Week Four of Rightly Dividing the Word was quite the adventure! We added another set of divisions in scripture, the chronological divisions.
Genesis 1 – 11 = 2,000 years
Genesis 12 – the end of the gospels – that is the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ = 2,000 years
Acts – Revelation 4 = 2,000 years of the Mystery, the Dispensation of the Grace of God
Revelation 20 = 1,000 years of the millennial kingdom of Messiah King Jesus
Every dispensation / economy throughout the Bible has a custodian / steward who is responsible to exercise faith by obedience to the command of God for that particular dispensation period. For Adam, he had to believe God’s word concerning not eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and obey the command. Each succeeding period of time, each new dispensation, God revealed an added command that mankind had to trust and obey in order to receive God’s blessing. Each new phase man went through ended in failure, and judgment was the result, as the picture reveals. Ultimately, the disciple’s prayer will be answered – Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
God always has blessing / reward for obedience, and conversely there is judgment for disobedience. That was plainly expressed in Exodus 19:1-6, in contrast to Deuteronomy 28. We, in this dispensation of the grace of God, will be evaluated for our stewardship of the mysteries that were revealed to Paul, which he wrote of in his epistles, at the judgment seat of Christ, the Bema seat – the rewards judgment.
1 Corinthians 4:1-2: Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
Luke 12:42-44 : And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.