The Holy Spirit and the Miraculous

Definition of Miracles

Credit for the outline of much of this lesson comes from Jimmy Jividen’s book, Miracles: From God or Man? As I have said earlier, Christians believe in miracles. The Bible gives us many times in which miracles took place. As Christians we do not deny their validity and reality. We do not even question the ability of God to still perform miracles if he should so choose. However, the miracles found in scripture no longer exist and there are reasons why they are no longer needed. First let’s define what the Bible means by a miracle.

Many things which are of natural origins are called miracles. But these things are not miraculous in the New Testament sense. The birth of a child as wondrous as it is must not be described as miraculous because conceiving and giving birth are natural events. Then there are mysterious events which seem to have no explanation but they are not miraculous. They might be called paranormal which literally means “along side” normal but they are not miraculous. Examples would be a hypnotic trance, a divining rod used for finding water. Neither of these violate natural laws although we may not understand how they naturally work. Miracles are by definition different from, above, or contrary to the natural order of things. A miracle is an event which happened when God broke into history and went beyond the physical laws of nature in order to reveal some truth or verify some truth. Natural or paranormal things are not miraculous even though we may not understand such events. Miracles by definition is God’s intervention beyond the laws of nature or stopping natural laws temporarily.

Purpose of Miracles

This leads us to look at the purpose of miracles. There are two basic purposes of miracles in the New Testament. The first is found in John 20:31. Miracles were used as proof that the claims of Jesus and his disciples were from God. They were to verify that Jesus was God’s son. The gospel of John only records eight miracles, but he never calls them miracles. He calls them signs. The word “signs” gives us insight into the confirming nature of miracles. The word “signs” means that the event is pointing to something beyond itself. In other words, the sign was never for its own sake it was to reveal something else about the character and nature of Jesus.

In Acts 2:32-33, Peter tells the crowd that what they see in terms of the cloven tongues on their heads resulting in tongues verified the resurrection of Jesus.

In Mark 2:10-12, Jesus uses a miracle to verify that he can also forgive sins. That was the purpose of the miracle.

Miracles were Jesus’ proof of claim. The miracles were necessary in order for God to give a new revelation. Miracles occurred when God wanted to give a new revelation to man. Miracles at the time of Moses, Elijah, and Elisha, Jesus and his apostles.

The second purpose of miracles was to fulfill scripture. We see this in Matthew. Matthew often quotes from the Old Testament and then apply those texts to Jesus as proof that he is the Messiah.

In Matthew 11:1-6, John the Baptist is in prison and he sends disciples to Jesus to ask if he is the Messiah. Jesus’ answer is indirect. He tells John to look at the miracles and be convinced.

In Luke 4:17-21, Jesus is in the synagogue at Nazareth and he reads from Isaiah 61 and after reading concludes that this text is fulfilled in their hearing.

John 7:31, there was an expectation that the Messiah would perform miracles. There was no doubt that Jesus was indeed performing miraculous signs.

Matthew 8:17—very clearly and directly, Matthew tells us that Jesus’ miracles were a fulfillment of scripture and then he quotes Isaiah 53:4.

These are the two main purposes of miracles—to verify the validity of Jesus’ claims and to fulfill predictive scripture.

Modern Claims to the Miraculous

There is a movement in Christendom to endorse and encourage acceptance of miracles in the current age. This is cyclical pattern. There was a movement in the 1940’s and 1950’s which lasted for a time and were rejected by most groups in Christendom but now the cycle has taken hold across the board of Christian faith and practice. Much of the acceptance of such a view comes because there is such a cultural emphasis on emotions and feelings. The miraculous certainly plays to that aspect of human nature. But there are several reasons why acceptance of miracles in the modern era must be rejected.

First, there is no evidence. There are lots of claims, but no real evidence. If we understand the definition of miracle, then the natural, paranormal, and unexplainable are not miracles. There is plenty of subjective material; there are stories; there are reports of ecstatic experiences; but where is the objective evidence.

Jesus warned His followers against false prophets and false Christs who would claim to work wonders. They were told to “believe them not.” (Matthew 24:24)

John warned the Christians of his day not to believe those who made false claims about the Holy Spirit. They were to test the validity of the claims that were made. (1 John 4:1)

Paul warned the Corinthians about false apostles and deceitful workers who disguised themselves as apostles of Christ. This should not seem odd since “even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

Jesus commends the church at Ephesus because they tried those who were false prophets. (Revelation 2:2)

In the New Testament, hard questions were asked of those who claimed to work miracles. The burden of proof rests on those who make the claim of miracles. Let genuine objective evidence be brought to prove the claims.

Second, there is no valid purpose for miracles. Miracles in the New Testament were to confirm Jesus and the apostles as from God and to reveal Jesus as the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies. The Messiah has come. There is no need for miracles. The final revelation has been given through Jesus and the apostles. A new revelation would require miracles. Jesus is the once for all Savior. No other is needed. Since the faith was once for all delivered to the saints, another faith will not be presented. There will not be another Messiah nor a new revelation. Thus, miracles have no purpose.

The Jews wanted Jesus to perform miracles. They wanted Jesus to work signs so that they might have bread from heaven without having to work for it. (John 6:26, 30)

They wanted a sign to validate Jesus’ cleansing of the temple in John 2:18.

They wanted another sign after they saw Jesus cast a demon out of blind and mute demoniac. Jesus’ answer was plain to those who seek signs. They sought miracles but rejected the purpose of miracles as being that of confirming Jesus’ authority. Matthew 12:29—An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.

Miracles are for confirmation. In Luke 16:30-31, the rich man in Hades wanted a miracle. He wanted Abraham to resurrect Lazarus so that he could go back and warn his brothers. What is Abraham’s response: “they have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.” The rich man did not believe the scriptures were sufficient. A miracle was needed. Abraham’s response “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.”

Miracles are not needed when there are clear scriptures. To seek a miracle when God has already given revelation is to misunderstand completely the purpose of the miraculous. In the temptation of Jesus Satan tries to get Jesus to perform a miracle. The purpose of the miracle would not be for confirmation but to put God to test to see if He would keep his promises.

Third, claims of the miraculous must be rejected because there are no living persons who are qualified to work miracles. Those who could work miracles in the days of the New Testament were Jesus, the 12 and the seventy sent out from Jesus (Matthew 10:1; Luke 10:1-20). According to 2 Corinthians 12:12, the apostles were able to work miracles as a way to confirm their role. The twelve and the 70 worked miracles because Jesus gave them the power to do so.

According to Acts 8:18, those upon whom the apostles laid their hands possessed miraculous powers. Two of the seven men upon whom the apostles laid their hands in Acts 6 were able to perform miracles (Acts 6:8; 8:6). The 12 men Paul converted at Ephesus could miraculously speak in tongues and prophesy after Paul laid his hands on them (Acts 19:1-7). Numerous individuals at Corinth possessed miraculous powers (1 Cor. 12:7-11). While the scriptures do not state how they received these gifts, Paul was among them and could have laid hands on them.

The power to work miracles was not distributed in a chaotic, random manner. Jesus, his apostles, the seventy, and those who received the baptism of the Spirit or who had received the laying on of the apostles’ hands were the only individuals who were able to perform miracles. None of these individuals are alive today.

Fourth, the claims of the miraculous are to be rejected because there is no authority for them any longer. God still works in the world today, but according to his will in revelation and creation. The scriptures reveal that the miraculous was to pass away in 1 Corinthians 13:8ff. One cannot place an exact date on their passing. One cannot know for certain when the last miracle was performed. By faith we can believe the promise that they would cease. In context, Paul is writing to those who are boasting about their gifts. Paul assures them that their focus is on the wrong thing. They should be focusing on love rather than gifts. His assurance is that love will outlast their gifts.

Fifth, the claims of the miraculous are to be rejected because those who claim to be able to perform miracles are divided. Throughout Christendom there are those who claim to perform miracles but there is great divergence on doctrinal matters. Some who claim to perform miracles practice infant baptism, some immersion after salvation, some no immersion at all. How can claims be accurate when their doctrinal beliefs are so different? Is God a god of chaos or order? Is his gospel consistent or not? Also, the claims of the miraculous often focus on the one who is conducting the miracle. In the New Testament the ones who perform miracles reject the attention from those who received the benefit of the miracle. They always turned people to God. (Acts 8:18-24; 14:8-18). That doesn’t fit much of what we see on television or the claims of the miracle worker in general.

Theological Considerations

To accept modern miraculous claims, is to say that Scriptures are insufficient. The basic purpose of miracles was to confirm the word. Miracles and new revelation go together. The Mormon church claimed new revelation and miracles. Claims that God spoke to a person in a still small voice or a dream is to admit to new revelation. If God gives someone the gift of prophecy, tongues or interpretations then it is new revelation by definition. Peter says in 2 Peter 1:20-21 that the Holy Spirit is directly involved in the process of revelation. If He is still doing that, then what he tells men should be added to the Bible. It is new revelation from God. There would be no reason for the Spirit to say something old because it is already recorded in Scripture. The Scriptures themselves affirm that they are sufficient. Those who believe in modern day miracles have not thought about the logical consequence of saying that God revealed something to them.

To accept modern miraculous claims says something about our lack of faith. Five times, Jesus was asked for a sign and each time he responded with a reference to his resurrection (Matthew 12:38; 16:1; Luke 11:16; John 2:18; 6:30). What greater sign could humans have for God’s approval of Jesus than his resurrection? If the resurrection is not sufficient, then no sign will be sufficient. Jesus rebuked the devil because he tempted Him to work a miracle as a test of the promise of the Scripture. The true believer does not need a sign to prove what God has promised in his word. Jesus rebuked the sign seekers who refused to acknowledge His power as being from God. (Matthew 12:38). Jesus refused to work signs which His brothers requested as a public relations technique. Signs were not meant to gain popularity (John 7:3-4). One who rejects the plain testimony of Scripture cannot be persuaded by a miracle. Miracles are not a short cut to faith.

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