The Dispensation of God

Colossians 1:25

Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

There is no need that I have or ever will have that God cannot fill. If I were to gather all my needs at one time, from the time I was born until the day I die, God could fill all of them and still have plenty of Himself to meet more needs. Better yet, we could gather the needs of every person that has been born and will be born, and take all the needs of their lifetime and put them on one person, and God is still able to fill that need and have an endless supply left to fill the needs for a whole world. My friend, there is no need that God cannot fill. The verse above talks about the dispensation of God. We look at this phrase and miss its true meaning. The word dispensation has nothing to do with a timeline but with a distribution or a supply. When the Scriptures talk about the dispensation of God, it is saying that God distributes Himself to us in the amount that we need for the present.

Let me illustrate: when a doctor prescribes a medicine, he prescribes it in the dosage that we need. The pharmacist’s job is to dispense the amount the doctor prescribed so the patient will get better. Likewise, God is the doctor and the pharmacist who prescribes and dispenses of Himself to us to meet the need that we have at the moment.

Let me illustrate even further. On the Mount of Transfiguration, God the Father revealed Himself to the disciples as they saw Jesus in His glorified body. God was dispensing Himself to the disciples through Jesus so they would know that He is the Christ, the Saviour of the world. God did not reveal all of Himself to them, but only dispensed what they needed at that time. Let me share a couple thoughts about the dispensation of God.

First, I have all of God, but I don’t need all of God today. When I got saved, I got access to all of God. When you look at Who God is and what He provides, I don't need all of that today. For instance, I may need His joy today, but I may not presently need His peace. I may need His comfort today, but I may not need His miraculous power today. I have all of God that I need, but I don't need all of God at the moment.

Second, I need all of God, but I cannot take all of God. To say I don't need all of God at the moment simply means that I cannot take all of Him at one time. God dispenses Himself to me when I need Him. The greatness of God is that He never falls short of dispensing Himself to me. God always has more of Himself He can give, but He chooses only to give of Himself to me what I need for this moment because I can't take all of Him.

Third, God dispenses Himself to the need that I have for the present. For instance, God gave manna to the children of Israel in the portion they needed for that day. Philippians 4:19 promises, But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. My need for today is all He has to dispense to me, and when tomorrow comes, there is more of God there that will fill my need.

Simply put, God is all I will ever need, but He will only dispense of Himself the amount that I need at the present. Whatever you are facing, God has already filled your need for the present; all you have to do is keep going forward and you will find that God will dispense of Himself to fill your need that you have when you need it.