Ephesians 1.10a-The Dispensation Completing the Various Periods of Human History
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday March 28, 2023
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 1:10a-The Dispensation Completing the Various Periods of Human History
Lesson # 28
Ephesians 1:3 The God, namely the Father of the Lord ruling over us, who is Jesus Christ, is worthy of praise. Namely, because He is the one who has blessed each and every one of us by means of each and every kind of Spirit appropriated blessing in the heavenlies in Christ. 4 For He chose each and every one of us for His own purpose because of Him alone before creation in order that each and every one of us would be holy as well as uncensurable in His judgment. 5 He did this by predestinating each and every one of us for the purpose of adoption as sons because of His love through Jesus Christ for Himself according to the pleasure of His will. 6 This was for the purpose of praising His glorious grace, which He freely bestowed on each and every one of us because of the one who is divinely loved. 7 Because of whom, each one of us are experiencing that which is the redemption through His blood, namely the forgiveness of our transgressions according to His infinite grace. 8 This He provided in abundance for the benefit of each and every one of us because of the exercise of a wisdom, which is absolute and divine in nature resulting in the manifestation of an insight, which is absolute and divine in nature. 9 He did this by revealing the mystery of His will for the benefit of each and every one of us according to His pleasure, which He planned beforehand because of our faith in and resultant union and identification with Himself. 10 This was for the dispensation which brings to completion the various periods of history. Namely, to unite for the benefit of Himself each and every animate and inanimate object in the sphere of the sovereign authority of the person of the one and only Christ. Specifically, to unite for the benefit of Himself those things in the heavens as well as those things on the earth in the sphere of the sovereign authority of Himself. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 1:10 begins with a prepositional phrase eis oikonomian tou plērōmatos tōn kairōn (εἰς οἰκονομίαν τοῦ πληρώματος τῶν καιρῶν), “This was for the dispensation which brings to completion the various periods of history.” (Lecturer’s translation).
It is followed by the infinitival clause anakephalaiōsasthai ta panta en tō Christō (ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι τὰ πάντα ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ), “Namely, to unite for the benefit of Himself each and every animate and inanimate object in the sphere of the sovereign authority of the person of the one and only Christ.” (Lecturer’s translation).
This infinitival clause is then modified by the elliptical infinitival clause ta epi tois ouranois kai ta epi tēs gēs en autō (τὰ ἐπὶ τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐν αὐτῷ), “Specifically, to unite for the benefit of Himself those things in the heavens as well as those things on the earth in the sphere of the sovereign authority of Himself.” (Lecturer’s translation)
The prepositional phrase presents the purpose of the Father being pleased to plan in eternity past to elect church age believers by predestinating them for the purpose of adoption as sons for Himself alone because of His love through their faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ.
It asserts that He did this for the dispensation, which brings to completion the various periods of history or dispensations.
As we noted, this prepositional phrase is modified by the infinitival clause anakephalaiōsasthai ta panta en tō Christō (ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι τὰ πάντα ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ), “Namely, to unite for the benefit of Himself each and every animate and inanimate object in the sphere of the sovereign authority of the person of the one and only Christ.” (Lecturer’s translation).
This infinitival clause is epexegetical clause because it describes this dispensation as when the Father will unite for the benefit of Himself each and every animate and inanimate object in the heavens and on earth in the sphere of the sovereign authority of the person of the one and only Christ.
This will take place during His millennial reign, which is being referred to by the phrase “the administration of the fullness of the times.” (NET)
Church age believers who are in union with Christ and identified with Him (Rom. 6; Col. 3:1-4; Eph. 2:6-8) and are members of His body (Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:12, 18, 20; Eph. 3:6; 5:30) and His bride (2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:28-33; Rev. 19:7; 21:9; 22:17) will reign with Christ over the earth during the latter’s millennial reign.
This infinitival clause is modified by an elliptical infinitival clause ta epi tois ouranois kai ta epi tēs gēs en autō (τὰ ἐπὶ τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐν αὐτῷ), “Specifically, to unite for the benefit of Himself those things in the heavens as well as those things on the earth in the sphere of the sovereign authority of Himself.” (Lecturer’s translation)
It too is epexegetical clause because it identifies who are and where are these animate and inanimate objects.
It asserts that they will be every inanimate and animate object that is contained in the first, second and third heavens and the earth or in other words, all marine life, bird life, terrestrial life, human beings and angels.
The noun oikonomia (οἰκονομία), “the dispensation” pertains to “a distinguishable economy in the outworking of God’s purpose.”
Specifically, it refers to the millennial reign of Jesus Christ when the Father’s kingdom will be visibly present on planet earth under the rulership of Jesus Christ and His bride.
They will also be accompanied by Old Testament saints, tribulational martyrs in their resurrection bodies as well as the elect angels.
The dispensations are economies instituted and brought to their purposeful conclusion by God.
To summarize: (1) Dispensationalism views the world as a household run by God. (2) In this household-world God is dispensing or administering its affairs according to His own will and in various stages of revelation in the process of time. (3) These various stages mark off the distinguishably different economies in the outworking of His total purpose, and these economies are dispensations.
Now, in this purpose clause, the noun plērōma (πλήρωμα), “which brings to completion” pertains to the totality of a period of time, with the implication of proper completion.
This noun plērōma functions a genitive of apposition or epexegetical genitive, which indicates that the noun plērōma has the same referent as the noun oikonomia whose referent we noted is the millennial reign of Jesus Christ on the earth.
Therefore, the genitive form of the noun plērōma is defining this “dispensation” as “bringing something to completion,” and which something is identified by the noun kairos (καιρός), “the various periods of history.”
The latter specifically refers to the various periods of time throughout human history, which are marked by certain activities and individuals which distinguish these periods from each other.
In other words, it refers to the various dispensations throughout human history.
Human history may be classified into six dispensations.
These six can be grouped into three categories of two dispensations each.
(I) Theocentric: Old Testament Dispensations (from the creation of Adam to the virgin birth of Christ)
(A) Gentiles (from the creation of Adam to the Exodus, Genesis 1-Exodus 11) (1) Edenic: Adam to the Fall (Gen. 1:26-3:6). (2) Ante-Diluvian: Fall of Adam to the Flood (Gen. 3-9). (3) Post-Diluvian: Noah Leaving Ark to Call of Abraham (Gen. 9-12). (4) Patriarchal: Call of Abraham to Giving of Law on Sinai (Gen. 12-Ex. 19).
(B) Jews (from the Exodus to the birth of Christ 1441-4 B.C.; Exodus 12-Malachi) (1) Theocratic Kingdom: Exodus to Samuel (B.C. 1441-B.C. 1020) (2) United Kingdom: Saul to Rehoboam (B.C. 1020-926 B.C.) (3) Northern Kingdom: Jeroboam to Hosea (B.C. 926-B.C. 721) (4) Southern Kingdom: Rehoboam to Zedekiah (B.C. 721-B.C. 586) (5) Babylonian Captivity: (B.C. 586-536 B.C.) (6) Restoration of Israel as a nation: Judah (B.C. 536-B.C. 4).
(II) Christocentric: New Testament Dispensations (from the birth of Christ to the yet future resurrection, or Rapture of the Church)
(A) Hypostatic Union: Birth of Christ to His death, resurrection, ascension and session (the era of the New Testament Gospels; B.C. 4-30 A.D.)
(B) Church Age: Pentecost to the Rapture (30 A.D.-Rapture) (1) Precanon period (the era commencing with the Book of Acts and continuing until John wrote Revelation, completing the canon of Scripture; A.D. 30-96) (2) Postcanon period (the current era governed by Christ’s Upper Room Discourse [John 14-17], the New Testament epistles, and Revelation 2-3; from A.D. 96 to the Rapture).
(III) Eschatological: Dispensations after the Rapture of the Church
(A) Tribulation: Rapture of the Church to the Second Advent of Christ (approximately 7 years from the Rapture of the Church to the Second Advent of Christ; prophesied in the Old Testament, Christ’s Olivet Discourse [Matt. 24-25], and Revelation 6-19) (1) Satan’s Failed Utopia (from the Rapture until Satan’s expulsion from heaven) (2) Great Tribulation (from Satan’s expulsion until the Second Advent of Christ).
(B) Millennium (the 1000 year reign of Christ on earth from His Second Advent of Christ to the end of human history, prophesied throughout the Old Testament and in Revelation 20)