We are often asked what it means to be a “mid-Acts” dispensationalist. To answer that question, we first need to define what it means to be a “dispensationalist.”

A dispensationalist reads the Bible as showing God’s unfolding plan across time, with Israel and the Church having separate but complementary roles, and prophecy (especially end-times events) taken literally. This contrasts with covenant theology, which sees more continuity (the Church as the fulfillment of Israel).

While dispensationalists in general see a difference between God’s program for Israel and His program for the Church today, they differ from “mid-Acts” or “Pauline” dispensationalists in three basic areas:

1.  The biggest difference between a classic dispensationalist and a mid-Acts dispensationalist is when they believe the Body of Christ started. In general, traditional dispensationalists believe that the Body of Christ started at Pentecost with Peter, as recorded in Acts 2. Mid-Acts dispensationalists believe that the Body of Christ began with the Apostle Paul (either at his calling in Acts 9 or with his first missionary journey in Acts 13) and is based on his unique apostleship and revelations.

2.  While both traditional and mid-Acts dispensationalists say that the Book of Acts is a transitional book, showing the change from the age of law to the age of grace, only mid-Acts dispensationalists are consistent in their interpretation. Traditional dispensationalists contradict themselves because, on one hand they say that the Body of Christ started at Pentecost, but on the other hand say that those saved at Pentecost were added to the church which already existed, which was operating under the kingdom program for Israel. By contrast, mid-Acts dispensationalists say that the Body of Christ did not start until after the conversion of the Apostle Paul. This is consistent because it allows those who were saved at Pentecost—responding to a kingdom message—to be added to the kingdom church which already existed, and those saved after Paul to be placed into the separate Body of Christ.

3.  Both of these differences (1 and 2) lead to the most practical distinction between traditional and mid‑Acts dispensationalists—where the church today should go in Scripture for its doctrine of faith and practice. Because traditional dispensationalists fail to maintain a proper distinction between the kingdom program and the Body of Christ, they mistakenly apply the teaching of the Gospels and the General Epistles as sources of the Church’s doctrine today. This leads to contradiction and conflict when what is said about salvation in the Gospels (e.g., “believe and do” in the kingdom context) is applied directly to the Church today alongside Paul’s clear teaching of “only believe” (grace through faith without works). We clearly see this contradiction when traditional dispensationalists use John 3:16 in evangelism—but then define “believe” using Paul’s gospel—they are mixing two different dispensational programs and two different contents of faith. Scriptural consistency requires that we derive our doctrine of faith and practice from Paul’s epistles, while recognizing that all Scripture is profitable and offers valuable application.

See also:

The Dispensations of God (Episode 402 of TBG)

Are We Hyper-Dispensationalists?

Ultra-Dispensationalism: A Personal Testimony

Bullingerism or Ultradispensationalism

Fundamentalists Divided