Address—Steve Stewart
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Could we start with hymn #115?
115.
Head of the church, thy body.
Oh Christ, the great salvation.
No, no, no.
We ask the Lord's help. Our God and our Father, we look up to thee, and we thank Thee this afternoon that we have.
In thy precious word, a full revelation of thyself and the person of thy beloved Son.
All that thou art, and love and grace and in holiness righteousness displayed upon that cross, when we find that thou art forest, and thou has given thy beloved Son.
To redeem our souls and to bring us into nearest.
Relationship to the.
And the nearest relationship and association with I beloved son.
We pray that they'll help us as we take up Thy precious word this afternoon that it might.
Be for the blessing of our souls.
Our establishment in the truth presented to us in my precious word, that we might be here more for Thy glory and the glory of Thy beloved Son, while we await his return. And so we just ask Thy help in the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
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I'd like to take up this afternoon.
And touch on. We can only touch on it.
The subject of dispensational truth.
The cornerstone of that truth which is the mystery which was hidden God.
And its administration in this world.
The word dispensation comes from 2 words, house and law. I don't know Greek but it's something like Oikos's house. No Mia la oiknomia. He say it 10 times fast. You come up with the word economy. That's its English version.
It's an administration. You know, the president has a term of four years in the United States. It's a period of time.
But he also has an administration. He has a way that he orders the finances and affairs of the country. That's his administration. A dispensation is an administration. It's a carrying out of the order of a household. Like this world is like a large household, and God has a certain.
Order and way in which he is ordering things and functioning in this world.
House Law. Another word related to it is steward.
It's like a great stewardship and.
God has changed at different times and introduced new principles and his ordering and his dealings with man in this world, and if we're going to know how to walk in intelligence in a way pleasing to him, we have to know what he's doing.
The importance of dispensational truth is this.
Our life.
Our life in this world.
Spiritual life is governed by the revelation of God and His precious Word to our souls, and our faith is tested.
On the principles in His word that are for our time, for our dispensation.
For Abraham, it was a revelation of the Almighty God.
And his faith was tested on what was made known to him.
And in his call Israel, their relationship to God was to know Jehovah, and they were under law, and their test of their faith was how they conducted themselves under law.
The truths that are particular, and I use the word in a Broadway for our dispensation of the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ has gone on high and is glorified and he sent the Spirit of God down here to unite all his own to himself in heaven as their head. And the life and the energy of our life is dependent upon our understanding that truth and walking.
And that's where our faith will be tested. It's not in the truths that might be common to the Saints in all dispensations or what was for Saints in another dispensation. That's not what's our energy and our life here in this world, but what's true for the time that we are in.
We need to know those things, so I'd like to read.
3 scriptures in connection with.
The truths that are special for our dispensation. First one is in Colossians chapter 2.
Well, we're actually chapter one and two.
Colossians 1.
And.
Verse 23. If he continued in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven. Where have I, Paula, made a minister, who now rejoice in my sufferings, for you to fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ and my flesh, for his body's sake, which is the Church or the assembly?
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Whereof I am made a minister.
According to the dispensation of God, which is given to me for you to fulfill the word of God, even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his Saints. Skipping down to chapter 2, verse one. For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you and for them, Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.
That their hearts might be comforted being knit together in love unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God. Leave out the last part of that verse. It's a textual error. Knowledge meant or the full knowledge or real knowledge of the mystery of God, in which it's referring to the mystery in which are hit all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
We see two things that Paul calls himself a minister of. The first is the gospel. He's a minister of the gospel preached in all creation, verse 23 of chapter one, and then he is a minister of the church, the assembly. She mentions at the end of verse 22 and then says, where have I made a minister?
Paul had two ministries, 2 great platforms of his ministry. The first was the gospel.
And the truths that we call in the Scripture, Paul's gospel, the place that the work of Christ.
Puts each one of us in in Christ individually. The second was a collective side of things, the truth of the assembly whereof he's made a minister and he calls that truth a mystery which was hidden God, a mystery which is hid from ages.
And from generations, but now has made manifest to his Saints. He calls the truth of the church a secret that wasn't known in the past, but only now has been revealed. Now means after the cross. And Paul was preeminently the one who was raised up of God to unfold the truth. Know what conflict I have for you that you would get a hold of this.
Truth of the mystery. Why? Because it's the key to unlocking all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in this book. If we don't have the truth of the mystery, we don't have the key in hand that unlocks the truth of this book if we don't know the truths that are particular and special to us.
And this time we are not going to understand.
This book.
In the mystery are hit all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And he was burdened that the Saints would know as many, even as hadn't see his, seen his face. Have you seen Paul's face? You haven't. And he's burdened for you and for me to get a hold of this truth.
We're going to look at the scripture in Romans chapter 16.
Where this mystery is mentioned again. Mystery isn't something mysterious. It's not something to be solved like the Hardy Boys.
It is a secret that has been revealed to us. It's not something we don't know the scripture tells us, but it's something that wasn't known before, but now it's known. Romans 16.
Verse 24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest and by the Scriptures.
Of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God made known.
To all nations for the obedience of faith.
He says I want you to be established Christians, and what's going to establish you? He says this truth of the mystery, these two platforms really of his ministry, the gospel he mentions and the truth, the revelation of the mystery. But again, he emphasizes which.
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Was kept secret since the world began.
Not only hid from other ages and generations, but kept secret since the world began. If we don't know the truths that are proper to our dispensation, we won't be established Christians.
We need to know that truth of the mystery to be established and to walk in a way that would be pleasing to him. Let's turn now to Ephesians, where we get this truth of the mystery taken up in more detail. In Romans, he only touches on it right at the end of the book. He doesn't develop it.
But in Ephesians we get its development.
We're going to look at.
Chapter one of Ephesians first.
Verse 8. Wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. Again we get that thought of wisdom and prudence connected with the mystery, because he goes on to say, Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to his good pleasure, which he have purposed in himself, what is the secret of the will of God?
What is the mystery?
Of his will, verse 10. That in the dispensation or the administration of the fullness of times, he might gather together, or head up in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him.
This is the mystery of his will, the secret of his will. This truth was not known in the Old Testament. It was not part of the subject of the Old Testament prophets or Scriptures. They you could turn to First Chronicles, I believe it is chapter 29 and find that Jehovah is Creator is owned as head over everything.
Heaven and earth. You could turn to Genesis and find that Abraham lifted up his hands to the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth. But you will not find any scripture that talks about the coming Christ, the Messiah that He was going to be over anything other than an earthly Kingdom, even if it spread from sea to sea and around the globe.
It did not contemplate anything more than a Kingdom under the whole heaven.
It was a secret in the heart of God that His beloved Son was not only going to have everything headed up in him and earth, but in heaven as well. The angels, powers, principalities and authorities, everything brought into subjection under Him. This was no expectation of any Old Testament St. whatsoever. It was a secret in the heart of God.
Little further in the chapter.
We find that God in his wondrous power raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead in verse 20, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion, in every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. That's the Millennium. And have put all things under his feet and gave him to.
The head, the head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth All in all. Upon the resurrection and ascension and glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ, He was made head. It's going to be manifest in the fullness of times when God gathers everything and heads it up in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Fullness of times is the millennial reign of our Lord Jesus Christ. Everything in heaven and earth headed up under him, but God has exalted him to heaven and made him head now. And he said it says not over the church, but to it.
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And the Church, the assembly, is his body. When he has that place of headship over all things, the church is going to share that place of headship with him. The Church will not be under his headship, like everything in heaven and earth, but we'll share it with him as his.
Meat companion for all eternity. But what does it tell us about the assembly which is?
His body.
Years ago.
Had a number of conversations and I'll just sum them up kind of in one.
Brother said to me.
Brothers, but I'll make it 1 Conversation.
The Saints of God been the Saints of God in all times. What's true of the Saints in the past is true the Saints now. It's just been a developing revelation over time The 1St.
Member of the church was the first person who was saved, first person who had faith, which was probably Adam. And that's where the church began and it continues today. And it's just a developing revelation of the church over time.
And God has one purpose, that is the salvation of lost man and the problem with you folks that hold dispensational truth.
Is you hold that there's a dichotomy of purposes with God. You hold that he has two, that he has an earthly people and that he is a heavenly people and he has two purposes. And that you hold that Israel is going to be as earthly people in a Kingdom in some future day. And you really split that God has instead of 1 great purpose too.
And by the way, you know, you make too much of this mystery thing that it was hidden God, because doesn't it say in Ephesians 3 that the mystery is revealed? Let me just read the words to get exactly verse 5, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets.
The church was certainly spoken of in the Old Testament.
Well, the prophets who wrote those scriptures didn't understand what they're writing. And Peter tells us they had to look in and try and figure it out. So it was a partial revelation, was a full revelation as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets. It's just a full revelation now, and that's all it means, that it was hidden. God is that the prophets just didn't understand what they wrote.
It didn't, Paul say when he was speaking to Agrippa.
That he taught none other things than that which Moses and the Law did say should come, and the prophets done none other things than that. Why do you? Why do you say this is some secret that wasn't ever spoken of before?
And doesn't the Old Testament prophecy about the blessing going out to the Gentiles? The abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall be brought into thee. And in Acts 15, when Paul went down to Jerusalem and says he was declaring to all about the conversion of the Gentiles, it's it's just a fulfillment of Old Testament Scripture.
It doesn't it say in Romans 16 that it's revealed by the scriptures of the prophets?
You know, I didn't know what to say to those things.
It threw my soul right over.
And in the vanity of my mind, I thought because I didn't have an answer, that there wasn't an answer.
And I realized how it affected everything I'd ever been taught.
Even being gathered to the Lord's name on the ground that there is one body, if this truth of the mystery really is just.
A figure of things that's really all was seen in the Old Testament. What? What is even this thing about being gathered on the ground of the one body? It just seemed like everything that I'd ever been taught was not true.
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And I think around that time.
This goes back a lot of years. Brother Bruce and Christy family came down to visit and kind of unloaded on him and we got talking. He said, well, isn't the truth of the mystery? Isn't that really the key to this? Isn't that really the key and answer to these things? And we got digging into those things and I found I was wrong. There are answers.
In the scriptures to all of these challenges, don't just throw everything overboard. The first challenge that comes and you don't have an answer from scripture, wait on the Lord.
The answers are in the answer book.
Well, let's continue on trust, I'll remember to answer those questions that we've raised. But the first is his body. The church is his body. You know, the other challenge that came to me and that time was how can you say the Old Testament believers weren't part of the church? How is it that you're going to come into blessing? I said, well, through the through the precious blood of Christ. That's right. How are they going?
To be in heaven.
Through the precious blood of Christ. Do you have faith? Yes. Do they have faith? Yes. They were part of the church.
I don't know what to say.
Let me ask you, what made you part of the church?
Are you part of the church? What makes you part of the church?
Was it faith?
Was it the blood of Christ?
Brother nodded his head.
Not exactly.
Brother Bill.
So let's look into that.
Going to hold our place in Ephesians and turn back to First Corinthians.
Chapter 12.
First Corinthians, chapter 12.
Verse 12 Whereas the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ. For by 1 Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink.
Into one spirit, we're going to read another verse from Acts chapter 2.
Acts chapter 2 and verse 33.
Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He has shed forth this which ye now see and hear. What is He Speaking of? He's Speaking of the Holy Spirit having descended from heaven and indwelling those believers on the day of Pentecost, and the Lord Jesus said.
In John Chapter 7 he that believeth on me.
His belly shall flow rivers of living water. But then the divine commentary on it is this fake. He of the Spirit which was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.
When he was raised and glorified, he sent the Spirit of God down, and the Spirit of God united the believers there in the Day of Pentecost into one body and to him their head in heaven.
No one before that could have been part of the church, because the Spirit of God was not yet given.
That's how you got to be part of the Church of God.
The indwelling Spirit of God united you to Christ.
Now it's true if we go back to Ephesians in chapter one that he will not indwell anyone.
This where brother Bill can you can nod your head. He will not indwell anyone who has not received the gospel of their salvation. Chapter one and verse 13, in whom ye also trusted. After that he heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and whom also after that you believe you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. There could be nobody.
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There could be no assembly until Christ was glorified and sent the Holy Spirit down.
No one could have been part of the church prior to that. No Old Testament St. but there's more.
There's more. Look at.
Chapter 2.
Verse 20 and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets.
Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord, in whom He also are builded together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit.
Peter says in Acts 4 this is a stone which was set at Naughty of you builders.
And it's become the headstone of the Corner.
The Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew 16 upon this rock I will build my church. It was future. He didn't say I am building or have built. It was future. The assembly was future, and it could not be built until the cornerstone was laid. And he didn't become that foundation stone until he had been set at nought of the builders at Calvary's cross.
And God had raised him from the dead and glorified him, and he became that foundation stone. Not one bit of that building. The assembly could have been started before that moment.
It says built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. And in chapter four we read, when he ascended on high, he gave gifts unto men, and he gave some apostles and some prophets, those who are responsible for administering the truth of this edifice, the assembly.
Were given from an ascended Christ, laid upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets.
They came after his ascension, when he was glorified.
He gave them and so when we come to Romans and it says.
That has now been revealed according to the scriptures of the Prophets. That's not a good translation.
It should read this way according to prophetic scriptures. When we read in the New Testament, the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets, it's referring to Old Testament scriptures, and we might take that from Romans 16, except we have a better translation.
By prophetic scriptures? What prophetic scriptures laid upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets? And when it's given in that order, it's those gifts that were given from an ascended Christ to the Church.
It's New Testament, prophetic scriptures, and chiefly Paul's, who has made a minister.
Of this truth, This was a secret hid in the heart of God. It was not any part of the subject of Old Testament Scriptures. Let's look a little on.
In chapter 3.
Verse one for this 'cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, for you Gentiles, if you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which has given me to you word, how that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote a four and few words, whereby when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ.
Again, listen to the emphasis of this verse, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. If that's the only verse that we had in connection with the mystery being hidden, one could understand how somebody might put the construction on that verse, that it's a comparison of revelation, a little revelation.
In the old, but now it's fully revealed. But this isn't the only verse we have. And so we need to read this in context, drop down to verse nine. And to make all men see what is the administration of the mystery which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God and nowhere else not hidden in prophetic scriptures.
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That gives us the context to understand.
Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed. It wasn't revealed in past ages, it's only now revealed. And who is it revealed to us through apostles and prophets again, that order of the gifts given from an ascended Christ, New Testament apostles and prophets.
What is this mystery? While we've talked about it, it's the church, but we get it.
In its detail.
Verse 6.
That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel.
That the Gentiles should be joint heirs, joint part, joint body, and joint partakers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel. Again, we need a better translation here though.
It shouldn't be that the gentiles should be fellow heirs, it should be they who are from among the nations should be fellow heirs.
And when Paul in Acts 15 and we referred to, says he went as he went from assembly, assembly traveling back to Jerusalem declaring the conversion of the Gentiles again, we need a better translation. The conversion of them from among the Gentiles. Yes, the Old Testament scripture spoke of the conversion of the Gentiles and Mass.
And they will be converted to the God of Israel.
And in that day 10 men of the nations shall take a hold of the skirt of him who is a Jew, and say, We will go with you, for we heard God is with you.
And the sons of strangers shall build up the walls of Jerusalem, and the forces of the Gentiles will come in and flow in, but they will remain Gentiles, and they will remain strangers. And the Jews will be and will remain Jews, and those that lay hold of their skirt for blessing will remain of the nations.
The distinctions will not be dropped, but in Christ Jesus.
There is neither Greek nor Jew.
Barbarian or Scythian, bond or free, there are no distinctions.
Made.
In this new thing, And so we read in chapter 2 That he is abolished in his flesh. Verse 15 The enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances to make it himself of Twain. 1 Newman, Twain, Jew and Gentile 1 Newman. A new thing. This isn't the Gentile brought up to the level of the blessing of a Jew. It's not the Jew pushed down to the level of a Gentile.
But it's both brought to a new and higher and greater privilege than had ever been contemplated before.
There's a secret in the heart of God. Verse 18 For through Him we both have access by 1 Spirit unto the Father. The Gentiles were strangers and foreigners, not part of the Commonwealth of Israel, the Jews.
They had the temple, but God dwelled in thick darkness. They did not have free access, and neither knew Him, His Father. But now we both have access freely to one who we know, His Father.
This is far beyond anything ever contemplated before.
So there was a twist of the scriptures that was presented to me.
That the salvation of the Gentiles in the New Testament, Paul declaring there was nothing other than what the prophets prophesied of. They prophecy of an end mass conversion of the Gentiles and some of it we find from other scriptures might be feigned fake.
What Paul was declaring was the salvation of those from among the Gentiles. And the Lord said to him, I'm going to call you out from among the people, the Jews, and from among the nations.
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Paul, in that way, is a sample man called out from both.
That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs. It's not the thought of an equal share. That's not the point. It will be. It's the point of equality. As peers, they both have the same title. Yes, the Gentile will be blessed in the Millennium, hanging on to the skirts of the Jew, subservient to the Jew and the nation. That will not serve thee. The scripture says God will judge.
That's not this. This is.
Coheirs.
Same title.
Of the same body. We touched on that in chapter 21. New body exists in the sight of God now composed of Jew and Gentile, no longer Jew or Gentile one body. No Old Testament Scripture ever contemplated even a blending of the Jew and Gentile. It maintained those distinctions.
But this isn't just a blending, it's one body.
Intimate union.
And partakers of his promise in Christ.
By the Gospel joint partakers equal share and the Messiah what? What is his promise in Christ by the gospel?
It can't be the Abrahamic promises because God promised Abraham.
That his seed would possess that land, and possess the gates of their enemy, and in the and in his seed with all the nations of the world, be blessed as nations.
The distinction between the nations and Israel is maintained in the promises to Abraham. This can't be the promises made to Abraham.
Hold your finger there. Let's just turn over to Titus.
Chapter One.
Paul, a servant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness and hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.
Joint partakers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel.
Eternal life was not something that was known in the Old Testament scriptures.
We have it together.
With all the other members of the body of Christ.
You will not find in this chapter any quotes.
From the Old Testament, because this was a revelation given to Paul.
They came to him, said Paul. Where did you get a scripture for all this? He says I don't have one.
This was given to me by Revelation. Well, you're a loose cannon, Paul. Oh, no, no.
It says it's now revealed unto his holy apostles, plural and prophets by the Spirit. I believe when Paul was given that divine revelation, the Spirit of God confirmed it to the rest.
And they could say they had it by Revelation 2, but he was preeminently its minister. Its minister.
Well, he goes on to say that he wants all men to see what is the administration of the mystery. There's a revelation of the mystery in verse 3. There's the knowledge of the mystery. And verse four, we only are going to get this by revelation from the Word of God. He wants us to know it, but there is a present administration of the mystery.
This body of Christ on the earth united.
To our head in heaven, under the direction of the head functions, and it carries out, and it acts in unity and in subjection to the head in heaven. What is displayed in this earth? Christ. Satan thought he got the great victory, that the purpose of God was spoiled.
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When he got rid of Christ on the cross. Oh, he's raised from the dead, always gone back to heaven. Well, looks like none of those prophecies are going to be fulfilled. The day of Pentecost comes and there is Christ again, and the members of His body. Oh, that truth has been practically given and poured out in vain upon the Church of God. But it wasn't upon Satan. He knew.
What had happened? And he set himself to attack it from the moment he knew.
He wants no display of Christ in this earth, and he has been successful in the testimony that we should have been, has been spoiled. But it's still the truth of God. And if we're going to walk in the power and the life that is ours in this present dispensation, then we are going to have to walk.
In faith in spite of the ruin, and seek to carry out the truth.
Of the one body in practice here in this earth.
And though it be but in a remnant character and in a remnant form, it's still the truth of God.
And it's still your life, and it's still the energy of that life. Not what came before, not what's going to come, and not what is common to all dispensations, but what is special to you and I right now.
Closing Prayer God and our Father, we thank Thee for this little time and Thy precious word and think of how full this chapter is. Goes to the heights and depths of the mystery.
The knowledge of the love of Christ that passes knowledge.
My desire that we would be filled with all thy fullness.
But we pray that help us to get practically hold of this truth of the mystery, we might not be tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine, slight cunning, craftiness of men.
But to go on as established Christians.
To go on with that key.
While knowledge and wisdom from thy precious word.
Help us to walk by faith and the energy.
Power of the life.
And place thou hast put us in, we ask it in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.