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Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida. Clearly declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ through the radio and the internet. Your regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can bring your life to life. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. One line donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calburyoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Time for you to go to college. This is one of the lectures that I have from my book that I put together a whole couple years ago, about 30, on the book of Hermeneutics, the art of biblical interpretation. Don’t that sound impressive? What it means is just rightly dividing the word of God. But what I want to do is show you a few things that I think will help you in understanding something about the fifth dispensation. I call it the fifth one because five is a number of grace, seventh number of completion, and eighth’s number of new beginnings.

And it’s just that God has numbers that mean some things. 40, number of testing, and you don’t want that one. But anyway, take your Bible and turn to the book of 1 Corinthians and chapter 2. First Corinthians chapter 2, this is your homework assignment. Well you should have to memorize these verses but we’re going to let it go for today. But in first Corinthians in chapter 2 and look there in verse 7. First Corinthians chapter 2 verse 7 and it talks about the mystery.

A mystery is not like a murder mystery. It’s the truth that has been hidden in times past, but now revealed for the first time. Sometimes there’s hints toward it, just like in the Old Testament you’ll find where God had referred a little bit to the time in which you and I live called the church age, the grace age. But not really revealed in a sense of what it is when it starts, when it stops, and the purpose of it until the Apostle Paul comes along and God revealed these things to him.

And it makes a statement there in verse 7, but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of the princes of this world knew for had they known it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. In other words, if the people who were living at the time of Christ were so smart and they were so wise, why did they crucify Him? It shows you the intelligence of man, not very smart is he.

Not when you have the prince of glory here and all the prophecy did been given and yet they did not know who he was. Now, if you look up here on this chart, God deals in different times with His children, and given them various responsibilities. We call that a dispensation. It is also the word a coin of us, which is actually a word that deals with stewardship. It’s the order of a house where you have servants who have responsibilities.

So God has given to Adam and Eve, he gave them a responsibility. He can enjoy everything except don’t do that one thing. You know, not to eat the fruit off that one tree. And so they had a responsibility, but there was also consequences. So they disobeyed and there was a consequence. They had to leave that beautiful island of paradise. And the Bible says, and they would die. So they died that very day. They were severed from the life of God in the sense of their fellowship with Him.

But also they died physically, even though it took a few years. So we call that the dispensation of innocence. See, they were not created perfect like you and I think of being perfect. If you’re perfect in the how could they have sinned? They were created innocent. They had no sinful nature, but they had the capacity to sin, like I can have a glass sitting up here and no water in it, but it has the capacity to hold water. But anyway, they rebelled and there was a consequence.

Every dispensation, there are responsibilities and consequences. And so as you go down through every one of them, there are consequences. That’s why there’s judgments after every one of them. Now, when you come to the dispensation of law, where God had given to Abraham the promise, but it says the law was added to the promise. So that’s why I always had the law added to the promise. And some people make it a different dispensation and I don’t have no problem with that.

I don’t give you come up with seven or you come up with eight. It’s just that you know that God deals with people in a particular way regarding a man’s responsibility and the consequences or the blessings of either failing or fulfilling that responsibility. So you and I are supposed to be wiser than all the others because we know this and we understand this. So all we have to do is find out what is our responsibility when did the dispensation of grace begin and when does it end and what does God expect from us?

See we’re not really here in the sense of trying to change this world, our main focus right now is getting people from this world into the next one, getting people to trust Christ as Savior. That is our main ministry and to teach all nations. Now in teaching all nations these great truths, it could change nations. But that’s the result of obeying the command of winning souls because you don’t teach and educate everybody until they really understand the gospel, preach the gospel and teach it in baptizing all those things.

So those are the results down the road of a person knowing the Lord and growing in the Lord. So the law was added to the promise but it did not disanow the promise even though the promise was 430 years before the law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai. And so God gave a promise that everybody was justified by faith. The law was added to show people they could not save themselves by their work. So the law pointed people to Christ.

They needed a Savior. That’s why they were sacrifices made, because all sacrifices pointing to Christ. So when Christ came and died on the cross, now sometimes people put the cross as the end of that dispensation. And if they want to that, I don’t have any problem with that. I just bring it all the way over as a consequences of the people not accepting Christ as their Messiah and under the dispensation of law, I take it to the fall of the temple in Jerusalem, which was in 70 AD.

But I do believe that the church age started before that. The church age I believe started on the day of Pentecost. Now any other date before or after we call it a hyper dispensationalist. And so I do not believe that it started with John the Baptist because he was a Baptist and there’s Baptist churches so it had to start with John the Baptist. I believe John the Baptist was an Old Testament prophet and he died before Christ was crucified.

So he died under Old Testament dispensation of law in my humble opinion. Now you don’t have to agree with everything that I say. You’ll be wrong but no. But I do want you to follow my logic. Now I did my chart in 1969. So that was a couple years ago. I don’t know how long ago, but it’s been a while ago. And so when you’re young, trying to understand all they say and put it all together, you don’t get everything exactly right, but you know, you try it.

There’s not a lot of things that I’ve changed over the years. Don’t think I’ve changed as my appearance. I don’t look the same as I used to. Now, doctrine-wise, I I believe pretty much the same as I already have. But now what I want you to do is take your Bible and look there in the book of Ephesians chapter three. Ephesians and chapter three. Now there are those who believe that the teaching on dispensations is something that’s rarely new.

But if I had never read any book on dispensation and just reading the Bible, I would have to come to a conclusion that there are dispensations. He’s white because it’s in the Bible. You see there in chapter three, Ephesians chapter three, I just want you to look there real quick. Look there in verse Two, if you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which is given to me. So we know that the dispensation of grace was given to the apostle Paul, and therefore it is during this period of time.

Now because of that way it’s worded here in phrase, many people believe that the church started with Paul, and so it didn’t start on the Pentecost. So they believe it started afterwards, and if it started afterwards, then the command to be baptized is not required. Nobody has to be baptized. So they do away with that. And they say, well, that’s not part of the dispensational responsibility. But Paul did make this statement. He says, I didn’t baptize a lot of people, but I did baptize a few in this and this and this and this and because he says God sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel.

But that was the apostle Paul to win people to the Lord and that was his main concern. But he didn’t say anything against being baptized and that he had baptized and was after he was saved. So I still see that baptism is a part of our responsibility, one of the ordinances that we have of the church. Notice what he says here in verse three, how that by revelation he hath made known unto me the mystery as I wrote it for in a few words.

Whereby when you read you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages, that’s other periods of time, periods of time as other dispensation, was not made known unto the sons of men. As it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, And this is what it was, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body and partakers of the promise in Christ by the gospel. So they didn’t know that God was going to buy the gospel and people believe in the gospel, take believing Gentiles and believing Jews and put them together in one body and formed something totally new.

They knew there was Israel, they knew there was the Gentiles, but now the church of God. in 1 Corinthians and chapter 10 talks about these three things, the Jews, the Gentiles, the Church of God. So God has laid it out in his word. And then he says in verse 7, whereof I was made a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given in the me. And then he makes his statement in verse 8, under me, who in less than the least of all saints is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Because he was a Jew preaching to the Gentiles. And then it says in verse 9, and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery from the beginning of the world have been hid in God who created all things by Jesus Christ. So you see, these things were not all of a sudden made up because Adam and Eve sinned. God had a plan before the first man was ever created. This was in eternity past. God had all of this in his mind about what he was going to do and what was going to happen.

And so Christ coming was not an afterthought. It was a purpose that all men might know the love of God. And without all of this, you and I would never understand the love of God. We would know that God loved us, we wouldn’t know about forgiveness, we wouldn’t we wouldn’t know about grace, we wouldn’t know about mercy, we wouldn’t know about justice, we wouldn’t know about righteousness. All we would be is created bins, puppets on a string doing whatever we were programmed to do.

Now God has somebody who loves him and we know what love is. And in this was manifested the love of God toward us. The Christ died for us. So anyway, that’s one of the main purposes of man, been created, the fall and the redemption. And so we have been given to us the dispensation of the grace of God. Now, there is a portion of this that I do overlapping. And if you’ll look there in your notes, you’ll see where I have the arrows going over crossing.

Now you could have it to where they ended on one date, one stopped and one started, and people could still live in the ends of both dispensations. But I believe there’s an overlapping of these because it’s a transition from one to the other. It don’t happen like that. But anyway, take your Bible and turn there to the book of 1 Corinthians in chapter 10. Corinthians, and chapter 10.

1 Corinthians 10 and look up there in verse 11. Now all these things happened unto them for examples, and they are written for our admonition. Up on home the ends of the world are come. The ends of the world is the ends of the ages are come. There’s people living here, up on home the ends of the ages are come. So it means to me that they lived in the ends of both dispensations. And this is where during this period of time, this transition period right here is where you have your sine gifts because it’s transitioning from the dispensation of law into the dispensation of the grace of God.

And because of that, there’s things that God says will take place during this transition period. And the reason is, is because the sign gifts were God’s confirmation upon His Word. See they didn’t have the complete Word of God. So take your Bible look in the book of Mark, Mark in chapter 16. Matthew, Mark, Luke, Mark, chapter 16. And you’ll notice up there in verse 15. verse 15, Christ has come back from the dead and He said unto them in verse 15, go you into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

He that believeth and his baptized shall be saved and he that believeth not shall be damned. I believe that this is not actually a baptism of water but being cleansed. But anyway, in verse 17, and these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.”

Now, so because of this, there’s many people who take this and apply that today and say, well, if really believe, then you can drink poison and it won’t hurt you. A snake, rattlesnake can bite you and it won’t hurt you. And that you’ll have the ability to speak in tongues and they’re healing all day. So all these things are put into this period of time. But most people don’t really look at it close enough because there’s always a sense of superiority over somebody else.

If I can claim to have something you don’t have, I’ve got the power. I’ve got the power. I’ve got the Holy Spirit power. And I can do this and that and the other. And so there is a certain self-fulfillment. The flesh loves the pride and the ability to have or to do something somebody else can’t do. But notice what he says. He says, now, I want you to go into all the world and preach the gospel. And then he says there in verse 19.

So then, remember, now we’re reading in the book of Mark that was written after Christ had already crucified and come back from the dead. So this was written later. So he says, so then after the Lord had spoken unto them, that’s past tense. He was received up into heaven, that’s past tense, sat on the right hand of God. That’s all past tense. In verse 20. And they went, that’s past tense. And preached, that’s past tense. Everywhere, and get to the Lord working with them and confirming the Word with signs following.

So they were told what to do, his disciples, they went, they did, and The Lord confirmed what they said and what they did with signs. It happened. By the time you’re reading Mark, it’s a done deal. They did what he said do and the signs followed like he said. Now there’s no promise in these verses that we are going to be able to continue doing those all the rest of our lives. It’s not there. This is past tense. They did.

They went. They preached. It’s a historical event, just like the book of Acts and the baptism of the Holy Ghost. It’s a historical event, but you do not find anywhere in the scriptures a command to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. Because it is an event that takes place the day and the moment you trust in Christ as your Savior, you’re baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. Christ is the baptizer. He baptizes you with the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ.

And so this was the secret that nobody knew in the Old Testament. It was a mystery that was hidden in time past, but now revealed for the first time. Now take your Bible and turn over there to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews and chapter 1. Hebrews make it chapter 2. First mistake I’ve made this morning. But Hebrews in chapter two and look in verse one, he says, therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we shall let them slip.

For if the word, and we’re talking about the word, now the word spoken by angels was steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward. How shall we escape? If we neglect so great salvation, get this now, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and get these words and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him. Now get the sequence. Very important where He makes the statement. He says, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him.

And verse 4, and God also bearing them witness both with signs and wonders and with divers, miracles and gifts, oh the Holy Ghost, according to his own will. So they heard Christ speak and they had the word confirmed unto them by them that heard him and it was confirmed by them doing the signs and the miracles. And this is where this took place. Now that’s why today the transition has been complete. We have the complete word of God. We don’t need sign gifts.

Those were given to the baby church like a little child in the nursery likes to play with baby rattlers. Not rattlers, I mean a rattle. Not rattle snakes. Please don’t misunderstand me. And so they had sign gifts. And so babies like toys. And he says when I was a child, I spoke as a child. I thought as a child. I put away childish things when I grew up. In other words, I don’t need those. The church as a babe being born don’t need those toys anymore.

Why? Because we are growing up as a body of believers in the church is maturing in the Lord. and we have the complete Word of God. So we don’t need those toys anymore. And there’s people today that are still hanging on to their little toys. And they don’t even exist today. You say, well, I know people that have done this and this and this and this and this and this and this and this. You know, you had people who have an experience, but it’s not the biblical talk.

I know every verse in this book on tongue, every verse. I can quote above it and below it. I do not have a desire to get the baptism of the Holy Ghost and have a fire shoot down my body and fire from my fingers in the shout and jump and hoot and holler and rant and rave and roll and no. That’s not the Holy Spirit. He’s given us the spirit of a sound mind. And he never gave any of those gifts to the women.

He says, the women keep silent in the church. That means it was never given to the women. But anyway, as you go through it and you learn where things belong, it will help you to understand the rest of scripture and what are my responsibilities. So you gotta go back to where does it all begin? And so if you look there and first Corinthians, chapter 12, 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Corinthians 12. Look there, 1 Corinthians 12. 1 Corinthians 12. And you’ll notice there in verse 12 and verse 13, these two verses I want you to see.

It says, as the body is one and half many members. All the members of that one body, then many are one body, so also with Christ. by one spirit are we all baptized into one body. So here in Corinth were the most rebellious Christians you’ve ever read about. I mean, they were the ungodliest Christians. They were a carnal-minded Christian and yet Paul says we have all been baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. All these Christians that were this rebellious, and yes, they were You’re still baptized and put into the body of Christ.

And not because of any good thing that they’ve done. This is what happens when you trust Christ as your Savior. Christ puts you into the body of Christ. So he says, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit. So then the question comes down as well, when did this body begin? It says we’ve all been baptized into the body. So then you find out, well, how do you know where it begins?

Where did they have the first baptism of the Holy Spirit? Because that’s the only way you get into the body. So when you go back to the book of Acts, go back to Acts, The book of Acts in chapter one, Acts chapter one. And you’ll notice when he makes the statement in verse four. Remember John chapter 14, he had made the statement. He says, I am going to send to you the Holy Spirit. I will ask the Father, I will pray the Father, and he shall send you the Holy Spirit that he may indwell you forever.

And in verse 26, and this speak he of the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive. So those who believe on the Lord and He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I’ve said unto you. So the Holy Spirit came as a result of a prayer Christ made, not as a result of a prayer that the people made on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit did not come on that day because they all got together and all prayed and prayed down the whole, no it did not.

He came right on schedule, 50 days from the resurrection. It was right on the money honey. It’s what the book says. And so the Holy Spirit came as a result of a promise that Christ made to His disciples. Remember what John the Baptist said? He says, I baptize you with water, but there come one after me. He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. And it hadn’t happened in his lifetime. It didn’t happen in Christ’s lifetime. So the promise was still out there to be fulfilled.

So look what he says in verse 4, and being assembled together with them commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which said that ye have heard of me. What were they waiting for? The fulfillment of the promise. They didn’t bring the promise. The promise came because Christ says, the Holy Spirit is coming. He had already asked the Father. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida, with Dr.

Ralph Arnold. We pray that you were blessed by today’s message. Our two of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach Bibleline and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing toll-free That’s 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to hear more information about the program, please visit www.majans.org.au or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friends, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. We will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

So live today and every day believing that the Lord is coming soon and just keep looking up.