This may seem like a strange question, but many, many believers are taught that God does not work outside the natural order of things. Usually, these denominations teach that God did work in miraculous ways in “Bible days,” but no longer does so. If you have not been part of one these mainline denominations, this idea may seem strange to you because the natural reading of scripture would never leave you thinking that the God who worked miracles from Genesis to Revelation would suddenly stop intervening in the affairs of men in supernatural ways. However, these churches still declare that belief in the supernatural gifts of the Spirit and the miraculous works of God is heresy.
The argument goes that miracles were performed, especially in the New Testament, to prove that Jesus was the Son of God, and once the record of all these miracles was written in scripture, the evidence was sufficient and, therefore, no more miracles were required nor necessary. The roots of this view probably go back to the Renaissance when men began to celebrate the art and science produced by man. During this period and later, men began to worship their abilities and began to believe that man and his intellect could cure all the ills of the world. The “scientific method” became the gospel for many and anything not subject to man and his reason was considered superstition. Miracles, which were not subject to the new religion of science, fell out of favor, even among many theologians.
Even Martin Luther espoused a view that true miracles ceased when the age of the apostles expired. He taught that men heard from God only through the written Word and not apart from it. He allowed for healing as a “possible” response to prayer, but thought it was rare. Certainly, there were no gifts of healing operating. Some historians believe that much of his theology was a response to abuses of “miracles” and “revelation” by the Catholic Church from which he was separating himself. There were undoubtedly such abuses but the question arises, “Should we discard the power and intervention of God because some abuse the idea?”
In his first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul discusses extensively their abuse of spiritual gifts…especially tongues and prophecy. However, he does not forbid the practice of these gifts, but rather teaches them how to use them correctly – in a way that builds up the church rather than the individual. Rather than forbidding the exercise of these gifts, he commands everyone to eagerly desire spiritual gifts.
The view that God no longer intervenes in our lives through miracles also spawned the view that the supernatural gifts of the Spirit ceased as well when the apostles died. This view strips the church of her power against the forces of darkness. The argument goes that Jesus ministered in miraculous ways to prove he was the Son of God and the apostles ministered in miraculous ways to prove they were his true representative and that their writings in the New Testament were inspired. Again…once there was sufficient written evidence, miracles and supernatural gifts were no longer needed for the gospel and faded away.
However, many non-apostles did mighty works through the power of the Spirit – Phillip (Acts 8:6-7) and Stephen (Acts 6:8), as examples. In addition, some, who were not apostles, such as Luke, James, Jude, and the writer of Hebrews, wrote much of the New Testament. Jesus declared, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (Jn. 14:12-13). He didn’t say his apostles would do what he had been doing, but anyone who believes. He also did not assign a shelf-life to that promise but to whoever believes, whenever they believe. God also clearly gave supernatural gifts to the church – apart from the apostles. He gave gifts of healing, gifts of miracles, tongues, prophecy, interpretation. discerning of spirits, etc. to ordinary believers to build up the church (See 1 Cor. 12-14).
One of the great deceptions by the enemy is the theology that God no longer intervenes in miraculous ways and these spiritual gifts no longer function. One of the side effects of this theology is an unspoken belief that the supernatural altogether is superstition. Demons no longer afflict men and angels don’t show up to fight for God’s people. That belief leaves God’s people powerless in the face of an unseen enemy that is still afflicting them, but goes undetected. Paul clearly says in Ephesians 6 our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against forces of evil in heavenly realms and he points us to divine weapons in 2 Corinthians 10. We cannot defend ourselves from spiritual attacks without spiritual power from spiritual weapons…gifts of the Spirit that are manifestations of God’s power and authority.
Over the years, I have spoken with several people who were involved in witchcraft because when they had gone to the church, the church had no solution for their struggles…no power. They found power in witchcraft. They discovered it was destructive power, but there was power all the same. Paul declared, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power” (1 Cor. 4:20). If there is no power expressed, then the kingdom is not expressed. You would be surprised how many people think Satan is more powerful than God, because this non-miraculous theology has stripped the church of the expression of God’s greatness and power over the enemy.
Several years ago, I counseled with a woman over a period of months who had been subjected to Satanic ritual abuse as a small girl. During the abuse, she cried out to God to save her but nothing happened. She had battled severe depression as an adult and, as an adult who still believed in Jesus, she was plagued by the belief that Satan was more powerful than God because she had not been rescued when she was five. One day, in a period of desperation as she was slipping back into her depression, she was willing to “risk” deliverance. In the name of Jesus, she was delivered from several tormenting spirits. For the first time, she was able to believe Jesus was more powerful than Satan and it changed her life. She knew what the Bible said, but needed to experience that truth before being set free. God’s people and the world still need miracles and the manifest power of the Spirit.
Interestingly, the very definition of a miracle is God intervening in the natural order of things to alter what would have happened without his touch. Isn’t that why any of us pray? Why would we ask God to make sure something would happen that would happen anyway without his intervention? Even if we pray for God to bless the hands of the surgeon, we are asking him to prevent something that might happen in the natural without his intervention. We are asking him to intervene to prevent a mistake. By definition we are asking for a miracle. So if we can ask God for that, why not for greater miracles as well. Here’s the rub. If we only pray for the ordinary, we will only see the ordinary and so confirm our belief thar God acts only in ordinary ways. But how does that glorify him? How does that demonstrate his power over the enemy? How does that give his church victory over the schemes and attacks of the devil?
Every time people doubted the possibility of a miracle, Jesus scolded them as people of little faith. What would he say to us now and those that no longer believe in the supernatural intervention of God on behalf of his people and this world? It seems to me, there has never been a time when we needed his miracles more than now. Susan and I just spent a weekend with a Free Indeed Ministry in McKinney, Texas. There we saw healing, deliverance from demons, and lives transformed by the power of Jesus. Without a belief in that power for today those people would still be in the grip of fear, addictions, sexual sin, depression and witchcraft. But Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. He still wants to destroy the works of the devil through his church and miracles should still be the normal expectation in the body of Christ.
