What is dispensation ?

[Daniels]

What is the purpose of dispensation?

 

[LamorakDesGalis]

A dispensation is a period of time closely associated with Biblical covenants. In these time periods the purpose of God is worked out according to the progressive revelation of this covenant(s).


LDG

 

[rebel_conservative]

The concept of dispensations - as I understand it - refers, as LDG stated, to a concept that explains the apparent changes in the way G-d deals with humanity by refering to different time periods as characterising different ways G-d deals with humanity. Whether it is exegesis or eisegesis is debateable.

If you believe in dispensationalism, you probably believe it to have been derived from the Bible. (exegesis)
If you do not belief in the idea, then you probably believe that it is a concept that has been applied to the Bible, a man-created theory rationalised using Scripture. (eisegesis)

 

[Epiphoskei]

An interpretation which prefers to view the two covenants as more dissimilar than similar, as opposed to Covenent Theology, an interpretation which preferes to view the two covenants as more similar than dissimilar.

 

[Notrash]

What is the purpose of dispensation?

Dispensation is a word that according to it's greek roots simply means the ruling or management of a household. It might be a similar in contemporary thought to the exercise of the position of Plant manager or Office manager or 'general manager in sports teams. It is sometimes translated stewardship.

The 2 greek words that make up the greek word oikonomos are oikos meaning house or household and all posessions and nomos meaning a law or set of rules. Together they convey the idea of ruling or overseeing a household.

Apparently, somewhere along the line, Scofield and possibly others got the idea that there were different sets of rules for different time periods in Gods dealing with mankind. Rather than see all of mankind as the household and a few basic rules and laws as the overseeing of that household, Scofield and others make various rules, laws and 'tests' for different epochs and times. They then label these epochs and time periods as 'dispensations'.

He would call this present time period as the 'dispensation' of Grace whereas contrarily to Scofields thinking, God's grace has always abounded through faith. But this present time has the fulfillment of the manner in which God Gave his eternal saving Grace (Jesus) as part of the message of His grace. We are able to talk of Gods coming to earth in the past tense rather than talk of the proto-evangelion in the future tense.

The word dispensation is found in 7 new testament verses. 3 with the feminine ending 'mia' and 4 with the masculine ending.

Luk 16:2And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.Luk 16:3Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.Luk 16:4I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.1Cr 9:17For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation [of the gospel] is committed unto me.Eph 1:10That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; [even] in him:Eph 3:2If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:Col 1:25Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

One should read each of these verses in the context of their chapters to see that they are not talking of time periods but rather of the stewardship of the gospel message.


From Strongs:
Dispensation:
primarily signifies "the management of a household or of household affairs" (oikos, "a house," nomos, "a law"); then the management or administration of the property of others, and so "a stewardship," Luk 16:2-4; elsewhere only in the Epistles of Paul, who applies it (a) to the responsibility entrusted to him of preaching the Gospel, 1Cr 9:17 (RV, "stewardship," AV, "dispensation");
(b) to the stewardship committed to him "to fulfill the Word of God," the fulfillment being the unfolding of the completion of the Divinely arranged and imparted cycle of truths which are consummated in the truth relating to the Church as the Body of Christ, Col 1:25 (RV and AV, "dispensation"); so in Eph 3:2, of the grace of God given him as a stewardship ("dispensation") in regard to the same "mystery;"

(c) in Eph 1:10; 3:9, it is used of the arrangement or administration by God, by which in "the fullness of the times" (or seasons) God will sum up all things in the heavens and on earth in Christ. In Eph 3:9 some mss. have koinonia, "fellowship," for oikonomia, "dispensation." In 1Ti 1:4 oikonomia may mean either a stewardship in the sense of (a) above, or a "dispensation" in the sense of (c). The reading oikodomia, "edifying," in some mss., is not to be accepted.
See STEWARDSHIP.
Note: A "dispensation" is not a period or epoch (a common, but erroneous, use of the word), but a mode of dealing, an arrangement, or administration of affairs. Cp. oikonomos, "a steward," and oikonomeo, "to be a steward."

 

[Terral]

Hi Daniels, Lamorak and All:

Daniels >> What is dispensation? What is the purpose of dispensation?

Lamorak >> A dispensation is a period of time closely associated with Biblical covenants. In these time periods the purpose of God is worked out according to the progressive revelation of this covenant(s).

No Lamorak! How can you sit there and type out these kinds of obvious errors? Paul uses the Greek term (oikonomia #3622) in Ephesians 3:2:

“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—IF indeed you have heard of the Dispensation of God's Grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known TO ME the mystery, as I wrote before (Eph. 1:9-10) in brief.” Ephesians 3:1-3.

Strong’s Lexicon defines “oikonomia” (dispensation = http://cf.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G3622&Version=kjv ), saying,

1) the management of a household or of household affairs:
a) specifically, the management, oversight, administration, of other's property
b) the office of a manager or overseer, stewardship
c) administration, dispensation

Vine does the best job of defining “Oikonomia” ( http://www.antioch.com.sg/cgi-bin/bible/vines/get_defn.pl?num=766#1 ) as he refutes your erroneous use of the term:

Dispensation

“oikonomia - primarily signifies "the management of a household or of household affairs" (oikos, "a house," nomos, "a law"); then the management or administration of the property of others, and so "a stewardship," Luke_16:2-4; elsewhere only in the Epistles of Paul, who applies it:

(a) to the responsibility entrusted to him of preaching the Gospel, 1_Cor_9:17 (RV, "stewardship," AV, "dispensation");

(b) to the stewardship committed to him "to fulfill the Word of God," the fulfillment being the unfolding of the completion of the Divinely arranged and IMPARTED CYCLE OF TRUTHS which are consummated in THE TRUTH relating to the CHURCH as the BODY OF CHRIST, Col_1:25 (RV and AV, "dispensation"); so in Eph_3:2, of the GRACE OF GOD given him as a STEWARDSHIP ("dispensation") in regard to the same "MYSTERY;"

(c) in Eph_1:10; Eph_3:9, it is used of the arrangement or ADMINISTRATION BY GOD, by which in "the fullness of the times" (or seasons) God will sum up all things in the heavens and on earth in Christ. In Eph_3:9 some mss. have koinonia, "fellowship," for oikonomia, "dispensation." In 1_Tim_1:4 oikonomia may mean either a stewardship in the sense of 1(a) above, or a "dispensation" in the sense of 1(c). The reading oikodomia, "edifying," in some mss., is not to be accepted. See STEWARDSHIP.

Note: A "dispensation" is NOT a period or epoch (a common, but erroneous, use of the word), but a MODE OF DEALING, an arrangement, or administration of affairs. Cp. oikonomos, "a steward," and oikonomeo, "to be a steward."

The best way to characterize God’s use of this Greek term is that a dispensation places one slave in charge of all the other slaves of one particular administration or household. God is the Master over every host and all of their possessions and He selects one ‘man’ as the ‘steward’ to stand in the position of authority over all the members of any given household. The Lord God chose Moses as the steward over Israel of the flesh (Rom. 9:1-5) part of the Dispensation of Mosaic Law. Christ is the Lord God of the Old Testament who chose Peter as the ‘steward’ over the Dispensation of the Kingdom of God on earth and the members of the Prophetic Kingdom ‘Bride’ (John 3:29) betrothed to the Lord (Hosea 2:19+20). Our Risen Lord (Christ) also chose Paul on the Road To Damascus (Acts 9:15) to become the steward over the Dispensation of God’s Grace and the “Body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12) called via our ‘Word of the Cross’ (1Cor. 1:18) gospel message for today. With the Gentiles, from whom Israel was taken (from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), you have four primary ‘dispensations’ under God in the Gentiles, Israel, the Kingdom Bride (under Peter) and the Mystery Body of Christ under Paul’s stewardship from God (Col. 1:24-26) and “this mystery among the Gentiles.” Colossians 1:27. However, Daniel’s did not ask for anyone to define ‘okonomia,’ but he did ask about the ‘purpose’ of dispensations.

Any Biblical ‘purpose’ for dispensations (God’s modes of dealing with different households) must be connected directly back to our Creator and “The mystery of His Will” (Eph. 1:9-10), as He deals with the many different households in very different ways. Adam stood as the ‘steward’ over all the natural inhabitants of the land (sixth day races = Gen. 1:26-28) from the moment of his creation on this seventh day in Genesis 2:7. Scripture does not record the number of years that Adam ruled over the peoples of this earth from Genesis 2:7 to the time Eve was taken from his side in Genesis 2:20-22, which represents a ‘gap’ like the one appearing between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. Ultimately God’s ‘eternal purpose’ (purpose for the ages = Eph. 3:11) included Eve (water witness) and her seed (blood witness) being taken from Adam’s side (our earthy father) in the same precise way Isaac (blood witness) and Jacob (water witness) were taken from the side of Abram (exalted father) renamed to become Abraham (father of a multitude). The New Testament antitype or fulfillment of these OT types is represented by the water and blood (1Jn 5:6) coming from the side of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross (John 19:34), as the ‘provisions’ for the members of Kingdom Bride (water) under Peter AND the Mystery Body of Christ (blood) under the stewardship of the Apostle Paul. Therefore, God’s ‘purpose’ of taking Eve and her seed from the side of Adam AND Jacob and Isaac from the side of Abraham was to point directly to Christ’s Prophetic Ministry for the Kingdom Bride under Peter AND the Mystery Body of Christ under the Apostle Paul as two totally new ‘Dispensations’ under God.

The Almighty is showing us the many different avenues taken in the sowing of ‘her seed’ and ‘your seed’ of Genesis 3:15 AND how the righteous are called and dealt with under these various households. For every righteous branch of ‘her seed’ there is an unholy branch of ‘your seed’ on the antithesis side of the equation to be dealt with under God’s righteous judgment and coming wrath. God is showing the heavenly authorities (Eph. 3:10) His “manifold wisdom” by dealing with the believers in ‘our gospel’ (Body of Christ) very differently (as sons) than everyone else coming to Him via all of these other avenues by their own works. God’s ‘purpose’ for all of these different ‘dispensations’ is to allow for the precise ‘interpretation’ of every Word of Scripture through the magnifying glass created by an accurate knowledge of the true ‘audience’ to which the “Lord’s Commandment” (1Cor. 14:37-38) is given from Genesis to Revelation. Acknowledging the true ‘audience’ by their membership within one particular dispensation is the first step in locating the precise ‘context’ through which every syllable of God's Word ‘must’ be read and understood. Ignoring the true context of Scripture, by tossing everyone into a single dispensation, forces many to ‘believe what is false’ (2Thes. 2:11) under the blinding (2Cor. 4:3-4) power of the deluding influence that plagues many who write and moderate on this ChristianForums Board.

In Christ Jesus,

Terral