Covenant and Dispensational

Introduction

Covenant Theology

3 covenants

The pretemporal covenant of redemption between the Father and the Son.

The historical covenant of works between God and Adam as the federal head of humanity.

Sometimes known as the covenant of creation, nature or law.

Within the covenant

God entered into a covenant with Adam

The promise annexed to that covenant was life

The condition was perfect obedience

The penalty was death.

Genesis 1-2.

A covenant of grace with the elect, in Christ, administered through a series of covenants from Adam to Christ.

Occurs between Genesis 3 and the end of temporal time.

The Gospel is the revelation of the Covenant of grace.

The Gospel, which is the revelation of the covenant of grace, is the same throughout the storylines of scripture, and therefore is one covenant of grace.

The same covenant of grace was dispensed in different manners.

The foundation of the covenants of works and grace is the covenant of redemption.

Israel and the church are essentially one; the covenant community consisting of believers and non-believers and their children is the same throughout the covenant of grace, and their is a continuity of covenant signs (children enter the covenant through circumcision in the OT and baptism in the NT)

The Kingdom has already arrives with the coming of Christ but waiting consummation when Jesus comes again.

Dispensationalism

Dispensationalism means administration, stewardship, or the management of a household:

Ephesians 1:10 “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:”

1 Corinthians 9:17 “For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.”

Colossians 1:25 “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;”

1 Timothy 1:4 “Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.”

Dispensations are distinguishable economies or periods of time during which God dispenses or administers His plan of redemption in ways different from other epochs or eras is important to dispensationalist and their system as a whole.

They accept covenants but believe the covenants are subsidiary to another structured system.

The different ages within the structure:

Traditionalist

Innocence

Conscience

Human Government

Promise

Mosiac

Grace

Kingdom/Millennium

All Dispensationalist reject replacement theology

6 points that elucidates the essence of dispensational theology

Progressive revelation from the NT does not interpret OT passages in a way that cancels the original authorial intent of the OT writers as determined by historical-grammatical hermeneutics.

Types exist, but national Israel is not a type that is superceded by the church.

Israel and the church are distinct; thus church cannot be identified as the new or true Israel.

There is both spiritual unity in salvation between Jews and Gentiles and a future role for Israel as a nation.

The nation Israel will be saved, restored with unique identity, and function in a future millennial kingdom on the earth.

There are multiple senses of “the seed of Abraham;” Thus the churches identification as “seed of Abraham” does not cancel God’s promises to the believing Jewish “Seed of Abraham.”

Traditional Dispensationalism

Hallmark is the literal meaning of a text by its immediate historical-textual parameters and then understood how this meaning relates to God’s overall program. This system of interpretation allows the immediate historical context of a passage to define and limit the textual meaning.