Have you ever wanted to truly understand the Bible for yourself—not filtered through religion, tradition, or denominational opinion, but directly as God intended?
So many people are searching for God in religious buildings, ceremonies, and emotional experiences. Yet God doesn’t dwell in man-made temples (Acts 17:24).
He reveals Himself today through His written Word, preserved and complete, and through the indwelling Holy Spirit who teaches us when we study it rightly (1 Cor. 2:12-13).
We don’t need another religious system or a man-made ladder to reach heaven.
What we need is a clear understanding of what God is doing today—in this present age of grace.
• God’s Prescribed Way to Study the Bible
Paul wrote,
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” — 2 Timothy 2:15
That verse gives the key. The Bible must be “rightly divided.”
That means recognizing the distinctions that God Himself placed in His Word.
You wouldn’t read a dictionary the same way you read a novel or a phone book. Each has its own structure and purpose. The same is true with Scripture. God designed it to be understood according to the dispensations—the distinct programs and instructions He gave throughout history.
• Time Past — God’s Dealings with Israel
Ephesians 2:11-12 reminds us of “time past.”
There were two distinct groups:
• The Circumcision — Israel, God’s covenant nation.
• The Uncircumcision — Gentiles, who were “without Christ… strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.”
In that time, the Lord Jesus Christ came “to confirm the promises made unto the fathers” (Rom. 15:8).
He ministered to Israel only.
In Matthew 10:5-6 He told the twelve apostles:
“Go not into the way of the Gentiles… but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Salvation in those days was of the Jews (John 4:22).
Gentiles could be blessed only through Israel’s rise, never apart from it.
That’s why, in Acts 2, Peter preaches:
“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.”
That message fits Israel’s prophetic kingdom program—not the gospel we preach today.
• But Now — The Revelation of the Mystery
Everything changed when Israel as a nation rejected her Messiah and the Holy Spirit (Acts 7). Instead of wrath falling, something no prophet ever predicted took place.
The risen, glorified Christ from heaven revealed a new dispensation to the apostle Paul.
Paul said:
“I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles.” — Romans 11:13
And again,
“For this cause I Paul… if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward.” — Ephesians 3:1-2
This new revelation was called “the mystery”—truths kept secret since the world began but now revealed (Rom. 16:25; Eph. 3:9; Col. 1:25-26).
It’s not prophecy; it’s a hidden program—the formation of the Church, the Body of Christ, a heavenly people saved by grace through faith alone, apart from Israel, apart from the law, apart from religious works.
• The Setting Aside of Israel
Romans 11:25 explains:
“Blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”
Israel’s national program has been paused, not cancelled. During this interruption, God is forming a new, joint body of believers—Jew and Gentile made one in Christ (Eph. 2:13-16).
In this body, there is “neither Jew nor Gentile, bond nor free, male nor female” (Gal. 3:28).
That means the Body of Christ is not “spiritual Israel.”
We are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) with a heavenly calling (Phil. 3:20).
• Today’s Gospel — The Gospel of the Grace of God
In this present age, salvation is offered freely to all through the finished cross-work of Christ.
“Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day.” — 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
When the Philippian jailer asked Paul,
“What must I do to be saved?”, Paul replied:
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” — Acts 16:31
No water baptism, no rituals, no ordinances—just faith in Christ alone.
That’s the message of grace entrusted to Paul for us today (1 Tim. 1:11-16).
• The Right Division That Brings Clarity
Compare these two:
Acts 3:21 — “Spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began.”
Romans 16:25 — “The preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began.”
They cannot be the same message.
One was spoken since the world began.
The other was kept secret since the world began.
Two different programs, two different purposes.
That’s the very distinction most of Christendom ignores—and the very truth that unlocks the entire Bible.
• Why This Matters
When you understand what God is doing today, the Bible opens like never before.
No more confusion between Israel’s kingdom gospel and the Body of Christ’s grace gospel.
No more mixing law and grace, prophecy and mystery.
You begin to walk by faith in the truth that applies to you—today—in the dispensation of grace.
• God’s Twofold Will
1. That all men be saved.
“God our Saviour… will have all men to be saved.” — 1 Timothy 2:3-4
Eternal life is a free gift, received by trusting in Christ alone.
2. That the saved come to the knowledge of the truth.
Once you’re saved, God desires you to understand His Word rightly divided, so you can walk in the reality of your identity in Christ and serve Him intelligently.
• So, How Do You Respond?
A. Believe the Gospel of Grace — that Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose again for your justification.
B. Begin to study the Bible God’s way — rightly dividing the Word of truth.
C. Grow in understanding Paul’s epistles — Romans through Philemon — the pattern for the Body of Christ today (1 Tim. 1:16).
D. Let God’s Word work effectually in you that believe (1 Thess. 2:13).
Conclusion:
Religion binds.
Grace sets free.
When you learn to see God’s Word through the lens of the revelation of the mystery, you’ll discover liberty, clarity, and joy in Christ that religion could never give.
Open your Bible.
Believe what God says to you, where you are, in this present age.
And let His Word live through you — for His glory alone.
“Now to Him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery… to God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever.” — Romans 16:25-27
✍️ AnWaraynaEbanghelista
