The Dispensation Of Grace
The Dispensation of Grace
Ephesians 3:1-4For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles- 2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ),(New King James Version)
Dispensationalism is defined as a method of management used by God to carry out His will, work, and purposes toward mankind. So-called “dispensationalism” has had both its advocates and opponents among Bible-believing Christians. The Greek word translated “dispensation” (oikonomia), from which we derive our English word “economy,” actually means an “economy,” or also a “stewardship.”
The number and nature of the various “dispensations” or “economies” through which the Creator has dealt with His human creation during the course of history has been the subject of considerable discussion and variation among commentators.
Possible distinct dispensations might include the post-Eden economy instituted after sin and God’s curse came into the world, the post-diluvian economy established by Noah after the Flood, and the economy begun by Abraham when God began to work especially with the nation of Israel. However, none of these are actually called “dispensations” in the Scriptures, so any such listing is bound to be somewhat arbitrary.
The first dispensation Innocence,God worked face to face with His highest creation, made in His own image. After the fall of Adam and Eve, mankind was no longer innocent, and God appealed to humans to use their divinely implanted consciences to do right. That brought in the second dispensation The second dispensation Conscience, Which lasted for about 1600 years until God could tolerate the sin no more and brought a flood to destroy all but eight persons-a remnant to continue His sovereign plan for mankind. During the third dispensation of Human Government, Civil authority was established to govern society, but again, mankind rebelled-this time, at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:4). The fourth is called the dispensation of Promise.After God dispersed the people, He created the nation of Israel from Abraham and his descendants .After God had created the Hebrew people, He gave them the Law through Moses the fifth dispensation of Law. God's people consistently broke the commandments, but the Law was finally fulfilled in Christ. The Lord then established the dispensation of Grace.
God's unmerited favor would finally allow His chosen people (believing Jews and Gentiles) to have lasting fellowship with Him.Grace is the sixth dispensation (John 19:31 to Revelation 3:22).Stewards:The church. All believers are ministers of their spiritual fruit and a "holy nation" (1 Peter 2:9)The Period:From the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) to the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), a period of nearly 2,000 years and countingResponsibility: To be perfected by sanctification; to love one another; to exhibit ever-increasing godliness (1 Thessalonians 4:3 2 John 1:5)Failure:A lack of maturity; worldliness; many churches falling into apostasy (Galatians 5:4 2 Timothy 3:1-5)Judgment:The blindness of apostasy and false doctrine (2 Thessalonians 2:3 2 Timothy 4:3)Grace: Forgiveness of sins through Christ Jesus (1 John 1:3-7 John 14:20)This dispensation of Grace is often referred to as the Church Age because it is during this era that Jesus is building His Church (Matthew 16:18).
It began at Pentecost (Acts 2) and will end when all who are born again by the baptism of the Holy Spirit are raptured out of this world to be with Jesus Himself (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
The Church is mentioned again in Revelation 19 as returning to earth with the Lord Jesus at His Second Coming.Grace is God's kindness to the undeserving.
Grace is the rule of life for the Church, and through the Church God's grace is extended to the whole world, as the gospel of Jesus Christ is taken to the ends of the earth.
It has been said that grace saved us (Ephesians 2:8-9),
It supports us (Romans 5:2), It teaches us (Titus 2:11-12), and It disciplines us (1 Corinthians 11:28-32 Hebrews 12:5-11). With the Holy Spirit indwelling His Church, we are able to walk with the Lord and live as He intends (Philippians 2:13 Ephesians 2:10 5:17-18 Philippians 1:6 4:13 Romans 8:14). It is not heaven yet, and it is far short of perfection, but as the Church is being sanctified, it provides a little taste of heaven on earth (Ephesians 2:21-22
There are two dispensations, however, specifically called such in Scripture.
One is the “dispensation of the fulness of times,” when God will “gather together in one all things in Christ” (Ephesians 1:10).
This will be the eternal economy of the new heavens and new earth (Revelation 21–22).
There are generally considered to be seven dispensations, although some theologians believe there are nine.
Depending on the viewpoint, dispensations can number as few as three or as many as thirty-seven.
For now, we will limit ourselves to the seven basic dispensations found in Scripture, and more in particular the Dispensation of Grace.
Dispensation of Grace
This is known as the sixth dispensation of God (See: What are the seven dispensations of God)
The sixth dispensation is the Dispensation of Grace, represented by the New Covenant through Jesus Christ and His death on the Cross. This "Church Age" occurs between the 69th and 70th week of Daniel.It starts with the birth of Christ and ends with the Rapture of the church as revealed in 1 Thessalonians 4.
This dispensation is worldwide and includes both Jews and the Gentiles. It is the divine plan of reconciliation by Christ to call people to repentance and become a part of the family of God who will spend eternity in the final state of the new heaven and earth with Him. This dispensation includes the work of the Holy Spirit indwelling believers (John 14:16-26) as the Comforter.
The terms of this dispensation are expressed in John 3:16 and John 14:1-6. Jesus said you must be born again. This dispensation has been going on for over 2,000 years, and no one knows when it will end. We do know that it will end with the rapture of all born-again believers from the earth to go to heaven with Christ, followed by the judgments of God which will last for 7 years. During this time of judgment will be revealed the Antichrist, the false prophet, the mark of the beast, and an all-out war against the Jews and anyone who will not worship the idol the Antichrist sets up in the temple. During this time many people will come to Christ and be born again and many will die for their faith in Christ. This dispensation ends with the battle of Armageddon and the death of all non-believers.
Then there is this present “dispensation of the grace of God.” We, like Paul, have been called as “stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10). So, like Paul, each of us could say that “a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me” (1 Corinthians 9:17), and that “I am made a minister |or ‘servant’|, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me” (Colossians 1:25). Thus the dispensation of grace is a real stewardship responsibility committed to each believer.
“What are the seven dispensations?”Dispensationalism is a method of interpreting history that divides God's work and purposes toward mankind into different periods of time. Usually, there are seven dispensations identified, although some theologians believe there are nine. Others count as few as three or as many as thirty-seven dispensations. In this article, we will limit ourselves to the seven basic dispensations found in Scripture.The first dispensation is called theDispensation of Innocence(Genesis 1:28-30and2:15-17). This dispensation covered the period of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. In this dispensation God’s commands were to (1) replenish the earth with children, (2) subdue the earth, (3) have dominion over the animals, (4) care for the garden, and (5) abstain from eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God warned of the punishment of physical and spiritual death for disobedience. This dispensation was a short-lived and was brought to an end by Adam and Eve's disobedience in eating the forbidden fruit and their expulsion from the garden.The second dispensation is called theDispensation of Conscience, and it lasted about 1,656 years from the time of Adam and Eve's eviction from the garden until the flood (Genesis 3:8-8:22). This dispensation demonstrates what mankind will do if left to his own will and conscience, which have been tainted by the inherited sin nature. The five major aspects of this dispensation are 1) a curse on the serpent, 2) a change in womanhood and childbearing, 3) a curse on nature, 4) the imposing of work on mankind to produce food, and 5) the promise of Christ as the seed who will bruise the serpent’s head (Satan).The third dispensation is the Dispensation ofHuman Government, which began inGenesis 8. God had destroyed life on earth with a flood, saving just one family to restart the human race. God made the following promises and commands to Noah and his family:1. God will not curse the earth again.2. Noah and family are to replenish the earth with people.3. They shall have dominion over the animal creation.4. They are allowed to eat meat.5. The law of capital punishment is established.6. There never will be another worldwide flood.7. The sign of God’s promise will be the rainbow.Noah's descendants did not scatter and fill the earth as God had commanded, thus failing in their responsibility in this dispensation. About 325 years after the flood, the earth's inhabitants began building a tower, a great monument to their solidarity and pride (Genesis 11:7-9). God brought the construction to a halt, creating different languages and enforcing His command to fill the earth. The result was the rise of different nations and cultures. From that point on, human governments have been a reality.The fourth dispensation, called theDispensation of Promise, started with the call of Abraham, continued through the lives of the patriarchs, and ended with the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt, a period of about 430 years. During this dispensation God developed a great nation that He had chosen as His people (Genesis 12:1–Exodus 19:25).The basic promise during the Dispensation of Promise was the Abrahamic Covenant. Here are some of the key points of that unconditional covenant:1. From Abraham would come a great nation that God would bless with natural and spiritual prosperity.2. God would make Abraham's name great.3. God would bless those that blessed Abraham's descendants and curse those that cursed them.4. In Abraham all the families of the earth will be blessed. This is fulfilled in Jesus Christ and His work of salvation.5. The sign of the covenant is circumcision.6. This covenant, which was repeated to Isaac and Jacob, is confined to the Hebrew people and the 12 tribes of Israel.The fifth dispensation is called theDispensation of Law. It lasted almost 1,500 years, from the Exodus until it was suspended after Jesus Christ's death. This dispensation will continue during the Millennium, with some modifications. During the Dispensation of Law, God dealt specifically with the Jewish nation through the Mosaic Covenant, or the Law, found inExodus 19-23. The dispensation involved temple worship directed by priests, with further direction spoken through the God's mouthpieces, the prophets. Eventually, due to the people's disobedience to the covenant, the tribes of Israel lost the Promised Land and were subjected to bondage.The sixth dispensation, the one in which we now live, is theDispensation of Grace. It began with the New Covenant in Christ's blood (Luke 22:20). This "Age of Grace" or "Church Age" occurs between the 69th and 70th week ofDaniel 9:24. It starts with the death of Christ and ends with the Rapture of the church (1 Thessalonians 4). This dispensation is worldwide and includes both Jews and the Gentiles. Man's responsibility during the Dispensation of Grace is to believe in Jesus, the Son of God (John 3:18). In this dispensation the Holy Spirit indwells believers as the Comforter (John 14:16-26). This dispensation has lasted for over 2,000 years, and no one knows when it will end. We do know that it will end with the Rapture of all born-again believers from the earth to go to heaven with Christ. Following the Rapture will be the judgments of God lasting for seven years.The seventh dispensation is called theMillennial Kingdom of Christ and will last for 1,000 years as Christ Himself rules on earth. This Kingdom will fulfill the prophecy to the Jewish nation that Christ will return and be their King. The only people allowed to enter the Kingdom are the born-again believers from the Age of Grace and righteous survivors of the seven years of tribulation. No unsaved person is allowed access into this kingdom. Satan is bound during the 1,000 years. This period ends with the final judgment (Revelation 20:11-14). The old world is destroyed by fire, and the New Heaven and New Earth ofRevelation 21and22will begin