Stewardship and Dispensations:

The Significance of Οικονομός and Οικονομία

The sixty-six books of the Bible span thousands of years of human history and beyond. They begin before God created man and end with the creation of new heavens and a new earth where righteousness settles down and feels at ease^[1]. Within the pages of the Bible, we see changes in God’s relationship and standard for mankind and the failure of mankind to live up to God’s expectation, which ultimately brings judgment. In the Garden of Eden, Adam was not allowed to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil^[2]. Upon eating the fruit from this tree, his spirit was separated from God^[3], he became subject to physical death, and he was expelled from the garden^[4]. Having been expelled from the garden, God’s expectation for humans was for them to properly govern the manner of their lives by the knowledge of good and evil, now that they possessed it. However, again, men failed, and God judged the earth by bringing a flood^[5]. After the flood, God instructed Noah that men are to govern themselves and that capital punishment is to be implemented^[6]. Again, men fail to follow God’s instruction, reject God, and seek their own way. Therefore, God brought judgment and forced man to separate and spread across the earth^[7]. This judgment brought about multiple languages and the division of the continents, which caused man to spread out across the earth^[8].  Having scattered man across the face of the earth, God then approaches Abram and ultimately offers him four covenants^[9]. These covenants included a promise of land that Abraham and his descendants […]

The Christian Life

In Christ

The Christian is placed into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit when he or she believed the Gospel for salvation¹. The Christ is a new kind of creation by God that is made up of both Jew and Gentile, in which Christ is the Head and the Church is the Body². There are no physical or racial distinctions in the Christ³. In Christ, the Christian is complete, lacking nothing4.

Christ in the Christian

The Christian has eternal life because Christ is now living in that Christian⁵. This also provided the means by which a Christian can live out the life of Christ here on earth.

Sonship

The Holy Spirit places all believers of the Dispensation of Grace as mature sons, whether male or female, and always will be mature sons.6 Sonship is a place of privilege in which the believer is not under any quality of law⁷.

Priesthood of the Believer

All Christians are placed as priests when they believe and therefore are able to present spiritual sacrifices unto God when they are spiritual ⁸.

Abiding

Abiding is an essential part of the Christian life. The Christian is only able to manifest the life of God and live out the Christian life when he is abiding (feeling at ease) in his position in Christ⁹.

The Enemies of the Saints

The Christian has three spiritual enemies that are active today: Satan […]

Salvation

Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ’s death for sins, burial, and resurrection three days later according to the Scriptures¹.

God the Father’s Involvement in Salvation

God the Father is the one that forgives the trespasses and sins of the believers on the basis of Christ’s cross work².

He imputes Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection to the believers, thus He imputes the believers to be righteous³, counting the believers to have died with Christ and to have been raised with Christ ⁴.

God the Father seals the believers in Christ by the Holy Spirit⁵.

The Son’s Involvement in Salvation

God the Son, in his humanity, was separated both spiritually from God for three hours on the cross and physically from His human body. His death, burial and resurrection are imputed to believers; therefore, making the believer righteous before God the Father⁶ and giving them access to Him⁷.

His physical death

His physical death provided reconciliation for mankind and spirit beings to God the Father⁸ and provides redemption for all men⁹.

His spiritual death

His spiritual death dealt with the sin nature of man¹⁰. The sin nature was a result of Adam’s trespass and was passed on to all men.

His work on the Cross

His […]

The Bible (Holy Scriptures)

Origin

The original manuscripts of Scripture are God breathed; The Holy Spirit bore along and enabled men to write the Scriptures. Every word, thought and concept in the original text of Scripture is verbally and plenarily inspired ¹. The books that were written through men by the bearing along of the Holy Spirit, are the 66 books comprising of the Old and New Testament which books constitute the entire written revelation from God.

Dispensation and Ages

When the Scriptures are taken literally, they teach of ages and seven dispensations ².

An age is a period in which God shows something about Himself to intelligent beings.

A dispensation is a period of time in which God shows something to mankind about man.

Purpose

The Scriptures are profitable for doctrine to be learned but not practiced, reproof, correction, and instruction (child training) in righteousness for the man of God ³. (Scripture contains information for the man of God to learn from and doctrine to live by.)

The Nature of God

God is the Сreator and Sustainer of all things, seen and unseen¹. He is eternal and unchangeable in His nature³.

The Essence of God

His essence is Spirit. This essence is self-existing, one, and immense ²

Attributes (Seven attributes of God)

His attributes are omnipotent, omniscient, holy (set apart), righteous, goodness, love, and truth⁴ .

Three Persons, One God

God exists in a trinity of three distinct inseparable Persons; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit⁵ . All three Persons share the same essence and attributes. In the Godhead, all three Persons are equal⁶.

God the Father

This Person of the Godhead is revealed to us as the one that is the ultimate source of all things; all things are out from the Father.¹

God the Father’s Fatherhood Relationship

God the Father’s fatherhood relationship to God the Son shows that they are equal in nature while the Son can be voluntarily submissive to the Father in carrying out the decree². This Person of the Godhead displays the fatherhood type of relationship that He has to spirit beings as well as saved and unsaved mankind ³. The Fatherhood relationship shows that God is the source of all things.

His Past and Present Work

He sent the Son to be a propitiation (satisfaction) for the sins of the world