Many thoughts here are taken from “Understanding Our Bible” by Craig MacDonald., Professor, Grace Bible College.

Ephes. 3:1-12 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, 2If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to youward: 3How that by revelation he (Christ) made known unto me THE MYSTERY; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles (Paul and his Co-workers) and prophets by the Spirit; 6That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body (of Christ), and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: 7Whereof I (Paul) was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. 8Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I SHOULD PREACH AMONG THE GENTILES the unsearchable riches of Christ; 9And to make all men see what is THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE MYSTERY, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: 10To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, 11According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: 12In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of (Gk., ek, of and with) him.

Paul’s Unique Call and Ministry

Please read the above verses carefully and try to absorb what the Apostle Paul is saying. Paul describes himself here as being “for you Gentiles” (3v1), and as “the apostle to the Gentiles” in Romans 11:13 and Galatians 2:8, because his unique commission was to tell the Gentiles about His unique “mystery” gospel of the pure “grace of God” (Acts 20:24), the good news of salvation, of God’s unconditional grace toward them. God accepts Gentiles on a par with believing Jews, without any distinction. Yet, Paul also tells us Jew and Gentile are no longer Jew and Gentile (Gal 3:28), but rather of “one new man” (Eph 2:15), who never before existed, that “one new man” is “the body of Christ” (1Cor 12:27). This equality of all believers who are in the “one new man,” the “body of Christ,” was the core of macro truth called the “mystery” or secret gospel. The “mystery” that was revealed to Paul has the subjective or personal aspect that each one of us individually - “The mystery… which is Christ in you” (Col. 1:25-27).

The Beginning of the Dispensation of the Pure (100%) Grace of God

Thus the present “oikonomia” (Greek, the administration of God’s present economy or dispensation), is called “the dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph 3:5). It begins with the ministry of the apostle Paul sometime between his call in Acts 9 and his subsequent first missionary journey and preaching in Acts 13. We might well look at Paul’s time in Arabia, after his conversion on the road to Damascus, as the specific point in time when “the revelation of the mystery” (Rom 16:25) was first revealed and given to Paul. It was given to Paul directly from the ascended Jesus Christ (Gal 1:12). Paul did not receive His unique message and ministry from any men, not even the 12 Disciples who became the twelve Apostles. Paul received it directly from the ascended Jesus Christ who appeared to him. Galatians 1:12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Grace Apart from Law & Works

One obvious result of placing the beginning of “the dispensation of grace” at that time of the revelation of the mystery to Paul is the conclusion that all that immediately preceded him belongs to the previous dispensation, Law. Paul calls this “time past” (Eph 2:11). This former period includes both the earthly ministry of Jesus of Nazareth and the earlier chapters of the book of Acts. This conclusion is supported when we look at the material in these previous sections of the Bible. The content of Biblical passages before Paul’s unique ministry is clearly consistent with the terms and conditions of the dispensation of the Law. It is filled with contingent requirements for salvation, such as “if thou,” etc. There is no “if thou” under the pure grace dispensation. In fact, much of the teaching in the four Gospels and early Acts period contrasts in important ways with the dispensation of Grace as outlined by Paul. Paul clearly says Romans 6:14b …for ye are NOT under the law, but under GRACE. Romans 4:5 But to him that WORKETH NOT, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Some Biblical truths are horizontal, running through multiple dispensations, while Paul’s was vertical truth, came down and appears only in “the dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph 3:2) for “the body of Christ.”

Prophecy

One great contrast involves “prophecy” that was given to, or for, Israel. Since “prophecy,” and “the mystery” that was given to Paul are mutually exclusive (if it was prophesied then it can’t be a mystery (Greek, musterion, secret, and vice versa), anything which involved the fulfillment of prophecies made to Israel or makes further promises to Israel, is clearly within the bounds of the dispensation of the Law. “The dispensation of the grace of God” and its features were a mystery (musterion, a secret that can only be revealed by God), had been “kept hidden in God, who created all things” (Eph 3:9), until they were revealed to Paul, for us in this predominantly Gentile age. Even a casual reading of the Gospels and early chapters of Acts shows us Israel’s prophetic agenda was the basis for both the teachings and events of that period. Eleven times in Matthew’s gospel he tells us a particular event happened in accordance with the predictions of a prophet (See Matt 2:5, 17 as examples; e.g., Christ warned the disciples to be on the lookout for the abomination of desolation “spoken by the prophet Daniel” Matt 24:15).

This focus on “prophecies” to Israel can also be seen in early the Acts period. In Peter’s first sermon (Chapter 2) he tells the crowd, “Ye men of Israel,” the events they were witnessing at Pentecost are the fulfillment of prophecy given by the prophet Joel (Acts 2:16) whom he goes onto quote. Clearly God is here dealing with Israel under His special relationship with them just as He did in the Old Testament times. In fact, God is beginning to fulfill the promises made to Israel regarding the “last days” (v.17). Peter’s sermon climaxes with the proclamation that Jesus whom they crucified was the Messiah (v.36), the One promised to Israel. Peter’s sermon in Chapter 3 is even more clearly a continuation of God’s dealings with Israel. Peter again tells his listeners the crucifixion of Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecies made to the forefathers (vv.17-18). In verses 25-26 Peter says, “Indeed all from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days. And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers.” He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring al the peoples of the earth shall be blessed.”

In Contrasts:

This emphasis upon “prophecy” stands in clear contrast to Paul’s emphasis that this dispensation was a “mystery (secret)” never was revealed through prophecy. The features and events of “the dispensation of the Grace of God” can nowhere be found predicted on the pages of the Old Testament at all. Nor is it found during Christ’s earthly, terrestrial, ministry; or during Peter’s ministry in Acts. They were revealed first (1Tim 1:16) to the Apostle Paul.

The only thing that changes from Malachi (the OT’s last book) and Matthew (starting the NT) is the date. God was continuing to deal with Israel and doing so within the context of prophecies and promises made to Israel. That is why it is not surprising to see the Gospels and the early chapters of Acts that Israel continues to enjoy their elevated status before God, still holding the position as “His treasured possession” (Deut 7:6).

Christ’s earthly ministry was directed to the Jews and any contact He had with Gentiles is as a striking exception to His normal practice and purpose. In Matt 10:5-6 Jesus clearly instructs His disciples as follows. “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go NOT into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” In Matthew 23:2-3 Jesus instructs His followers to obey the Pharisees and Law, “and do everything they tell you.” These Pharisees were the ones who taught to Jews to obey the Law, including all the rituals, ceremonies, food restrictions, rules for stoning, and holy days. Contrast this with Paul’s instruction in Col 2:16, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:”

Peter’s ministry in Acts is also completely Jewish in both scope and content. His audience in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost was “men of Israel.” The occasion which had brought them together was Pentecost, an annual Jewish feast. In chapter 3 Peter speaks to the crowd of Jews gathered at the temple and tells them to repent so they can receive the “times of refreshing” in order that God “may send the Messiah who has been appointed for you (Ye men of Israel)” (vv.19-20).

In Acts 5:12 we learn the believers were meeting at Solomon’s Colonnade, an area within the temple grounds, and the problem in chapter 6 involved a disagreement between or among the Jews, some of whom spoke Aramaic, while others spoke Greek; nevertheless, all were Jews. The seven men chosen to help solve the problem were all Jews, including Nicolas, as convert to Judaism. It is very possible that the Ethiopian eunuch is chapter 8 was a Jew who lived in Ethiopia; if not, he was certainly a proselyte or convert to Judaism, because he had gone to Jerusalem to worship.

In short, everything in the Gospels and the first eight chapters of Acts is consistent with God’s continued dealings with the nation of Israel as His special people. God’s prophetic agenda was continuing to unfold, and the offer of the Messianic kingdom was being made to the Jews in the name of their Messiah.

This uninterrupted thread of ministry to and for Israel is abruptly broken with the chain of events which begins with Paul’s conversion in chapter 9. Paul’s account in Galatians1 traces his movements in those early months after his salvation. We learn immediately following his short stay in Damascus he went out to the Arabian Desert, where he stayed for the better part of 3 years. “Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.” Galatians 1:18. If Paul, during his stay in Arabia, had received revelation of “the mystery” that God was beginning as new dispensation in which Jew and Gentile were equal before God, he would surely tell a shocked (and undoubtedly disbelieving) Peter during his fifteen-day visit. The Acts account of Paul’s conversion in chapter 9 is followed by Peter’s visit to the Gentile Cornelius in chapter 10. When God tells Peter to go to Cornelius the Gentile, Peter is at first very reluctant to go, even though he had, no doubt heard about the new dispensation from Paul. After some persuasion through a vision Peter says, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right” (v.34).

Those words represent a major change in Peter’s theology from what he had been preaching to, and for, Israel in the earlier chapters of Acts. Paul’s news of a dispensational change had been confirmed to Peter by divine direction and he accepted it as from God. At this point in time the narrative of Acts shifts from a wholly Jewish perspective to one in which Jew and Gentile are saved without distinction. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:28). ‘

Note Peters’ words in 2Pet 3:15-16, And account (consider) … as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest (twist), as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

Rightly Dividing the Scripture

Correctly placing the beginning of the dispensation of Grace with the ministry of the Apostle Paul allows us to be more precise in distinguishing truths which do and do not apply to us today, in the dispensation of the grace of God, in which we stand. It means we must read the gospels and the first portion of Acts carefully so as not to apply the truths meant for Israel to the Body of Christ in the dispensation of Grace. Certainly our goal is to correctly handle the word of truth (2Tim 2:15), and this kind of dispensational accuracy is an important part of the effort.                                     <<END>>