In last night’s blog, I indicated that miracles have ceased.  I looked at it simply from a logical standpoint, pointing out that if miracles were still going on today, they would be of the same nature as they were in the first century.  The fact that they are not says volumes about the veracity of the claims of modern-day faith healers.  Now I want to prove that they have ceased scripturally.

One of the reasons we know that miracles have ceased is because the scriptural purposes for them have ceased.  When we see that the purposes of miracles have ceased, we should not have much of a problem seeing that the miracles themselves have ceased.  So, what were the purposes of first-century miracles?

Why did Jesus perform miracles?  It was primarily for confirmation.  He performed them to prove that He was the Messiah sent by God (John 2:23; 3:1-2; 6:14; 10:22-38).  Now then, do we need to see miracles performed today to believe that Jesus is the Christ?  No, we have the word of God for that.  Not only does God’s word confirm that Jesus is the Son of God, but it also records for us some of the miracles He performed so that we might believe (John 20:30-310).

What about the miracles performed by the apostles of Christ?  Their miracles were also performed for specific purposes.  What were those purposes?  Consider the following:

• To reveal God’s Word {inspiration} (John 16:13; Acts 1:8).
• To confirm God’s Word {confirmation} (Mark 16:19-20; Hebrews 2:1-4).
• To verify their apostolic office (2 Corinthians 12:11-12).

Do we need miracles for these reasons?  No!  First, revelation is complete. Second, the Bible does not need miraculous confirmation because it confirms itself by way of fulfilled prophecy, pre-scientific knowledge, and archeological evidence.  Thirdly, miracles are not needed to prove one’s apostleship because there are no apostles today.  The church today has the same apostles as she has always had.  They have all died, but their work and words continue to be with us.

Finally, what about the miracles performed by the average saint in the first century?   The purpose of the miracles performed by early saints was again to confirm the word and to build up the church (Mark 16:19-20).  Remember, they did not have the written word at that time; thus, without miraculous ability, they could not have survived.  Their miracles, then, were for edification.  Today, we have the word of God to edify us (2 Peter 1:3).

Since the purposes for miracles have ceased, there is no longer a reason for them. But there is another more compelling reason we can be so sure that they no longer exist—one could only receive miraculous power by the laying on of an apostle’s hands.  This is clearly seen in Acts 8 where we find Philip, an evangelist who had miraculous power, preaching to the people of Samaria.  Previously, they had been bewitched by the trickery of a magician named Simon.  But when they heard the preaching of Philip and saw the signs that he did, many of them believed and were baptized, both men and women, including Simon (Acts 8:5-13).

When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John who laid hands on them so that they might receive a miraculous measure of the Holy Spirit (vers 14-17).  The question is, why didn’t Philip give them the Holy Spirit?  Remember, he had miraculous powers himself.   The undeniable answer is that he could not do so.  Only the apostles could do that.  This is affirmed in the text.

Acts 8:18–19 (ESV)
¹⁸ Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, ¹⁹saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 

How was the Spirit given?  The passage says, “through the laying on of the apostles’ hands.”  That is the only way a person could receive a miraculous measure of the Holy Spirit and, thereby, have miraculous powers.  If just any Christian with miraculous powers could have done that, Philip surely would have.  Instead, the apostles had to come all the way from Jerusalem to give it to the believers in Samaria because they were the only ones who could.  We see this again in Acts 19:1-7.

Now, the point is this, if only the apostles could transfer miraculous powers to others, then those powers must have died with them.  There is no other conclusion to come to.  Furthermore, this truth is confirmed to us in 1 Corinthians 13.  Tomorrow night, I will look at that passage with you.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.