Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. (Acts 2:22-24)
An important function of miracles is to confirm God’s messengers and their ministries. But contrary to unbelief and tradition, the Bible never suggests that God performs miracles only to authenticate new revelation and that, even after Pentecost, he would perform them only through a few special believers. In fact, even before Pentecost, Jesus permitted a man to perform miracles on his own without direct association with his ministry or that of the apostles (Mark 9:38-41).
If you wish to help people in the name of Jesus, even if it takes a miracle, you do not need permission from the preachers and theologians, or the seminaries and the denominations. Just go ahead and do it. Jesus endorsed it. He said, “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us.” But what would he say about those who oppose you? Never allow mere men to replace the authority of Jesus in your life. Curse them all to hell before you let that happen.
The Bible never suggests that God would not perform miracles to authenticate old revelation. Moreover, an old revelation could demand continuing miracles in all future generations. Suppose the Johnson patriarch declares, “I promise that members of the Johnson family would lend money to members of the Harrison family in all future generations.” This promise would entail lending money to someone of the Harrison family more than once and in more than in one generation. To issue one loan, or five, or ten and for only a century or two would not fulfill the promise. The promise is so broad that it could entail lending money to thousands of members in the Harrison family for hundreds of generations, all the way to the extinction of the Harrison family or the end of human history.
Accordingly, Jesus said that he healed a woman on the basis that she was a descendant of Abraham (Luke 13:16). Even if authentication of his ministry was included in the broader picture, his explicit reason was to make good on an old revelation, and not to confirm a new one. And the basis for the miracle was not that God made a promise to heal this particular woman, but that he made a much broader promise to bless the children of Abraham. Thus since this was a valid basis to heal this particular woman, and since God’s promise to Abraham stands forever, it was and it is a basis for the healing of all who are included in the same category.
Now, the promise is not restricted to the natural descendants of Israel. In fact, it is not mainly intended for the natural descendants of Israel. As Paul writes, “For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel” (Romans 9:6). Rather, “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Galatians 3:7-9, ESV).
Therefore, each one who has faith in Jesus Christ stands on the same basis as this woman who received healing and has the covenant right to possess the same blessing without alteration. Anyone who denies this rejects the very foundation of the Christian faith, and should be condemned as a heretic. The Bible is complete and sufficient. This means that it is the definitive word on the matter, and since God is true to his word, the blessings to Abraham that we receive through Jesus Christ by faith could never be annulled. Since the Bible is complete and sufficient, there remains no excuse to deny that healing by faith in Jesus Christ should not be a regular occurrence in the church.
It is futile to spiritualize this healing. Both physical and spiritual healing were needed as different blessings and supplied as different blessings throughout the history of mankind. It is not as if those who lived before Christ received physical healing but then all went to hell. Physical and spiritual healing are discussed as related but distinct blessings throughout the history of revelation – throughout the Bible. Physical healing cannot be spiritualized so that it becomes only the forgiveness of sin.
Some make the challenge, “If healing is promised to faith, then why is not everyone healed?” This is a most stupid and hypocritical objection. Jesus Christ has purchased with his own blood complete holiness for those who believe, then why do believers still sin? The same people who make the objection against physical healing would rattle off lengthy expositions about the progressive application of the benefits of redemption, but when it comes to physical healing, somehow the doctrine must be mistaken if everyone is not completely healed right now. What a brood of vipers. What a bunch of religious hypocrites and whitewashed tombs.
There are a number of reasons for God to perform miracles other than authenticating old and new revelations. A most significant one is that he has compassion to meet our practical needs and wants.
A wealthy man could donate a hundred million dollars to an orphanage to show that he is rich, and that such an amount is nothing to him. Man is only a servant, and it is not for him to boast of his riches or to covet the approval of others. But for God to demonstrate himself is entirely proper, because he is inherently worthy of praise and worship. It is right for a being who ought to be worshiped to demand worship. Thus it is good for God to show his glory, although it is not good for a man to do so. The wealthy man is only an analogy.
That said, it could be that the man offers so much money because he has compassion on orphans. To those who have no concept of compassion, that possibility would not come up when they theorize about his motives. On the other hand, to those who are in touch with the heart of God, and who have compassion on the suffering of others, this is a most obvious and enduring reason that undergirds their faith. The Bible teaches that Jesus healed people because he had compassion on them. If we cannot see that, or if in our murderous zeal to suppress modern miracles we become blinded to the fact that he still has compassion on people, then it is because we do not have any. It is because we do not know him. It is because we are nothing like him.
Always be highly suspicious and contemptuous toward those who present the miracles of Christ as if they were only to confirm his ministry. Their narrow conception of the miracle ministry is very likely an indication of their narrow spiritual life and motives for serving God. Their spiritual blindness is then reflected on their interpretation of Christ, and they invent restrictions on the miracle ministry, imposing unbiblical periods and reasons upon it, in order to justify themselves and to explain their failures.
But unbelief complains, “Why does he have to perform miracles? Why doesn’t he always meet us through ordinary providence? And if he performs miracles, why does he so often do it by endowing his people with supernatural gifts?” These questions are irrelevant to whether or not God performs miracles, but only relevant once the subject is accepted and a deeper understanding is desired. We could just as easily ask the opposite: “Why doesn’t God always help us through miracles? And when he performs miracles, why does he often do it apart from human involvement, and without using the supernatural gifts that he has given to them?” Thus as to the issue of whether God performs miracles and whether he does them through supernatural gifts, these questions are red herrings and excuses.
God could choose to perform miracles at times because he wishes to demonstrate in a more pronounced manner his power, presence, and compassion, or when they are miracles of judgment, his holiness and severity. He could choose to work miracles through his servants in order to secure respect for the church and unity among his people. But at times he could choose to perform miracles without human instruments to remind us that all miracles come from God alone, and that he does not require our assistance and cooperation. There are so many explanations that we can provide, but these are, again, irrelevant to the issue of whether or not God performs miracles today, and whether or not he performs them through his people.
God will do what he wants in any age he wants in any way he wants. To demand answers in this context betrays unbelief and rebellion. You ask these questions as if you challenge another person’s theology, but they constitute an attack on God’s sovereignty. If you wish to dethrone God and take his place – and I know you do because you speak like this – then take it up with him. Challenge him yourself and seize his throne. Until then your disapproval means nothing.
Having said all this, it remains that one function of miracles is to confirm God’s messenger, and he accredited Jesus Christ with mighty miracles, signs and wonders. Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead, multiplied food, walked on water, calmed the storm, cursed a tree to death, and performed other miracles, too many to be fully recorded. In addition, God endorsed him by sending his Spirit upon him in the likeness of a dove, sent Moses and Elijah to speak with him, and thundered from heaven, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
Peter said that the Jews knew about these miracles, but they still conspired against him. In fact, their hate for Christ was even stronger than their contempt for the Gentiles, so that they used the Romans to murder him. They conspired against Jesus, and they thought they had succeeded. But they played right into God’s hands in that Jesus was destined to suffer the death of a criminal in order to make atonement for us. They could not defeat him, for God raised him from the dead, and now by believing in him, we are saved from our sins and from the corruption of this world.
Today, religious people continue to conspire against Jesus Christ, even as he continues to vindicate himself through his Spirit and even as his people continue to testify about his power and compassion. But they play right into God’s hands in that, by their opposition to the truth, their unbelief is unmasked. They could not help but express their dissatisfaction with Christ and their condemnation of the continuing power of his Spirit. Their own testimony reveals God’s dissatisfaction with them and his condemnation of their unbelief and tradition. Jesus Christ cannot be defeated. He will do as he pleases, and he will perform his mighty works through anyone he pleases, in any generation he wishes to do them.
Therefore, we preach Jesus Christ – the same yesterday, today, and forever. He still has mercy on those who needs forgiveness. He still has compassion on those who needs healing. And he is here to perform a mighty work even when men are unable and unwilling. There is always hope in Jesus. Never allow people to tell you that it is futile to seek the same Jesus that you see in the Bible. They are not his friends, and they are not yours. Look to the Scripture and witness for yourself the real and only Jesus Christ. Trust in him, and tell others to do the same.