Hyperdispensationalism
Encyclopedia : H : HY : HYP : Hyperdispensationalism
| Part of a series on Christian theology | |
| |
|
Foundations Christianity · Holy Bible Jesus Christ · Holy Trinity History of Christianity · Timeline Ecumenical Councils · Creeds Great Schism · Reformation | |
|
Major Traditions Eastern Christianity Eastern Orthodoxy · Oriental Orthodoxy Syriac Christianity Western Christianity Roman Catholicism · Protestantism Thomism · Anabaptism · Lutheranism Anglicanism · Calvinism · Arminianism Baptist · Evangelicalism · Restorationism Liberalism · Fundamentalism Pentecostalism · Ecumenism | |
|
Important Figures Twelve Apostles · Apostle Paul Church Fathers · Athanasius · Augustine Palamas · Aquinas Luther · Calvin · Wesley | |
|
Key Points Fall of Man · Divine Law · Divine Grace Salvation · Justification · Sanctification Theosis · The Church · The Future | |
Hyper-dispensationalism (or sometimes ultra-dispensationalism), as opposed to traditional (or mainstream) Dispensationalism, views the start of the Christian church as beginning with the ministry of the Apostle Paul after the early part of the book of Acts. Hyperdispensationalists regard the failure of the post-Apostolic church to preserve the Pauline Distinctive as a cause of the Great Apostasy and as a mistake of the 19th Century Restoration Movement. Hyperdispensationalists regard what they understand to be the recovery of true Pauline Christianity as the crowning achievement of events that began with the Protestant Reformation.
Although variations exist in specifics, all hyper-dispensationalists view the four Gospels and many of New Testament Epistles, such as the Petrine and Johannine theology, as applying to the pre-Pauline Jewish Christian church or to the anticipated Davidic Kingdom; not directly applicable to the predominently Gentile Church of today.
Two varieties of hyper-dispensationalists are distinguished, sometimes referred to as Acts 28 Dispensationalists and Mid-Acts Dispensationalists.
Acts 28 Dispensationalists
Acts 28 Dispensationalists believe the Church began with Paul's statement made to the Jewish leaders at Rome near the end of the Book of Acts. The most notable proponent of this doctrine was E. W. Bullinger (1837-1913). Other writers holding this position include Charles H. Welch, and Otis Q. Sellers.Acts 28 Dispensationalists distinguish themselves with their belief that the book of Acts (along with Paul’s earlier epistles) do not record the beginning of Church history, but rather the Biblical conclusion of Israel’s past history (Bullinger, 1972, p.195). One rationale for this view is that, while Paul had written a number of epistles prior to the events in Acts chapter 26; viz. 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians. and Romans (the "Acts-period epistles"). yet in Acts 26:22, he states that he has only been proclaiming those things which the prophets and Moses said would come. Subsequently he wrote concerning "the mystery ... Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets" (Eph. 3:3-6). This mystery is identified as the Church, which had not yet been revealed when he wrote his Acts-period epistles.
Mid-Acts Dispensationalists
Mid-Acts Dispensationalists believe the Church began with Paul during his earlier evangelism, between Acts 9 and Acts 13. There are several reasons for this belief, notably that Paul was the only apostle who was ever referred to as "THE" apostle of the Gentiles (Rom 11:11-13; Rom 15:16; Eph 3:1-2; etc., compare Gal 2:7-9). In addition, Paul states that "the dispensation of...grace" was given to him (Eph 3:2; c.f., 1Cor 9:17; Col 1:25). Spokesmen for this viewpoint include J. C. O'Hair, C. R. Stam (Things That Differ), Major R. B. Withers ( "The Greek Scriptures"), and Charles F. Baker (A Dispensational Theology).While adherents to the Mid-Acts Position agree that all Scripture is profitable (2Tim 3:16), in general, Mid-Acts Dispensationalists do not believe that all the doctrine in the General Epistles (James through Jude) applies to the church today. Instead, they believe these epistles (along with the four Gospels) will mostly apply to future Israel, after she repents and returns to the Lord during the Tribulation. Note that the term hyper or ultra-dispensationalist is not one that most Mid-Acts Dispensationalists would apply to themselves (although admittedly "more dispensational" than mainstream dispensationalists), yet they do tend to apply it to their Acts 28 bretheren, who are viewed as taking dispensational concepts still further.
Shared views
In addition to their distinctive views on the applicability of many of the New Testament books, most hyper-dispensationalists hold unusual views on some of the key sacraments (which they term "ordinances"). Neither holds to the ordinance of water baptism, as they assert this has been supplanted by "one baptism", the "baptism of the Holy Spirit" [Acts 1:5, 11:15-16; 1 Cor 12:13]. While most pratice the ordinance of the Lord's Supper; a few may not, in part from Paul's post-Acts epistles, in which he states that the church today is no longer under any ordinances (Eph. 2:15; Col. 2:14; Col. 2:20). (See also Antinomianism).In contrast traditional Christians and more conventional dispensationalists might point out that, among other things, two different Greek words in the above references are translated "ordinances" and that neither of these words is used anywhere in Scripture to refer to either baptism or the Lord's Supper.
Grace Movement
The Grace Movement began in the 1930's. It embraces the Mid-Acts Dispensational System of Bible Interpretation and does not consider itself to be "hyper" or "ultra." It believes that there is confusion in the Christian Church today, via denominationalism, because of a process of the loss and recovery of "four basic truths." The loss process is believed to have started near the end of the Apostle Paul's ministry and continued for fifteen hundred years until the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. The recovery process has lasted for over three hundred fifty years as the truths were gradually recovered in reverse order. The four truths are (in order of loss): 1) The Distinctive Message and Ministry of Paul; 2) The Pre-Tribulational Rapture of the Church, the Body of Christ; 3) The Difference between Israel and the Church, the Body of Christ; 4) Justification by Faith Alone, in Christ Alone. The Lord's Supper is widely observed in Grace churches. However, baptism as a water ritual is deemed unimportant, if not counterproductive. Rather, there is "one spiritual Baptism" according to I Corinthians 12:13 and Ephesians 4:4-6. This spiritual Baptism occurs at the moment of belief (Acts 11:15-16) and "identifies" (the Greek root word for "baptism" carries the idea of "identification") the believer with the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Finally, Grace believers hold that true believers are eternally secure, in Christ, for their assurance of eternal life.See also
- Dispensationalism
- E. W. Bullinger -- describes some of the basic theology, especially the Acts 28 doctrine
References
- Stam, Cornelius R., Things That Differ, 1951, Berean Bible Society, Germantown, WI
- Bullinger, E.W.,The Foundations of Dispensational Truth, Reprinted 1972, Samuel Bagster & Sons LTD 72 Marylebone Lane, London. W.I.
- Baker, Charles F., A Dispensational Theology, 1971, Grace Bible College Publications, Grand Rapids, MI
External links
- [link] GraceImpact.org - Richard Jordan, Rolling Meadows, IL
- [Ultra-dispensationalism] from Elwell Evangelical Dictionary
- [Mid-Acts Bible Commentary] A Mid-Acts perspective on each Bible verse
- [Berean Bible Society] History of the Grace Movement
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.