Time Past, But Now and Ages To Come - Dispensational Bible Study
During His earthly ministry, God’s plan was for Israel to be a nation of priests, representing Him to the world. During this time, the position of the Gentiles was one of separation; they were “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” However, God had a secret plan. Paul speaks of this as “the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began.” This mystery was made known directly to Paul by the ascended Christ. It is defined as this: “That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.” This was the previously unknown truth: that God would unite believing Jews and Gentiles into one new creation, the Body of Christ. The book of Acts serves as a crucial transitional record. The turning point occurs in Acts chapter 7 with the martyrdom of Stephen, which marked Israel’s national rejection of the offered kingdom. Immediately following this, Saul of Tarsus—who would become the Apostle Paul—was converted and commissioned. It was here that he received “the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward.” The gospel committed to Paul is defined clearly in 1 Corinthians 15: “how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” This is the gospel of the grace of God for today.
Published: 7/6/2025
To understand our service today, we must first seek to understand what the Bible calls “the fellowship of the mystery,” which from the beginning of the world has been hidden in God. The Holy Bible is divided into two testaments. The Old Testament, comprising 39 books from Genesis to Malachi, operates under a specific covenant. As the book of Hebrews explains, a testament is of force only after men are dead; otherwise, it is of no strength at all while the testator lives. The New Testament, from Matthew to Revelation, brings a new reality based on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Israel’s Calling: A Kingdom of Priests
During His earthly ministry, Jesus spoke to the nation of Israel using parables and illustrations that applied directly to them. In John chapter 15, He said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit... If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” This describes a conditional relationship tied to bearing fruit, which was part of His message to Israel.
This calling connects back to God’s original purpose for the nation. In Exodus 19:5-6, the LORD declared His intention: “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” God’s plan was for Israel to be a nation of priests, representing Him to the world.
The Gentile’s Position: Strangers Without Hope
During this entire period, the position of the Gentiles (non-Jews) was one of separation. The Apostle Paul describes this reality in Ephesians 2:12, reminding the Gentile believers that “at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” As Gentiles, we were considered aliens and strangers. The promises given to Abraham, David, Jeremiah, and all the prophets belonged to Israel. We had no claim to them.
The Revelation of a Hidden Mystery
However, God had a secret plan. Paul speaks of this in Romans 16:25 as “the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began.” This mystery was not something that could be discovered by reading the Old Testament; it was one of the “secret things” that belong to God, as mentioned in Deuteronomy 29:29.
The Apostle Paul is the one chosen by God to reveal this secret. In Ephesians chapter 3, he identifies himself as “the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles.” His entire ministry was centered on this new revelation. He writes, “If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery” (Ephesians 3:2-3).
A dispensation is a specific period in which God administers His will and deals with humanity in a particular way. We see this principle in Hebrews 1:1, which states that God spoke “at sundry times and in divers manners” in the past. While salvation was once “of the Jews,” a new administration—the dispensation of grace—was given to Paul for all people, both Jew and Gentile.
This mystery, made known directly to Paul by the ascended Christ, is defined in Ephesians 3:6: “That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.” This was the radical, previously unknown truth: that God would take believing Jews and Gentiles and unite them into one new creation, the Church, which is the Body of Christ.
A Time of Transition
The book of Acts serves as a crucial transitional record, documenting the shift from God’s prophetic program with Israel to His mystery program for the Body of Christ. This transition was necessary because, as Paul explains in Romans 11:25, a partial “blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” Israel’s stumbling was not a final fall, but rather the occasion through which salvation would go to the entire world.
In the early chapters of Acts, the message is still directed exclusively to Israel. In Acts 1, the apostles’ final question to Jesus before His ascension was, “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” Their focus remained on the promised earthly kingdom.
Then, at Pentecost in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit descended with signs like a rushing wind and tongues of fire, fulfilling the prophecy of Joel. Peter stood and preached a powerful sermon aimed directly at “all the house of Israel,” convicting them of crucifying their Messiah. When the crowd cried out, asking what they should do, Peter’s instructions were specific to Israel’s covenant program: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). This conditional message of repentance and water baptism was repeated in Acts 3:19.
The Turning Point: Israel’s Final Rejection
The definitive turning point occurs in Acts chapter 7 with the testimony and martyrdom of Stephen. Stephen, a man “full of faith and power,” performed great wonders among the people. In his address to the Sanhedrin, he boldly declared that they were just like their ancestors: “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye” (Acts 7:51). They had rejected God the Father spoken through the prophets, rejected God the Son whom they crucified, and were now rejecting God the Holy Spirit speaking through Stephen.
Filled with rage, the council refused to listen. But Stephen, full of the Holy Ghost, looked into heaven and “saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.” This is significant; Christ is seen standing, as if ready to return, not seated. At his declaration, they stoned him to death, with the witnesses laying their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. This act marked Israel’s national rejection of the Holy Spirit’s testimony and the offered kingdom.
The Gospel of Grace Revealed to a New Apostle
Immediately following this event, the man who approved of Stephen’s execution became the focus of God’s plan. Acts chapter 9 records the dramatic conversion of Saul of Tarsus. While on his way to Damascus to persecute more believers, he was struck down by a light from heaven, and the ascended Lord Jesus spoke to him directly, asking, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?”
In that moment, a trembling Saul asked, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” This was the beginning of the ministry of the Apostle Paul. He was saved by grace and commissioned as the apostle to the Gentiles, receiving his unique gospel not from the men who walked with Christ on earth, but by direct revelation from the glorified Christ in heaven.
This is why the pattern for the church today is found in the Pauline epistles. The gospel committed to Paul is simple and clear, as he defines it in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” This is the pure gospel of grace—salvation is a free gift received through faith alone in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Rethinking “Upon This Rock”
This understanding clarifies passages like Matthew 16:18, where Jesus said, “upon this rock I will build my church.” Many have built their entire theology on this verse, but it cannot refer to the Body of Christ, which was a mystery yet to be revealed. The “church” Jesus mentioned there was the assembly connected to His earthly ministry and the offer of the kingdom to Israel. The Body of Christ is a new and distinct entity, born out of a new revelation given to a new apostle for this present dispensation of grace.
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mysteryrightly dividingpauline truths