7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 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: 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Verses 7-12 continue to elaborate on the truths of predestination, but as we have already addressed that topic at length in verses 3-6, here we will focus on the surrounding topics. The first thing that we should notice is the continued use of “in Christ” and its variants. If there is one concept that we must take away from the first chapter of Ephesians, it is that everything that we hope for, everything of any eternal worth, everything holy and righteous that we may have or experience hinges entirely on Christ. This is typified in the Old Testament with Noah. God considered him a righteous man in that dispensation (Genesis 7:1, Ezekiel 14:20), yet it is plain that Noah was not sinless (Genesis 9:20-24). However, the ark (a type of Christ) saved him from the wrath of God poured out on the world through the flood. Noah’s position in the ark saved him from the judgment of God, just as our position in Christ will save us from wrath (I Thessalonians 5:9).
Another brief address on punctuation will be beneficial before going any further. We have previously seen the purpose and function of the colon in verses 3-6, which will continue to be relevant here in verses 7-12. However, this set of verses also adds the semicolon. The Little, Brown Handbook explains it well in relation to our previous understanding of the colon: “The colon is a mark of introduction that separates elements of unequal importance, such as statements and explanations or introductions and quotations” whereas the semicolon “separates elements of equal importance” (Fowler and Aaron 490).
Verse seven makes the Gospel plain, but verses eight and nine add to our understanding: God does not offer salvation begrudgingly, as if somehow forced to keep a promise that He now regrets, but rather the riches of His grace abound toward us in both wisdom and prudence. These ideas are linked in such a way as to show equal importance, however verse nine goes on to use the colon to offer an explanation of the “the mystery of his will” which is “according to His good pleasure.” The mystery is here explained in relation to the “dispensation of the fulness of times” when “he might gather together in one all things in Christ.” We will see more regarding the mystery when we get to the third chapter of Ephesians, but for now, we will focus on the term “dispensation.” The term is much used and abused, often being oversimplified to mean “a period of time.” While this suffices in some cases, it ultimately does not hold up to a close reading of Scripture.
There are only four places in which the term appears: I Corinthians 9:17 (“dispensation of the gospel”), Ephesians 1:10 (“dispensation of the fulness of times”), Ephesians 3:2 (“dispensation of the grace of God”), and Colossians 1:25 (“dispensation of God”). While the first three references might be used to claim that a dispensation is a period of time, Colossians makes that interpretation untenable, as there is no time period called “God” in Scripture, or even in any dispensational chart devised by man. Furthermore, a moment’s thought about the word itself makes equating a dispensation with a period of time impossible: I don’t recall ever receiving a “period of time” from a Pez dispenser when I was a child, do you? In his Dictionary of the King James Language, White defines a dispensation as “the state or condition of managing and distributing a person’s affairs,” to which he adds, “in the Bible ‘dispensation’ always deals with God’s affairs towards man” (344). Vance joins the conversation by noting that the term is “related to the verb dispense” and so defines it stating, “A dispensation is a distribution, management, economy, regulation, disbursement, arrangement, or administration” (109). Hoffman approaches from a different angle in his comments on I Corinthians 9:17: “A dispensation is an exemption from some laws; a permission to do something forbidden; an allowance to omit something commanded (Black’s Law Dictionary, Fourth Edition)” (1707).
While these might appear to be radically different definitions of the word, all are accurate from a Biblical standpoint. Even modern dictionaries include the layers of meaning for the word related to administrative, legal, and religious applications. I am partial to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary on this matter, as it provides four definitions, all of which dovetail into one another to provide a full picture of the term, and its significance in Scripture. Below are the quoted definitions, in the order presented, barring only some of the exemplifying comments and quotations provided in Webster’s text:
Distribution; the act of dealing out to different persons or places
The dealing of God to his creatures; the distribution of good and evil, natural or moral, in the divine government
The granting of a license, or the license itself, to do what is forbidden by laws or canons, or to omit something which is commanded; that is, the dispensing with a law or canon, or the exemption of a particular person from the obligation to comply with its injunctions
That which is dispensed or bestowed; a system of principles and rites enjoined; as the Mosaic dispensation; the gospel dispensation; including, the former the Levitical law and rites; the latter the scheme of redemption, by Christ
So then it is within reason to say that a dispensation, as defined generally and supported biblically, is when a governing authority (in this case, God Almighty) deals with a person or group of people (in this case, mankind) to distribute or bestow (the latter seems more appropriate in the context) the system by which what is expected (in this case, the execution of God’s justice on sinners) may be exempted. With this in mind, even a cursory reading of the Bible would force us to acknowledge that there is more than one dispensation, as is made plain even by the categories of “Old Testament” and “New Testament” derived from Hebrews 9:15. However, careful reading of Scripture demands more than simply a single dispensational division, as God’s dealing with mankind in Scripture reveals several systems that have been, are, or will be dispensed to mankind as the means of exemption from God’s justice. These dispensed systems revolve around clear covenants between God and man, each with their own expectations, promises, and warnings.
Before proceeding, we would do well to remember that there are certain inter-dispensational truths that apply to every covenant by which God offers salvation to mankind. These truths remain in place because although man degrades further in every generation due to sin, God remains constant (Hebrews 13:8 and II Timothy 2:13). As a result, these truths are:
The expectation of God is holiness (Leviticus 20:7, I Peter 1:15-16)
The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23)
The soul that sins will die (Genesis 2:17, Ezekiel 18:4 and 20)
The price for redemption is blood (Hebrews 9:22)
Every dispensation is an act of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8)
Every dispensation requires faith in God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8, Hebrews 11:6)
The means of salvation is always obedience by faith in the shed blood of Christ (Hebrews 10:4, I Peter 2:24)
The instructions that must be obeyed into order to have the blood applied to you depend on the dispensation, and not every dispensation offered eternal security (compare Deuteronomy 8:19-20 with John 10:28)
Each dispensation is based on God’s revelation to that particular audience at that particular time, but they do not necessarily negate each other; for example, although we are not under the law in this dispensation, the moral and ethical expectations of the law remain God’s standard of living for His people
With the above being consistent across all dispensations, most of which are connected to covenants (by nature of what a dispensation is), then we can identify distinct dispensations. This in itself is a hotly debated issue: Pastor Jeff Adams labels only seven dispensations (76-78), as does Dr. Jerry Rockwell (et al) in the Rock of Ages Study Bible (4). Dr. Douglas Stauffer labels nine (169-194). Clarence Larkin also labels nine (32-41), but his differ slightly from Stauffer’s, and he also identifies overarching dispensations (such as the dispensation of “family”) that contain the nine more specific dispensations. While there is no Scriptural name for these dispensations, nor any blatant Scriptural outline of each, for our purposes here we will use the titles below based on the characteristic of the dispensation in relation to the associated covenants. This follows Adams’ model closely, adding only the Tribulation period (per Larkin’s model) as its own unique dispensation:
Innocence (Edenic Covenant)
Conscience (Adamic Covenant)
Government (Noahic Covenant)
Promise (Abrahamic Covenant)
Law (Mosaic Covenant)
Grace (New Covenant)
Tribulation (New Covenant Amended)
Millennium (Covenant established by Christ’s earthly reign)
In each of these dispensations, God presents mankind with a means of exempting himself from the execution of God’s righteous judgment. It is important here to remember that in no dispensation is anyone saved by anything other than the blood of Jesus Christ. However, it is only in the dispensation labeled grace – the dispensation of the church age – that the blood is applied directly and immediately. As such, this is the only dispensation with the guarantee of eternal security. All others offer mere safety – the hope of the blood being applied if the other conditions are met. In other dispensations, particularly those before Christ’s sacrifice, the bestowed system to exempt oneself from God’s just wrath against sin was a system that meant the blood would eventually be applied. However, in those dispensations, because the blood was not immediately applied, the individual was not sealed, and therefore could lose and regain the right to have the blood applied. The same will be true after the church age. While there is much heated debate over this issue, it seems quite plain from Scripture that once the church is raptured out, the final portion of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks will resume, in which case the covenant with Israel returns, albeit amended by the now-past sacrifice of Christ. Hence, it will be a system of faith in Christ plus the reinstituted works of the Old Testament law in order to receive the blood.
The topic of dispensations is a full expository commentary in and of itself. What we have covered here is a sort of crash-course on the topic for the purpose of better understanding when Paul says, “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” (Ephesians 1:10). This is clearly different than the “fulness of time” in Galatians 4:4 due to both the wording (singular “time” versus plural “times”) and the context of what Christ is doing in each. In context, here it sounds as if the “fulness of times” could be referring to the dispensation of the millennial reign of Christ, although it seems more plausible that it refers to a final dispensation of eternity future, after Christ’s 1,000-year reign and the defeat of Satan, as represented on Larkin’s model (41). In either case, Acts 3:20-21 makes an interesting cross-reference. Scripture often uses “fulness” in the sense of “completeness,” and so when time is complete (and therefore we are in eternity), all in heaven and on earth will be one in Him. Colossians 1:20 makes an excellent cross-reference for this. Some have attempted to wrest this verse in order to claim that everyone will eventually be saved, but heresy is once again defeated by the prepositional phrase “in Christ,” which is used twice in this single verse. Only those in Him can look forward to this glorious future.
Like everything we have seen up to this point, verse twelve places the emphasis on Christ, as the group represented by “we” and “who” are relevant only insofar that they “should be to the praise of his glory.” However, the inclusion of the phrase "who first trusted Christ” leaves me puzzled. Who first trusted Christ in what sense? Is it “first” as in "first persons to trust Christ" or as in "persons who trusted Christ before any other action related to the Christian faith took place”? Verses 13-14 will make it plain that the “we” here does not include the Ephesians, but the nature of the pronoun means that it must include Paul. It seems like, when read along with 13-14, the second sense of the phrase is most accurate, but either sense does not disrupt sound doctrine, and so I will it leave here without belaboring it.
So then, in sum, verses 7-12 clearly present the gospel, which is linked to the mystery of the grafted-in Gentile church (which we will address further when we arrive at chapter three). The hope and culmination of those who are in Christ is that in a future dispensation, we will be gathered to Christ, and obtain the inheritance which is destined for all those who are in Christ: being made such that we are to the praise of His glory according to His will.
NEXT IN THIS SERIES:
Ephesians 1:13-14
Sources Referenced:
Adams, Jeff. D2: The Next Step in Discipleship. Reality Living Publication, 2012.
Fowler, H. Ramsey and Jane E. Aaron. The Little, Brown Handbook. 12th ed., Pearson, 2012.
Vance, Laurence M. Archaic Words and the Authorized Version. 3rd ed., Vance Publication, 2011.
Hoffman, David Allen. The Common Man’s Study Bible. 3rd ed., Bible Baptist Church (Rensselar, IN) and First Baptist Church (Lowell, IN), 2014.
Larkin, Clarence. Dispensational Truth or God’s Plan and Purpose in the Ages. Rev, Clarence Larkin Est., 1918.
Rockwell, Jerry L., et al. Rock of Ages Study Bible. 6th ed., Rock of Ages Press, 2017.
Stauffer, Douglas D. One Book Rightly Divided: The Key to Understanding the Bible. Expanded Edition, McCowen Mills Publishers, 2006.
Webster, Noah. Noah Webster’s First Edition of an American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Foundation for American Christian Education, 1967.
White, Steven J. White’s Dictionary of the King James Language, Volume I: A-E. Steven John White, 2005.
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