Bible Encyclopedias
Dispensation

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

dis -pen -sā´shun : The Greek word (oikonomı́a ) so translated signifies primarily, a stewardship, the management or disposition of affairs entrusted to one. Thus 1 Corinthians 9:17 , the King James Version "A dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me," the Revised Version (British and American) "I have stewardship entrusted to me." The idea is similar in Ephesians 3:2 parallel Colossians 1:25 (the Revised Version, margin "stewardship"). In Ephesians 1:10 God's own working is spoken of as "dispensation.»