MEMORY VERSE
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth." 2Timothy 2:15
The word
of truth is the Bible. There
is a right way and wrong ways to interpret the Bible. Ephesians
2:10 tells us that ". . . we are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them." If you are
born again of the Spirit of God, then you are Christ's
workman and this verse applies to you. It tells us
to rightly divide or rightly interpret it. So let's
see what this "rightly dividing" is all about.
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RIGHTLY DIVIDING
orthotomeo or-thot-om-eh'-o - to make a straight cut, i.e.
(figuratively) to dissect (expound) correctly (the divine
message):--rightly divide.
Nothing
mysterious here. Rightly
dividing is correctly interpreting. But if we are
told to rightly divide God's word, then we need to avoid
pitfalls which will have us wrongly divide and misinterpret
it.
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WHAT IS A DISPENSATION?
oikonomia oy-kon-om-ee'-ah - administration (of a
household or estate); specially, a (religious) "economy":--dispensation,
stewardship.
A
big word, with a simple meaning. Simply
stated, people being dealt with or tested differently at
different times. When we were colonies under British
rule, the king and the parliament told the colonist what
they could do and not do. After the war for independence,
a different type of government, with different people in
positions of authority set and enforced a new set of rules. Thus
we have examples of two dispensations. Note that
the people under these different governments had responsibilities
as well as the rulers, that is they had a stewardship. No
one can deny that things were different in the Garden of
Eden before and after the fall. Sin changed everything.
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REFERENCES
Like other words in
language, "dispensation" can
have a slightly different meaning depending on the context. Note
these examples below where three of the four examples refer
to stewardships given to Paul and the fourth, a period
of time (the fullness of times).
1Corinthians 9:17 "For
if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against
my will, a dispensation <oikonomia> of
the gospel is committed unto me."
Ephesians 1:10 "That
in the dispensation <oikonomia> of
the fullness of times he might gather together in one all
things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are
on earth; even in him:"
Ephesians3:2 "If
ye have heard of the dispensation <oikonomia> of the grace of God which is given me
to you-ward:
Colossians 1:25 "Whereof
I am made a minister, according to the dispensation <oikonomia> of
God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of
God;"
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Some Definitions
-
A dispensation
is a period of time during which God deals in a particular
way with man in respect to sin and to man's responsibility. See: Ephesians
1:10; 3:5
-
A dispensation
is a stewardship or administration.
-
A dispensation is
a period of specific testing of man by God.
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A Misrepresentation
Nowhere in the Bible
does the use of the word or concept of "dispensation" suggest
or imply that men were saved in different ways at different
times.
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Agreement Among The Brethren?
Do all Christians agree that dispensations exist
in God's revealed Word?
The answer is NO! Why?
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The Reason!
All Christians do not interpret the Bible in
the same way and this leads to differing understandings of
God's plan, especially for today and the future. How
does that happen? Inconsistency - interpreting
some passages of Scripture one way and others differently.
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The Interpretation Options
-
Grammatical/Historical - Literal, allowing
for obvious figurative passages where they are clearly
indicated (Jesus said, "I am the door . . .". John
10:7, 9).
-
Allegorical - spiritualizing
- attributing some other meaning to a passage other
than what the language would allow. For example,
Hell and the Lake of Fire are not real places prepared
by God for the devil, but rather a state of mind. Get
the idea. Can you see what this can lead
to?
-
Combination of the
above
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The Correct Approach
Only this approach takes
sinful man's hands off the Word and allows it to speak
for itself as God intended. God is not the author
of confusion, but man certainly is. "2 Peter 1:21
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man:
but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost." God superintended over the writing of the
Word so that it would be without error. And if it
is without error, it says what it means, and means what
it says.
Grammatical/Historical - Literal
The Scriptures were
taught at every level of society in the early days of the
Church. It wasn't
only the Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees that read the Scriptures,
but common folk like you and me. Timothy had the Word
taught to him by his mother and grandmother. It was
intended for the common folk, to be understood in the common
sense. Therefore, every word should be understood at
its common usage unless the context clearly shows otherwise. If
the plain sense makes common sense, seek no other sense. This
does not mean that we reject figurative language, parables
and other elements of language that are understood by common
folk like you and me. Jesus interpreted the Scriptures
literally when He referred to Adam, Noah and Jonah.
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True Revelation
A literal interpretation
reveals:
-
Israel distinct
from the Church
-
Literal 1,000 year
reign of Christ on earth
-
Pre-tribulation catching
up of the Church into Glory
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How Many Dispensations?
Not all dispensationalist agree on the number
of dispensations.
Some see 6, some 7, some 8.
The most commonly accepted number today is 7.
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Look for a description
of these dispensational biblical periods in the months
ahead.
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