Understanding the Dispensation of Grace: The Church Age and Our Blessed Hope
Title: Understanding the Dispensation of Grace: The Church Age and Our Blessed Hope
Speaker: Dr. Radito Dizon
Scripture Focus: Acts 20:28; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16; Daniel 9:24-26
To rightly understand our place in God’s eternal plan, we must first understand the Dispensation of Grace, the period in which we as believers currently live. A dispensation refers to the way God deals with humanity during a particular period of time. While the Lord Himself is from eternity past to eternity future, having no beginning and no end, He has revealed His will across distinct ages. In a brief and simple way, a dispensation is the specific manner in which God interacts with mankind in a given era. Recognizing where we stand in this divine timeline brings deep clarity to our faith and to our future hope.
The Seven Dispensations and the Dispensation of Grace
Within the framework of Bible study, there are commonly recognized seven dispensations. These include Innocency, Conscience, Human Government, Promise, Law, Grace, and the Tribulation Period, followed by the Millennial Kingdom, which is the reign of Christ on earth. Some churches do not subscribe to a dispensational view of Scripture; however, understanding these distinct periods helps us to interpret prophecy faithfully and to discern God’s progressive plan of redemption.
We will not begin our study from the very first dispensation. Instead, we focus on where we presently stand, the Dispensation of Grace, also known as the Church Age. This is the period of the New Testament, the age in which God’s mercy and salvation are extended to all who believe in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Old Testament Jewish economy under the Law is a much larger study for another time. As students of the Word, we should hold firmly to this conviction; everything written in the Bible is true, and all of it shall surely come to pass.
While there are debates about the exact chronological sequence of end-time events, particularly concerning the timing of the Rapture, whether pre-tribulational, mid-tribulational, or post-tribulational, what we must affirm is that these events will certainly occur because Scripture declares them. As the Lord Jesus Christ said, heaven and earth shall pass away, but His words shall not pass away. Our certainty rests not in the perfect ordering of every detail, but in the trustworthiness of God’s Word.
The Founding of the Church in This Dispensation of Grace
What is the Church Age, and who began it? The Founder of the Church is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He promised the establishment of His Church when He spoke with His apostles, saying to Peter that upon this rock He would build His Church. Peter himself was not the rock. The Rock is the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter was merely a small stone, but Christ is the great foundation Stone upon which the whole Church is built.
“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18)
Many of us in this congregation may be members of the Antioch Baptist Church here in San Fernando, having been baptized into this local assembly. Others may belong to different local churches, each with their own pastor and congregation. However, beyond every local church, there is what we call the universal Church, which comprises all true believers in Christ. Every born-again Christian across the world, in America, in Europe, in Africa, and beyond, belongs to this one true Church. The true Church is made up of those who are genuinely saved.
If you are only a registered member of a local congregation, but you have never truly received Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, then you are not part of the true Church. The true Church is universal in scope, encompassing every believer who has trusted in the finished work of Christ. This Church was founded by the Lord Jesus Christ, and it began its public ministry at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, just as Christ had promised before His ascension.
Purchased by the Blood of Christ in the Dispensation of Grace
The true Church was bought with a precious price. The Apostle Paul reminds us that the Church belongs to God because of what His Son accomplished on the cross.
“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28)
Every member of the true Church has been redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Scripture does not state that a man purchases his own salvation. No one earns or merits his place in the Body of Christ. It is the Lord Jesus Christ alone who paid the full price for our redemption. Yet only those who believe become members of His true Church. Without faith, a person remains outside the true Church, regardless of any outward religious affiliation.
Sharing the Word in the Church Age
The Lord Himself is the One who adds members to His Church. We who are pastors, evangelists, missionaries, and faithful church members participate in this work by sharing the gospel, but we must never boast that someone became a Christian because of us. We do not convict anyone of sin; that is the office of the Holy Spirit. Our work is to share the Word and to allow God the Holy Spirit to work in the heart of the person we are witnessing to. It is not our task to convert; our task is to faithfully proclaim the truth of God’s Word.
It is important to understand that baptism, partaking of the Lord’s Supper, and church attendance do not save anyone. These ordinances are precious and meaningful, but they are only valid for those who have first trusted Christ for salvation. As John 3:16 reminds us, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Salvation comes only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only way to heaven.
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)
Sadly, many people grow up in church, attend faithfully, and even teach Sunday school without ever being truly saved. Those who have grown up in Christian churches are sometimes the hardest to evangelize precisely because they assume they are already right with God. We have witnessed individuals who were baptized, who taught in Sunday school, and yet only came to true saving faith in Christ after years of religious activity. This is why it is so important to keep examining ourselves and our loved ones, asking whether we have genuinely received the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is never wrong for a believer to question and to seek assurance. If you ever wrestle with doubt regarding your salvation, do not hesitate to speak with mature Christians or with your pastor. Ask whether your thinking is biblical. Speaking from personal experience, it can take a long time of reflection before a believer rests fully in the assurance of his salvation. New believers, do not be afraid to ask questions, so that you may know with certainty that you belong to the true Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The End of the Church Age and the Coming Rapture
Where does this Church Age end? It does not conclude with Old Testament Israel or with New Testament Israel. Believers today are spiritual heirs of Abraham, but the Church and Israel are distinct in God’s prophetic program. The Church Age ends with what the Bible calls the Rapture, the catching away of the saints. When the trumpet sounds and the voice of the archangel is heard, the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then those who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-16)
At the Rapture, all believers who have died will be raised, and all believers who are still alive at that moment will be caught up together with them. If the Lord returns while we are still alive, we will not have to experience physical death; we will simply be transformed and taken to be with Him. As Scripture says, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.
Pre-Tribulation Rapture in This Dispensation of Grace
As a church, we hold to the pre-tribulation Rapture, which means we believe the Lord will catch away His Church before the seven-year Tribulation begins. You will not find the exact phrase “pre-trib” in the Bible, and this fact causes confusion for many. However, whether the Rapture is pre, mid, or post, what truly matters is that there will be a Rapture, and we must be ready by being genuinely saved.
The Rapture during this Dispensation of Grace has no preceding signs. It will come as a thief in the night. The Day of Christ refers to the Rapture, while the Day of the Lord generally refers to the Tribulation, the time when the Lord will pour out His judgment upon the earth. Some passages may appear to conflict, but we believe the Bible has no real contradictions. Any apparent conflicts come from limitations in our interpretation, not from any error in Scripture.
This brings us to an important reminder. Secondary doctrines, such as the precise timing of the Rapture, should not divide us. We must never split fellowship over secondary doctrines, but we must firmly stand on the primary doctrines of the faith. The major doctrines include the Trinity, that Christ is both fully man and fully God, that Christ was born of a virgin, that He died and rose again, and that we are saved by grace through faith. If we cannot agree on these foundational truths, we cannot have fellowship in ministry. However, on lesser issues, we exercise grace and humility, recognizing that we are not the final judges of every detail of Scripture.
There are Christian organizations, such as the Gideons International, that minister effectively by focusing on sharing the Word of God in hotels, schools, and hospitals. Members may come from different Bible-believing churches, but inside the group, doctrinal debates are set aside so that the work of spreading the gospel can continue. The unity is centered on sharing God’s Word, not on settling every doctrinal nuance. This is one example of how believers can cooperate without compromising on the gospel.
The Tribulation Period After the Dispensation of Grace
After the Rapture, the Tribulation Period begins. This is a seven-year period of unprecedented trouble upon the earth. The prophet Daniel laid out this divine timeline through the prophecy of the seventy weeks.
“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself; and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.” (Daniel 9:24-26)
This prophecy of the seventy weeks is concerning Israel. Because the nation of Israel rejected the Messiah, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, the focus of God’s redemptive program shifted from the Jew to the Gentiles in the formation of the Church. During the Tribulation Period, the focus returns once more to Israel as God completes His prophetic work with His chosen people.
The Seventy Weeks Explained
The seventy weeks are calculated from the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. This decree was not the order to rebuild the temple under King Cyrus, but the later command from King Artaxerxes to Nehemiah to rebuild the wall of the city. Each “week” in this prophecy represents seven years. From the decree of Artaxerxes to the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, sixty-nine weeks of seven years each were fulfilled.
From the time of Christ’s death until the Rapture, we are in the Age of Grace, where the prophetic clock has been paused. There is no cut-off date for this period; the Lord could call His Church home at any moment. After the Rapture, the final seven-year week begins, which is the Tribulation. During this time, the third temple in Jerusalem will be built. In the middle of the seven years, the Antichrist will reveal himself, breaking his covenant with Israel and demanding worship as God.
The first three and a half years will be a period of false peace. The Antichrist will rise to consolidate his power over the nations under the banner of unity and prosperity. He will speak of peace, but his rule will lead to the most terrible time the world has ever known. The Tribulation will culminate in the Battle of Armageddon, where the kings of the earth gather against the Lord, and Christ returns in glory to defeat them and to establish His Kingdom.
Conclusion: Living Faithfully in the Dispensation of Grace
We are living in the Dispensation of Grace, a unique moment in God’s redemptive timeline where salvation is freely offered through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not a time to be casual about eternity. The Rapture could occur at any moment, with no warning signs to precede it. The only question that truly matters is this; are you genuinely saved? Have you placed your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of your sins and the gift of everlasting life?
Do not rest on church attendance, baptism, or family upbringing. The true Church is made up of those who have been bought by the blood of Christ and who have personally received Him as Saviour. Today, while the day of grace continues, examine your heart, search the Scriptures, and respond to the call of the gospel.
If you were blessed by this study on the Dispensation of Grace from Dr. Radito Dizon, we warmly invite you to grow with us in the knowledge of God’s Word. Come and experience the love of Christ by planning a visit to our church. For more biblical messages, please explore our Sermon Page, and join our online community on the Antioch Baptist Church Facebook Page.