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4th Series
4th of the series "Rightly Dividing The Word Of Truth"
Feel free to send comments or questions that you have about the Bible. 2 Timothy 2:15: Study to shew ourselves approved unto God; a workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth. Thus, far we have touched on the hermeneutics of face value, context and collaborating scriptures. This issue will be the fourth which is known as the historical context. This is probably the most important point because it is the time factor and can change the meaning to a passage or passages because of God's gradual revelation. This does not do away with eternal truths throughout the Holy word but can alter the way they are enacted or carried out. From Genesis to Revelation there are many different historical settings. Since God gave gradual revelation to man about his redemptive plan after Adam and Eve sinned we can clearly see certain divisions between the beginning of the old and new testament. In the garden Adam and Eve were perfect until they were cast out of the garden. From Adam to Noah's flood is known as the antediluvian age; (Genesis 3-8). Romans 2 records how men will be judged before God. Those without the written law will be judged according to their conscience to whatever is contained in the written law. Those under the written law will be judged by whether or not they were doers of the Mosaic law. The new covenant believers are judged by the gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ which was the fulfillment of the redemptive plan in the spiritual aspect. Genesis 3:15 was the first prophecy about the Messiah and his redeeming the world of sin as far as paying the price for sin as the sinless sacrifice. Cultures are different and the Bible basically divides up people in the categories of gentiles, the Jewish nation, and the church of God. Gentiles were without a covenant unlike the Jewish nation who brought the Messiah to the world. The church (Jew and gentile into one body alike) now propagate the gospel since Israel's rejection of Christ. When they come back to God in the tribulation they will become the head of the nations in the kingdom age. The nature of cultures should be understood by the categories of gentiles, the Jewish nation, and the church. The gentiles were basically referred to as heathen nations. the Jewish nations were and are God's chosen people despite rejecting Jesus. The church as one new man, the new creation and Jew and gentile in one body. These cultures will be judged by how they responded to what revelation they had of God. Last, but not least are the two most common school of thoughts concerning the gradual revelation of God. These are Dispensational and Covenant Theology. 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 talks about stewardship of the mysteries of God. In Ephesians 3:2; Paul mentions the dispensation of the grace of God, and Colossians 1:25, the dispensation of God. Covenant Theology differs and divides into just two actual covenants which dispensationalist believe in too which would be the old covenant (works) according to the Mosaic ethic and the new covenant (grace) according to the death, burial, and resurrection. Both must agree on gradual revelation because of how the Jews, gentiles and the church will be judged. It is both beneficial to understand the covenants and how men were to be faithful to God in different eras. There are eternal covenants of what God promised; i.e.: he gave the rainbow as a promise of no more worldwide flood to wipe man out, whereas, his covenant with Israel though eternal is conditioned by obedience. We must understand how the dispensations or periods of stewardship time and the covenants correlate to each other. One must know who is speaking to whom and know what the revelation is they had in that age. For example, if Jesus the Messiah is talking to the Jews under the mosaic law it will have a different meaning than if you're trying to interpret it as Jesus talking to the church. You will be reading into that context that may not be in there to begin with. This is how much of false doctrine is started. The bottom line for understanding the historical record is: 1. Through the cultures of 3 categories or classes of people: Jews, gentiles, and the church. 2. Through dispensations or stewardships of being faithful to whatever revelation man was or is given, Also, the covenants of God to man. 3. It also important to know the customs and times and phrases and idioms and etc. are according to old and new testament times as well as some Hebraic and some Greek words due to the King James version is a 16th century language. This is another whole subject to itself. Until next time I pray that your soul will be nourished by this month's "Food For Thought". Jerry Kelso 
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