1. The Dispensation of Innocence
2. The Dispensation Of Conscience
3. The Dispensation Of Human Government
4. The Dispensation Of Promise
5. The Dispensation Of The Mosaic Law
6. The Dispensation Of Grace
5b The Tribulation Period - The Final Seven Years of the Mosaic Law Dispensation
7 The Dispensation Of The Millennium
The eighth period is the eternal state but we do not call it a period or dispensation because it has a beginning but no end.
https://gbible.org/_files/pdf/Doctrine%20of%20Dispensation.pdf
The dispensation of Innocence.
The first dispensation began with the creation of man and ended with the fall of man from God (GEN 1:26-3:24.
This dispensation involved only two individuals over an unknown length of time. Adam and the woman, whose name was Ishshah were created perfect in body, soul, and spirit.
Because our Lord was tested beyond Adam and if Adam had kept himself without sin for more than 33 years then we could say that the Lord did not keep himself from sin as long as Adam did if he had remained sinless longer then our Lord did.
1PE 2:22 He who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth;
MAT 5:17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.
JOH 1:17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
MAT 16:18 "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it.
1PE 2:6 For this is contained in Scripture: "Behold I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him shall not be disappointed."
Everyone lived in perfect environment in the Garden of Eden.
Everyone received direct revelation from God because the deity of Christ, who is the revealed member of the Godhead walked with them and taught them in the evenings (GEN 3:8).
The fall of man involved human failure in each divine institution.
Both the man and the woman ate the forbidden fruit, violating the volitional issue and the woman did not remain under the authority and protection of the man, violating the second divine institution, marriage.
Neither human perfection, perfect environment, divine warnings, nor the divine institutions then in effect kept man from the original sin.
Neither perfect environment nor the ideal marriage can solve man’s most basic problems, which are solved by the grace of God (cf. PHI 4:11-13; EPH 5:22-33).
Note that in the first dispensation, they did not run and hide from the Lord when He approached them.
In this dispensation, God revealed by the following governing rules; 1. Be fruitful and fill the earth. Multiply, GEN 1:28 2. Rule over all creatures and the earth. GEN 1:28 3. All plants are for man's food. GEN 1:29 4. Man is to take care of the Garden of Eden. GEN 2:15
Man may eat of all trees in the Garden. GEN 2:16. 6. Man MUST NOT eat of the Tree of Moral Knowledge. GEN 2:17 7. Man will have marital unity. GEN 2:24-25
Man's responsibility during the first dispensation was to obey God and develop a confirmed favorable relationship with Him.
The alternative was for man to reject God's rule over him and assert his own self-rule - just as God is His own Self-Ruler.
He displayed his choice outwardly by eating the forbidden fruit in violation of God's command.
Man died spiritually as soon as he made his choice. A great separation took place between man and God.
Man lost his favorable disposition toward God and replaced it with a disposition of enmity against God.
ROM 5:10 "For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life."
This is evident from the fact that Adam and Eve hid from God when He entered the garden to talk with them after their original sin; GEN 3:8.
1. Man was so thoroughly locked into it that he could not rescue himself from it. Only the redemptive work of God could accomplish such a rescue.
2. In addition to spiritual death, man became subject to disease, deformity, accidents, and physical death.
3. The woman was cursed with pain in childbirth and with the desire to rule the man. The ground was cursed, thereby making man's work of growing food much more difficult.
4. Man lost his perfect environment.
5. Because man followed Satan's lead to rebel against God's rule, Satan was able to usurp the rule of the world system away from God temporarily.
Instead of living in a world system ruled by the benevolent God Who loved him, man was doomed to live in a world system dominated by a tyrant who would use man for his own selfish ends.
PSA 30:5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
In GEN 3:15 God pronounced the first promise of the Redeemer Who would be born of woman into the world during the course of history.
In the first dispensation, man disobeyed, then came the judgment, then came the ray of hope, the promise of the coming Messiah.
Blessing - Man's failure - God's Judgment- (Grace - blessing - hope)
As God progressively worked out His purpose for history, two of the great things which He would accomplish through the Redeemer would be the provision of redemption for fallen man and the defeat of Satan.
The age of positive volition involved only two individuals over an indeterminate length of time. Adam and the woman, whose name was Ishah, were created perfect in body, soul, and spirit.
By planting the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the Garden and banning its fruit, God made the volitional issue clear: obedience or disobedience to God.
Both the man and the woman ate the forbidden fruit, violating the volitional issue.
By succumbing to Satan, the woman also disregarded the authority of her husband.
After the Fall, God sustained the institution of volition by holding the man and woman responsible for their own decisions.
He upheld the institution of marriage by reconfirming the husband’s role over the wife (GEN 3:16).
Certain events in the Garden illustrate and illuminate principles found in Church Age doctrine.
Neither perfect environment nor the ideal marriage can solve man’s most basic problems, which are solved by the grace of God (PHI 4:11-13; EPH 5:22-33).
The creation of Adam and the woman to the fall of man --- then the judgment - then the hope of a new dispensation came into existence.
Conclusion: The first dispensation is that of Innocence. Stewards: Adam and Eve The Period: From the creation of man to his temptation and fall Responsibility: To obey God Failure: Disobedience
Judgment: Curse and death Grace: A new chance and the promise of a Redeemer; GEN 3:15.
God created man to live in perfect harmony with Himself, and there was nothing known of imperfection or evil. Adam and Eve were created
in the image of God, and they were innocent of sin; GEN 1:27.
They walked and worked with God, who interacted with His creation.
Adam and Eve were innocent until they disobeyed God, bringing sin and death into the world; ROM 5:12.
At the moment of Adam and Eve’s sin, they lost their innocence, as they were immediately aware, and they hid in shame from God; GEN 3:7-8.
God pronounced judgment on the man and his wife; GEN 3:16-19, but He also showed mercy by killing an innocent animal and providing skins to cover over (atone for) their sin.
The slaughter of the animals introduced the biblical principle “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” HEB 9:22.
God’s ultimate solution to the sin problem was promised in GEN 3:15.
This Savior would be truly innocent and would provide the way to escape the sin nature we inherit from Adam. Jesus Christ is the “Last Adam”; !Co 15:45, who offered Himself as the final sacrifice for sin for all who place their faith in Him; 1PE 3:18.
The summary is that the first dispensation began with the creation of mankind to the fall of Adam and the woman.
It started off with man and woman on planet earth as trichotomus beings...body-soul-spirit.
1. They were created perfect beings, created with body, soul and spirit.
With the spirit they had the ability to have fellowship with God every day even though there was no Bible.
Because of their perfect soul they also had wonderful interaction and relationship with each other.
They had what you might call a perfect spiritual and social life on a day by day basis.
In addition to a perfect soul and spirit they were also perfect physically, they also had everything that one could imagine or wish for in life that is worthwhile, plus they were both geniuses.
2. They were placed in perfect environment, the Garden of Eden.
Even in perfect environment mankind had problems.
Neither perfect environment nor marriage is a source e of happiness or the means to solve the problems of life.