The thought of dispensational discipline is found not only in the writings of Peter, but also in the Epistles of Paul. Paul deals with this matter in 1 Corinthians 11:27-32. In verses 27 through 29 Paul says, “So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who is eating and drinking, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the body.” To eat the bread and drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner is to fail to evaluate the significance of the bread and the cup of the Lord, which signify His body broken for us and His blood shed for our sins through His death for our redemption. For anyone to be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord is to bring judgment upon himself. In verse 29 Paul uses the word judgment, saying that the one who does not discern the body eats and drinks judgment to himself. To eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner brings judgment to us. This judgment is not eternal condemnation; it is the Lord’s temporary discipline.
Paul goes on to speak of this temporary discipline in 1 Corinthians 11:30-32. In verse 30 he says, “Because of this many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.” This is the discipline, the temporary judgment of the Lord, on the unworthy participants in the Lord’s body. The Lord first disciplined them so that they were weak physically. Then, since they would not repent of their offense, further discipline caused them to become sick. Because they still would not repent, the Lord judged them by death. To die this way is equivalent to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:5 about being strewn along in the wilderness. This verse is a clear illustration of what we mean by God’s dispensational discipline.
In verses 31 and 32 Paul goes on to say, “But if we discerned ourselves, we should not be judged; but when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined that we may not be condemned with the world.” This indicates that if we judge ourselves, we shall not be judged. The judgment in verse 32 is not for eternal perdition. In this verse, to be judged by the Lord indicates that when we, the believers, those who love the Lord Jesus, are judged by the Lord, it is that we may not be condemned with the world. To be judged by the Lord is temporary, but to be condemned with the world is eternal. The condemnation of the world is for eternal perdition. But the judgment we suffer today is for dispensational discipline, not for eternal perdition.
We should not be ignorant of what the Bible says concerning God’s judgment. Many of today’s Christians do not know anything about God’s dispensational discipline. When they read about judgment, they may say, “Oh, we have been redeemed by the Lord, and we can never be judged. It is heretical for anyone to teach that a Christian can be judged by God.” As we have seen, this is not a heretical teaching or anyone’s personal teaching. This is the teaching of the holy Word. The matter of God’s dispensational discipline was taught by both Peter and Paul. Therefore, we need to believe and accept this teaching from the pure Word of God.
According to the Bible, God in His government carries out His universal administration by different kinds of judgment. We should not have the concept that God is not judging the world today. God’s judgment is everywhere. Every nation is under His judgment. According to the record in Matthew 25, at the time of the Lord’s coming back, all the living ones will be judged. At the end of the millennium, all the dead unbelievers will be judged by the Lord at the white throne. Thus, there will be the judgment of the living and the dead.
Between these two judgments, there will be a period of a thousand years, the millennium. Immediately before the beginning of the millennium there will be the judgment of all the living nations. At that time, the Lord will gather all the living Gentiles to His throne of glory for judgment. Many will be judged as “goats,” and will be sent to the lake of fire. Instead of passing through Hades, they will go directly to the lake of fire. Their entire being—body, soul, and spirit—will be cast into the lake of fire. After the millennium, the Lord Jesus will judge the dead unbelievers at the white throne. At that time, He will also judge the demons. Then the unbelievers and the demons will be cast into the lake of fire. This judgment will be the judgment for eternal perdition.
We, the saved ones, will not have any share in the judgment for eternal perdition. There is no need for us to be afraid of that judgment. As far as judgment for eternal perdition is concerned, God has passed over us in Christ as our Passover Lamb. However, we should not think that, because God has passed over us concerning this judgment, we could not have any problems and will not suffer the judgment of God’s dispensational discipline.
Our situation as believers in Christ can be compared to that of the children of Israel. They experienced the Passover, and they were redeemed by the Passover lamb. After they made their exodus from Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, they enjoyed the living water out of the cleft rock and the heavenly manna. They saw the miracles God did for them. Nevertheless, out of more than two million people who came out of Egypt, only two, Joshua and Caleb, escaped the judgment of God leading to death. All the remainder, including Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, died under God’s judgment. This does not mean that they were under God’s curse. It means that they were under the judgment of God’s dispensational discipline. As we have pointed out, this kind of judgment is not for eternal perdition. It is related absolutely to God’s dispensational dealing. Moses, of course, was saved. God intended to preserve his body so that Moses could appear on the mount of transfiguration to be with the Lord. But because Moses made a mistake, God apportioned to him a particular disciplinary judgment.
Because many Christians today are veiled by traditional teachings, I would urge you to come back to the clear and pure Word of God, which is unveiling and enlightening. According to the Word of God, we know that God carries out His government by different kinds of judgment. These judgments include both the judgment for eternal perdition and the judgment for dispensational discipline.
God’s judgment for dispensational discipline is absolutely different from the Catholic concept of purgatory. Many years ago, I was falsely accused of teaching a doctrine of purgatory. The teaching concerning purgatory is false and heretical. But to teach the matter of disciplinary judgment, a discipline that is dispensational, is altogether according to the Scriptures. This teaching has nothing to do with purgatory, and it certainly is not heretical.
We need to see the truth concerning God’s judgment and have a holy fear of God. As Paul indicates in 1 Corinthians 11, we need to be careful in taking the Lord’s table. It is a great blessing to partake of the Lord’s table. However, we need to take of the bread and of the cup with discernment. If we are careless in this matter, we shall eat and drink judgment upon ourselves. This judgment may involve weakness, sickness, or even death. Weakness is a warning, and sickness is a further warning. If we do not care for these warnings, we may experience the judgment of death. This judgment is God’s discipline, a discipline that is a dispensational judgment exercised over the believers who are wrong in certain matters. This is one of the basic teachings of the apostles, and it was taught by both Peter and Paul.