THE THREEFOLD DIVISION OF ALL TRUTH

The revelation given in the Scriptures comes to us in three forms: (1) Doctrinal Truth, (2) Dispensational Truth,

(3) Practical Truth.

What do we mean by Doctrinal Truth? - Doctrinal Truth embraces all that has been revealed concerning the

Being and Attributes of God, and all that God has done, commanded, promised or foretold in Creation, Law and

Grace. `All have sinned' is true under whatever dispensation we may be called. `God is Just' is as true under grace

as it was under law. `To the Jew first' was true during the period covered by the Acts, but cannot be put into

practice since the dismissal of the Jew in Acts 28. This latter statement therefore comes rather under the next

What do we mean by Dispensational Truth? - Dispensational Truth takes note of the purpose of the ages, the

changes that have been introduced since Creation, such as may be denominated the Dispensation of Innocence, Law,

Kingdom, Grace, Church, Mystery, etc., and the office of Dispensational Truth is to decide whether any particular

doctrine - be it command, promise, calling or prophecy - does or does not pertain to any particular individual.

Dispensational Truth would lead the believer to distinguish between the blessing which says, `The meek shall inherit

the earth', and those blessings which are described as `all spiritual' and to be enjoyed `in heavenly places'.

What do we mean by Practical Truth? Not until doctrine has passed the mesh of Dispensational Truth, can

Practical Truth put in its claim. It is obvious that the people of Israel, called to be a royal priesthood and a holy

nation, with its sphere of influence in the earth, could not be called upon to put into practice the injunctions of

Ephesians 4 to 6. In like manner, the Church of the One Body has no guarantee that obedience to the special truth of

that calling will result in blessing in `basket and in store'. Those who are under the law, must have a very different

form of practice from those who are under grace.

Only by loyally preaching and teaching the truth of God as related to these three aspects can we hope to become

workmen who need not to be ashamed, for only by so doing shall we `rightly divide' the Word of truth.

To all who discern `things that differ' (Phil. 1:10 marg.) and who seek to obey the injunction `rightly to divide'

the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15) we very warmly commend the following analysis of words, terms and Scripture

references, that are employed in making known Dispensational Truth, believing that it will prove a tool in the hands

of the `unashamed workman' and that it will be of great service to both teacher and student alike.

A word or two may be of service relative to the method adopted in this analysis: First, the subjects selected

appear in alphabetical order and not in any order of merit of relative importance. The word Aaron is relatively of

slight importance to the believing Gentile today, but the office and witness of the Apostle is of first importance in

the opening up of truth for the time, yet `AARON' must head the list, even as the MYSTERY, a word of supreme

importance dispensationally, necessarily comes later in the list.

In the second place, a distinction has been made in the type used to indicate subsidiary headings and those which

are of first importance. For example ABBA is printed in small capitals Helvetica bold type, and stands at the

beginning of the paragraph, because it is subsidiary to the main theme of ADOPTION. This subject of `adoption' is

differentiated from subsidiary articles by being printed in Helvetica bold type capitals, and being placed in the

centre of the page, instead of at the beginning of the first line.

Structures. - Where the meaning of a term can be illuminated by the structure of the section in which the term

occurs, that structure is given, and as the scope of a passage is of first importance in the interpretation of any of its

parts, these structures, which are not `inventions' but `discoveries' of what is actually present, should be used in

every attempt to arrive at a true understanding of a term, phrase or word that is under review. Under the heading

STRUCTURE the uninitiated believer will receive an explanation and an illustration of this unique feature of Holy

Scripture. In like manner, other exegetical apparatus such as Figures of speech and all such helps are indicated

under the main heading INTERPRETATION.