by Dr. Ralph L. Keiper Director, Editorial Research Evangelical Foundation
will show the importance of the dispensation of grace for every Gentile believer. It is the cross which introduces this dispensation. John the Baptist indirectly proclaimed it in his announcement: “Behold, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” Jews had had their lamb. Then Gentiles had none unless they were willing to become Jews. Before the cross, God had manifested His grace fo all mankind. Since the law, however, God’s full grace was mediated through the Jewish nation. Gen tiles could get nothing from God unless they first become Jews. Paul makes this abundantly clear. “Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Is rael, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: BUT NOW IN GHRIST JESUS ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:11-13). It goes without saying that the state of the Gentiles before the cross had been pretty desperate. They were not a people. But in Christ they were brought nigh to God. They were now partakers of the new covenant along with all the believing Jews. Paul is not backward in declaring that he was given the divine privilege of unveiling the dispensation of grace to the Gentiles. “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship [i dispensation ASV] of the mystery which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now, unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confi dence by the faith of him” (Eph. 3:8-12). Thus Paul shows us that a new administration was about to operate, the Gentiles were about to be given a new deal. No longer would the old Jewish economy be operative. It is interesting to note that the Revised Stand ard Version restores the Greek idea of the dispensation of the mystery which the Authorized Version mistrans lates by the “fellowship of the mystery” in verse nine. If Paul had been content to teach only one dispen sation, his teaching could be ignored. Running the word dispensation through a concordance, however, one will note that he taught several more. He claims he obtained his knowledge of these things from God. It is difficult to believe that God obtained His teaching from Scofield or from the Plymouth Brethren, or from seminaries like Dallas or Talbot, since Paul received his revelation from God before Talbot and Dallas, the Scofield Reference Bible, and the Plymouth Brethren came into being. God may have misled Paul, but it does appear that the Semi naries, the Plymouth Brethren and Scofield must have consulted him. TH E KING'S BUSINESS
F r o m it s r e c e n t c r it ic s , it appears that dispensation- alism has taken a turn for the worse in evangelical circles. All these enemies of this truth seem to agree that dispensationalism is a modem heresy which has no Bi blical basis whatsoever. It is claimed that dispensation alism is relatively recent, having as its sponsors the Ply mouth Brethren and the Scofield Reference Bible, and that it is being kept alive by Dallas Theological Seminary. Furthermore, according to its foes, much of the ugliness within evangelical circles is due to the dispensational interpretation of the Scriptures. Some dispensationalists may have a mean spirit 'but it does not necessarily follow that dispensationalism is re sponsible for it. It may be that Dallas Theological Semi nary is keeping alive dispensationalism this does not nec essarily mean that because Dallas teaches dispensation alism that dispensationalism is false. And though the Scofield Reference Bible and the Plymouth Brethren may not have historic church sanction, it does not necessarily follow that their views are non-Biblical. Justification by faith was a novelty to the church when Martin Luther proposed it, and even now, among some Protestants as well as Catholics, it is still a heresy. The other day I read a little book which was written before the Plymouth Brethren, the Scofield Reference Bible or seminaries such as Talbot and Dallas were even thought of. It was written by a man who evidently held to some form of dispensationalism. What made the book interesting was the author’s claim that all he knew about religion he had received directly from God. What made his claim fantastic was that he held that no one before had been given the truth as he and his contemporaries had. If this writer had written in the twentieth century, he would have been derided and reckoned a fool. The book I have reference to is the Epistle to the Ephesians, and the author is the Apostle Paul. In a num ber of his other letters, he discusses the subject of dis pensationalism. In Ephesians, chapter three, he discusses the dispensation of grace. He directs his message to the believers who were formerly Gentiles. He indicates to them that if it were not' for this particular dispensation they would have no place in the covenant of God. Thus the dispensation of grace is important to Gentile be lievers, not as a doctrine over which to argue, but as the truth which assures them of direct access to the presence of God. Listen to Paul as he presents his message concerning the dispensation of grace. “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward; How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel” (Eph. 3:1-6). A careful examination of the last verse of the passage 14
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