In the early twentieth century, there was a so-called revival of Pentecostalism. Pentecostalism describes a religious movement more than it does an organized church. There are what we call Pentecostal churches, the largest of which are the Assemblies of God and the Church of God in Christ, but there is a spirit of Pentecostalism in many mainstream denominations today. We sometimes refer to these churches as being charismatic. Charismatic churches believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit for all believers, speaking in tongues, and the divine power of faith healing and prophecy. In other words, they believe in miraculous demonstrations of the Spirit, and their worship services emphasize the gifts of the Spirit listed by Paul in First Corinthians 12, especially healing and speaking in tongues. Since miracles were a part of the first-century church, let us take a few nights to examine the miraculous element that existed in the early church.
That miracles were performed in the first century is a foregone conclusion. Jesus and His apostles, as well as many members of the church, performed miracles! The question is, does the miraculous power that was experienced by saints in the first century exist today? The answer is no.
Some would say that the only reason I say no is because I have a lack of faith. The truth is it is not about faith at all. I believe firmly and confess confidently that God is all-powerful and that there is no limit to what He can do. He can perform miraculous deeds whenever and wherever He wants to do so. As the angel Gabriel said regarding the miraculous conception of Mary, “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37). God can do anything He wants to do. He created this universe just by the power of His word. He created man out of the dust of the ground. There is no doubt about the omnipotence of God. Whether or not He is in the miracle-performing business today is not determined by God’s power, it is determined by His will.
What does the Bible teach about the existence of miracles? That is the question, and it cannot be answered by emotionalism or religious hype and rhetoric. Relying on manmade testimonials and the claim of human experiences will not give us the answer either. The answer is found in one place, and one place only, that is, in the word of God.
As I stated previously, Jesus, the apostles, and early church members all performed miracles. What was the nature of those miracles? Since those who claim they can perform miracles today say that they do so by the same power as those in the first century, the miracles they perform should be of the same quality and nature as those in the first century, but that is not the case. The miracles we read about in the Bible demonstrated power over nature, demonic powers, and all manner of sickness and disease, including death, and, regarding the apostles, the ability to transfer miraculous power to others.
Do we see these kinds of miracles today? No! If we did, there would be no doubt about miraculous activity going on, but we do not see the so-called faith healers doing these kinds of things. They heal inward disease and sickness. They heal people that no one knows so that the miracle cannot be verified by anybody. When the apostles healed someone, it was verifiable and undeniable. In other words, there was no doubt about it (Acts 4:15-16). If indeed those who claim to be performing miracles today do so by the same Spirit as did the apostles, why do they not perform the same kind of miracles?
I can tell why we do not see the kinds of miracles we read about in the bible today. It is because they have ceased. This can be easily proven not only logically, as I have done in this blog tonight, but also scripturally, and I will do that in tomorrow night’s blog.
As you wind down for the night, think about these things.