Dispensationalism

[InfoCentral]

Funny thing. I am reading _The Zondervan Handbook to the Bible_ which contains a 100 page bible introduction. In the theology section they mention "Covenant interpretation" but nothing on dispensationalism.

[halifaxchristian]

Col 1:25  Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God.

God chose an earthen vessel by which He would fulfill (Greek pleroo, "complete") the Word of God. That's what Paul did - with the revelation of the mystery [secret] given to him, God had nothing more to say.

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2Ti 2:15 

To cut straight, as paths; to hold a straight course; generally, to make straight; to handle rightly the Word of God, by acknowledging Him to direct the paths

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Pro 3:6 

THE PROPHETIC PROGRAM: God's purpose to establish a literal, physical, earthly, Davidic, Messianic kingdom, with Jesus Christ as the king of kings, ruling over the twelve apostles, who will rule over the twelve tribes of Israel, who will rule over the nations of this earth.

THE MYSTERY PROGRAM: God's purpose to form a spiritual body of believers called "the Body of Christ", with Christ as the Head. This body will be perfectly "conformed to the image of His Son" and will rule and reign with Christ in the heavenly places.

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

PROPHETIC

SPOKEN about since the world began

(Luke 1:68-70; Acts 3:21-24)

MYSTERY

Kept SECRET, hidden since the world began

(Romans 16:25; Ephesians 3:5,9; Colossians 1:26)

PROPHETIC

Focus is THE EARTH

(Genesis 1:28, 9:1, 13:14-17; Deuteronomy 11:21; Isaiah 11:9; Jeremiah 23:5; Psalms 37:9-11; Matthew 5:5; Matthew 6:10)

MYSTERY

Focus is THE HEAVENLY PLACES

(Ephesians 1:3, 2:6; Philippians 3:20; Colossians 3:1-4)

PROPHETIC

Jesus Christ is THE KING of Israel and the whole world

(Isaiah 9:6-7; Daniel 7:13-14; Zachariah14:9, 16; Matthew 2:2; John 1:49; Luke 1:31-33)

MYSTERY

Jesus Christ is THE HEAD of the church, the body of Christ

(Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18)

PROPHETIC

ISRAEL is God's chosen nation and will be given supremacy over all nations

(Deuteronomy 7:6, 28:13; Isaiah 6:1-5; Matthew 10:5-10;

Romans 9:6)

MYSTERY

In the Body of Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile (Romans 10:12, 3:22; Galatians 3:26-28; 1Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 2:16-17)

PROPHETIC

Redeemed Israel to rule and reign with Christ on the earth

(Isaiah 62:1-4; Ezekiel 37:21-28; Exodus 19:4-6; Revelation 5:10)

MYSTERY

The Body of Christ to rule and reign with Christ in the heavenlies

(Ephesians 2:6, 14-16, 3:6, Philippians 3:20; 1Corinthians 6:3)

PROPHETIC

Gentiles to be blessed through Israel's RISE to kingdom glory

(Genesis 12:1-3; Isaiah 61:6-9; Zechariah 8:13-23)

MYSTERY

Gentiles blessed through THE FALL of Israel

(Romans 11:11,12,15; Acts 28:27-28)

PROPHETIC

The central gospel is the Gospel of the Kingdom

(Matthew 3:2, 4:17,23, 9:35, 24:14)

MYSTERY

The central gospel is the gospel of the Grace of God

(Acts 20:24; Romans 1:16-17, 3:23-25; Ephesians 2:5, 8-9)

PROPHETIC

The chief Apostle is Peter

(Matthew 16:18-19; Acts 1:15, 2:14)

MYSTERY

Paul is the Apostle for this age of grace

(Romans 11:13; Ephesians 3:1; 1Timothy 2:5-7)

PROPHETIC

The number 12 is associated with Israel

(Matthew 19:28; Revelation 7:4-8)

MYSTERY

ONE is the number for the Body of Christ

(Ephesians 4:3-4)

PROPHETIC

Physical and spiritual baptism

(Exodus 29:1-7; Matthew 3:2-7, 28:19-20; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:32; Ezekiel 36:25-27; Matthew 3:11; Acts 1:5,8)

MYSTERY

Spiritual baptism only

(Romans 6:1-5; Ephesians 4:4; 1Corinthians 12:13;

Galatians 3:26-28)

PROPHETIC

Physical and spiritual circumcision

(Genesis 17:9-14; Luke 2:21; Deuteronomy 30:6)

MYSTERY

Spiritual circumcision only

(Colossians 2:11-13; Romans 6:1-6)

PROPHETIC

Atonement yet FUTURE

(Acts 3:19; Matthew 25:31-34; Romans 11:25-27)

MYSTERY

Atonement NOW

(Romans 5:11; Colossians 2:13-14)

PROPHETIC

The Goal: The God of Heaven to set up the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, Christ to have preeminence

(Deuteronomy 11:21; Daniel 2:44; Matthew 25:34)

MYSTERY

The Goal: To form a spiritual body of believers perfectly conformed to the image of Christ and through whom Christ will have the preeminence in the heavenly places

(Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:16)

PROPHETIC

This has been God's purpose FROM the foundation of the world

(Matthew 25:34)

MYSTERY

This has been God's purpose from BEFORE the foundation of the world

(Ephesians 1:4, 3:11)

PROPHETIC

This program has been temporarily DELAYED

(Romans 9-11)

MYSTERY

This program is NOW in effect

(Ephesians 3:1-11; Colossians 1:24-27)

PROPHETIC

The 12 Apostles called by the Lord while He was on the earth

(Matthew 10:1-4)

MYSTERY

Paul called to be an apostle from the ascended Lord

(Acts 9:1ff; 1Corinthians 15:8-10)

PROPHETIC

The apostleship of the 12 was to Israel alone, and then to Israel first

(Matthew 10 ff, Acts 3:25,26)

MYSTERY

Paul was commissioned as "the apostle of the Gentiles" because now the program of God is different

(Romans 11:13; Ephesians 3:1-9)

PROPHETIC

The 12 Apostles, under their commission, sought to bring the nation of Israel to repentance in view of them crucifying their Christ. They indicted them for the crime but offered them the forgiveness and blessing of God so they could participate in Israel's "at hand" kingdom

(Acts 3:12-26, 5:27-32)

MYSTERY

Paul, under his commission, announced that Israel had fallen and that God has temporarily set Israel's program aside and Israel's fullness and kingdom won't come until after the fullness of the Gentiles come in

(Romans 11:11-25)

PROPHETIC

The 12 Apostles announced to Israel that her last days were present. They lived in the days that all the prophets from Samuel and after had foretold of

(Acts 2:16-21, 3:24)

MYSTERY

Paul announced that God is now long-suffering and He had set Israel and the things on her time schedule aside and that the times and seasons are not being fulfilled now in this dispensation of grace

(Romans 11:11-25, 1Thessalonians 5:1-11; 2Thessalonians 2:1-7)

PROPHETIC

The 12 Apostles under their commission operated on a God established distinction existing between the Jews and Gentiles

(Numbers 23:9; Matthew 10:5-7, 15:21-28; Acts 3:25,26)

MYSTERY

Paul under his commission declares that the "time past" distinction is now done away and the middle wall of partition is broken down, God having made both one. Now there is no difference

(2 Corinthians 5:14-19, Ephesians 2:11-14)

PROPHETIC

The 12 apostles operated with the law still in view along with the rudiments of the world that it employed

(Matthew 5:17-19, 23:1-3 James 2:10, Matthew 28:20)

MYSTERY

Paul is given to declare to us that God has not put us under the law, but under grace and that today He is not treating us as children under the law with the rudiments of the world

(Romans 6:14; Galatians 4:1-11; Colossians 2:8-17; Romans 7:4-6)

PROPHETIC

The 12 Apostles during the 3 years of the Lord's earthly ministry never understood or appreciated the meaning or significance of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21-23; Luke 9:43-45,18:31-34) Following Christ's resurrection and the 40 day Bible seminar they had from Him they understood the necessity of Christ's suffering and the benefits received from it, as it pertained to the establishment of Israel's kingdom glory

(Luke 24:25-27, 44-49, Acts 1:1-2, 2:22-36, 3:12-21, 4:8-12)

MYSTERY

To Paul God committed the full meaning and significance of the cross of Christ. He preached the cross and Christ crucified. The good news about His death, burial and resurrection - proclaiming it in all its glory as "the power of God and the wisdom of God." Also to Paul was committed the testimony concerning Christ giving Himself a ransom for all men

(1Corinthians 1:18, 23; 1Timothy 2:1-7; 1Corinthians 2:6-8; Ephesians 1:8-10)

PROPHETIC

The 12 Apostles were commissioned in their apostleship to bring Israel's rebelliousness to a head and in doing so vindicate the outpouring of God's wrath upon that generation

(Matthew 23:29-36; Luke 11:45-51)

MYSTERY

Paul was commissioned to proclaim that God is now longsuffering and is extending mercy and grace to all in spite of Israel's climactic rebelliousness.

(Romans 11:28-36)

"...that in all things He might have the preeminence ..". (Colossians 1:18)

It is by means of these two programs that the Lord Jesus Christ will have the preeminence on the earth and in the heavenly places.

Rightly Dividing cuts straight the word of God in those places where God has directed His paths, submitting to all Scripture, honoring that which is different.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Good post!!!

[sail2awe]

Hey there Hitch

I am always leary of commentaries. Note that the prophets didn't comment and say this means something and that means something, writing books upon books about what God had said. We have the word of God which is His commentary and the only one we truly need. Daniel said certain things were sealed until...

If God has set a seal, then what commentator can go beyond it with any reasonability? Dispenasation simply means housekeeping in an orderly fashion. The word 'steward' comes from it. That there are many different uses in the Bible for the word chruch is a necessary study, however I know nothing of Scofield, but a bit of what the Bible calls the dispensation of God, which is specifically used to make known a mystery <secret> that had been hid not in the Bible, but in God, and this was now made known to the church which is gentile in nature and called His body. Most certainly this gentile church now residing in the grace of God is not the same as the church of the wilderness who was under law and strictly Hebrew in charactor.

The Holy Spirit proclaims that a secret is made known unto Paul for you gentiles. 500 years ago during the translation of our KJV, the word used for 'secret', was the word 'mystery'. Today we say secret, if we lived back then, we would say mystery. It doesn't imply anything mysterious, and it isn't a secret after God tells us what the secret is. The fact that God has secrets is not in question. Therefore, when the HS declares a secret which had been hid from ages <of time> and generations <of men> but now is made manifest, we can be sure it was not in the OT. The HS has said this particular secret was 'hid in God'.

What this secret was is made known, and there are really 5 things basic, unique, and readily discernible which clearly was not ever made known in the OT, and these are given in what we read as, the dispensation of the grace of God in Eph 3. 2 . In this dispensation we can see a minimun of 5 things which distenguish these church bodies:

1.Blessings that were promised are unique, because it is every blessing that is spiritual. That is different than they'd ever had before because they'd never had every blessing that is spiritual.

2.And the sphere of their enjoyment is unique, because the enjoyment is in heavenly places, whereas blessings before had always been spoken of as being enjoyed on the earth.

3.The period of choice is unique, because these were chosen before the overthrow of the world, whereas all other choosing had been since the overthrow.

4.The position is unique, made to sit together in heavenly places, in Christ. That is a high and unique position.

5.The unity is unique. Back in 2. 15, that the twain, the Jew and the Gentile, were created one new man.

Edited August 14, 2005 by sail2awe

[InfoCentral]

All references from SRB 1909 ed

Hard to research those pages as my Scofield Study Bible is the 2002 edition.

[InfoCentral]

Thats why I warned you, there have been some substantial corrections,,,er alterations...

What they say is:

The New King James Version, Reader's Edition, which represents a quantum leap in the development of the respected Scofield

[sail2awe]

That is about right, not the teachings in the way they are taught, but when folks are against Biblical teachings, they do tend to state the facts as negetively as possible.

DISPENSATION:

G3622

οἰκονομία

oikonomia

oy-kon-om-ee'-ah

From G3623; administration (of a household or estate); specifically a (religious)