Dispensation of Grace

Acts 2:1-Rev 20:2


The beginning of the book of Acts is really a transition because it isn't until the Jews nationally reject their Messiah that the gospel is publicly and directly taken to the Gentiles. Though the church is born early in Acts, it is still made up of mainly Jews. Many believe that if the Jews had accepted the preaching of Peter then the Lord Jesus Christ would have returned from Heaven and immediately set up His earthly Kingdom. But, in the foreknowledge of God, this was not to happen and instead, the Jews nationally rejected the message and eventually we see the final statement that the gospel was to be taken to the Gentiles (Acts 28:27-29). We see glimmers of the Jews' rejection in the words of the Lord Himself in Matthew 21:43 as we saw last week.
 

Steward:

Paul (Eph 3:1-12, 1 Tim 1:16)
 

Man's Responsibility:

Finally, God gives man the complete picture from the beginning right through to the end as the Apostles wrote as they were directly inspired. We now have this written Word which is both complete and (the original) inerrant! (see Heb 2:3-4). What will we now do with the complete written Word of God?

We are responsible to receive the written Word of God by faith and commanded to rightly divide it. (2 Tim 2:15)

We are to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved (Romans 10:9-13, 1 Cor 15:3-4, etc). Salvation is obtained by grace through faith, not by any works of our own. (Eph. 2:8,9). Religion is doing, while salvation is done (the work completed by Christ on our behalf).

We are responsible to preach the Lord Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the Mystery (Rom 16:25; 1 Cor 9:16-18) and "to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery" (Eph. 3:9). We are to labor under the commission of this present dispensation.

It is interesting to note that while the great commission was given to the disciples (Mt 28:19-20, this gospel of the Kingdom ceased to be preached when salvation was taken to the Gentiles! We see from history that it was not the 12 who took the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth, in fact, they did not get much further than Jerusalem. This gospel of the kingdom will again be preached in the tribulation at which time there will be 144,000 Jewish missionaries and the truth of the great commission will then be fulfilled in the fullest sense. (Right now, we would be stretching it to say there were even 40,000 missionaries on the fields today). How do we know this? Well, if you look at what the Lord Jesus Christ taught his disciples and thus what they were to teach all nations, it was regarding the rules of the Kingdom, see Mt 5 (especially 3-20). Let us compare Mt 5 with the teaching of the mystery revealed by Paul and confirmed by Peter:
 
Kingdom Rules
Church Teaching
Mt 5:3-4, 6 Ephes 1:1-15, Col 2:10, 2 Pet 1:3-4, Gal 3:1-3
Mt 5:5 Php 3:20, 1 Cor 15:50
Mt 5:7 1 Pet 2:10
Mt 5:8 1 John 3:2
Mt 5:9 Gal 4:5, Rom 8:15
Mt 5:10 1 Thes 4:16-18
Mt 5:12 Are we prophets?
Mt 5:13-14 The Jews were to be the salt of the earth but they were cast out (temporarily) and trodden underfoot (Mt 24:1 predicts this)
Mt 6:10-15 Ephes 4:32 (hath is past tense)
Mt 18:20 Mt 28:20, Heb 13:5

The Jews were an earthly people, but we as the church are a heavenly people (Php 3:20). While the Jews were given promises and conditional blessings, we as a heavenly people have all spiritual blessings and all promises already fulfilled in Christ (2 Cor 1:20). We are complete in Christ whereas the Jews had to continually strive for the blessings. It is in this sense that the church (made up of both believing Jews and Gentiles) has an unconditional relationship with God through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ (though it is true that we must believe on His name).
 

Character of Dispensation


God dispenses grace to a lost and dying world (Eph. 2:5; 3:2). In this present Dispensation of grace a new creation has been brought into existence (2 Cor. 5:17) " ... the Church, which is His Body..." (Eph. 1:22,23). This Body of Christ is made up of the believing Jew and Gentile, without distinction (Eph. 2:14-17). Christ is the Head (not the king) of this Body (Col. 1:18) and He carries out His heavenly ministry (Phil. 2:9; Eph. 1:20-23, Heb 2:18-19, 4:15) as our great High Priest.

We see a shift from the physical to the spiritual, compare the tabernacle and temple representing God's presence with the Jewish nation with verses like John 2:18-19, 1 Cor 6:19-20, 2 Cor 6:16, Heb 13:5, 1 Pet 2:5, etc. Also see Luke 17:20-26. This does not mean that we are spiritual Israel!!! There will still be a future physical Kingdom as so many of the Old Testament prophesies speak of (Zech 12:10, 14:4, etc). Has God cast away His people forever? See Romans 11:1-2. Though God will take up His plan with the Jews, we too will be trophies of His grace in the ages to come (Ephes 2:7).

In this present Dispensation of Grace believers are baptized (identified with) by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12:13, Ephes 1:13).

Just because we are under grace it does not mean we are free to do as we will (see Rom 6:1-2, and 1 Cor 6:19-20 etc). We do not obey the law for salvation (Gal 3:11-13, 3:24, Rom 3:19-28, 4:4-5), but the law of Christ (John 13:34, Gal 6:2, Mt 22:40) which encompasses the moral law given to Moses. This is still God's standard and our lives should bear appropriate fruit as sons of God (Gal 5:22, 5:16, 2 Tim 2:19, etc).
 
 

The Failure:

Man has failed to trust God yet again, even with the written testimony of over 40 authors!

Worst of all, man has rejected God's final word to us, the Lord Jesus Christ. How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? (Heb 2:3)

The Church is making the same mistake it made in the days of the Apostle Paul, forsaking the true message of grace (Gal 3:1-5). Its final plight is seen in the letters to the churches in Rev 2-3, ending with Christ locked out of the gathering which is supposed to be His body.
 

The Judgment

God will pour out His wrath on the unsaved during the Great Tribulation which will last seven years. The unsaved who die during this judgment will join the other unsaved dead of all ages at the Great White Throne to be cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:11-15).
 

Grace and Salvation:

Just as the righteous were saved before each judgment in prior dispensations (Gen 19:23-33, 1 Thess 5:9, Col 3:6, Ephes 5:6, Rom 1:18, John 3:36, Rev 14:10, 14:19, 15:1, 15:7, 16:1), the true church will be snatched away before the seven year Great Tribulation period (1 Thess 4:13-18, 1 Cor 15:51-52). Though the believer will be judged, this judgment is for service, not salvation (1 Cor 3:11-15).

Even during the Great Tribulation, God will still demonstrate grace by sealing 144000 servants from the twelve tribes of Israel and by sending an angel who will preach the everlasting gospel to the inhabitants of the earth during this time (Rev 7:2-4, 14:1-6).
 

What can we learn from this dispensation?

Though we are given the full revelation of God in the written word, we will twist it and not take the time or effort to rightly divide it. We will take advantage of God's grace and our so-called church gatherings will become more and more like the world to the point where our worship is sensual and worldly, our breaking of bread remembrance feast is a ritual or forgotten altogether and our love will grow cold. Worst of all, we will think this kind of gathering is glorifying to God! The letters to the churches in Rev 2-3 show the sorry state of Christendoom by the end of the dispensation when Christ is locked out of the so-called church which is supposed to be His body (Rev 3:20). Let us take heed to Php 1:9-11, Heb 10:22-25, and 2 Tim 2:15-16 lest we be ashamed at His glorious appearing.
 

J Stephen

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