PAULINE
VERSUS PROGRESSIVE
DISPENSATIONALISM
Miles
J. Stanford
This Paper has to do
with the distinction between Pauline and Progressive Dispensationalism,
including that between Israel and the Church. Quotes in italics are
taken from Bock and Blaising's PROGRESSIVE DISPENSATIONALISM (Victor
Books, 1993, 336 pages), as compared to our publication, titled PAULINE
DISPENSATIONALISM (1993).
I -
PROGRESSIVE
It is
indisputable that the NT views the new covenant predicted by Jeremiah and
Ezekiel with some of its promised blessings now being granted to Jews and
Gentiles who are believers in Jesus.
These are not
blessings which are like those predicted by Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
They are the very same blessings which those prophets predicted.
For the new covenant which is presently in effect through Jesus
Christ is not one which is like that predicted by Jeremiah and Ezekiel, but it
is that very same covenant which they prophesied which is in effect today
(p. 202).
PAULINE -- Since
Scripture makes it clear that Israel's New Covenant was promised to "the
house of Israel," and "the house of Judah" for their future
Millennial Kingdom, Pauline Dispensationalism relates none of Israel's New
Covenant blessings to the heavenly Church.
While not
"under" it, Pauline Dispensationalism unequivocably complies with
Dallas Theological Seminary's Doctrinal Statement:
Article V - The
Dispensations -- We believe
that three of these dispensations or rules of life are the subject of extended
revelation in the Scriptures, viz., the dispensation of the Mosaic law, the
present dispensation of grace, and the future dispensation of the millennial
kingdom.
We believe that these
are distinct and are not to be intermingled or confused, as they
are chronologically successive (emphases ours).
Pauline
dispensationalists on the faculty of any dispensational school would back their
signing of such a Doctrinal Statement by freely teaching the complete separation
of Israel and the Church. At the same time they would warn against
anything less, including the errors of Covenant theology's inclusivism.
There would be no
stretching of the bounds of the Statement in order to accommodate
anything short of total distinction--no "wobbling," or latitudinarianism
whatever; no fudging--not even a little white fudge.
II -
PROGRESSIVE
Christ has
already begun to act institutionally as King by granting to those who
believe in Him the new covenant blessings of forgiveness of sins and the
indwelling renewing presence of the Holy Spirit (the baptism of the Spirit of
which He has spoken). These are in fact blessings of the eschatological
kingdom (p. 280).
PAULINE -- Pauline
Dispensationalism teaches that the indwelling of the Spirit of Israel's New
Covenant is in no way similar to the baptism of the Spirit at Pentecost, which
constituted the birth of the Church.
Without reading
anything of Pauline Church truth back into Israel's New Covenant, the Scriptures
reveal that God promised to Israel and Judah, the following:
"Behold, the
days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of
Israel, and with the house of Judah.... I will put My law in their inward
parts, and write it in their hearts... for I will forgive their iniquity, and
I will remember their sin no more" (Jer. 31:31,33,34).
"A new heart
also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take
away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of
flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My
statutes, and ye shall keep My ordinances, and do them ... and ye shall live,
and I shall place you in your own land" (Ezek. 36:26,27; 37:14).
The Pauline
dispensationalist, already possessing "all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ" (Eph. 1:3), has neither need for nor inclination toward
Israel's future earthly kingdom blessings. The distinction between them
is total. If a member of the Body of
Christ were to settle for all of the kingdom
blessings of Israel's New Covenant, he would be a woefully deprived Christian
indeed. In fact, he would not be a Christian at all, but simply a reconstructed
kingdom Jew! Who needs Israel's best, when the heavenly Church supersedes
that kingdom nation in every conceivable way?
The following are some
of the "all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" that the
Father has already bestowed upon every member of the Body of Christ--not one of
which Israel will ever realize:
The believer was chosen
in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). It is by the shed
Blood of the Cross that every member of the Body of Christ is "made
nigh" to the Father (Eph. 2:13). Not only were the Christian's sins
forgiven (Col. 2:13), but he, the sinner, was condemned and crucified with
Christ on the Cross (Gal. 2:20). He died in Christ's death unto sin (Rom.
6:1-10), and ascended in Him to the right hand of the Majesty on high (Col.
3:1-3).
The believer is now
positionally seated with Christ in the heavenlies (Eph. 2:6). He is
"complete in Him" (Col. 2:10), an "heir of God and joint heir
with Christ" (Rom. 8:17). He is "one spirit" with Him in
eternal union of new-creation life (2 Cor. 5:17), and his "life is hidden
with Christ in God" (Col. 3:4).
When He shall appear
[at the Rapture], we shall be like Him [completely conformed to His image], for
we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). Then He "shall change our
lowly body, that it may be fashioned like His glorious body" (Phil. 3:21).
"When Christ, who
is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory"
(Col. 3:4). This second advent will be to establish Israel's Millennial
Kingdom, to both judge Israel with the "baptism of fire," and
afterwards bless them with their promised New Covenant. Then, every risen
and glorified member of His Beloved Bride will attend the Bridegroom-King to
reign with Him over the earth (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 5:10; 20:6).
III
- PROGRESSIVE
Progressive
Dispensationalism advocates a holistic and unified view of eternal
salvation. God will save humankind in its ethical and national
plurality. But He will bless it with the same salvation given to all
without distinction; the same, not only in justification and regeneration, but
also in sanctification by the indwelling Spirit. These blessings will
come to all without distinction through Jesus Christ, the King of Israel and
of all nations of redeemed humanity (pp. 47,48).
PAULINE -- To
say that Israel and the Church are without distinction in the realm of
salvation, i.e., justification, regeneration, and sanctification, while signing
a Doctrinal Statement that they are "completely distinct," is quite a
falsified feat!
Pauline
Dispensationalism does not relate or merge Israel and the Church in the realm of
salvation, nor any other way. The distinction between the two entities is
as vast as that between heaven and earth. This vertical distinction must
not be violated--Israel cannot be made similar to the heavenly Church, nor can
the heavenly Church be made similar to earthly Israel.
| Salvation
#1 -- We are not
advocating two ways of salvation, but rather two different kinds
of salvation. The Lord Jesus, as Israel's Messiah and King,
preached His "Kingdom Gospel"--as did John the Baptist
before Him, and the disciples with Him--to the nation of Israel.
His believing disciples (not yet Christians) were in expectation of the
long-awaited Kingdom. After the Cross and just before His
ascension, they asked Him, "Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore
the Kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6). Although He did not give
them the answer, neither did He correct their query.
The blessings of His Kingdom
Gospel are set forth in Israel's New Covenant (Jer. 31; Ezek. 36).
The recipients will have their iniquities forgiven, they will receive a
new spirit and a new heart of flesh, they will be indwelt by the Spirit
of God who will write the Kingdom law upon their hearts, by which the
Spirit will cause them to keep the Kingdom ordinances and do them.
They will live in the earthly Kingdom forever, under their
Messiah-King--but they will never be members of the completed heavenly
Body of Christ. |
|
Salvation
#2 -- After
the Cross, in His new-creation ascension and glorification, the Lord
Jesus Christ, as Saviour, Lord, Head, Bridegroom, and Life, ministered
His heavenly Gospel of the grace of God to Paul.
This was, and is, for His Bride, His Body, His Church--born at
Pentecost.
Paul never
refers to his message to the Gentiles as "the Gospel of the
Kingdom." His "Gospel of His [glorified] Son"
(Rom. 1:9) spawns the new-creation man--a man in Christ before the
Father, with Christ living in him (Col. 1:27; Gal. 2:20). He has
been made "complete in Him" (Col. 2:10), and is
"accepted in the Beloved" (Eph. 1:6).
He is
crucified, buried, risen, and ascended with Christ in the heavenlies
(Eph. 2:6), a "citizen of heaven" (Phil. 3:20). Being
in the ascended Lord Jesus, his "life is hidden with Christ in
God" (Col. 3:3), and he has "boldness to enter into the
Holiest by the Blood of Jesus" (Heb. 10:19).
All of the
above, and more, pertains to the Christian. None of this will
ever be true of the recipient of Jesus' Kingdom Gospel--the kingdom
Jew. |
IV -
PROGRESSIVE
When we relate
to Him today we are relating to the Son of
David who is immortal, who has a destiny, who is coming here to rule the
nations. All His present work should be interpreted in this light.
He is reconciling a people to
Himself--Jews and Gentiles, which will be that eschatological humanity of the
prophecies (p. 30).
PAULINE -- The
heavenly mystery Church is not a part of the "eschatological humanity of
the prophecies"! Pauline Dispensationalism maintains complete
distinction between Israel and the Church eschatologically, as well as soteriologically.
Christ's present work is that of reconciling believing Jews and Gentiles to God
to form the heavenly Church. The OT prophecies reveal nothing of the
Church, but set forth Christ as coming King reconciling the Jewish nation and
the Gentile nations to God to constitute His Millennial Kingdom.
V
- PROGRESSIVE
The termination of
the Mosaic covenant was in view of the establishment of a new covenant in
which God would write His law into the hearts of His people (Jer.
31:33) and cause them to walk in his ways (Ezek. 36:27).
So, although Paul
teaches that Christ is the end of the law (Rom. 10:4, that
is, law in the form of the Mosaic covenant), he also says that believers
are "not ... without the law of God but under the law of Christ (1
Cor. 9:21; cf. Gal. 6:2; this is law in the form of the new covenant).
He also speaks of
this new covenant law as the "law of the Spirit" (Rom. 8:2), since
the Spirit is the characteristic feature of the new covenant. James
refers to it as the "royal law" (James 2:8,12) connecting it again
to the Christ, the anointed King.
The progressive
dispensationalism of NT theology is not antinomian. For while it teaches
that Mosaic covenant law has ended dispensationally, it also teaches that it
has been replaced by new covenant law.... (p. 199).
PAULINE -- Pauline
Dispensationalism not only keeps Israel and the Church from being "mingled
and confused," but it also keeps the law "completely distinct"
from grace.
The Gentile never was
under Jewish law, and Paul informs the Christian, whether formerly Jew or
Gentile, "ye are not under law but under grace" (Rom. 6:14). The
Spirit would never write the law on the heart of one who has died to the
law! "For I, through the law, am dead to the law, that I might live
unto God" (Gal. 2:19).
"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the
law by the body of Christ, that ye should be married to another, even to Him who
is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit [not works] unto
God.... But now we are delivered from the law, having died to that in which we
were held, that we should serve in newness of spirit and not in the oldness of
the letter" (Rom. 7:4,6).
Both the principle of law, and law itself, have been replaced
by grace for the Christian. For all under Israel's New Covenant, the
indwelling Spirit will minister the Kingdom theocratic law; for all in Christ,
member of His Body, the indwelling Spirit of Christ ministers life--the life
of Christ, who is not under law. The Christian functions by life--by
nature--not law. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." "Where the
Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (Rom. 8:3; 2 Cor. 3:17).
The commandments of Christ constitute the law of grace, the
law of love. The first and foremost fruit of the Spirit is
"love," a characteristic of the indwelling life of Christ. The
fruit of the Spirit functions by nature--it is not a product of the works of
law.
It is only fitting to bring Dr. Chafer into a situation such as this:
The upper room discourse is the genesis of the Epistles of the NT; for in
it, in germ form, the great doctrines of grace are announced. The
phrase My commandments is reserved until this grace revelation, because
this term refers to the teachings of grace, rather than law. Added proof
that the term My commandments refers to the teachings of grace may be
seen when the passages which indicate the character of His commandments is
considered.
Some of them are: "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one
another; as I have loved you"; "And this is His commandment, that ye
should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as
He gave' commandment"; "And this commandment we have from Him, that
he who loveth God love his brother also"; "For this is the love of
God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not
grievous."
This could not be said of the law of Moses; for of that law it is written:
"Now, therefore, why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the
disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" (Acts 15:
10). Reference here is made to the Mosaic law; to place it on the
children of grace was to "tempt God."
It was an unbearable "yoke"; but the Lord Jesus
said, when anticipating the relationship of grace, "My yoke is easy, and My
burden is light" (Matt. 11:30). Christians are not to be
"entangled" with the "yoke of bondage" (Gal. 5:1). So,
also, the "old commandment" of 1 John 2:7, is, in 3:11, seen to be the
same message of grace.
"Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old
commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the
word ye have heard from the beginning." "For this is the message
that ye heard from the beginning, that ye should love one another" (1 John
2:7; 3:11).
"I rejoice greatly that I found of thy children walking
in truth, as we have received commandment from the Father. And now I
beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that
which we had from the beginning, that we love one another."
For this the Apostle Paul has added a testimony concerning
the commandments of the Lord. By the testimony of Paul, the whole teaching
of grace, as set forth by himself, is
related to the commandments of the Lord:
"If any man think himself -a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge
that the things I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord";
"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ"
(John 13:34; 1 John 3:23; 4:21; 2 John 4:5; 1 Cor. 14:37; 1 Thess. 4:2; Gal.
6:2).
The "commandments" of Christ are not, therefore,
the law, or any aspect of law; they rather constitute "the law of
love" and "the perfect law of liberty." They enter into the
teachings of grace as those teachings are set forth by the Lord Jesus,
and by those to whom He gave authority and commandment (Matt. 28:18; Acts 1:3;
Lu. 24:46-48; Heb. 2:3,4).
The minute accuracy of the Scripture is seen in the Lord
Jesus' use of the phrase My commandments. During the days of His
ministry to the nation Israel, He enforced the commandments of Moses, and spoke
of the new principles which were to be applied in the Millennial Kingdom as
"those sayings of Mine," and "I say unto you"; but at no
time did He use the term My commandments until He used it with His
disciples in the upper room, and at the time when He was unfolding the new
principles which were to condition the daily living of those who should stand on
resurrection ground, in the new creation, under grace (Grace -
The Glorious Theme, pp. 139,140).
THE FINAL FATALIC TOUCH -- Touch Israel at any point,
past, present, or future, and you have violated the rightly-divided Word of
truth and its Pauline Dispensationalism. With this the Doctrinal Statement
of Dallas Theological Seminary agrees: "We believe that all who are united
to the risen and ascended Son of God are members of the Church which is the Body
and Bride of Christ, which began at Pentecost and is completely distinct from
Israel" (Article XIII The Church).
February 1995
DISPENSATIONALISM, Pauline,
Classic, Traditional, Neo-, Progressive, Post-Acts 2, etc.
Here is a collection of resources for anyone interested in understanding what
dispensationalism is and what it isn't.
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