The three dispensations

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.”

– Hebrews T he

1:1–2 Bible is filled with internal evidence that proves that God has communicated with mankind. The Scriptures are a product of God delivering His Word to man (2 Tim. 3:16), as God has supplied man with “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).

Man is not forced to wander through life ignorantly, hoping to be pleasing to God by chance, but because the Scriptures have been delivered to mankind, we have the blessing of being able to search the Scriptures, apply the teachings found within to our lives, obey them, have hope in the promises found within, and teach the commands of God to those that have not obeyed. In the beginning God created man, made in the likeness of His image (Gen. 1:27), but God did not create mankind and leave them to “figure out” what they needed to know, but He communicated with man, communed with them, and over the three periods of time (“dispensations”) God has continued to communicate with mankind in various ways. Jeremiah rightly concluded that man is unable to direct his steps (Jeremiah 10:23), and being that we are unable to direct ourselves, we depend upon the wisdom and instruction of God that has been delivered throughout the ages. It must be observed, however, that God has communicated in different, “divers manners” (Heb.

1:1), and does not communicate with man, today, as He did in times past.

Patriarchal Age: The Patriarchal Age is the period that began at creation and ended when the Law of Moses was given.

This period is approximately 2500 years and is recorded in Scripture between Genesis 1 to Exodus 20. A patriarch was a male leader of a family or tribe, and God communicated with these men, delivered oral commands to these men, and expected these commands to be followed.

It is obvious that there was a Law in place during this period, such can be seen in the two offerings of Cain and Able (Genesis 4), as God did not respect the offering Cain offered (Gen. 4:5), and it can be assumed there was a Law in place regarding the offerings that were made under that dispensation of time. During this period, God spoke directly to man, just as Noah was one that received warning and instruction directly from God (Genesis 6). Abraham was told by God to leave his father’s house and go to a land God would show him (Gen. 12:1-3). The eternal plan of God was in place during this dispensation, and this is seen in what the patriarchs were told. When sin entered the world, there was a promise that was given of One that would come and resolve the issue of sin (Gen.

3:15). When Abraham was promised that his seed would be blessed, there was also a promise given for all nations of the earth (Gen. 12:3). The patriarchs were not ignorant of God’s eternal plan of redemption of mankind and had some knowledge of God’s eternal plan.

Mosaic Age: The Mosaic Age is the period that began when God delivered His Law to Israel and covers a period of about 1500 years (from Exodus 20 until Acts 2). This Law was delivered directly from God to Moses on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19-20) and Moses would deliver this Law to all Israel. This Law was given to Israel to sanctify them as a holy people unto God (Exodus 19:5-6; Deut. 6:1-3; 6:24-25). The Law of Moses contained an estimated 613 commands the people were to keep. These Laws included the manner which sacrifices were to be made, it contained civil Laws for Israel, there were Laws which restricted Israel’s diet and work. All these Laws were given to sanctify Israel from the other nations of the world. This Law was given to be a “schoolmaster” to prepare the way for Christ (Gal. 3:24ff.). The promise given to Abraham under the former dispensation promised “all nations” of the earth would be blessed through the seed of Abraham, and Israel received the Law from God to keep them pure for the purpose of Christ being delivered into the world through this seed line. When the New Testament begins, there is a long list of names that connect Jesus to Abraham (Matt. 1), proving Jesus to be the Messiah, and with the coming of Christ came the fulfillment of the Old Law (Matt. 5:17).

During the Mosaic Age there was also prophets, which God employed to deliver His Word to man. In the prophets, God warned the rebellious nation of Israel of the dangers of their sin and the coming of captivity if they failed to repent. God would deliver messages of repentance to “heathen” nations as well, as Jonah was sent to the Ninevites.

Through the prophets, God would foretell of the coming Messiah (some have suggested there are upwards of 350 prophecies of Christ in the Old Testament), which is further internal evidence that the Scriptures are a product of God and not man.

The church Age: The final dispensation of time is the church Age. This period began when the Gospel was proclaimed by the apostles in the city of Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and continues until the time when man will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Whereas the Law of Moses was delivered to Israel, the Law of Christ is delivered to all humanity (Matt. 28:1820; Mark 16:15-16). Jesus came to shed His blood for the remission of sin (Matt.

26:28) and in so doing He tore down the wall of partition that was between us (Eph. 2:11ff.), and having fulfilled the Law of Moses, He nailed the Old Law to the cross, taking it out of the way (Col. 2:14). Now that Christ has been offered as a propitiation for mankind, He has given His testament, and Law by which mankind is to live and be redeemed (Heb. 8-10). When Jesus ascended into heaven to take His rightful place at the right hand of God, He instructed His apostles to begin preaching in Jerusalem and then go to the uttermost parts of the earth preaching the Gospel, converting souls that would obey, and the Lord would add them to the body/church of Christ (Acts 1-2). This great commission that was given to the apostles was carried out by them (Col. 1:23), the church was established (Acts 20:28), and now any who will obey the commands of our Lord can be redeemed, added to the church, and enjoy the promises contained in the Law of Christ (1 Peter 1:3-5).

The things written in the past are given to us for our learning and give us hope (Rom. 15:4). God has provided a living hope in Jesus and has communicated to us through Him (Heb. 1:1-2).

Jeremy Thornton is Minister of Highway 77 Church of Christ in Marion, Arkansas.

Jeremy Thornton

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