In the introduction to part three of this series the Author says:
‘The insistence of Dr. E.W. Bullinger upon the need “Rightly to divide the Word
of truth” and to “Try the things that differ” especially with regard to the
several callings made known in the Scriptures, prepared our minds to consider
Acts 28 as a "Dispensational Frontier". Perhaps the present writer's
contribution to the opening up of the Scriptures, dispensationally, could be
expressed as follows:
"While other students of the Word saw that the rejection at Acts 28 was a
crisis, few if any looked upon it as of vital importance. They seem to have come
up to the closing chapter of the Acts, and then turned back to epistles like
Corinthians as the basis of their assembly and their hope, whereas, when we come
to Acts 28 and realized that it was a frontier and that another sphere of
blessing lay beyond, we simply said: " let us cross over, and see this good land
"‘.
These 10 volumes will be of service to all Bible students provided they are
prepared to consider carefully all that has been written in good faith but with
the author's added proviso — ‘Search the Scriptures' to see if what is advocated
stands the acid test of the Word of God.
We are glad with the permission of The Berean Publishing Trust to publish these
10 volumes at our website.
Study to shew thyself approved
unto God...
2 Timothy 2:15
THE THREEFOLD DIVISION OF ALL TRUTH
The revelation given in the Scriptures comes to us in three forms:
Doctrinal Truth,
Dispensational Truth,
Practical Truth.
What do we mean by Doctrinal Truth? Doctrinal Truth embraces all that has been revealed concerning the Being and
Attributes of God, and all that God has done, commanded, promised or foretold in
Creation, Law and Grace. ‘All have sinned’ is true under whatever dispensation
we may be called. ‘God is Just’ is as true under grace as it was under law. ‘To
the Jew first’ was true during the period covered by the Acts, but cannot be put
into practice since the dismissal of the Jew in Acts 28. This latter statement
therefore comes rather under the next heading.
What do we mean by Dispensational Truth? Dispensational Truth takes note of the purpose of the ages, the changes that
have been introduced since Creation, such as may be denominated the Dispensation
of Innocence, Law, Kingdom, Grace, Church, Mystery, etc., and the office of
Dispensational Truth is to decide whether any particular doctrine - be it
command, promise, calling or prophecy - does or does not pertain to any
particular individual. Dispensational Truth would lead the believer to
distinguish between the blessing which says, ‘The meek shall inherit the earth’,
and those blessings which are described as ‘all spiritual’ and to be enjoyed ‘in
heavenly places’.
What do we mean by Practical Truth? Not until doctrine has passed the mesh of Dispensational Truth, can
Practical Truth put in its claim. It is obvious that the people of Israel,
called to be a royal priesthood and a holy nation, with its sphere of influence
in the earth, could not be called upon to put into practice the injunctions of
Ephesians 4 to 6. In like manner, the Church of the One Body has no guarantee
that obedience to the special truth of that calling will result in blessing in
‘basket and in store’. Those who are under the law, must have a very different
form of practice from those who are under grace.
Only by loyally preaching and teaching the truth of God as related to these
three aspects can we hope to become workmen who need not to be ashamed, for only
by so doing shall we ‘rightly divide’ the Word of truth.
To all who discern ‘things that differ’ (Phil. 1:10 marg.) and who seek to obey
the injunction ‘rightly to divide’ the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15) we very
warmly commend the following analysis of words, terms and Scripture references,
that are employed in making known Dispensational Truth, believing that it will
prove a tool in the hands of the ‘unashamed workman’ and that it will be of
great service to both teacher and student alike.
A word or two may be of service relative to the method adopted in this analysis:
First, the subjects selected appear in alphabetical order and not in any order
of merit of relative importance. The word Aaron is relatively of slight
importance to the believing Gentile today, but the office and witness of the
Apostle is of first importance in the opening up of truth for the time, yet
‘AARON’ must head the list, even as the
MYSTERY, a word of supreme importance dispensationally, necessarily comes later in the list.
In the second place, a distinction has been made in the type used to indicate
subsidiary headings and those which are of first importance. For example ABBA is
printed in small capitals Helvetica bold type, and stands at the beginning of
the paragraph, because it is subsidiary to the main theme of
ADOPTION. This
subject of ‘adoption’ is differentiated from subsidiary articles by being
printed in Helvetica bold type capitals, and being placed in the centre of the
page, instead of at the beginning of the first line. (Webmaster: we have added
(!) at the title of these main articles.)
Structures. - Where the meaning of a term can be illuminated by the structure of
the section in which the term occurs, that structure is given, and as the scope
of a passage is of first importance in the interpretation of any of its parts,
these structures, which are not ‘inventions’ but ‘discoveries’ of what is
actually present, should be used in every attempt to arrive at a true
understanding of a term, phrase or word that is under review. Under the heading
STRUCTURE the uninitiated believer will receive an explanation and an
illustration of this unique feature of Holy Scripture. In like manner, other
exegetical apparatus such as Figures of speech and all such helps are indicated
under the main heading INTERPRETATION.
References. - Where a word occurs ten times or less in the original a complete
concordance will be provided. Where the number of references exceeds ten, a
selection will be given, but an indication of its distribution, number and
translation will be given in order that nothing relevant to the subject under
consideration shall be omitted or ignored.
Greek and Hebrew words. - Those readers who can read the Greek and Hebrew
originals of the Scriptures will understand the English transliteration adopted,
while those readers who have no knowledge of the original languages will be
encouraged to follow the argument, and refer to the Concordance and Lexicon by
the fact that Hebrew and Greek words are printed with English letters. We have
employed italic type for both Hebrew and Greek words, but we have not attempted
to differentiate between long and short vowels, printing the ‘o’ in logos or
lego alike, although in logos the vowels are short, while in lego the ‘o’ is
long. Again in order to avoid confusion, the spelling of Hebrew words follows
that employed in ‘Young’s Analytical Concordance’.
Fables Fail Faithful
Family
Far Above All
Fathers
Fellowship
Fig Tree
Firmament
Firstfruits
Flesh
Flesh and Blood
Flock and Fold
Forbidding
Fore-Hope
Fulfil
Fulness
Galatians (!)
Gather
Generations
Gentile
Giants
Glory
The Good Deposit
Gospel (!)
Grace (!)
Habitation
Hasting . . . Coming
Head
Healing
Heathen
Heaven (!)
Heavenly Places
Hebrews (!)
Heirs, Fellow-Heirs
Hid, Hide, Hidden
High Calling
High Priest
Hope (!)
Hour
House
Husband
In Adam (!)
Interpretation (!)
Israel (!)
Jerusalem
Jesus
Jew
John (!)
Joint-Heirs
Judgment Seat
Kingdom (!)
Knowledge
Last Days and Latter Times (!)
Law (!)
Letter
Lie
Lord's Day
Lord's Prayer (!)
Lord's Supper (!)
Lo-Ammi
Man
Manifestation (!)
Me
Mediator
Member
Memorial
Middle Wall (!)
Milk v. Meat
Millennial Contexts (!)
Miracle (!)
Mystery (!)
Mystery Manifested (!)
Nation
Nephilim
New
Noah
Now - Acts 26:17
Numerics
Olive Tree
One
Out-Resurrection
Overcomer
Overthrow
Parable (!)
Parenthesis
Parousia
Paul (!)
Paul, Prisoner
Pentecost (!)
People
Perfection or Perdition (!)
Philemon
Philippians (!)
Pleroma (!)
Predestination
Presentation
Principalities
Prior or Out-Resurrection
Prison Epistles
Prize (!)
Promise
Prophecy
Purpose
