UNITED, YET DIVIDED
8
FOR THE GIFTS AND CALLING OF GOD ARE WITHOUT REPENTANCE (CHANGE OF MIND)' (Rom.
11:28,29).
We must therefore leave large room for the working out of the divine purpose concerning this elect nation, the
restoration of their land, and through them the blessing of the Gentiles.
The Gentiles
While blessing in a full sense for the Gentiles awaits Israel's restoration (for the covenant that chose Israel
includes the Gentiles, `for in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed'), there are some portions of the Word
which refer to the Gentile nations as such, the time of their supremacy and Israel's dispersion, and the
responsibilities of `the powers that be'. But the Scriptures which speak of the Jew or of the Gentile do not
necessarily contain the will of God for the Church.
The church
The word translated `church' is ekklesia, which primarily means `a called-out assembly'. The church of the New
Testament is not composed solely of Jews or Gentiles; it is an elect company called from either, or both.
Chapter 7
RIGHT DIVISION
Right division of the dispensations
It will be evident to the thoughtful reader that the application of the principle brought forward on the preceding
page will be wide indeed. To give even a résumé of the results of rightly dividing the Word of truth would occupy
more space than we have at our disposal. This booklet has an object in view, and that is that the exercised believer
may be led to see the blessing and the glory which God has reserved until the present dispensation, called in
Ephesians 3:9, Revised Version, `the dispensation of the Mystery'.
The two most important points of this booklet are:
(1) The principle. - Rightly divide the Word.
(2) The application. - Acts 28:17-28, the dispensational boundary.
We have been brought up to believe that Pentecost marked the commencement of the `church' of the present
dispensation, and that Acts 2 is the dispensational boundary. This we seek to show is not strictly true. A church
certainly began at Pentecost, but the church, the church which is His Body, of which the Gentiles are
`fellow-members', did not begin then. If the reader accepts nothing further than the truth that Acts 28 is the
boundary line, the object of this booklet is achieved. Granting this, the student of Scripture can be safely left to the
Word itself. He will soon understand why there are no miraculous gifts today, and why he is not called upon to seek
them.
The essential differences.
He will soon realise the essential differences there are between the kingdom and the church, and also between the
church as constituted during the Acts period, and the church of the one Body called after Acts 28:17-28.
Before we enter into the consideration of the claim of Acts 28 as the dispensational boundary, one or two
important side issues will need attention. We shall notice into what divisions the Scriptures separate mankind, so
that we need make no mistake in appropriating Scriptures that do not apply to ourselves. We shall need to be quite
clear as to what is meant by the church.
We propose to take a rapid survey of the various dispensations in which God has dealt with man, realising
thereby how futile it is to take the truth of one period and endeavour to make it fit into another. Of course, there are