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Dispensation:

A period of time under which mankind is answerable to God for how it has obeyed the revelation of God which it has received. The Apostle Paul uses the term dispensation on four occasions in the New Testament.  

(1 Corinthians 9:17; Ephesians 1:10; 3:2 ; Colossians 1:25)

 

Many Bible students believe all of history can be divided into several dispensations. According to this view, all of history has been pointing toward the second coming of Christ, when salvation will be made complete.

Seven dispensations are commonly identified:

 

Innocence, from Creation to the Fall of man and God's sending them out of the Garden of Eden.  (Genesis 3:24)  

 

Conscience, the covenant with Adam, ending with the judgment of the Flood (Genesis 9)

 

Human government, the covenant with Noah, extending to the time of Abraham;

 

Promise, from Abraham's call (Genesis 12:1) to Moses;

 

Law, from the giving of the Law to Moses (Exodus 19:8; 20:1-31:18) to the death of Jesus Christ;

 

Grace, from the death and resurrection of Christ to His Second Coming;

 

Kingdom, the establishment of God's kingdom on earth and the thousand year reign of Christ over the nations.

 

Exegetical

Exegesis is the practice of discovering the meaning of a text in its original cultural, historical, literary and theological contexts. It is to be distinguished from hermeneutics, which is the theory of interpretation.

 

Expositional

An expositor defines and explains the meaning of a biblical text, whether in a classroom, from a pulpit, over electronic media or in published popular or scholarly commentary. In expository preaching a text rather than a topic determines the preacher's theme and conclusion. An expository sermon is usually based on a biblical passage several verses in length but can be limited to a single phrase.

 

Doxological

An ascription of praise offered to God in Christian worship. The term comes from the Greek roots ‎duxa â€Žand ‎logia

‎("words of glory").  In the broadest sense, Christians strive to make not only worship, but also theology and life itself,

a doxology.

 

Definitions are taken from:
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

 

(from Dictionary of Christianity in America, edited by Daniel G. Reid, Robert D. Linder, Bruce L. Shelley and Harry S. Stout. © 1990 by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA; published by InterVarsity Press. All rights reserved.)

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