God’s Word was never meant to be a complicated book. It is a spiritual book, spoken by God to and for His spiritual people. There is no need for any child of God to get their minds twisted into knots trying to figure out biblical knowledge. God has given us His Holy Spirit, and he, the Holy Spirit, lives within us. The Spirit is our teacher, because Jesus Christ told us so. Jesus taught in John 14:26(NLT), “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” We must have every confidence that everything we need to know pertaining to life and Godliness can be found in God’s Word. When it comes to our understanding and comprehension of God’s Word, we must also be confident that the Holy Spirit will give us revelation. He will teach us the things we need to know, when we need to know them.
As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, there are three spiritual practices that must be a very important part of our daily lives. These are prayer, reading and studying God’s Word, and practicing the example of Jesus Christ is all that we do. Not only is the Holy Spirit our teacher, but he is our helper. Through his power, we can live a successful Christian life. We shouldn’t think that having the Holy Spirit as our teacher will preclude us from reading and studying God’s Word. This is not accurate. 2Timothy 2:15(NLT) tells us, “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.”
You and I are responsible for working hard to ensure that the knowledge of God’s Word fills our minds and hearts. Our obedience to do this opens the door for the Spirit to do his most perfect work within us. As we put on more of God’s Word in our minds and hearts, it is important that we also know a few things that will help us establish a solid foundation. One piece of this is understanding a little bit about the periods of time that are mentioned in the Bible. To be good workers and rightly divide God’s Word of truth, we must be aware of the different administrations that He put in place. We must also comprehend how these administrations point to the deepening of our relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.
THE ORIGINAL ADMINISTRATION It is commonly held that there are seven administrations, and first is the Original Administration that most of us refer to as the Paradise. This administration encompassed the lives of the first couple, Adam and Eve. It ended with the fall of Adam and Eve. They sinned against God, lost their holiness and their connection to Him through the Holy Spirit, and they were expelled from Paradise, the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:23-24(NLT) tells us, “23 So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. 24 After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” In the Original Administration, the darkness of greed, arrogance, and shame are exposed. We see their inevitable consequence of destruction when we allow ourselves to yield to their temptation at the expense of injuring our relationship with God.
THE PATRIARCHAL ADMINISTRATION The Patriarchal Administration occurred after the Original Administration and before the Ten Commandments were given to Moses. A patriarch is a father figure, and Abraham is called our father of believing because of his fully persuaded faith in God. Having a family and a son in which to carry forth his legacy was very important to Abraham, but he was at a very old age, and believed he was past the age of producing seed. When he was 100 years old and his wife, Sarah, was 90, she gave birth to a miracle child, Issac. Not only can we see the parallel to the miraculous birth of our Lord and Savior to the virgin, Mary, but we can gain a greater understanding of God’s desire for a family through Abraham’s desire for the same. God made a covenant with Abraham to make him the father of many nations. Abraham’s son, Isaac, and Isaac’s son, Jacob, are also known as fathers. These three, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are commonly referred to as the patriarchs of the Patriarchal Administration.
THE LAW ADMINISTRATION The Law Administration began when God gave Moses the written law, the Ten Commandments, on Mount Sinai approximately 1,300 before Christ was born. Much the way it is now, sin was rampant during the time in which Moses lived. The difference is that people living during this biblical period didn’t have the written Word of God the way that those of us living today do. Not only did the people need to have a greater understanding of God’s nature, but they needed to comprehend His expectation that they conduct themselves according to His nature. All God’s Laws are good; they can’t be anything less than good and perfect, because He is good and perfect, but the people would not abide by them. God’s Laws exposed our sinfulness and desperate need for a Savior.
The history recorded in the Bible tells us that instead of using God’s Laws to please Him and walk in His love, the people used God’s laws to create more laws and placed themselves in greater bondage. Because of this, the law became a curse to them. No matter how much they tried, they could not fulfill all the laws that were written. In other words, the laws couldn’t make a person righteous, and having God’s righteousness was His plan for us. Galatians 3:8 tells us that the Scriptures looked forward to the time when God’s total plan would be fulfilled—when it wouldn’t be just a small group of people that would be His chosen ones. Through Jesus Christ, He would open the door to all who love and trust in Him. Faith in Jesus Christ is the door to God’s Kingdom. Galatians 3:9-11(NLT) says, “So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith. 10 But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.”11 So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
We had to know the laws that God created in the Law Administration to more fully know and understand His nature. Jesus Christ did not come to abandon the law, but instead to show us how to mature in God’s love and become imitators of God as Ephesians 5:1 instructs. Jesus Christ made closed the door to the Law Administration by perfectly fulfilling it. He showed us the way, and through his example we can grow and expand in God’s love. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Understanding the Seven Administrations-Part 1”, written by JMack, 4theChristianMan.com© 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savio