Monday, May 23, 2011

2nd & 3rd Dispensations


Consider This...
Theological Thoughts to Encourage the Heart & Stir the Mind ___________________________________________________ \
Volume I         April 2011     Issue 15

         With the curse of toil, pain, and expulsion from the Garden of Eden comes a new economy, God’s will, and revelation. Man’s innocence is gone and now he experiences and knows good and evil. This new economy or dispensation is often referred to as the Age of Conscience running from Gen. 2:7 to 8:14.
This idea of conscience does not mean that man had no conscience before the fall or that he does not have one now, but that this is the way in which God revealed His will to man. As with all dispensations, there is a command or revelation of God’s desire. In this dispensation, it is that of doing good.
         Man’s principle way of obedience in this age was to act upon the prompting of the conscience. The conscience is something that is given to man by God and allows man to make the correct choice in every aspect of life. A few men from this age have been noted as responding to the conscience; Abel, Enoch, and Noah.
         However pure the conscience is, man is sinful and can reject and suppress the truths that come from the conscience. Man can become even hard to it and not respond in a way of guilt. This is seen in an ultimate way in the account of Cain and Abel.
The response to the conscience was to bring a proper blood sacrifice to God. Cain did not respond correctly and, as a result, the first murder in human history is recorded. As time progressed, man became exceedingly wicked and every intent of the heart was for evil. As a result of man’s rebellion, the earth was destroyed, purged by the great flood.
But as with each dispensation, God is gracious. For God found favor with Noah and preserved him and his family, bringing man into a new dispensation, the dispensation of government.
         This dispensation begins its account in Genesis 8:15 and runs through Genesis 11:9. God gives two commands in this dispensation, fill the earth and Capital Punishment. The earth was to be ruled by government, aiding in the understanding of good and evil.
As with the previous dispensation, man is sinful and was unsuccessful in governing the earth. This resulted in the destruction of the nations. Confusion was intensified as languages and cultures had to learn to interact and understand each other. This dispensation continued on until the time of Abraham when God would begin a new economy and reveal Himself in new ways to His chosen people.
As different as the dispensations seem at the surface, there is a common theme that runs through them. God is gracious and it is He who saves.
         The expulsion from the garden is a demonstration of God’s grace. Man is not permitted to live eternally in sin, but can experience the hope of a Savior. When all mankind was evil, God chose Noah, not because Noah was good on his own, but because of God’s gracious work in his life. When men decided to govern themselves without acknowledging the law giver, God did not destroy all nations, but chose to use a few to make His name known.
         The dispensations are not a way for God to fix His mistakes in dealing with mankind, but a way in which His glory is seen at its fullest. For His grace could not be experienced to it’s fullest if it was not for His action of judgment on sinful man. As with all things He does, it is for His glory alone.

Soli Deo Gloria
John A. Frey III

Bibliography
Chafer, Lewis Sperry. Systematic Theology: Vol. 1. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1976.
Geisler, Norman. Systematic Theology: Vol. 3. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2004
Ryrie, Charles C. Dispensationalism. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1995

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