Dispensations are periods of time where God shows how man develops and maintains a fellowship with Him. Each of the seven Biblical Dispensations are built on the previous dispensations. Each Dispensation demonstrates how to be in fellowship with God and why Man has failed his responsibility.
Innocence, Dispensation One, shows simple obedience to God. Conscience, Dispensation Two, shows man cannot trust his own mind to have fellowship with God. Human Government, Dispensation Three, shows fellowship with God is not found in nations or groups. Law, Dispensation Four, covers the Egyptian slavery of the Hebrews and God's deliverance using Moses and his brother Aaron and shows that Law alone will not produce fellowship with God.
The Dispensation Of Grace is the fifth of seven and begins with the birth of Jesus and ends with His resurrection as recorded in the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. (Galatians 3:24-25)
During the Dispensation of Grace both the Law of Moses and Jesus were the spiritual guides with Jesus being the transition from the Law of Moses to the Law of Liberty with both being in effect. Obedience of the Law with its sacrifices pushed the sins ahead for another year, trust in Jesus removed the sins. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, along with Jesus, began preaching a transitional "baptism for the remission of sins."
Jesus was never a Christian. Both He and John The Baptist were Jews, also Israelites, also Hebrews. Jesus lived and died under the Law of Moses and His teaching was consistent with the Law of Moses and the Old Testament.
4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5 Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. (Mark 1:4-5)
The baptism of John looked forward to Jesus, the baptism of Jesus looks back to His death, both were for the remission of sins. John's was in the Dispensation of Grace, Jesus' after His resurrection.
36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:36-38)
3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. (Roman 6:3-7)
The Dispensation of Grace shows that when Jesus is with man no one is condemned.
The Dispensation of Grace ends when the sinless Jesus, the Messiah, the Promised One, dies on the cross having shed His blood for the remission of sins for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord.
And that brings about dispensation seven, The Dispensation of the Kingdom.
And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.’ (Acts 2:21)
Marv Walker
706 816-7190
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