Finally we are now going to spend time ordering the events we talked about a couple of posts ago and attach importance to them. We are going to use a very helpful "tool" in our discussions, a tool that will help us order these “last things” and other events. A tool that will help us look at how God is now dealing with man, and how he has dealt with man in the past.
Let's read some verses:
Matthew 5:17-18 (NIV)
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen; will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Now let's compare this with:
Galatians 2:16 (NIV)
Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
Now read:
Matthew 10:5-6 (NIV)
These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.
Compared with:
Matthew 28:19 (NIV)
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
If nothing else these verses demonstrate that God, through time, has decided to deal differently with man. Not changing the ways in which man can be saved, but definitely changing the rules with which he intends to deal with man. The above verses point to differences in these dealings and raise some questions.
In order for us to answer these questions we are going to talk about a theological system called Dispensationalism. What is it?
Charles Ryrie says:
“Dispensationalism views the world as a household run by God. In His household-world God is dispensing or administering its affairs according to His own will and in various stages of revelation in the passage of time. These various stages mark off the distinguishably different economies in the outworking of His total purpose, and these different economies constitute the dispensations. The understanding of God’s differing economies is essential to a proper interpretation of His revelation within those various economies.”
Let's read some more verses paying special attention to the word "age":
Matthew 12:32 (NIV)
Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come
Matthew 13:39 (NIV)
And the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Matthew 13:40 (NIV)
“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.
Matthew 13:49 (NIV)
This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous
Matthew 24:3 (NIV)
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Mark 10:30 (NIV)
Will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life
Romans 16:25 (NIV)
Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past,
Colossians 1:26 (NIV)
The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.
Galatians 1:4 (NIV)
Who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
1 Corinthians 10:11 (NIV)
These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.
Hebrews 9:26 (NIV)
Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Wow, that is a lot of verses. Now let's read Eph 3:1 -11 and listen to the important element that is added by the Apostle Paul:
Ephesians 3:1-11 (NIV)
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This is a hard passage but the main points are that the Church was a mystery that in "ages past" was kept hidden in God. The next point is that the Apostle Paul states here that it has been given to him to bring to light the "administration of this mystery" in this present age. The word age here is defined as "a period of time in history or in the development of man." The word administration here is the word οἰκονομία [oikonomia /oy·kon·om·ee·ah/], this word is translated dispensation in the King James, it is the word where we get our English word economy. Webster's defines this word as "an art of managing a household; the management of the affairs of a group, community, or establishment with a view to insuring its maintenance or productiveness; God's plan or system for the governing of the world."
So in this passage we get the idea that God has ordered his "house", in an organized way. God has done this in and through different "ages" or periods of time. These different ages and economies form the basis for the tool known as Dispensationalism.
Jennifer says I should break this up in chunks, so this is it for this chunk, there will be another chunk soon.
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