:up:
The other day I was thinking about my "relationship" with the Bible. The first time I read it, I was an agnostic with atheistic leanings. I obviously didn't get much out of it. The second time I read it, I was a new Christian trying to soak it all in. It was exciting, but it wasn't easy. I felt confused as to what God wanted me to understand. The third time I read it, I had on my 3D glasses and everything started to pull into focus.
Do you remember those 3D comic books you'd get when you were a kid? You could kind of see the pictures, but it almost hurt your eyes to try and make out the images. However, when you'd put on the 3D glasses that came with it, the images would jump right out at you. Those blurry pictures suddenly had depth! I've come to realize that Bible is like those 3D comic books.
The 3D glasses of the Bible are God's different dispensations. While there are more than three, we can generalize and group them into these main categories: conscience, law, and grace. It is through these 3D glasses that we can truly begin to understand and appreciate God's Word.
Before the flood was the Dispensation of Conscience, when everyone did what seemed right in his own eyes. There was no law. It's easy to see where that led:
Genesis 6:5
The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
Then came the Dispensation of Law. There are sub-dispensations within the Dispensation of Law, but the basic idea is that God gave man certain laws to govern his behavior. The moment Noah came off the ark, things would be different.
Genesis 9:4-7
"But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.
"Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed;
for in the image of God
has God made man."
From that point, until the Dispensation of Grace, man would be governed law. During this time, God chose Israel as His people for a specific purpose:
Isaiah 42:6
“I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness,
And will hold Your hand;
I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the Gentiles"
God gave Israel many laws to follow. Some were to demonstrate His righteousness and others to set them apart from the Gentile nations of the world. However, they rarely kept God's laws. Had it not for God's promises, they may very well have been destroyed.
Malachi 3:6
“For I am the LORD, I do not change;
Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
Yet from the days of your fathers
You have gone away from My ordinances
And have not kept them.
Return to Me, and I will return to you,”
Says the LORD of hosts.
After the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, Israel still rejected her Messiah. At this point, God turned to the Gentiles with a new dispensation; the Dispensation of Grace. He chose Paul to bring this dispensation to the people:
Ephesians 3:1-7
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles— if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.
This dispensation does, indeed, show the effective working of God's power. It shows that He is able to save us in spite of ourselves. It also demonstrates the purpose of the law:
Romans 13:9-11
For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
So put on your 3D glasses and see what jumps out at you. Just know what dispensation you are reading about and everything will make so much more sense!
