Let us look at the main dispensational divisions as found in the Bible. The following dividings are a must to be fully understood. Each dividing, rightly viewed, has a vital impact on the believer’s life today. Below is an introduction to these teachings – a more detailed study will follow on this website. Sadly, church history is a record of what bad things happen when these divisions are not understood.
Earth and Heaven
See Genesis 1:1–10. God since creation has been operating in two spheres. Heaven and earth are designed to bring glory to God. Following the fall of mankind we see an usurping of these spheres by Satan. Reading our Bibles, we find that in the end God will fully reclaim heaven and earth to put His glory on display: earth as a kingdom for Israel, to show God is a promise keeper; heavenly places emptied of evil and become the residence of the Body of Christ membership. Believers will show the riches of God’s grace in that day (Ephesians 2:7). What is important for us now is that we see clearly this distinction – we serve as ambassadors who represent and belong in heavenly places.
The Bible is a record of the forming, forfeiting, and reclaiming of these two spheres. The death of Christ on the cross was central in the victory against evil and the repossessing of God’s real estate (Colossians 2:15, Revelation 12:9–10).
Israel and the Church, the Body of Christ
God has two agencies through which He operates and works out His will. God called Abram (Abraham) to be the father of a great nation – Israel. God’s plan is that Israel will be a kingdom of priests, the head of the nations, dispensing God’s teachings to the Gentile nations (Exodus 19:4). Through this people, the Messiah and Saviour of the world would come.
The other agency is called the church, the Body of Christ. This entity is unique, being formed to represent God during the dispensation of the grace of God on earth, and beyond in the ages to come. It is wholly new in origin, being called “a new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 6:15) and “the one new man” (Ephesians 2:15). It consists of saved Jews and Gentiles, but the entity does not recognise “neither Jew nor Greek.” Everything about it exhibits the truth: “old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Its purpose is to glorify God – to this end, Jesus Christ is its head.
Israel has her covenants, laws, and promises – leave them to her. The church, the Body of Christ, has God’s grace in abundance – let us learn of and appropriate this. Keep both entities separate.
Law and Grace
Law and grace are operating systems under which mankind has been governed by God. The first law was given to Adam and Eve; under Moses, 600+ laws were given. The keeping of all of them would bring God’s righteousness to the keeper. Alas, the law actually revealed the gap between God and man, as Israel could not keep it.
Although God’s grace has always been operating throughout the ages, the expression and volume of it reached a point where God actually named the current dispensation: the dispensation of the grace of God (Ephesians 3:2). Grace is the main principle at work – God’s undeserved, unmerited favour directed at humanity.
Grace is also the key driver in our sanctification (Romans 6:14), bringing us into maturity. Both systems glorify God. The key is to know when they are and are not in operation – today we stand in grace.