Special Topic 6 The Key to Unlock the Bible ━ God’s Economy

1. Special Topic 6The Key to Unlock the Bible━God’s Economy Mainland Scholars’ Gospel

2. Main Content • What is “Economy”? • Bible Translations of “Oikonomia” • Paul uses God’s economy to unlock the Old Testament • God’s Economy as the key to unlock the Bible • Examples in the Recovery Version • Conclusion

3. What is “Economy” • It is a word in the Bible (Gk. Οἰκονομία, or oikonomia) (Luke 16:2-4; 1 Cor. 9:17; Eph. 1:10; 3:2, 9; Col. 1:25; 1 Tim. 1:4). • “Unto the oikonomiaof the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him.” (Eph. 1:10) • “Nor to give heed to myths…which produce questionings rather than God’s oikonomia, which is in faith.” • ”

4. What is “Economy” • It is a compound of two nouns, oikos and nomos; oikos means “house” or “household”, and nomos means “law”, “administration” or “management”. • Thus oikonomia means “household administration” or “household management”, denoting a plan with a process of distributing or dispensing to reach its goal. • Out of this word came the English word “economy”.

5. What is “Economy” • It is a compound of two nouns, oikos and nomos; oikos means “house” or “household”, and nomos means “law”, “administration” or “management”. • Thus, “oikonomia” means “household administration”or “household management”, denoting a plan with a process of distributing or dispensing to reach its goal. • This became the English word “economy”.

6. Bible Translations of “Oikonomia” • Bible translators have employed a variety of English words in their attempts to translate the term oikonomia. • In 1 Tim. 1:4 and Eph. 1:10 and 3:9, it is more precisely rendered economy or dispensation for it denotes God’s overall plan. • In 1 Cor. 9:17, Eph. 3:2, and Col. 1:25, it is more accurately described as stewardship for it refers not to God’s economy in a general sense but to man’s participation and service in God’s economy.

7. Bible Translations of “Oikonomia”

8. Paul Uses “God’s Economy” to unlock the Old Testament • Whenever Paul wanted to explain the mystery of God, i.e., to unlock the Old Testament, he used the word “oikonomia”. • “Of which I became a minister according to the oikonomia of God, which was given to me for you, to complete the word of God, the mysterywhich has been hidden from the ages and from the generations but now has been manifested to His saints” (Col. 1:25-26).

9. Paul Uses “God’s Economy” to unlock the Old Testament • “Making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself, unto the oikonomia of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him” (Eph. 1:10). • “And to enlighten all that they may see what the oikonomia of the mystery is, which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things” (Eph. 3:9).

10. God’s Economy • The Source is God: God’s plan. • The Process is Dispensing: God in Christ dispensing Himself into His chosen and redeemed people to be their life, life supply, and everything… • The Goal is the Corporate Expression of God: …so that they may be built up as the church, the Body of Christ, consummating in the New Jerusalem.

11. God’s Economy is the Key to Unlock the Bible • Grasping the central revelation of the Bible—Christ and the church: • The Lord Jesus: “You search the Scriptures…it is these that testify concerning Me.” (John 5:39); “And I also say to you…upon this rock I will build My church.” (Matt. 16:18) • The Apostle Paul: “a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh. This mystery is great, but I speak with regard to Christ and the church.” (Eph. 5:31-32)

12. God’s Economy is the Key to Unlock the Bible II. The central process of God’s economy― God’s dispensing • Christ is life, and the church is produced through the dispensing of Christ into the believers as life. • All-embracing: God’s economy includes forgiveness of sins, cleansing of sins, justification, reconciliation, positional sanctification, regeneration, shepherding, sanctification, renewing, transformation, building up, conformation, and glorification; this embraces both the justification emphasized by the Western Churches and the sanctification emphasized by Eastern Churches.

13. Apostle Paul’s Charge: “I…charge certain ones not to teach different things [other than God’s economy] or to give heed to myths and unending genealogies, which produce questionings rather than God’s economy, which is in faith.” (1 Tim. 1:3-4)

14. The Recovery Version Uses God’s Economy to unlock the Bible • Ex. 1: Exodus • “The pattern of the tabernacle and all its furnishings is a full and complete type of both the individual Christ as the Head and the corporate Christ as the Body, the church, including many details of the experience of Christ for the church” (25:9 note 1). • “The measurements of the Ark are halves of the numbers three and five, the numbers of God’s building. This signifies that the Ark is a testimony, another half being needed to make a complete unit, a full testimony. This implies that Christ, typified by the Ark, needs the church as His counterpart, His bride, to be a testimony in full in humanity” (Exo. 25:10 note 3).

15. The Recovery Version Uses God’s Economy to unlock the Bible • Ex. 2: The Subject of Romans

16. Conclusion • The economy of God, as revealed in the Bible and particularly exemplified in Paul’s writings, is the key to unlock and to interpret God’s Word. • The Recovery Version, following the patterns of the Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul, is a unique Bible translation which focuses on God’s economy. • Through the study of the Recovery Version with the enlightenment of the Spirit, the readers may see the vision of God’s economy and thus acquire the key to “cut straight the word of the truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).