The BIG Picture (Shorts)

The two administrations are vastly different. In Adam's, sin, condemnation, and death reigns. In Christ's, justification, grace, and life reigns. When we are transferred into Christ’s administration, our spiritual position with God is utterly changed. We might still be in the flesh, but our spiritual standing with God is one of grace, peace, and atonement, because of Christ’s cross work, and His righteousness imputed to us. This new standing with God is grounded upon our spiritual identity in Christ and is not dependent on our current state in the flesh. Consequently, even though we still live in the flesh, it explains why Paul can confidently write that we are declared to be dead to sin, meaning that the effects and penalty of sin, is not sentenced to us. In addition, Paul can declare that we are dead to the law because of the death of Christ, allowing us to be joined, by His resurrection, to a new ‘contract’ of justification, grace, and life, Rom 7:4-6. HALLELUJAH!! 🙌 ___...

A "dispensation" is not a period of time, but an administration, or stewardship of time. It's more associated to a way of life than a length of time. The Greek word itself means to manage a household. It describes the role of a steward and a system or a way of doing things. Before Paul's mystery dispensation, Israel lived under the economy of law. God dealt with Israel differently to how He deals with us today. Thus, the mystery dispensation, which started at Paul's conversion, has more to do with God dispensing a new lifestyle of grace to replace Israel's law, than calculating the duration in ages or years on a timeline. A dispensation ends when God declares a new set of rules that changes the pattern or behaviour (1 Tim.1:16) of living from the previous dispensation. In summary, an age deals with time, whereas a dispensation relates to a way of life. So, when studying the Bible rightly divided, the focus should be on the way of living, and not on the duratio...