Today was Week 105 of Rightly Dividing the Word of truth…our study / overview of Paul’s epistles to believers in this dispensation of the grace of God. As we walk through Philippians 3 it is imperative to understand Paul’s background of the Jewish religion. It takes us back into the beginning of our Bible.
Hebrews 11:1-6: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Paul’s religious life, which we will see this coming week, was not entrenched in faith. It was developed during the 400 silent years, by the system of adherence to the Mosaic Law developed by the Rabbis, who developed the oral traditions known as the Talmud.
In Hebrews, which, by virtue of its name, was not written to the Gentile Church, but is certainly written for our learning. We get the definition of faith here in Hebrews 11. Even more than that, we see that faith has always been part of the equation, in every dispensation, to bring mankind into relationship with God. God’s grace has been extended throughout the ages, and we have examples of individuals who, by faith (Believing what God says) adhered to God’s requirement for fellowship.
Abel believed God, and by faith offered a blood sacrifice that was accepted by God. Enoch, by faith, walked with God, and was translated / raptured out before the wrath of God fell upon the wicked antediluvian world. Noah believed what God said about the coming flood, and obeyed God in the building of the ark! In every dispensation, it is impossible to please God without faith.
We must realize that in every dispensation (a period of time in which God reveals himself in a particular way to a particular group of people) God dispenses saving grace in a very simple manner. After the fall of Adam, God required a blood sacrifice of an innocent animal by the act of faith, to sustain fellowship with Him. Later, in the dispensation of the Patriarchs, beginning with Abraham, He revealed himself and promised Abraham a land and a nation, if he would follow Him out of the land of his family. Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness! Later, God added the sign of circumcision for Israel to demonstrate by faith that they belonged to God. So, the trend of progressive revelation is clearly seen in the pages of our Bible. In the time of Christ, blood sacrifice was still a requirement; circumcision was still in effect, obedience to the Law of Moses was critical, but God added another wrinkle – John the Baptist came preaching, if you want to be right with God you must repent and be baptized for the remission of your sins. By faith (believing what God said) many people were baptized!
It is clear that Noah knew more of God’s revelation than Adam, Abraham knew more than Noah, Moses knew more than Abraham, John the Baptist than Moses, the twelve than John, and finally, Paul knew more than the twelve, which brings us into the dispensation of the grace of God, known as the Church Age. In Paul’s writings, he states many times that he received, by special revelation, things pertaining to this time we are in, known as “The Mystery.”
We see through all of this that God’s truth is horizontal – his dispensing of truth and grace toward man through the ages. But, the revelation of that truth is vertical! God has revealed truth to man, not all at once, but a little at a time, historically. This is where we see the divisions of the dispensations of scripture. The principles (grace, truth, faith, righteousness, etc) of God are horizontal; they go on unchanged through history. But, the dispensations are vertical and follow one after another as God imparts new revelations to man.
We will continue our discussion of Paul’s personal testimony and his focus on knowing Christ, and his resurrection power next Sunday.
Ken Wooten
2 Timothy 2:15