UNDERSTANDING DISPENSATIONAL TRANSITIONS

        By: Bishop Albert B. Gran

This issue is a very good topic which I emancipated especially for those who had background about Paul's revelation and the account in which the dispensation of the grace of God was committed to him (Eph. 3:2). I pray that this ministry of sharing Pauline truths through the ambassadorship commission that our Lord had entrusted on our behalf, and the cause to make known the fellowship of the mystery in this dispensation of grace, may have been chosen as one of the priorities and concern from among our folks who loved to study God's word rightly divided ( 2 Cor. 5:19-21, 2 Tim. 2:15, Eph. 3:9). This pure grace perspective embraced the profound marks of obeying the truth based on maturity and unity in the spirit through Pauline revelation.    

This delineation of truth in the "But Now" program has its unique presentation. You may ask why should you take today's instruction from Paul's epistles, Roman through Philemon? Reasonably, it's in the time of Paul by which the dispensation of the grace of God was committed to him. Dispensation would refer to the time management and a specific program of which you and me today both Jews and Gentiles gained delight and favor from our Almighty God. The purpose of God from ages to ages points you today who belonged and became part of Paul's time of which God designed you to become a heavenly citizen who declared the rightful joint heir with Christ. 

Many presumptive thoughts as per deliberated from our Christian folks cast doubt about the pure grace believers' stand for the cause of perfection and maturity in the doctrines. We called ourselves pure grace believers believing that Paul's revelation from Roman through Philemon was God's direct endowment of truth to us in view of comparisons brought by transitional delineation of revelation from fleshly manifestation to spiritual maturity or perfection. We followed Paul's scheme of handling the truth in all the scriptures or its entirety without corruption and deception (2 Cor. 4:2). Since not all of the revelation of God were written to us, we believed those as written for us. Rightly dividing the word of truth principle unveils complexities in understanding the scriptures. It's all but the "key" instructed by God for us to use and handle His word. Dispensational consideration of rightly dividing God's program in time also would help you find the truth and treasure of today's divine wisdom which is suffice to make your faith grounded in faith and love.

Let me explain to you what is a pure grace believer. The term itself pure grace believer was not found word by word in scriptures but it's all but the right identity for the members of the Body of Christ who really give importance to convey the truth of the gospel of the grace of God without mixing truths of scriptures which is classifying which truths were for our learning and which were for our application especially those of God's type of dealings with the physical nation of Israel having the principle "see the salvation of the Lord". I was once an ultimate preacher of God's word, through out of ignorance,  believing those instructions which were for us as though written to us and those instructions written to us were those same instructions revealed for us (the people not in our age or time in the dispensation of grace). You may find complexities to my statement how God revealed His words between "for us" and not "to us". We acknowledged that the truth of God's word to us and its application was revealed to Paul exclusively, and the prophets writings in the OT until John the Baptist with the 12 apostles headed by Peter represent the 12 tribes of Israel and those accounts recorded by Luke in the Pentecostal era until Acts 7-8 were for us and for our learning. Their distinctive objectives were far different to God's purpose which He purposed with Paul and his ministry. In God's dealing throughout ages, we give proper equation and value of the two sets of distinctive truths between prophecy and mystery, and we properly adhere today's application after knowing the time of Paul which we presently fit when God communicated to you directly through Paul's revelation.     

TRANSITION IN GOD'S DISPENSATIONS:

This idea is collaborated to the issue below as:

WHY PAUL QUOTE OT SCRIPTURES?

I have to lay the premise that Paul himself instructed us this principle of learning especially in dealing with previous accounts and other historical events under prophecy.

Romans 15:3-5

King James Version (KJV)

³ For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.

⁴ For WHATSOEVER THINGS WRITTEN AFORETIME WERE FOR OUR LEARNING, THAT WE THROUGH PATIENCE AND COMFORT OF THE SCRIPTURES MIGHT HAVE HOPE.

⁵ Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:

Mark well how sensible to believe that Paul knew how to apply past dealing accounts of God which were for our learning that we (members of the Body of Christ) might have hope. Clearly, it holds the idea to learn accounts in the past, declaring who God is in the past, how His magnificence, grandeur and glory was made known to all people THROUGH ABRAHAM'S SEED UNTIL CHRIST.     

"THAT WE THROUGH PATIENCE AND COMFORT OF THE SCRIPTURES MIGHT HAVE HOPE"

As we learn those accounts and past dealings of God during the commonwealth of Israel from the time God gave His PROMISE to Abraham and His seed purposely set to become a great nation, then on the accounts when the LAW was added, until its fulfillment through the seed who's Christ , it appears that the Gentiles and its independent blessedness, directly from Christ apart from the Jews and its rise,  underwent the process through patience and comfort so that the promised Christ who is the seed of Abraham might be our hope today through Paul's ministry. Take note that it's based on the promise when Abram believed God that his seeds will be like the stars in heaven and as the sands on shore. Our link to Abraham's faith occurred when he was yet in uncircumcision.  

The preaching of Christ today is relative to the gospel of uncircumcision which is called the gospel of the grace of God. "CHRIST" which is in you today is the "HOPE OF GLORY". How come? That's I believed through the gospel declared by Paul.

Let us be wise to determine the reason why is it that through Paul's apostleship, the mercifulness and grace of God was freely given to us so that the promise of eternal life will work to whomever believe the preaching of Jesus Christ in accordance to the revelation of the mystery. It's not on the account of knowing who was Christ on the flesh, though we had known Him as such during his earthly ministry.  

So, our understanding about prophetic scriptures is this: It's all but learning God's superintendence to His own people set by God as His channel of blessings to people in all nations through which principle declared by God in Gen 12:1-4. Know the fact that those blessings were categorically had physical and fleshly manifestations as those were for SIGNS  ( 1 Cor. 1:22).

The manifestation and declaration of our present hope has no connection whatsoever through Israel's blessings but contrarily through their "UNBELIEF" ( Rom. 11:29-31).      

TRANSITION UNDER THE LAW     

Galatians 3:23-25

King James Version (KJV)

²³ But before FAITH CAME, we were KEPT UNDER THE LAW, SHUT UP UNTO THE FAITH WHICH SHOULD AFTERWARDS BE REVEALED.

²⁴ Wherefore the LAW WAS OUR SCHOOL MASTER TO BRING US UNTO CHRIST, that WE MIGHT BE JUSTIFIED BY FAITH.

²⁵ But AFTER THE FAITH IS COME, WE ARE NO LONGER UNDER A SCHOOL MASTER.

Let's face the truth stated in this verse and see how the time in God's dealing with humanity encompasses transition. Having its light of understanding, I'm certain you would stick to listen to God's instruction pertinent to grace walk.

Notice that the present time we're in is called FAITH. Relative to this sense is the person of Christ who had justified us (remnants of grace), the present dispensation contrary to the past time of law, and the revealing of God's grace to us as the basis for our justification. The "faith" mentioned above is the FAITH OF CHRIST revealed and used by Paul as the basis of our salvation and justification (Gal. 2:16, 20). This faith is available in the "MY GOSPEL" of Paul.

Before "faith came", which I believed the revealing of Christ in this period of Grace or dispensation of grace wherein Christ has to be declared in accordance to the revelation of the mystery, we were KEPT UNDER THE LAW. There is actually a contrast between FAITH CAME  and KEPT UNDER THE LAW same type or contrast which is NOT UNDER THE LAW BUT UNDER GRACE or vice versa (Rom. 6:14).    

SHUT UP UNTO THE FAITH WHICH SHOULD AFTERWARDS BE REVEALED.... (The door of the ministry of the apostle Paul was yet closed when we were kept under the law.)

Instead of going back to the reverse scheme in the establishment of our grace ministry today ministers should know the very significant fact to acknowledge the truth that in God's time and dispensation with the past when we were kept under the law we're SHUT UP UNTO THE FAITH WHICH SHOULD AFTERWARDS BE REVEALED. This is I believed the revealing of the mystery of truth for both Jews and Gentiles without distinction in Christ's program for THE BODY OF CHRIST. Consider this passage:

Galatians 1:15-17

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁵ But when IT PLEASED GOD, who SEPARATED ME FROM MY MOTHER'S WOMB, and CALLED ME BY HIS GRACE,

¹⁶ To REVEAL HIS SON IN ME, (This is the account in Acts 9)  that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

¹⁷ Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.

I was persuaded solidly that teachers and ministers who believed the sound message of God's grace must not go back to the time when they were KEPT UNDER THE LAW because THE FAITH has already come. Today is the time of FAITH or the present time where you can be justified by grace through faith apart from the law and the works of the law.

THE LAW WAS OUR SCHOOL MASTER...... Before faith came the law was our school master to bring us unto Christ. When we were under the law we were tutored what the law and its righteousness portrayed the real source of righteousness and justification which could be made available in Christ and something revealed by Paul in consonance

with his "MY GOSPEL". This mode of preaching was brought and delivered to us BY PAUL. Why Paul, because he's the minister and an apostle to the Gentiles wherein the dispensation of the grace of God was made known to him.

There is a dispensational transition when we're KEPT UNDER THE LAW or when we were SHUT UP UNTO THE FAITH. We cannot alter, invert, and mix them together. We need purity of understanding regarding this very important education that God wanted us to know. In the dispensational transition we're already IN THE FAITH and no longer KEPT UNDER THE LAW. So, what's the challenge of our very own apostle today for you grace ministers and preachers?         

²⁵ But AFTER THE FAITH IS COME, WE ARE NO LONGER UNDER A SCHOOL MASTER.

After knowing this dispensational distinction, know the fact brethren that WE ARE NO LONGER UNDER A SCHOOL MASTER

Instead of doing the reverse order or regressively uphold the fleshly doctrines under the law, stand independently by acting like a true matured soldier of Jesus Christ with the shining doctrines of grace. Go for purity and perfection through which your walk should be based on the pure message of grace not mixed with time when you were dependent by the rules and commandments under the law. The choice is yours and simply believe the gospel of the grace of God.

WILL PAUL SCOLD YOU OF YOUR IGNORANCE?

Galatians 3:1-3

King James Version (KJV)

3 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

² This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW, or BY THE HEARING OF FAITH?

³ Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

Where's the astute soundness of grace teaching and preaching when you commenced for the works of the law? Many grace preachers and teacher taught that the principles of the law in view of emphasis is something applicable in every dispensation. Folks, our grace walk has no law which could ever be violated because grace walk was motivated by LOVE. Such law principles as appeared to be in every dispensation or inter-dispensation could be dangerous because it might be an element of doubt to put yourself back to the time when you were KEPT UNDER THE LAW. Stick to the HEARING OF FAITH folks through the message of grace delivered by Paul to you based on the preaching of Jesus Christ in accordance to the revelation of the mystery.

I hope and pray many would see the light of this message. Thank you.

Grace and peace!