No. 6.
MY DEAR ―, In the study of Scripture, you have, doubtless, been surprised at the difficulty of reconciling some portions with others. For instance, you read in one place of God giving a law, and threatening with curse and death those who break His commands; in another place you find God’s servant publicly announcing, “Be it known unto you, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” (Acts 13:38, 3938Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:38‑39).) In the Old Testament you find God setting up a religion on earth, with visible arrangements, carnal ordinances, sacrifices, &c.; and in the New Testament you find nothing of the kind taught, but you read of saints serving and rejoicing in a Saviour whom they have not seen, and walking by faith, and not by sight. In some Scriptures you see God’s people instructed to hate their enemies, and in other Scriptures the saints are taught to love their enemies. Now, it seems to me impossible that these and many more apparent contradictions can be understood, unless one sees, that though God Himself changes not, yet that He has been pleased to have a different platform, so to speak, on which He acta towards men at some periods to what He has had at others. I refer to what is sometimes called dispensations, some of which have passed away, and others are yet future. In each God has some special line of action and truth to make known, so as to bring glory to His own name. His own immutable attributes are manifested throughout; and His perfect hatred to sin, and the only way of justifying the ungodly through the shedding of blood, have never varied.
Before sin entered into the world, and death by sin, man stood before God as very good. He was of the earth earthy, it is true; but God could come down and talk with him; and such was the place of honor in which he was set who was created in the image of God, that whatsoever Adam called every living thing, that was the name thereof. This state of paradise blessing might have continued only a short time; but we may call it a period or dispensation of INNOCENCE.
Then, between Adam and the giving of the law by Moses, we have not a state of innocence, but of sin and death. There was sin in the world, though not after the similitude of Adam’s transgression (who went straight against God’s plain command); for we are told, that “where no law is, there is no transgression.” Still, the invisible God was made known by the visible creation, and men were conscious of evil. They did not like to retain God in their thoughts, but went out of His presence, and tried to be happy far off from God, and manifested all manner of evil. The conscience was accusing, or else excusing. We may call this a period or dispensation of CONSCIENCE.
When the law was given by Moses, a different character of things was brought in; for by the law sin was made known, and man took a place of direct responsibility to God to keep that law. The end of it was, that those very people who boasted in being Moses’ disciples killed the Prince of Life. They hated God’s beloved Son, without a cause. They crucified the Lord of glory. The law proved man to be thoroughly bad. “The law worketh wrath.” From Moses to Christ we may call a period or dispensation of LAW.
“Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” This is something entirely opposite to the principle of law. No two things can be more opposed than law and grace. Grace demands nothing of man, but brings everything to him in the way of gift; whereas the law brought nothing in the way of gift, but demanded from man what he was unable to do. Not only does law condemn all under it, but grace justifies every one through Christ, and brings the believer into union and fellowship with Christ in heaven. It is not now God setting up a religion in the earth; but His beloved Son having been rejected and crucified, God has exalted Him to His own right hand in heaven; and, having sent down the Holy Ghost, is calling out a people for the name of Jesus―a bride for the beloved Son, the Church, which is the body of Christ. It is this that specially characterizes this dispensation. It is not now God selecting one nation, and exalting it, as to privilege and responsibility, above every other nation; but God calling out of the nations by the gospel an elect people, to form the body of Christ. If we do not see these things, we cannot understand many parts of Scripture; nor can we be in communion with God’s mind about His present acting’s; we shall not perceive the real state of things around us, nor enter into His counsels and purposes as to the Jews, Gentiles, and the Church of God. We may call this, therefore, the dispensation of THE CHURCH OF GOD, the calling and characteristics being heavenly and spiritual.
When the Church, or body of Christ―the one new man―is complete, and the Lord has descended into the air, and the saints have been caught up to meet Him, we shall have another order of things again. God will then have a people; but they will be of an earthly order. He will remember His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. There will then be godly Jews, having respect to the law of Moses, with the hope of Messiah’s coming terminating in the reign of Christ, when everything is subdued unto Him, and all enemies put under His feet. Christ will reign, and His heavenly saints with Him, for a thousand years. This period or dispensation is, therefore, often called THE MILLENNIUM.
This is followed by the passing away of the present heaven and earth, and the final judgment of the wicked dead; and then the establishment of the new heaven and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. There will be no more curse or death. We may call this, therefore, the ETERNAL STATE.
So far, I think, we gather from Scripture, an outline of dispensations. It is brief and meager, I grant; but when you are able to see change in dispensations, you will find details opened up to you in reading the word of God. Surely the Lord treats us as friend’s, thus so freely to communicate to us the knowledge of His own ways and purposes. When these distinctions are even feebly apprehended, we can see, I think, why God would lay down a different rule of action for an earthly nation, with earthly hopes, and promised superiority and standing over other nations, to what He would to a people, saved by grace, called out of the nations―not of the world―into union with a rejected Christ, who is now exalted in the heavens. We shall, too, while considering the variety of God’s ways, be able to enter into the apostle’s exclamation: “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways post finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counselor? or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed to Him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen.”
Believe me to be, Ever yours affectionately in the Lord,