PART – #07 of “Dispensation Under Attack”
“The Old Testament Scriptures are both indispensable and invaluable to us”.
The Old Testament Scriptures are the story of God’s journey with the human race.
It’s a progressive unfolding story of God working with a fallen and defiled creation.
Driven by His intrinsic Love for His intrinsic creation, HE was never going to give up or give in.
Working with man’s stubborn human nature, without infringing upon his free will, God set out with flint like determination and focus.
And HE successfully brought us faithfully to this Age of Grace two thousand years ago.
It’s where we all find ourselves today, every single one of us, without exception.
That is what the Old Testament Scriptures are all about.
It’s our Creator’s journey with fallen men, bringing us to the place where He could judicially pour out His limitless Grace.
Grace, undeserved favour for all His Righteous statutes we’ve trashed in every possible way by thought, word and deed.
HE, in the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ, Who knew no sin, was willingly made sin for us.
He did this through the brutal horrors of the cross, so that we might be declared fully righteous by Him.
The Scriptures categorically states this in [2 Corinthians 5:21].
Four Dimensional Love
Driven by HIS four-dimensional Love for us, is something we can never understand with our natural and limited minds.
The only way we can, is by faith.
Here is how the apostle Paul puts it in [Ephesians 3:18-19]:
That we, all of us ….
“May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
That is four-dimensional!
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God”
The Revelations Given To Paul
We mentioned earlier, we correctly understand so much of the Old Testament Scriptures, because of the revelations given to Paul.
And yet how the masses in this Church age, still follow Peter.
This is in spite of the repeated Scriptural admonishing to follow Paul, including from Peter.
We saw that in the last [CRUMB 0142] beyond any shadow of doubt.
Let’s recap Peter’s admission which we find in [2 Peter 3:15-16].
Peter’s Admission
Peter himself finally admitted that he couldn’t understand some things concerning this “Age of Grace’.
All he knew and understood were the prophecies concerning Israel from the Old Testament Scriptures.
He has now come to the end of his long hard ministry to the Jews, the nation of Israel.
HE has preached his heart out for years! But to little or no avail.
And he realizes that the time of his departure, his martyrdom is now at hand.
He recalls his conversation with Jesus Christ in [2 Peter 1:14].
The nation of Israel was still in unbelief and the promised Kingdom on earth had not come because of it.
He also understands that there has been a change in God’s operation, a change in ‘dispensation’ or administration.
But he can’t quite put his finger on it.
The Prophets Of Old
Even the prophets of old who wrote the Old Testament Scriptures by Divine inspiration, sensed there was something out there.
Peter tells us so in [1 Peter 1:9-10].
But they also couldn’t quite put their finger on it.
Keep in mind that Peter was a strict Law-keeping Jew, steeped in Judaism.
But he now realizes that it is ‘this apostle’, Paul, who ‘must’ now, at any cost, be given heed to.
That he is the one to be followed and adhered to.
For the eternal destinies of billions down the road were going to be at stake!
And so he finally admonishes his Jewish readers accordingly in [2 Peter 3:15-16].
“And account (that is, consider) that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation;…..”
That is, the patience of our Lord in delaying judging and avenging wrongs of the human race.
Thus graciously giving and allowing more time for more to be saved, which is 2000 + years today.
This comes out of the Amplified Bible.
Remember two thousand years is a very short time in the light of eternity. It’s like just a couple of days for God.
And then Peter brings the apostle Paul right into the picture as ‘the man of the hour’.
“……..even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;”
Well, Who gave Paul all the wisdom and these revelations?
The Old Testament Scriptures had kept these veiled and hidden, for they were for an appointed time.
The Ascended Lord Jesus Christ
These revelations did not come from any man, but directly from the ‘Ascended Lord Jesus Christ’ in Glory [Galatians 1:11-12].
They were revelations that had ‘never’ been revealed before, for God had hidden them in Himself [Romans 16:25].
You will not find them in the Old Testament Scriptures.
Nor do we find them in the four Kingdom Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
And neither do we find them in the early first eight chapters of the Book of Acts.
You will just not find them!
These hidden revelations only start to gradually come into the picture from Acts 9 onwards.
For that is when the apostle Paul, by God’s Sovereign design comes on to the scene.
And this what we all ‘must’ and need to indispensably see, understand and embrace.
For it’s from that point on, that God’s, that is, Christ’s ‘hidden revelation’ before the world began, begins to unfold.
Let’s Take A Look
Let’s take a look at some Scriptures, and hopefully we should be clear beyond any shadow of doubt.
Then we’ll continue with Peter’s admission of understanding Faith by Faith.
For the moment, let’s forget about the opinions of men, whosoever they are, and what is being proclaimed out there.
Let’s go the to grounded truth, back to the original blue print and drawing board of the Scriptures.
That is, “what saith the Scriptures? , so say the Scriptures themselves.
Much Lost Along The Way
There is nothing like the Scriptures showing us, for so much has somehow been lost in the dust along the way.
We’ll begin with [Romans 16:25].
“Now to him (which speaks of the Risen, Ascended Lord Jesus Christ) that is of power to stablish (whom?)‘you’ ……..
It’s personal!
……according to……… what?
……“my gospel”, says the apostle Paul, that is, ‘the Gospel’ for this Age of Grace as revealed only to him….
…….and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the ‘revelation of the mystery’,……..
This word ‘mystery’ comes the Greek word,‘mustērion’, which simply means ‘secret’.
And God can Sovereignly keep things secret’ till such time ‘HE’ chooses when and to whom to reveal them to.
Man has no role here whatsoever!!!
And that throws the modern day so-called prophetic utterances and ministries right out of the window.
We will specifically address that later at some point.
But that is so clear is [Deuteronomy 29:29].
“The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever,…..”
Paul continues in Romans 16:25 concerning this mystery……
“…….which was kept secret since (when?) the world began,”
It is so clear and self-explanatory.
And then in the next verse in [Romans 16:26], he continues to tells us:
“But now is made manifest…….”, that is, now brought into the lime light, now revealed and clearly made known.
My Gospel
SO, how did the apostle Paul get hold of what he refers to as “my gospel”?
In [1 Corinthians 15:1-4], Paul calls this, ‘THE GOSPEL’, and he tells us that he ‘received’ it.
So how did he receive it?… is the question here.
That takes to the next portion of Scripture we want to look at, which categorically tells us just that.
We find that in [Galatians 1:11-12], as we allow the Scriptures to explain Scripture.
“But I certify you, brethren, that ‘the gospel’ which was preached of me is ‘NOT’ after man.
For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it (by men), but (how?) by the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
The question is, where was Jesus Christ when Paul got these revelations from Him?
Jesus Christ was certainly not on earth, but rather in His place and position of Ascension at God’s Right Hand.
That is, in Heaven.
For during Christ earthly ministry, Paul (Saul of Tarsus) was a sworn enemy of Christ.
But things changed after his Damascus road experience with the Ascended Lord [Acts 9:1-16].
The Dispensation Of Grace
As we look at the next portion of Scripture, see how the Holy Spirit brings up that word, ‘dispensation’ again.
You just can’t get around it!
So flow with it, as we now look at [Ephesians 3:1-7].
“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for (again whom?) you Gentiles,
If ye have heard of the (what?) ‘dispensation’ of the grace of God which is given me to (or for, whom?) you-ward:
How that by (what?)‘revelation’ he (speaking of the Ascended Lord)…..
Always keep in mind Who we are dealing with here.
It’s the very same Jesus Christ of Nazareth, but now speaking from His place of Ascension.
Things he never spoke about while he was on earth.
…..made known unto me the (what?) mystery (or secret); (as I wrote afore in few words,”
Don’t Hesitate to Ask The Questions
We constantly should seek to ask the ‘who’, ‘whom’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’ and ‘why’ questions.
The Holy Spirit will be happy to answer them 😇.
“Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
Now watch this👇🏾….
Which in other ages (or dispensations/administrations) was ‘NOT MADE KNOWN’ unto the sons of men,…..
It does not get clearer than that!
…..as it is now revealed unto (whom?) ……
…..his holy apostles and prophets (that is Paul, Barnabas, Timothy, Titus and other ‘gifted men’, and how?) by the (Holy) Spirit;
And what is this new revelation, that was not made known before?
That the Gentiles……that speaks of us today….
…….should be fellowheirs, and of the same body,……
This speaks of the Body of Christ, the only true Church within Christendom with no denominational tag…..
…….and partakers of his promise in Christ (and how?) by ‘the gospel’:
It’s the ‘ONLY WAY’! through and by FAITH + NOTHING in Paul’s Gospel.
And it is for this purpose alone that Paul says:
“Whereof I was made a minister……
And let’s ask the ‘how’ question here:
Don’t forget ‘Damascus Road’.
Not according to men, but how?…..
….according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his (Christ’s) power.”
There are a couple of other Scriptures that we need to look, and we’ll do that in the next article.
Peter Continues
For now, let’s come back to Peter as he continues in [2 Peter 3:15-16].
“And account (that is, consider) that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation;…..”
Then Peter says, “even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;”
As also in all his epistles,………”
That’s all of Paul’s letters to the ‘seven Churches’ from Romans through to Thessalonians and from Timothy to Philemon.
“…..speaking in them of these things;……”
What things?
‘Everything’ pertaining to our ‘personal salvation’ via the finished works of the cross, and the wonderful things that accompany it.
And Peter humbly and categorically admits….
“…….in which are some things hard to be understood,…….”
He honestly admits there were some things that he even couldn’t fully grasp and comprehend, even though they were true.
This is just before he departs from this life, he is shortly going to martyred for his faith.
Church history tells us that Peter was crucified upside down.
And then he ends his statement with a strong warning to false teachers and preachers.
“…….which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest (twist), as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.”
And that’s frightening! It certainly should be.
Masses Following Peter
We mentioned earlier how the masses in this Church age, still follow Peter.
And Peter wasn’t expecting to go to heaven, but is waiting for his kingdom on earth.
He was under that ‘Kingdom on earth’ economy, which was ‘under the Law’.
The Old Testament Jew had no concept of Heaven, except that it was exclusively God’s abode.
Look what Job said in the Old Testament Scriptures, and most are familiar with this portion in [Job 19:25].
It’s the ‘only time’ in his forty-two chapters where he mentions the word, ‘Redeemer’.
“For I know that my redeemer liveth…..”
Oh, he had no doubt about that!
And Who is the Redeemer in all of Scripture including the Old Testament Scriptures as we understand today?
JESUS CHRIST!
But watch the latter part of Job’s statement👇🏾:
“…….and that he (that Redeemer, which is Jesus Christ) shall stand at the latter day…..”
WHERE?
Not in Heaven, but…….
“…..upon the earth:”
And the promises made to the nation of Israel, under the “dispensation of Law” were in accordance with that.
God made that promise to Israel through the Old Testament prophet, in [Zechariah 14:4].
When that appointed day arrives, which is not too far away now…..
“And his feet shall stand in that (appointed) day (where?) upon the mount of Olives…”
This is not in heaven, but on this earth…..
“…..which is before Jerusalem on the east…..”
For Our Understanding
The apostle Paul tells us:
That all these things in the Old Testament Scriptures were written ‘for’ our learning and understanding [Romans 15:4].
But they were written ‘to’ the nation of Israel.
Not everything is written ‘to us’, especially as we are living in this tremendous ‘Age of Grace’.
God is dealing with the human race on a totally new set of instructions over the last 2000+ years.
A new dispensation!
And these newly revealed instructions are not ‘under the Law’, but ‘under Grace’.
We will continue this in the next part #8 coming shortly.
(Please note, all that is written in the orange colour, are connecting links, so do read them. You will find them to be very useful.)
