Evening School of the Bible

Distinguishing Between The Old and New Testament

Identifying Distinction in Scripture Between Dispensations

You all be diligent to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed worker, cutting straight the Word of the truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

Understanding dispensational distinction comes from recognizing the progression of revelation that God provides to man throughout the Scriptures. Terms can shift in meaning or gain additional, previously unrevealed characteristics. This is especially important in regard to the Dispensation of Grace, as it is the only dispensation that was hidden.

An example of progressive revelation is found in John 1:17, where we are informed that the grace and the truth came to be through Jesus Christ. This indicates that this specific grace and truth did not exist prior to God the Son wrapping Himself in flesh. In the Old Testament, grace carries the meaning of favor, which is quite different from the nature of grace under the New Covenant.

In Peter’s inaugural sermon to Israel following Christ’s resurrection, he declares, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36, NKJV). The term “made” reflects a divine act in which God designates the risen Jesus as both Lord and Messiah, emphasizing His glorified status. Since Jesus was already recognized as the Messiah by Israel (Matthew 16:16; John 11:25), the definition of the term “Christ” now reffers to His resurrection and glorification. Thus, context is essential to determine whether the term “Christ” refers to the Messiah in general or specifically to the resurrected and glorified One.

In Matthew 16:16, Peter’s understanding of the term “Christ” is limited to Old Testament revelation concerning the coming of the Messiah. By Acts 2:36, his understanding has expanded due to additional revelation to include the fact that the Messiah would die and be raised from the dead three days later. We must not impose this later revelation back onto Matthew 16:16. When Jesus told Peter of His necessary death and resurrection, Peter rebuked Him, revealing that his mind was not set on the things of God (Matthew 16:21–23). Therefore, when Peter declares in Acts 2:36 that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ, he is referring to Christ’s position of Lordship over the entire universe as the resurrected and glorified One.

As the Messiah to the Jews, God the Father promised Him the nations (Psalm 2:8). As the resurrected and glorified One, He is over all principalities and powers (Ephesians 1:21; Colossians 2:10). His rule over the universe was not revealed in the Old Testament. Therefore, He has been made Lord over all.

Jesus’ revelation concerning the building of an assembly for Himself and His giving of the keys to the Kingdom of the Heavens to Peter does not refer to a continuation of His Messianic ministry. This is a heresy brought in by Catholicism to justify placing a man into the position of Christ. When Israel rejected and killed the Messiah, His ministry came to an end. After Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus informs him that although he is a small stone, His assembly will be built upon Himself. However, Peter will be given the keys to the Kingdom of the Heavens. Peter’s confession demonstrates that he is one of the saved of Israel, to whom Christ gave the authority to become a child of God (John 1:12). His confession must be understood within the context of Scripture. At this point, he knows nothing of the death and resurrection of the Messiah. He is following Jesus as the promised King of Israel, and believing His testimony that He is the Son of God. Other Jews also express this belief, such as Martha in John 11:27, and Nathaniel in John 1:49. When Jesus speaks of building His assembly upon Himself, He is revealing to Peter what will happen in the future; however, Peter does not receive or comprehend it (Matthew 16:21–23). This is not a confession that saved him, nor a message given to him to take to the Israel—Peter does not repeat this to Israel in the sermon in Acts 2.

After the resurrection of Christ, the message that Peter took to Israel was of the resurrected and glorified Jesus—the one they crucified, but God raise from the dead (Acts 2:32). The message was not to believe in the Son of God to be saved. The continuation of a Messianic ministry was introduced into Scripture by the addition of Acts 8:37***1*** with the Eunuch and Philip the evangelist. Acts 8:37 was added laters into the letter through the Vulgate. When Philip went to Samaria and proclaimed the Christ, he spoke of his death and resurrection, not that He was the Son of God (Acts 8:5). Samaria already believed that Jesus was the Messiah (John 4:42).

The Kingdom of the Heavens is the message proclaimed by both John the Baptist and Jesus. It is the declaration of the coming Messiah, from the seed of David, who will rule on His father's throne throughout the age. Israel rejected the Messiah, using the Gentiles to put Him to death. This act of treason ended the Dispensation of Law and brought judgment upon Israel (Daniel 9:27). We have been given additional details about this time—known as the Tribulation Period—in the book of Revelation. However, during Christ’s earthly ministry, He promised that all who received Him would be given the authority to become children of God (John 1:12) and would not see death into the age (John 11:26). Therefore, the placement of sons—which directly relates to the Church of God—pertains to Israel (Romans 9:4). God the Father gave the Son a people out from His own, to be His own unique possession (John 6:37; 17:6). Even Paul states that the gospel is to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile (Romans 1:16).

The keys of the Kingdom of the Heavens are given to Peter because he is the one who will take the message of the resurrected Lord to Israel. This is a legitimate offer to Israel to participate in the glory of her Messiah by becoming part of the Church, which was created on the day of Pentecost. It is not an offer of the Kingdom to Israel. The message of the Kingdom of the Heavens is not proclaimed beyond the Gospels. Within the book of Acts, there is no mention of this message, not even at the beginning of Peter’s ministry to Israel. If Peter had been instructed by Christ to preach the gospel of the Kingdom—which Jesus Himself proclaimed—this message would be recorded in Acts, or at the very least, in one of the two epistles Peter wrote. In acknowledging his position as a pastor—a role unique to the Church and unrelated to Christ’s earthly ministry—Peter clearly identifies himself as part of the assembly belonging to God, not a separate assembly (1 Peter 5:1–2).

Peter, as an eyewitness of the resurrection, proclaimed that Jesus had been raised by God (Acts 2:32) and linked this event to the sending away of sins, urging his audience to change their mind and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38). Some, in an attempt to separate Peter from Paul, argue that Peter was never directly given the message to believe in the death for sins and resurrection of Christ. They point back to Matthew 16:16 as the message entrusted to Peter, while disregarding Matthew 16:20. This also ignores the fact that Peter was a witness of Christ’s resurrection and understood that it resulted in the sending away of sins (Acts 2:32, 38). Furthermore, Christ Himself instructed Peter to be a witness—thereby commissioning him to proclaim His death for sin and resurrection three days later (Acts 1:8).

In Romans 1:16–17, Paul states, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of the Christ, for it is an inherent ability of God unto salvation for all the ones believing: both the Jew, first, and the Gentile. For God’s righteousness is revealed in it, out from faith into faith, just as it stands written, ‘The just will live out from faith.’”

“Out from faith, into faith” reveals a transition. Romans 3:30 explains that the circumcised are justified out from a faith—Israel already possesses a promise; therefore, the believing Jew comes out from faith into the faith concerning Jesus. Israel was kept under law until faith in Christ came (Galatians 3:22–24). The Gentiles, who had no faith, are justified through faith.

In the upper room, Jesus reveals a new relationship that is coming between God and man (John 14:17). This is a fellowship that had never entered into the hearts of men (1 Corinthians 2:8–10). The Holy Spirit now indwells the believer in the Church. This was not a relationship possessed by any human prior to the resurrection of Christ and the creation of the Church. Therefore, we cannot project this new truth back into the Old Testament and apply it to those under the previous covenant. David, for example, cried out to God not to take His Spirit from him (Psalm 51:11). The Holy Spirit is given to those of the Church as a down payment, guaranteeing our full redemption; therefore, He never leaves (Ephesians 1:14).

Under the Mosaic Law, sin was defined by the Law itself. Even ignorance of the Law did not excuse a person’s sinful actions. Under grace, however, we are informed that sin is anything not done out from faith (Romans 14:23). This does not represent a change in the meaning of sin, for sin has always been an action (1 John 3:4). The distinction lies in our position before God. As members of the body of the Christ, we have been placed as sons; therefore, we are expected to train our senses to discern what is proper from what is wrong. When we act in violation of our conscience, we act lawlessly and, therefore, sin.

***1***The textual issue in Acts 8:37 is significant. Both the Majority and Critical text types exclude this verse, despite its inclusion in some English translations due to its presence in the King James Version (KJV). Its support is found solely in the minuscules—a category of Greek New Testament manuscripts written in lowercase cursive script that developed after the ninth century A.D.—and in Latin translations. Most of the supporting minuscules are from the 10th through 14th centuries. Being this late, they do not provide sufficient evidence on their own—older manuscripts must support them. A few are thought to be from around the 5th century; however, they are palimpsests, overwritten with works by Ephraem the Syrian.