[11] Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
[12] That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
In latter part of this chapter (vs.11-22), the apostle Paul shows the clear dispensational change in Gods dealings with the Gentiles in this present age. God never changes in His person, principles, and promises (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8), but He does change in His dealings with man. The Bible is a complete revelation, but it was given progressively and not all at once. All scripture is profitable for us, but in order to gain the profit from God’s word that He has placed in it for us we must study it His way (2 Tim. 2:15). All the Bible is the word of truth, but we must recognize and consistently maintain the divisions that God put in His word if we are going to understand it. What was truth for Israel under the law may not be truth for the Body of Christ under grace. This is the dispensational approach to Bible study.
A “dispensation” (used 4 times in the Bible, all by Paul) is basically a dealing out, distribution, or dispensing of something. It is an administration. Dispensations are not periods of time. Ages are periods of time (“other ages,” “ages to come”). Dispensations operate within ages. Each dispensation revealed in scripture is marked by five things:
1) Divine revelation (bring clear changes in God’s dealings with men)
2) Human spokesman (e.g. Moses and Paul)
3) Human responsibility to the revelation (a testing)
4) Human failure (every dispensation ends in apostasy except the last one)
5) Divine judgment
It is not enough to be biblical. We must also be dispensational. For example, tongues are biblical but not dispensational for today. It is dangerous to misplace things in the scripture. In the context of 2 Tim. 2:15 the apostle Paul warns about the dangerous doctrine of saying that the resurrection is past already (2 Tim. 2:16-18). Those false teachers were putting a biblical subject (resurrection) in the wrong place.
Notice the dispensational phrases in this chapter:
Time past (v.11)
But now (v.13)
Ages to come (v.7)
The New Testament is arranged according to this dispensational order:
Time past (Matthew through early Acts)
But now (Romans through Philemon)
Ages to come (Hebrews through Revelation)
The terms “circumcision” and “uncircumcision” identify a basic physical, racial, and social distinction; one that was in the flesh and made by hands. In times past the Gentiles were spiritually alienated from God and thus said to be “without Christ.” That was their condition because they were “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel” and “strangers of the covenants of promise.” The physical distinction only pointed to the more important spiritual alienation the Gentiles occupied in times past. Gentiles could come to God, but they had to come through Israel (e.g. Ruth). Gentiles were not blessed if they did not first bless the seed of Abraham (Gen. 12:3; Num. 24:9). God gave circumcision to Abraham (Gen. 17) as a sign of the covenant that He made with him and his seed after him. It was an outward sign of the spiritual privilege God had given to them and was a required mark of their identity and covenant privileges. It was the beginning of a middle wall of partition that God put up between Israel and the nations (Num. 23:9). When He revealed the law through Moses, that wall was strongly reinforced (Deut. 4:5-8).
Therefore, when we find God making this distinction in the scripture we KNOW that we are not reading about this present age. Most Bible believing Christians understand this about the Old Testament, but few understand that is also the case with the Gospels and early Acts (Rom. 15:8; Matt. 10:5-6; 15:24; Lk. 24:34; 24:47; Acts 1:6; 2:14, 22, 36; 3:19-26; 11:19). This distinction will once again be in place after the rapture of the Body of Christ.
[13] But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
[14] For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
[15] Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
[16] And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
[17] And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. [18] For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
This is one of several very significant “but now” passages in Paul’s epistles (see Col. 1:24-26 for another example). The Body of Christ was a mystery (or, secret) that was first revealed to Paul. Some try to use this passage to teach that the Body of Christ began historically AT the cross. Not everything that Christ accomplished through His cross was revealed or carried out at that time. For example, He destroyed Satan through His death and resurrection, but Satan is still loose and at work (Rom. 16:20). The Body of Christ is made possible “by the blood of Christ” (v.13) and “by the cross” (v.16), but entrance into this Body is “by the gospel” (Eph. 3:6) and “by one Spirit” (v.18; 1 Cor. 12:13).
The main characteristic of the Body of Christ is not that we are “in Christ,” but that we are made “ONE NEW MAN”. There is no distinction between Jews and Gentiles (Col. 3:11). We are not under the ordinances of the law (Col. 2:8-17). How could God reconcile both Jews and Gentiles in one body before He cast away Israel (Rom. 11:15)? Peter was not referring to the Gentiles in Acts 2:39, but to the scattered tribes of Israel (Dan. 9:7, afar off geographically). If Peter knew the truth of the one Body of Christ in Acts 2, explain his attitude in Acts 10. The only place in the Bible where read about Jews and Gentiles being in one spiritual Body is in Paul’s epistles. It is in his epistles alone that we find the specific doctrine, position, walk, and destiny of the church which is the Body of Christ.
[19] Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
[20] And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
[21] In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: [22] In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Instead of aliens and strangers, we are now fellowcitizens with the saints! We gained this status WITHOUT Israel. In times past the Gentiles could only come to God through Israel.
There is one household of God made up of all the saints who are redeemed by the blood of Christ (Eph. 3:15). But in this household there is a difference between Israel, Gentiles, and the Body of Christ. Christ is the chief corner stone to both the kingdom church (1 Pet. 2:4-12) and the Body of Christ.
The apostles and prophets Paul is referring to are ones that Christ sent after He ascended to heaven (Eph. 3:5; 4:8-12). Christ is the one foundation, but Paul was the first to preach Him according to the revelation of the mystery (1 Cor. 3:10; Rom. 16:25).
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