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`the administration of a household' or as it is translated in Luke 16: 2, `stewardship'.
The church at Jerusalem was compelled to recognize the distinctive `stewardships' or
`dispensations' given to Peter and Paul (Gal. 2: 6-10), and saw that the distinction
involved not only `apostleship' but `gospel'." (page 11).
It would, surely, be difficult for a reader of the criticism to believe that the booklet
criticized contained the passage we have just quoted. We can only add that, as the
criticism contains no point wherein it is considered we have erred, we but restate, as
above, what we have already taught:--
"Yet another point. Page 36 of `Things most surely believed' says of the eventful
scene in Acts 28:; `A new dispensation with new terms is ushered in--this
dispensation of the grace of God for the Gentiles committed to Paul'. But was this new?
Was it not rather God's revelation to Paul from his prior calling on the road to
Damascus? Well, let us see what Paul himself says (Acts 26: 17 & 18, and again
Acts 22: 21)."
Here we find ourselves echoing our brother's words, "Well, let us see what Paul
himself says (Acts 26: 17, 18 and Acts 22: 21)", only we suggest that a
commencement be made, not at verse 17, but at verse 16 of Acts 26:, particularly
noticing the word "both", which indicates Paul's two-fold ministry, and the words "in the
which I will appear unto thee", which makes clear the fact that when Paul received the
commission on the road to Damascus he also received intimation of another commission
which would be given when it should please the Lord to reveal it.
In Acts 20: this new commission is associated with "bonds and afflictions". It
indicated that Paul's earlier ministry had come to an end, and that the Ephesian believers
should see his face no more. He looks forward to "finishing his course" (Acts 20: 24),
and, as recorded in II Tim. 4: 7, he does finish that course.
No careful reader of Acts 20: 17-38 could fail to see that Paul is summing up one
ministry and looking forward to another, but this new ministry is directly associated with
"bonds"; in other words, it is "a prison ministry", with its new revelation and
dispensation. Acts 22: 21, like Acts 20: and Acts 26:, make known, for the first
time what the Lord said to Paul. The words of Acts 26: 16-18 were kept secret until
Paul was a prisoner. In face of these scriptures, then, our brother's suggestion: "Was it
not rather God's revelation to Paul from his first calling on the road to Damascus?" is
flatly negatived. It was not the first revelation. Paul himself says so, and the very
passages to which our brother refers us entirely overthrow his contention.
We believe that those of our readers who have followed this criticism will feel that if
that is all that can be brought forward against our position, those responsible for The
Berean Expositor are justified in the general pursuit of their policy of expounding
positive truth, for very occasionally only would the devotion of precious space and time
to the type of criticism here dealt with be to edification. Every reader should take each of
our critic's points, as though they were personal to themselves, and then, as true Bereans,
"search and see". We should then have no fears as to the result.