Ø  After the destruction of the temple, Christ Jesus freely gave His life as payment for our sins (Acts 20: 28; I Corinthians 15: 3; Galatians 1: 4; I Thessalonians 5: 9-10).

Ø  After the destruction of the temple, the Grace of God was given to us in the finished work of Christ Jesus, so that we will not be lacking in any spiritual gifts (II Corinthians 12: 5-10; Colossians 4: 4; I Timothy 5: 23; II Timothy 4: 20).

Ø  After the destruction of the temple, the Gospel of Grace, or the teachings of Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, is the focus (Acts 9: 15, 13: 2, 17: 22, 20: 17, 21: 40, 26: 1, 28: 17).

Ø  After the destruction of the temple, the Gospel is taken to the entire world (Romans 11: 25; Romans through Philemon).

Ø  After the destruction of the temple, the Law is said to be old and decaying, due to the temple’s destruction (Hebrews 8: 13).
Ø  After the destruction of the temple, keeping the Law was impossible for Old Testament men and women to follow (Leviticus 16; Matthew 22: 36-40).

Ø  After the destruction of the temple, Salvation came to the Gentile world by way of Israel’s doubt and unbelief (Romans 11: 11-15, 25).

Ø  After the destruction of the temple, Grace Teachings are based solely on the newly revealed mysteries that were given to the Apostle Paul by God specifically for the Body of Christ.2



















Ministry after Pentecost In 33 A.D.


Ø  After Pentecost the Gospel of the Kingdom continued to be preached only to Israel (Acts 2: 22, 2: 36, 3: 12, 5: 31, 9: 22, 11: 19).

Ø  After Pentecost the church of early Acts is the only example set that shows what church should be like today. Christians are to be following the patterns set by our Apostle to the Gentiles under Grace (Romans 11: 13)

Ø  After Pentecost the Jews are accused of murdering their Messiah (Acts 2: 23, 36, 4: 10, 5: 28, 30, 7: 52, 10: 39).

Ø  After Pentecost miraculous signs and healings were ordinary occurrences (Acts 2: 4, 43, 3: 6, 5: 12-16, 6: 8, 8: 6-7, 9: 40, 10: 46, 14: 3).

Ø  After Pentecost, the Apostle Peter is the person in charge, and teaching the Gospel of the Kingdom (Joel 2: 28-32, 2: 14, 3: 12, 5: 29, 10: 34).

Ø  After Pentecost the Twelve Apostle’s headquarters are located in Jerusalem and their ministry is still centered in Israel. Their focus is on Israel, not on going to the entire world (Acts 8: 1, 25, 9: 26, 11: 2).

Ø  After Pentecost, Jewish believers are still trying to obey the Law of Moses (Acts 3: 1, 10: 1, 28, 11: 3, 21: 20, 26).

Ø  After Pentecost Salvation came to the Gentile world (Acts 3: 19-21; Zechariah 8: 20-23).

Ø  After Pentecost teachings are based on foretold prophecies that had been fulfilled (Acts 2: 16-21, 29-31, 3: 21-24; Zechariah 8: 20-23; Luke 22: 30; Isaiah 1: 26).

          The time we live in, the dispensation of the Grace of God was the transition from the dispensation of Law.1 Christ Jesus is the architect and builder of the Grace Age Church, not man.2 Nothing taken from the Law can be construed as doctrine under Grace. A new dispensation brings in all new changes. God would not have appointed an Apostle to the Gentiles, if Gentiles were not supposed to follow his lead. God’s intentions are made clear in His Word and the instructions for the Grace Age church are found in the Books of Romans through Philemon. These thirteen Epistles were revealed to and written by the Apostle Paul. This assignment was given to Paul by our Ascended Lord and is directed specifically to Church Age believers.

It can’t be stressed enough that:

Ø  Believers must know the Word for themselves
Ø  They must know the scriptural differences between his or her relationship to earth and that of Heaven
Ø  They must know the scriptural differences between the flesh and the Spirit
Ø  Judaism and Christianity or simply put,
Ø  The difference between Law and Grace

Paul’s epistles are the starting point where the Holy Spirit ministers Grace Age Truth and principles to believers. When one has hidden himself in Christ through the teachings of the Apostle Paul, only then can the remainder of the Bible make sense and minister to individuals without confusion. Confusion is what cause individuals to be temporally drawn from his or her position in Christ – this is because confusion means error and we know who the author of confusion is - Satan.3 “Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for:

Ø  Instruction
Ø  For reproof
Ø  Conviction of sin
Ø  For correction of error for
Ø  Discipline in obedience,
Ø  For training in righteousness in holy living, and
Ø  For conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action

          Scripture is profitable so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.4 All Scripture is not of primary application to a particular person or class of persons, here is a wonderful quote from Lewis Sperry Chafer who defines Scripture quite clearly. He said, “All Scripture is not for the angels, nor is it all for the Gentiles. In like manner, not all of Scripture is addressed to the Jew; nor are they all addressed to the Christian”. The bottom line is believers must begin to take God’s Word seriously. Make the Word of God your own; eat it, sleep with it, wear it as a garment, and above all, allow the Holy Spirit to teach you it.



28(Luke 16: 2)
29(Colossians 1: 25-26)
30(I Corinthians 9: 17; Ephesians 3: 1-3)
31(II Corinthians 11: 4)
32(John 1: 29)
33(Exodus 24: 12)
34(Ephesians 1: 10)
35(Matthew 27: 50-51)
1(Acts 9: 15, 13: 46, 28: 17-28) 
2(Deuteronomy 29: 29; Romans 11: 5; 16: 25; I Corinthians 2: 7, 15: 51;
 II Corinthians 12: 7; Ephesians 1:  9, 3: 3, 5: 32; II Thessalonians 2: 7)
1(Matthew 27: 50-51)
2(Matthew 16: 18)
3(Colossians 3: 3)
4(II Timothy 3: 16)

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