Introduction

Dispensationalism seeks to understand what God is doing in history.  It looks at the big picture and helps answer questions such as “What has God been doing?”, “What will God do in the future?” and “How do we fit in today?”  A “dispensation” can be simply defined as a way of running things.  Dispensationalism then specifically looks at the way or ways God runs the world throughout history.  It also recognizes that God has revealed His plans progressively or piece by piece.  Believers in the Old Testament did not have access to the same books of the Bible and same truths we do today (Eph. 3:4-6).  Therefore, when dispensationalists study the Old Testament, they try to understand it according to what God had revealed up to that point.  Dispensationalism also defines a specific way of reading and interpreting the Bible called a “literal” hermeneutic.

The Primary Teachings of Dispensationalism

Dispensationalism is usually characterized by one major teaching.  Dispensationalists teach that the nation of Israel, or the Jews, is distinct from the Church (Gentile believers today) in some way.  When God made promises to Israel in the Old Testament (especially regarding physical blessings, such as land) those promises apply only to Israel unless God has stated otherwise.  One of God’s primary reasons for choosing Israel is to bless all nations through them (Gen. 22:18).  These “all nations” are the nations that make up the Church today.  God has chosen the people of Israel and the land of Israel as the centerpiece of His work through and with all mankind.  This includes the incarnation of Christ as a Jew and His future kingdom’s capitol of Jerusalem. Believers today (the Church) are part of God’s overall unified plan to glorify Himself and to build His kingdom on earth, but Israel has been set apart by God for specific purposes and promises that do not include the Church.  This also means that the Church today is not the same thing as Israel in the Old Testament (Eph. 3:6).  Today God is primarily working through the Church, but His love for Israel is everlasting (Jer. 31:3) and He will return to them in the future.

The other major teaching of dispensationalism is its “literal” or “plain” way of interpreting scripture.  Briefly, this means that dispensationalists interpret scripture as normally as possible.  If the language is plainly figurative, such as Isa. 40:13, it is interpreted figuratively.  But if the language is not figurative, it is interpreted to mean just what it says.  A primary example of this is God’s promises to Abraham.  God promised Abraham a son and everlasting possession of the land of Israel (see Gen. 12, 15, 17, 22).  Dispensationalists interpret this to mean that Abraham will literally receive a son (which He did) and will literally receive the land (which He did not).  Because neither Abraham nor the nation of Israel ever literally possessed all the land God promised, dispensationalists believe God will give this land to them in the future.  Other systems of theology (such as Covenant Theology), recognizing the Israel never possessed the land, interpret the promises “spiritually” and apply them to the Church’s spread over the whole earth.  This difference of literal versus spiritual interpretation leads to the distinction of Israel and the Church.

The Dispensations

The word “dispensation” is found in the KJV and NKJV translations of the Bible (I Cor. 9:17; Eph. 1:10; 3:2; Col. 1:25.  In other versions the Greek word oikonomeo is translated “stewardship.”  As mentioned, a dispensation or stewardship is a way that God runs things in a certain period of history.  When God gives significant new commands, promises, or requirements it usually signals a shift in how He is relating to man, and thus a new dispensation.  Although most believers never use the word “dispensation,” they usually recognize that there are differences between Old Testament and New Testament times.  An major difference between them is that today believers are given the Holy Spirit permanently (Eph. 1:13) but in the Old Testament, God only gave the Spirit at specific times (Jud. 14:19) and could take His presence away (Ps. 51:11).  This distinction between Old and New Testament times can be called two dispensations.  Two other major dispensations are Adam and Eve’s time in the Garden of Eden and the future millennial kingdom when Christ reigns from His throne in Jerusalem.  Three other less obvious dispensations are usually distinguished from the time in the Garden to when God gave the Law to Moses.  The first of these is called “Conscience,” the time from Eden to Noah, where Scripture does not report any major revelation from God.  God gave new promises (the rainbow) and responsibilities (capital punishment, see Gen. 9:6) to Noah after the flood.  This next period, from Noah to Abraham, is called “Government.” The final period, the time from Abraham until Moses received the Law, is called “Patriarchal.”  A summary chart of the dispensations is below.

Salvation in Dispensationalism

When God establishes His kingdom on earth, all its representatives will be saved individuals who have been purified by Christ’s blood.  Old and New Testament saints alike are cleansed by His death and resurrection.  And both receive the gift of eternal life by grace through faith in God’s provision and never by any works.  Today, the specific truth from God that Christians place their faith in is that Christ died for their sins, was buried, and rose again (I Cor 15:3-5 ).  But Old Testament saints did not know all that we know today.  For example, Abraham did not know that the Messiah was to come.  But he did trust in what God had revealed to him up to that point and was considered righteous (Gen. 15:6), by his belief alone just as we are today (Rom. 3:23-24; Gal. 3:9).  The difference between Abraham’s salvation and the salvation of believers today is not from whom they receive salvation (God), or how they receive it (faith), but it is the content of their faith – what God had revealed up to that point for them to trust in.

Summary

Dispensationalism is primarily a big picture look at God’s work in the Bible.  It affirms that God’s primary purpose in history it to glorify Himself.  God has chosen to glorify Himself be establishing a Kingdom of humans on earth through Israel and the Church.  Please see the recommended books and articles for a more complete discussion.

A Chart of Commonly Recognized Dispensations