Transcript Document

Dispensationalism
I.
What does “dispensation” mean?
II.
Dispensationalism as a system of
theology.
III. Divisions of Dispensationalism.
IV. Concluding Observations.
V.
How Should We Then Live?
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I.
What does “Dispensation” mean?
A. The English word “dispensation” is an English form
of the Latin dispensatio, which the Vulgate uses to
translate the Greek word “oikonomia.”
B. The Latin verb means “to weigh out or dispense.”
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I. What does “Dispensation” mean?
C. Three principle ideas are connected to the meaning of
the English word:
(1) The action of dealing out or distributing;
(2) The action of administering, ordering, or managing; the
system by which things are administered;
(3) The action of dispensing with some requirement.
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I. What does “Dispensation” mean?
D. Defining the use of the word theologically, the
Oxford English Dictionary says that a dispensation is
the following:
“a stage in a progressive revelation, expressly
adapted to the needs of a particular nation or period
of time….Also, the age or period during which a
system has prevailed.”
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What does “Dispensationalism” mean?
E. The Greek word “oikonomia” comes from the verb that
means “to manage, regulate, administer, and plan.” The
word itself is a compound whose parts mean literally “to
divide, apportion, administer or manage the affairs of an
inhabited house.”
F. In the papyri the officer (oikonomos) who administered the
dispensation was referred to as a steward or manager of an
estate, or as a treasurer. Thus, the central idea in the word
dispensation is that of managing or administering the affairs
of a household.
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What does “Dispensationalism” mean?
G.
The various forms of the word “dispensation” appear in the New
Testament twenty times:
(1) Verb “oikonomeo” is used once in Luke 16:2 where it is translated “to be a
steward.”
(2) Noun “oikonomos” appears ten times (Luke 12:42; 16:1, 3, 8; Rom. 16:23; 1 Cor.
4:1-2; Gal. 4:2; Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 4:10) and is typically translated “steward” or
“manager” (but “treasurer” in Rom. 16:23).
(3) Noun “oikonomia” is used nine times (Luke 16:2,3,4; 1 Cor. 9:17; Eph. 1:10,
3:2,9; Col. 1:25; 1 Tim. 1:4). In these instances it is translated variously,
“stewardship,” “dispensation,” “administration,” “job,” “commission.”
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II.
Dispensational Theology as a
System of Theology:
We now will proceed to move from
understanding what the term “dispensation”
means to
“Dispensationalism” as a system or model of
theology.
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II.
Dispensationalism as a System of
theology:
A. There are many systems of theology in the
Christian faith. For example:
1. Philosophical, Natural Theology which is the
attempt to attain an understanding of God and his
relationship to the universe by means of
rationalism, without any appeal to special
revelation.
2. Lutheran Theology builds around three
fundamental doctrines: sola Scriptura, sola gratia,
and sola fide.
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II.
Dispensationalism as a System of
Theology:
3. Reformed Theology builds around the central
theme of the sovereignty of God.
4. Arminian Theology builds around themes of
free will, human will, divine foreknowledge,
universal common grace, and the fairness (justice)
of God.
5. Wesleyan Theology is Arminian but has a
stronger view of both the reality of sin and
dependence on divine grace.
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II.
Dispensationalism as a System of
Theology:
6. Liberal Theology seeks to articulate Christianity in terms of
contemporary culture and thinking; they attempt to maintain the essence
of Christianity in contemporary terms and images. Scripture, reason,
tradition, and experience tend to be viewed on the same level with each
other.
7. Existential Theology builds around “demytholizing” Scripture
(whereby we reject not Scripture but the worldview of a past epoch),
explaining anything supernatural as a myth, and seeing the Christian
faith as a subjective experience, rather than objective truth to embrace
(e.g., doctrine of salvation).
8. Neo-orthodox Theology builds around more of a hermeneutical
approach than a system of theology but it rejects both liberalism and
fundamentalism by emphasizing theology as an encounter between God
and man.
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II.
Dispensationalism as a System of
Theology:
9. Liberation Theology builds around social change and
how these changes might occur through political action
(e.g., Christian Marxism). There are several types:
10.Black Theology is a form of liberation theology that
centers around black consciousness and social issues.
11. Feminist Theology is a form of liberation theology
that emphasizes “female critical consciousness” and
freedom from gender biases, both personally and socially.
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II. Dispensationalism as a system of
theology:
12. Covenant Theology, a form of reformed theology,
centers on one overall covenant known as the
covenant of grace or the covenant of redemption. This
covenant, made among the members of the Godhead
including the following three elements:
A. The Father chose a people to be his own;
B. The Son was designated with his agreement to pay the
penalty of their sin;
C. The Holy Spirit was designated with his agreement to
apply the work of the Son to this chosen people.
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II.
Dispensationalism as a system of
theology:
1. The covenant of grace explains the unity of
redemption through all the ages beginning with
the Fall: it is worked out in history.
2. God has one people, the church, for whom
he has one plan in all the ages since
Adam: to call out this people into one body
in both the Old and New Testament ages.
3. The plan of salvation is one of grace, being an
outworking of the eternal covenant of grace and comes
through faith in Jesus Christ.
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II.
Dispensational Theology is a
System of Theology:
B. Traditional-normative dispensational theology is a system that
embodies three essential, fundamental concepts (sine qua
non):
1. The consistent use of a plain, normal, literal,
grammatical-historical-literary method of interpretation;
2. Which reveals that the Church is distinct from Israel;
3. God’s overall purpose is to bring glory to Himself
(Eph. 1:6, 12, 14).
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1.
Normative Interpretation:
C. Fundamental and unique is the belief that we consistently
seek to give each word the same meaning it would have in its
normal usage.
1. It is also known as plain interpretation because we
recognize symbols, figures of speech, types, etc. These are
interpreted plainly in order to communicate their intended
meaning to the reader. In other words, symbols, figures of
speech, and types are normal literary tools that are used to
clarify or emphasize thoughts and ideas;
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1.
Normative Interpretation:
2.
Literal, plain, or normative interpretation
results in accepting the text of Scripture as its face
value.
3.
The text taken at face value leads one to
recognize the distinctions in the progress of divine
revelation whereby God uses different economies or
dispensations in the outworking of His program.
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1.
Normative Interpretation:
D. We are able to validate the assumption of using a
plain, normal, literal, grammatical-historical-literary
method of interpretation with the following three
reasons:
1.
Philosophically: Language was given by God for the purpose of
communication with humanity. Therefore, God would give His
linguistic communication in the most understandable way-literally
and normally. It seems unlikely that God would go to all the trouble
of revealing Himself to people in a manner that only caused people
confusion and uncertainty in their understanding of who God is and
how He works.
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1.
Normative Interpretation:
2. Biblically: The O.T. prophecies concerning Christ’s birth
and rearing, ministry, death, and resurrection were all
fulfilled literally.
3. Logically: In order to maintain objectivity the literal
method of interpretation must be employed. This ensures
that impartiality is maintained and prevents the interpreter
from overlaying biblical truth with personal thoughts.
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1.
Normative Interpretation:
E.
Strengths and weaknesses of literal interpretation:
Strengths of Literal hermeneutics:
– Textual based interpretation;
– Historically acknowledged in the School of Antioch, Reformed
Theology (e.g., Charles Hodge; development of
Dispensationalism).
– Attempts to minimize any subjective judgments of the
interpreter.
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1.
Normative Interpretation:
• Weaknesses of literal hermeneutics:
– Inadequate attention to all the tasks of interpretation (e.g.,
neglect in the areas of application);
– The ambiguity of the word “literal” makes the meaning
confusing; either literal meaning refers to reality, or literal
meaning involves normal use of language without any formal
way to identify figurative uses from non-figurative uses.
– Doesn’t eliminate readers’ decisions and involvement in
fashioning the meaning communicated so that a more complete
discussion of goal and process of interpretation is needed.
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1.
Normative Interpretation:
F. Interpretation follows the following procedures:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Recognition (observation)
Analysis and Exegesis (interpretation)
Application
Validation
Correlation (theology)
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1.
Normative Interpretation:
G. Normative Interpretation involves the presupposition
that the Bible is a theological revelation:
“- God reveals His messages through human authors
(without necessarily involving dictation) expressed in
an inspired text….
- When God speaks, the message intended as
expressed, is true.
- God may incorporate various literary genre but all
make reference, according to the literary conventions,
to reality.” ~ Dr. Elliott E. Johnson
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1.
Normative Interpretation:
Thus, normative, traditional
dispensationalism is the result of the
consistent use of the basic hermeneutical
principle of literal interpretation. And
though dispensationalists have not all
been consistent in their usage at all
times, this claim for literal interpretation
can be made by no other system of
theology.
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2.
Clear Distinction between Israel
and the Church:
a. The church is seen as distinct from Israel for two
fundamental reasons:
1.
Its character: In O.T. God was dealing
primarily with the nation of Israel, which consisted
of the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and
Jacob. On the other hand the church consists of
believing Jews and Gentiles baptized into the body
of Christ (1 Cor. 12:14) and indwelt by the Holy
Spirit.
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2.
Clear Distinction between Israel
and the Church:
2. Its time: The church age began after
the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Eph.
1:20-22), and His ascension (Eph. 4:712). Therefore, since believers of this
age are baptized into the body of Christ
(1 Cor. 12:13), the church age began
with the baptizing ministry of the Holy
Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2;
11:15-16).
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2.
Clear Distinction between Israel
and the Church:
The church is a mystery that was not revealed to past
generations (Eph. 3:3-5, 9; Col. 1:26-7). This mystery,
now revealed, includes the uniting of Jewish and Gentile
believers in one spiritual body, Christ indwelling
believers, and the future rapture of the unified body (1
Cor. 15:50-58).
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2.
Clear Distinction between Israel
and the Church:
Therefore, this distinction between Israel and
the Church is the result of historicalgrammatical interpretation. Literal
interpretation is not used solely by
dispensationalists, but its consistent use in
all areas of biblical interpretation is.
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3.
Doxological Purpose: God’s overall
purpose is to Glorify Himself.
A. God’s ultimate purpose for the ages is to glorify
Himself. Scripture is not human-centered, as though
salvation were the principle point, but God-centered,
because His glory is at the center.
B. The glory of God is the primary principle that unifies
all dispensations, the program of salvation being just
one of the means by which God glorifies Himself.
Each successive revelation of God’s plan for the ages,
as well as His dealing with the elect, non-elect,
angels, and nations all manifest His glory.
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III.
Dispensational Divisions:
So far we have considered the following:
1. dispensation as a term, &
2. dispensationalism as a system.
Now we will proceed to consider the traditional seven
dispensations:
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III.
Dispensational Divisions:
A. The sine qua non is what distinguishes a
dispensationalist from all others:
1. Consistent use of a normative interpretation;
2. Leads to a distinction between Israel and the Church;
3. God’s overall purpose is to glorify Himself.
The recognition of distinctions in the progress of
revelation reveals different dispensations that God uses in
the outworking of His plan for the ages.
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III.
Dispensational Divisions:
B. Dispensations (Greek: oikonomia) refer to
economies or different ways in which God works
with man in salvation history (see Eph. 1:10; 3:2; 1
Tim. 1:4).
C. In the traditional, normative dispensational scheme,
each dispensation begins with (1) a responsibility for
man by God, and (2) ends with failure by man and a
period of divine judgment. God is the same
yesterday, today, and tomorrow, yet dispensational
theology tends to emphasize the diversity of ways in
which God works with humanity
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III.
Dispensational Divisions:
1. First Dispensation of Innocence:
Genesis 1:28-3:6:
Adam was the key person and his responsibilities
involved the upkeep of the garden and not eating of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As a result of
failing the eating test came far-reaching judgments on
him, his wife, all of humanity, the serpent, and the entire
creation.
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III.
Dispensational Divisions:
2. Dispensation of Conscience (Gen. 4:1-8:14):
The conscience is whereby God chose to govern people.
In other words, human responsibility was to be obedient to
the dictates of their consciences. During this period there
was murder (Gen. 4:8), unnatural affection (Gen. 6:2),and
widespread evil desire and purpose of heart (Gen. 6:5).
God closed this period with the universal flood. God
spared Noah, his wife, his sons, and their wives by grace
(Gen. 6:8).
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III.
Dispensational Divisions:
3. Dispensation of Civil Government
(Gen. 8:15-11:9):
This period began after the Flood and included the
animals’ fear of people, animals given to people to eat, the
promise of no more flood, and the institution of capital
punishment. God gave people the right to take human life
which established the right to govern others. From the
beginning people failed this test when Noah became drunk
with wine and thus was incapable of ruling. This period
ended with the tower of Babel.
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III.
Dispensational Divisions:
4. Dispensation of Patriarchal Rule or Promise
(Genesis 11:10-Exodus 18:27):
During this period God chose one family and one nation
which He used as a representative test of all. Until this
dispensation all humanity had been directly linked to
God’s governing principles. The patriarchal obligation
was to believe and serve God, and God provided many
material and spiritual provisions. A specific land was
promised and blessing as long as the Israelites stayed in
that land. The nation’s failure ended in slavery in Egypt.
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III.
Dispensational Divisions:
5. Dispensation of Mosaic Law (Exodus 19:1Acts 1:26):
The people were responsible to do all the law (James
2:10) but they failed (Rom. 10:1-3). Failure brought
judgments: the ten tribes were carried into Assyrian
captivity, the two tribes to Babylon captivity, and they
were ultimately scattered throughout the world (Matt.
23:37-39) because of their rejection of Jesus Christ.
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III.
Dispensational Divisions:
6. Dispensation of the Church (Acts 2:1Revelation 19:21):
Human responsibility is to accept the gift of righteousness
which is freely offered by God to all (Rom. 5:15-18)- both
Jews and Gentiles. No longer does God deal with just one
nation but to anyone who believes. This dispensation will
end with the second coming of Jesus Christ.
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III.
Dispensational Divisions:
7. Dispensation of the Millennium
(Rev. 20:1-15)
After the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the millennial kingdom
will be established in fulfillment of the biblical, unconditional
covenants of the Old Testament (Abrahamic, Davidic, Land, and
New Covenant). The Lord Jesus will rule from Jerusalem on
David’s throne and His government will last for one thousand years,
and human responsibility will be obedience to the King and His
Laws. Satan will be bound, Christ will rule, righteousness will
predominate, and obvious disobedience will be dealt with swiftly.
This period ends with an unsuccessful rebellion against Christ’s
government. This results in those rebels being cast into eternal
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punishment.
IV.
Concluding Observations:
A. Stewardship responsibilities are placed on all who live under a
dispensation. This responsibility means active participation for
those who respond to the principle of administration and judgment
for those who reject its standards.
B. Aspects of a dispensation do not necessarily end when another
begins. There are promises given in one dispensation that are not
always fulfilled during that period (e.g., the promises in O.T. about
Christ’s first advent were not fulfilled until He came). Too, there
are things instituted in one dispensation that continue on through
every age (e.g., people made in the image of God). There are those
things that are set out in one period and then presented again in
another period (9 of the 10 commandments of the Law are restated
as part of the dispensation of church, though restrictions concerning
specific foods are done away with).
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IV.
Concluding Observations:
C. The requirement for salvation is the same during all dispensations_
it is through faith, though the content of faith differs in different
ages.
D. Dispensationalism answers the need of Biblical distinctions.
E. It answers the need of a philosophy of history.
F.
It provides consistent hermeneutics.
G. Dispensations does not make one a dispensationalist. Covenant
theologians like Berkhof and John Calvin held to 4 dispensations.
Rather, it is the sine qua non that distinguishes a dispensationalist
from all others.
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V.
How Should We Then Live?
A. Case your anxieties and take comfort in God because He is directing
history (God is sovereign).
B. Though we will suffer as believes and we may never have the
answers why we experience the affliction, etc., God will never give
less than His infinite-perfect-best (Romans 8:28-30); He knows best
even if we don’t.
C. Walk with joy knowing that you, a gentile, has been redeemed by
God’s grace; you are united with Christ by means of the baptizing
work of the Holy Spirit. Joy is fundamental to the Christian life!
D. Be sensitive to the ministries of the Holy Spirit because you are in
this dispensation.
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V.
How Should We Then Live?
E. Because you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God your
responsibility is to respond to His ability. Yield yourself to God in
the details of daily living.
F. Remember, the spiritual life of the believer is the life of Jesus Christ
reproduced in the child of God by means of the Holy Spirit.
G. Be committed! Since the Rapture of the Church could occur any
moment, we need to be watchful, be prepared, practice holiness, and
be evangelistic. Thus…
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V.
How Should We Then Live?
…routinely evaluate your Christian life:
1. Are your priorities God’s priorities?
2. Have you taken ownership of God’s likes and dislikes?
3. Are you actively committed to discipling, evangelism, giving, and
serving.
4. Are you content where you are in your spiritual life including prayer
life and knowledge of God’s Word?
5. Do you know why you believe what you believe?
6. Are you prepared to be examined by Jesus in order to reward you
accordingly at the Judgment Seat of Christ (Bema).
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