Last week, we discussed that God exercises an extensive, ongoing, sovereign control over all aspects of his creation. With this understanding we can build on this knowledge and approach the question of miracles.
We will define a miracle as follows: A miracle is a less common kind of God’s activity in which he arouses people’s awe and wonder and bears witness to himself. This definition takes into account our previous understanding of God’s providence whereby God preserves, controls, and governs all things. If we understand providence in this way, we will avoid some other common explanation of definitions of miracles.
Fox example, one definition of miracle is “a direct intervention of God in the world.” But this definition assumes a deistic view of God’s relationship to the world, in which the world continues on its own and God only intervenes in it occasionally. This is certainly not the biblical view, according to which God makes the rain fall (Matthew 5:45), causes the grass to grow (Psalm 104:14), and continually carries along all things by his word of power (Hebrews 1:3). Another definition of miracle is “a more direct activity of God in the world.” But to talk about a “more direct” working of God suggests that his ordinary providential activity is somehow not “direct” and again hints at a sort of deistic removal of God from the world.
Another definition is “God working in the world without using means to bring about the results he wishes.” Yet to speak of God working “without means” leaves us with very few if any miracles in the Bible, for it is hard to think of a miracle that came about with no means at all: in the healing of people, for example, some of the physical properties of the sick person’s body were doubtless involved as part of the healing. When Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes, he at least used the original five loaves and two fishes that were there. When he changed water to wine, he used water and made it become wine. This definition seems to be inadequate.
Yet another definition of miracle is “an exception to a natural law” or “God acting contrary to the laws of nature.” But the phrase “laws of nature” in popular understanding implies that there are certain qualities inherent in the things that exist, “laws of nature” that operate independently of God, and that God must intervene or “break” these laws for a miracle to occur. Once again this definition does not adequately account for the biblical teaching on providence.
Another definition of miracle is “an event impossible to explain by natural causes.” This definition is inadequate because (1) it does not include God as the one who brings about the miracle; (2) it assumes that God does not use some natural causes when he works in an unusual or amazing way, and thus it assumes again that God only occasionally intervenes in the world; and (3) it will result in a significant minimizing of actual miracles and an increase in skepticism, since many times when God works in answer to prayer the result is amazing to those who prayed but it is not absolutely impossible to explain by natural causes, especially for a skeptic who simply refuses to see God’s hand at work.
Therefore, the original definition given, where a miracle is simply a less common way of God working in the world, seems to be preferable and more consistent with the biblical doctrine of God’s providence. This definition does not say that a miracle is a different kind of working by God, but only that it is a less common way of God’s working and that it is done so as to arouse people’s surprise, awe, or amazement in such a way that God bears witness to himself.
The biblical terminology for miracles frequently points to this idea of God’s power at work to arouse people’s wonder and amazement. Primarily three sets of terms are used: (1) “sign”, which means something that points to or indicates something else, especially God’s activities and power; (2) “wonder”, an event that causes people to be amazed or astonished; and (3) “miracle” or “mighty work”, an act displaying great power, especially divine power. Often “signs and wonders” is used as an expression to refer to miracles, and sometimes all three terms are combined, “mighty works and wonders and signs” (Acts 2:22) or “signs and wonders and mighty works” (2 Corinthians 12:12; and Hebrews 2:4).
In addition to the meanings of the terms used for miracles, another reason supporting our definition is the fact that miracles in Scripture do arouse people’s awe and amazement and indicate that God’s power is at work. The Bible frequently tells us that God himself is the one who performs “miracles” or “wondrous things.”
Now if we accept the definition that a miracle is “a less common kind of God’s activity in which he arouses people’s awe and wonder and bears witness to himself,” then we may ask what kinds of things should be considered miracles. Of course, we are right to consider the incarnation of Jesus as God-man and Jesus resurrection from the dead as the central and most important miracles in all history. The events of the exodus such as the parting of the red Sea and the fall of Jericho were remarkable miracles. When Jesus healed people and cleansed the lepers and cast out demons, those were certainly miracles as well.
But can we consider unusual answers to prayers to be miracles? Apparently so, if they are remarkable enough to arouse people’s awe and wonder and cause them to acknowledge God’s power at work: the answer to Elijah’s prayer that God would send fire from heaven was a miracle (1 Kings 18:24, 36-38), as were the answers to his prayers that the widow’s dead son would come back to life (1 Kings 17:21), or that the rain would stop and later start again (1 Kings 17:1; 1 Kings 18:41 – 45). In the New testament, the release of Peter from the prison in answer to the prayers of the church was certainly a miracle (Acts 12:5 – 17). But there must have been many miracles not nearly as dramatic as those, because Jesus healed many hundreds of people, “any that were sick with various diseases” (Luke 4:40). Paul healed “the rest of the people on the island who had diseases” (Acts 28:9).
On the other hand, Christians see answers to prayer every day, and we should not water down our definition of miracles so much that every answer to prayer is called a miracle. But when an answer to prayer is so remarkable that people involved with it are amazed and acknowledge God’s power at work in an unusual way, then it seems appropriate to call it a miracle. This is consistent with our definition and seems supported by the biblical evidence that works of God that arouse people’s awe and wonder were called miracles.
But whether we adapt a broad or narrow definition of miracle, all should agree that if God really does work in answer to our prayers, whether in common or uncommon ways, it is important that we recognize this and give thanks to him, and that we not ignore it or go great lengths to devise possible “natural causes” to explain away what God has in fact done in answer to prayer. While we must be careful not to exaggerate in reporting details of answer prayer, we must also avoid the opposite error of failing to glorify and thank God for what he has done.
In the new testament, Jesus’ miraculous signs attested that he had come from God: Nicodemus recognized, “No one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him” (john 3:2). Jesus’ changing of water to wine was a “sign” that “manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him” (John 2:11). According to Peter, Jesus was “a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst” (Acts 2:22).
Then in the early church, the apostles and others who preached the gospel performed miracles that amazed people and gave confirmation of the gospel that was being preached. Even in churches where no apostles were present miracles occurred. For example, Paul in writing to several churches in the region of Galatia, assumed this when he asks, “Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?” (Galatians 3:5). Similarly, he mentions in the church at Corinth “workers of miracles” (1 Corinthians 12:28) and names “the working of miracles” (1 Corinthians 12:10) as a gift distributed by the Holy Spirit. These last two verses are especially significant because 1 Corinthians 12:4 – 31 is not discussing a specific situation at Corinth but the nature of the church in general as the “body of Christ” with many members yet one body.
In fact, it seems to be characteristic of the new testament church that miracles occur. In the Old testament, miracles seemed to occur primarily in connection with one prominent leader at a time, such as Moses or Elijah or Elisha. In the New testament, there is a sudden and unprecedented increase in miracles when Jesus begins his ministry (Luke 4:36 – 37, 40 – 41). However, contrary to the pattern of the Old Testament, the authority to work miracles and to cast out demons was not confined to Jesus himself, nor did miracles die out when Jesus returned to heaven. Even during his ministry, Jesus gave authority to heal the sick and to cast out demons not only to the Twelve, but also to the seventy of his disciples (Luke 10:1, 9, 17 – 19). Moreover, the passages noted from 1 Corinthians and Galatians indicate that performing miracles was not confined to the seventy disciples, but was a characteristic of the churches of Galatia and the New Testament churches generally. This suggests that the occurrence of miracles is a characteristic of the new testament church and may be seen as an indication of the powerful new work of the Holy Spirit that began with Pentecost and may be expected to continue through the church age.
One purpose of miracles is certainly to authenticate the message of the gospel. This was evident in Jesus’ own ministry, as people like Nicodemus acknowledge: “we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him” (John 3:2). It also was evident as the gospel was proclaimed by those who heard Jesus, for as they preached, “God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his own will” (Hebrews 2:4). Whether this purpose was valid only when the gospel was first preached, or whether it holds good throughout the church age, depends on what you think the miracles are confirming: are they confirming only the absolute truthfulness of the words of Scripture, or are miracles given to confirm the gospel generally, whenever it is preached? In other words, do miracles confirm Scripture or gospel? As we shall see, miracles were not limited to those who wrote Scripture or spoke with absolute apostolic authority. This suggests that miracles given in confirmation of the gospel might be expected to continue throughout the church age.
In the New Testament, a purpose of miracles is to bear witness to the fact that the kingdom of God has come and has begun to expand its beneficial results into people’s lives, for the results of Jesus’ miracles show the characteristics of God’s kingdom: Jesus said, “If it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matthew 12:28). His triumph over the destructive forces of Satan showed what God’s kingdom was like. In this way, every miracle of healing or deliverance from demonic oppression advanced the kingdom and helped fulfill Jesus’ ministry, for he came with the Spirit of the Lord on him “to preach good news to the poor…. To proclaim release to the captives and recovering the sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed (Luke 4:18).
Another purpose of miracles is to help those who are in need. The two blind men near Jericho cried out, “Have mercy on us,” and Jesus “in pity” healed them (Matthew 20:30 and 34). When Jesus saw a great crowd of people, “he had compassion on them, and healed their sick” (Matthew 14:14). Here miracles give evidence of the compassion of Christ toward those in need.
Any yet another purpose of miracles is to remove hindrances to people’s ministries. As soon as Jesus had healed Peter’s mother-in-law, “she rose and served him” (Matthew 8:15). When God had mercy on Epaphroditus and restored health, Epaphroditus was then able to minister to Paul and complete his function as a messenger returning to the Philippian church (Philippians 2:25 – 30). Although the text does not explicitly say that Tabitha (or Dorcas) resumed her “good works and acts of charity” (Acts 9:36) after the Lord through Peter raised her from the dead (Acts 9:40 – 41), by mentioning her good works and those who bore witness to her selfless care for the needs of others (Acts 9:39), it suggests that she would resume a similar ministry of mercy when she was raised from the dead. Related to this would be the fact that Paul expects people to be edified when miraculous gifts are used in the church (1 Corinthians 12:7; 14:4, 12 and 26).
Finally, another purpose of miracles is to bring glory to God. After Jesus healed a paralytic, the crowds “were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men” (Matthew 9:8). Similarly, Jesus said that the man who had been blind from birth was blind “that the works of God might be made to manifest in him” (John 9:3).
There are those who are able to perform what is called “false miracles” Pharaoh’s magicians were able to work some false miracles (Exodus 7:11, 22; and 8:7), though they soon had to admit that God’s power was greater (Exodus 8:19). Simon the sorcerer in the city of Samaria amazed people with his magic (Acts 8:9 – 11), even though the miracles done through Philip were much greater (Acts 8:13). In Philippi Paul encountered a slave girl “who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by soothsaying” (Acts 16:16), but Paul rebuked the spirit and it came out of her (Acts 16:18). Moreover, Paul says that when the man of sin comes it “will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish” (2 Thessalonians 2:9 – 10), but those who follow them and are deceived do so “because they refused to love the truth and so be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:10). This indicates that those who work false miracles in the end times by the power of Satan will not speak the truth but will preach a false gospel. Finally, Revelation 13 indicates that a second beast will rise “out of the earth,” one that has “all the authority of the first beast” and “works great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of men; and by the sign which it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast, it deceives those who dwell on earth” (Revelation 13:11 – 14). But once again a false gospel accompanies these miracles: this power is exercised in connection with the first beat who utters “haughty and blasphemous words… it opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling” (Revelation 13:5 – 6).
Two conclusions become clear from this brief survey of false miracles in Scripture: (1) The power of God is greater than the power of Satan to work miraculous signs, and God’s people triumph in confrontations of power with those who work evil. In connection with this, John assures believes that “he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). (2) The identity of these workers of false miracles is always known through their denial of the gospel. There is no indication anywhere in Scripture that genuine Christians with the Holy Spirit in them will work false miracles. In fact, in a city filled with idolatry and demon worship, Paul could say to the Corinthian believers, many of whom had come out of that kind of pagan background, that “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3). Here he gives them reassurance that those who make a genuine profession of faith in Jesus as Lord do in fact have the Holy Spirit in them. It is significant that he immediately goes on to a discussion of spiritual gifts possessed by “each” true believer (1 Corinthians 12:7).
This should reassure us that if we see miracles being worked by those who make a genuine profession of faith (1 Corinthian 12:3), who believe in the incarnation and deity of Christ (1 John 4:2), and who show the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their lives and bear fruit in their ministry (Matthew 7:20), we should not be suspicious that they are false miracles but should be thankful to God that the Holy Spirit is working, even in those who may not hold exactly the same convictions that we do on every point of doctrine. Indeed, if God waited to work miracles only through those who were perfect in both doctrine and conduct of life, no miracles would be worked until Christ returns.
It is one thing to say that miracles might occur today. It is quite another thing to ask God for miracles. Is it right for Christians to ask God to perform miracles?
The answer depends on the purpose for which miracles are sought. Certainly it is wrong to seek miraculous power to advance one’s own power or fame, as Simon the magician did: Peter said to him, “Your heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you” (Acts 8:21 – 22).
It is also wrong to seek miracles simply to be entertained, as Herod did: “When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him” (Luke 23:8). But Jesus would not even answer Herod’s questions.
It is also wrong for skeptical unbelievers to seek miracles simply to find ground to criticize those who preach the gospel:
And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “…An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” (Matthew 16:1 – 4).
This rebuke against seeking signs is repeated elsewhere in the Gospels, but it is important to note that rebukes against seeking signs are always directed against hostile unbelievers who are seeking a miracle only as an opportunity to criticize Jesus. Never does Jesus rebuke anyone who comes in faith, or in need, seeking healing or deliverance or any other kind of miracle, whether for himself or herself, or for others.
There is nothing inappropriate in seeking miracles for the proper purposes for which they are given by God: to confirm the truthfulness of the gospel message, to bring help to those in need, to remove hindrances to people’s ministries, and to bring glory to God. In the Gospels many people came to Jesus seeking miracles, and he healed them for these purposes. Moreover, when he sent his disciples out preaching that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, he told them, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons’ (Matthew 10:7 – 8). How could they do this without seeking God for miracles everywhere they went? Jesus command required them to seek for miracles to happen.
Finally, we should not assume that an obviously miraculous answer to prayer is somehow better than one that comes through ordinary means (such as medical help for sickness), and we must also realize that asking God for a particular need does not guarantee that they prayer will be answered. On the other hand, our faith that God will work in powerful and even miraculous ways may be far too small. We must beware of being infected by a secular worldview that assumes that God will answer prayer only very seldom, if ever. And we should certainly not be embarrassed to talk about miracles if they occur, or think that a non-miraculous answer to a prayer is better! Miracles are God’s work, and he works them to bring glory to himself and to strengthen our faith. When we encounter serious needs in people’s lives today, it is right for us to seek God for an answer, and where miraculous intervention seems to be needed, then to ask God if he would be please to work in that way. This would seem to be especially appropriate when our motivation is a Christ like compassion for those in need and a burning desire to see Christ’s kingdom advanced and his name glorified.