Are Miracles Performed Today?

We read in the Bible of the many miracles performed by the apostles and early Christians. They healed the lame (Ac. 3:1-9), raised the dead (Ac. 20:9-12), spoke in different tongues and prophesied (Ac. 19:6; 1 Cor. 14), and others could be listed.

There are many religious people today who claim to have these same abilities. We hear of healing services where multiple people are supposedly healed during the service. In many of these charismatic churches (i.e. Pentecostal, Church of God, Assembly of God, etc), there are people leaping over pews, rolling in the aisles and speaking gibberish which they claim to be tongues, all of which is allegedly the result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I have even heard of "holy laughter." I think most of us recognize how silly some of this is, but is it all fake? What about the claims of divine healing, prophecy and tongue-speaking? Does the Bible give us any kind of answer? Yes, it does!

First of all, we need to understand the purpose of miracles. As we're going to see, miracles were not intended to be a means of profit, nor were they merely a source of excitement for Christians. According to God's word, the purpose of miracles was to confirm the word of God.

Mark 16:20 says, "And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs."

Hebrews 2:3-4 says, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?"

Both of these passages clearly identify the aforementioned purpose of miraculous gifts. They bore witness to, or confirmed, the word of God. What does this mean? Well, the law of Christ had never been preached before. It was new to the world. In Luke 24:47, Jesus told the apostles tat "repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." Imagine the apostles teaching this new law to thousands upon thousands of Jews (and later, the Gentiles). The apostles are telling all of these people that they have to repent and seek salvation in Christ. Who is Christ? Why do we need to change? How do we know that what you're saying is true? I mean, think about it...would you change your whole life simply because someone told you that this Jesus guy died for your sins? Of course not!

But what if they healed a lame man? What if they gave sight to a man who had been blind from birth? What if they raised the dead? What if they prophesied and spoke in your native tongue miraculously? Then you might start to believe them. Hey, these guys must be from God...and if they're from God, then what they're saying must be true. Jesus is the Lord!

That's what miracles did in the first century. They confirmed the word.

So now we have two questions to answer in order to determine whether or not miracles still exist. Number one, has the law of Christ been fully revealed in that it no longer needs confirmation? And number two, does the Bible teach that the miracles would cease when the law of Christ was fully revealed, or confirmed?

First of all, I think most of us understand that the New Testament canon is complete, and has been completed since the latter part of the first century. Matthew through Revelation comprises what we call the New Testament, and most of us agree that any addition to it would be heresy (from men, not God). And the New Testament actually confirms this point.

2 Peter 1:3 says, "As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue."

Jude 3 says, "Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints."

These two verses seem to indicate that, in the first century, the entire will of God was indeed revealed. It was ONCE for ALL delivered to the saints, and ALL things that pertain to godliness have been GIVEN to us. This law of Christ has been given to us in the form of writing, or scripture (Eph. 3:3-5). Scripture is able to make us "complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

Is there ongoing revelation? Well, according to these verses, the answer is No. There is no need for ongoing revelation. We have all that we need to be complete in Christ!

But this point alone doesn't necessarily prove that miracles have ceased. All it does is tell us that the purpose of miracles has ceased. And the burden of proof, I believe, is on me to prove that they have ceased. That brings us to our second question (and the main point of the article): does the Bible teach that miracles would cease when the law was fully revealed?

The answer lies in 1 Corinthians 13.

The members of the Corinthian church had the ability to perform miracles, but these miracles were the cause of much division within the church (really, it was their pride and selfishness that caused them to divide, but they manifested these wicked attitudes through the use of miracles). In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul reminded them that while there were many spiritual gifts, they were to conduct themselves as the unified body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul rebuked the Corinthians for their misuse of the miraculous gifts. Instead of using these gifts to promote edification (in the infant-state of the church where they didn't have completed New Testaments like we do today), they used them to exalt themselves.

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul reminds the Corinthians of the supremacy of LOVE over miraculous gifts, and he plainly tells them that these miraculous gifts would cease (but love would endure).

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging symbol. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing" (1 Cor. 13:1-2). You see, Paul is emphasizing the supremacy of love. Love is more important than the gift of prophecy, more important than tongues, more important than miraculous knowledge and miraculous faith.

Of course, in verses 4-7, we find the famous definition of faith, "Love is..." But in verse eight, Paul again returns to the subject of miraculous gifts. "Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away" (vv. 8-10).

The inspired apostle clearly tells us that miracles were not intended to last forever. They would cease and come to an end. In other words, a time would come when there would be no miraculous gifts. When would that happen?

The miraculous gifts were said to be in part (vv. 9). Verse 10 says, "But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away." The miraculous gifts (which were in part) would cease and vanish away when the perfect, or complete, came.

That brings us to yet another question: what is the perfect?

And when did it come?

It is my contention that the perfect is the fully-revealed word of God (in complete, or perfect form). My reasoning goes back to the purpose of miracles and the wording of this passage. Miracles existed to confirm the word of God, right? Yes, we established that. Here in 1 Corinthians 13, the in part (incomplete) is tied to the perfect (complete). It's like a pie. A slice of apple pie relates to the whole apple pie. If miracles existed to aid in the revelation of the word of God, then the perfect here in 1 Corinthians 13 must be the complete word of God.

So Paul is basically saying that miraculous gifts would vanish away when the word of God was fully confirmed and revealed. After all, when the word was fully revealed, the purpose of miracles would cease. Do you see the point?

Some argue (and this is the only other interpretation of which I am aware), that the perfect is Jesus, and so they have miracles ending when Jesus returns. First of all, this seems to make Paul's whole point kind of meaningless, but beyond that, there is, within the text, a rebuttal of this interpretation. At the end of the chapter, in verse 13, Paul says, "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." After saying that miracles would cease, Paul says that faith, hope and love abide, or continue. Here's the question: will faith and hope continue after the return of Christ? No. There will be no need of hope in heaven (Rom. 8:24), and faith will end when we see Christ and heaven (Heb. 11:1). This "return of Jesus" interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13 cannot be reconciled with these points. Faith and hope would continue after the confirmation of the word, but it will not continue after the return of Christ.

So are miracles performed today as they were in the first century?

No.

And this is my conclusion only because it is what the word of God says.

Am I wrong? If so, tell me. Answer my arguments. Show me from the Bible that I am wrong.

I'd love to hear from you.