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Berean Expositor Volume 1
Tracts for believers.
pp. 58-60
Who inspired the Scriptures?
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (II Tim. 3: 16).
How should we esteem the authority of the Bible?
"Not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God" (I Thess. 2: 13).
Is there any special command with respect to the Scriptures?
Yes! "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to
be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth" (II Tim. 2: 15).
What does this term "rightly dividing" involve and mean?
It tells us that Scripture must be interpreted in strict accordance with its
dispensational setting. If a passage speaks of the "kingdom of heaven," of "Israel," or
"Jerusalem," we must not interpret it as of the "church which is His body."
What do you mean by the term "dispensational"?
A dispensation is a particular economy or administration of God's dealings with
any particular people, having its own peculiar and distinctive characteristics. For
example, there was a dispensation of law under Moses; a dispensation of miraculous gifts
during Pentecost. To-day we are in a dispensation of grace, and of the mystery (see
Eph. 3:). The right division of truth with regard to the various dispensations is called
"dispensational truth".
When do you believe this dispensation began?
After Acts 28: 25-28, when Israel as a nation was set aside.
But the majority of believers teach that the "church began at Pentecost"?
A church began at Pentecost, which differed in many respects from every
preceding church, or assembly, but "the church which is His body" is entirely different
from this and all else. Peter's sermon in Acts 2: is largely an exposition of the prophets
Joel, and there is certainly nothing about the body of Christ in Joel. The book of the
Acts is a continuation of the witness concerning the kingdom of heaven (see use of the
word "began" in Acts 1: 1, and Heb. 2: 3,4). The same people are addressed, the same
key-word of "Repent" is heard, and the same miraculous accompaniments as are recorded
in Matt. 10: 1-10 are there. These continue right to the end of the book. Paul there is
inspired to quote Isa. 6: 9 and 10 to the representatives of the Jews of the dispersion, and
then to turn to the Gentiles.