Genesis Vol 3.pdf - College Press

11 :?7-32 GENESIS
it is the city of the great King.”) (vote that “Abraham,
the patriarch” is said to have paid tithes to Melchizedek,
Heb. 7:4; also that “the twelve patriarchs” of Stephen’s
apologia, were the progenitors of the twelve tribes of Jacob
or Israel, Acts 7:8-9.)
The New Testament word “dispensation” (Gr. oikonomia,
“household management,” whence our English term,
cceconomyyy) may also be rendered ‘stewardship.” (Eph.
l:lO, 3:2; Col. 1:25). In these Scriptures it is God Himself
who is regarded as Steward. Steward of what? Of
the gracious favors which he bestows upon His people, the
sheep of His pasture. (In 1 Cor. 9:17, the Apostle Paul,
in defending his apostleship, declares Himself to have been
entrusted with this Divine stewardship, the stewardship of
the Gospel: cf. 1 Cor. 2:2, Gal. 1:6-17). The modus
operandi (system) of this Divine stewardship has been
actualized and revealed in three successive Dispensations.
Hence, in harmony with the essential elements of Biblical
religion (altar, sacrifice, and priesthood) it will be noted
that Dispensations changed as the successive priesthoods
were changed. The Patriarchal Dispensation, extending,
from Adam to Moses, was the period in which the father
acted as priest (mediator) for his entire household (his
living progeny) . Throughout this Dispensation, God revealed
His laws, established His institutions, and dispensed
the benefits and blessings of His grace, through the fathers
or heads of families, who were known as patrarchs. When
the respective families had grown into tribes, this Dispensation
gave way to the Mosaic or Jewish Dispensation. This
occurred with the giving of the Law at Sinai through the
mediatorship of Moses. Here the Abrahamic Covenant was
enlarged into the Sinaitic Covenant, the Patriarchal priesthood
was abrogated and the Aaronic or Levitical priesthood
was instituted. This, which was essentially a national
covenant with a national priesthood, continued in force to
the death of Christ at Calvary. By the shedding of His
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