Have You Heard?

By Tammy Lacock

“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, (2) If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward.” (Eph. 3:1-2, KJV)

In Part 3 of Ephesians 3:1-2, Warren stresses again that Paul was the apostle Christ sent to the Gentiles with the message Christ gave Paul after the Cross. For we know the Jews had rejected Christ and the gospel of faith. In the Bible, there had never been a gospel for the Gentiles, and they were not included in God’s plan throughout the Old Testament. Until after the Cross. Paul received this final gospel of grace from Christ, who instructed Paul to pass it on to the Gentiles.

There has always been different messages to different groups of people throughout the scriptures. This thrilling, new, and fresh gospel has no ties to any other gospel or any other dispensation in the Bible. It is not a dispensation of law, of Adam and Eve’s innocence, or of human governments, etc.

Now, this dispensation of grace is given to born-again believers after the Cross, including the Gentiles who had previously been excluded, so that ALL people might come to accept Christ as their Savior and come into the knowledge of Christ as their new life. After the Cross, in the God’s new administration (dispensation) of grace, believers are now in Christ, where there is no more distinction between Jew and Gentile; all are made new creatures and God’s children by faith alone in this new dispensation of grace.

Grace of God, in this dispensation, is the key, the most important factor. Warren defines the grace of God as the “unlimited power of God, given to us human beings, that we might come to be birthed children of God” by just believing on Christ as our Savior.

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12)

This is the “mystery of Christ” Paul reveals time and time again throughout his epistles. 

Paul then asks in verse 2, Have you heard of the dispensation of the grace of God? 

Warren notes that the average believer doesn’t know what a dispensation is, nor what grace is, let alone the dispensation of the grace of God. He goes on to estimate that about 90% of born-again believers don’t know or understand that they are living in this dispensation of grace right NOW, and they may never step into truly living this grace that God has been offering us since Christ died on the cross. 

This grace gospel revealed to Paul by Christ, Himself, is the gospel of Christ living in the born-again believer. That by God’s grace, and not by anything we do, we are saved. With Christ as our life, joined in spirit, we are birthed sons and daughters of God, blameless before Him, and therefore, joint heirs with Christ.

Have you heard of this dispensation we are in right now? Let us come together to reach those believers who are still trying to live the dispensation of law so that they may step in to this new dispensation of the grace of God and come to the knowledge of Christ In them.