There is a lot of confusion today about the
place of miracles in the Christian life and ministry. Is divine healing for
today? Are there apostles and prophets today? We have dealt with these and many
other issues extensively before. We advise each reader to contact us for more
information on the subject.
We will consider some of the foundational
teachings of Scripture that can help us understand these issues.
1. The miracles of Christ and the miracles of
the apostles had a special, temporary purpose and are not models for the entire
church age.
a. The miracles of Christ were signs to prove
that He was the Messiah (John 5:26; 10:25, 37-38; 14:11; 15:24; 20:30-31).
These Scriptures leave no doubt as to the purpose of Christ's miracles. Even
the apostles could not do all of the amazing things that Christ did (i.e.,
quieting storms and feeding the multitudes); and had they done so, the sign
nature of Christ's miracles would have been rendered ineffective.
What about John 14:12? This cannot mean that
believers through the centuries would be able to do greater sign miracles than Christ.
That would be impossible. What could be greater than feeding multitudes,
walking on the water, and raising the dead? Christ did not say that the disciples
would do greater miracles; He said they would do greater works. Though the word
“works” is sometimes used to describe Christ's miracles, it is not limited to
that. Whereas Christ ministered only in Palestine and saw relatively few souls
saved under His direct ministry, His disciples have ministered throughout the
world and have seen multitudes of souls saved. Whereas Christ wrote no books,
the apostles completed the canon of Scripture. God's people have enjoyed the
power to live holy lives in the face of a godless generation, to withstand the
most searing persecution, and to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth.
God's people have continued to experience miracles and have done great works,
but they have not done the Messianic sign miracles.
b. The apostles did miracles to prove that they
were apostles (Mark 3:14-15; 2 Corinthians 12:12). If we examine the book of
Acts carefully, we will see that the miracles were done by the apostles.
Examples can be found in Acts 2:43; 4:33; 5:12. The only exceptions were a few
men closely associated with the apostles and upon whom the apostles had laid
hands. The vast majority of believers in the early churches could not do the
sign miracles. When Tabitha was sick, the believers at Joppa could not heal
her, and when she died, they could not raise her from the dead. They had to
call Peter, the apostle (Acts 9:36-41). If such miracles could be done
indiscriminately by Christians in general, the sign of the apostle would be
rendered ineffective. If I tell a stranger that is meeting me at the airport
that I will be wearing a red hat when I come off of the plane, the red hat is
the sign of recognition; but if other people on my flight disembark wearing red
hats the sign is destroyed. There was no general miracle-working experience
among the first churches. They were special signs for a special time.
2. God does not always heal, but He often does
heal in answer to prayer.
a. The New Testament gives the following three
examples that conclusively prove that God does not always heal the believer's
sicknesses.
(1) The case of Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23).
Timothy was sick frequently, and the apostle Paul instructed him to use a
little wine for his stomach's sake and his “often infirmities.” God did not
heal Timothy supernaturally from his sickness nor did he instruct Timothy to
curse his illnesses or to exercise “the word of faith” over them.
(2) The case of Trophimus (2 Timothy 4:20).
Paul had to leave Trophimus behind in Miletum sick. He was not supernaturally
healed.
(3) The case of Paul (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
Three times Paul asked God to take away this problem, but the Bible says God
refused to do so. Paul was told that this infirmity was something God wanted
him to bear for his spiritual well being. Upon learning this, Paul bowed to
God's will and wisely said: “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in
reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake:
for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). This is a perfect
example for Christians today. We should pray for healing and release from
trials and difficulties, but when God does not heal, we must bow to His will
and accept that sickness or trial as something from the divine hand. This is
not lack of faith; it is submission to the sovereignty of Almighty God. Some
Pentecostals have argued that Paul's infirmity was not a sickness, but the
Greek word translated “infirmity” in 2 Corinthians 12:9 (astheneia) is elsewhere translated “sickness” (Matthew 8:17; John
11:4) and “disease” (Acts 28:9).
b. God heals today after the pattern of James
5:13-15. This passage describes a private healing situation rather than a
public healing meeting, and it says nothing about someone who has “the gift of
healing”. It refers simply to the elders of the church who anoint the sick
person and pray over him.
c. Romans 8:22-25 reminds us that we will not
receive our glorified state until Christ returns. Until then, we are subject to
the trouble, suffering, and death of this sin-cursed world, and that includes
sickness.
3. Christ warned against seeking miracles
(Matthew 12:38-39). This passage is a loud rebuke of the modern
Pentecostal-Charismatic movements.
4. The Bible warns about false signs and
wonders at the end of the church age (Matthew 24:24). Christ warned that one of the characteristics
of the end of the age would be “great signs and wonders” performed by false
prophets. Therefore, it is obvious that just because someone is doing miracles
does not mean that they are of God. They might be of the devil! The only way
that we can tell the difference is by testing the teaching by the Bible. We
must “prove all things” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). We must be like the Bereans who
“searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11).
Only in this way can we protect ourselves from the wiles of the devil.
