The Biblical Path of Life

Tag: Dispensations

  • Have You Been a Faithful Witness?

    “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him”
    Colossians 1:16

    In Colossians 1:16 we read that God created everything, and it was created for Him. It is important to understand that God created us for a purpose. God created man to have a relationship with Him. After He created Adam and Eve, God walked with them in the garden until they disobeyed His Word, and sin entered into the world.

    After understanding that God created us to have a relationship with Him, we look at the Bible from beginning to end. Firstly, we will take a bird’s eye view over all of history to see that God dealt with man in different ways through the ages. The Bible is laid out in certain timeframes, also called “dispensations.” A dispensation is basically a means by which God deals with mankind throughout the ages because of sin and employing God’s divine government. Each of the dispensations may be regarded as a new test of the natural man, and each ends in judgment, marking man’s utter failure in every dispensation. God dealt with His creation in different ways at different times. God created the world as perfect, but when man sinned, he brought the judgment of death into the world. Throughout the ages, God gave individuals many opportunities to have a relationship with Him, but each time they failed. They had to understand that the only way this relationship could ever be restored would be by the atoning death of His Son, Jesus. It is with this understanding that we look at the scriptures as a whole.

    The seven dispensations allow us to see how God worked among the people throughout the years. What began as a face-to-face relationship with God (remember Adam and Eve in the garden) quickly turned to a sinful people unable to approach God. But God, through His grace and mercy, promised to make available to man the opportunity to once again have a relationship with Him. We learn how man fell and was punished, and then how all of mankind was only evil continually, so that God destroyed all but one family. God then gave the governing responsibilities to mankind, and they blew it again, causing God to confuse their language. When God selected a family, they ended up in bondage and needed God to deliver them from Pharaoh. Yet when God laid the Promised Land out in front of them, they were afraid to go. Once they entered the land, they forsook God and needed judges to deliver them from the judgment God sent.

    They then believed they needed a king “like the nations around” to rule them, once again rejecting God and His plan. This kingdom ended with the people in captivity because they did not heed the prophets God sent to warn them. When God allowed them to return to their land, there was great sadness, for they were not the great nation God had intended for them to be. When God sent His Son, Jesus, the fulfillment of the promise was given, if only one would believe. Jesus did many works to reveal God to the people and then laid down His life for our sins. He restored that broken relationship that nothing else through the centuries could do. When Jesus rose from the grave, He sent His disciples to tell the world, allowing His apostles to do mighty works to help establish the church.

    Although the time of the mighty works has passed, today God still uses His people to witness to a lost and dying world. A faithful witness will tell them that the only way to have a relationship with God is through the redemptive work of His Son, Jesus.  

    Have you been a faithful witness?

    First published at: http://lighthouse.pub/blog/2020/03/06/have-you-been-a-faithful-witness/?src=n

  • Lesson 1 of The Biblical Path of Life Volume 1

    For each lesson, I will post ideas or suggestions of activities we have tried to help in the teaching or reinforcing each lesson.  Each idea will begin with a summary of that lesson.

    In this first lesson, we will begin by understanding that that we were created by God for a purpose.  While God dealt with man in different ways through the ages, He created us to have a relationship with Him.  As we begin this study of the Bible from beginning to end, we will first take time to see how it is laid out in certain timeframes – dispensations.  Dispensation basically means God’s method of dealing with mankind in respect of sin and man’s responsibility. Each of the dispensations may be regarded as a new test of the natural man, and each ends in judgment, marking his utter failure in every dispensation.  It is with that thought that we will look at the scriptures as a whole.

    God created the world perfect, but man sinned, bringing the judgment of death into the world.  Throughout the ages, God gave man many opportunities to have a relationship with Him, but each time man failed.  Man had to understand that the only way that relationship could ever be restored would be by the atoning death of His Son, Jesus.  We will try to see how God dealt with man throughout the ages, and how God was working, revealing the way to bring man back to Himself – through Jesus.

    Key Verse

    “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:”    Colossians 1:16

    Ideas for activities or crafts for children:

    There is a memory verse worksheet that can be downloaded.

    My very talented sister drew pictures of a timeline in five different coloring sheets for children to color, making their own timeline.  It includes a line that begins after man sinned in the garden and when God gave the promise of Jesus.  Our class colored this line red to follow the promise of Jesus to the fulfillment of that promise. We then glued them to a roll of brown paper cut down to fit so we could post them on our classroom wall.  I have posted these coloring sheets of that timeline. You may download them to make a timeline for each student.  A simple way would be to copy the coloring sheets (on legal sized paper) and have them color them throughout the first few lessons.  They could be glued to a roll of brown craft paper cut to size as they are completed.  Our classes made them and added to them weekly, leaving them hung on the wall for viewing as we learned some of the Bible lessons that were pictured on them.

    To open the links below, right click and choose “open link in new tab”.

    Lesson 1 Volume 1 Children’s Worksheet