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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Miracles Then and Now

Last evening, we had our first Campus Bible Talk for 2012.  Our topic was "Miracles Then and Now".  We looked and Jesus' and apostles' miracles and their purpose.  We discussed their importance in the initial sharing of the Good News.  Then, we focused on how things changed when the New Testament was completed and how we use the Word of God today to introduce people to Him and to the salvation God offers to all mankind.


Below are the notes of our discussion.


January 9, 2012
Miracles Then and Now
Opening question: Think of something great that has happened lately to you, for which you are truly grateful to God – an answer to your prayers or something you have been seeking for quite some time?
Sometimes people use the word ‘miracle’ to describe something good or great that has happened in their lives.  It could be that they got a job they applied for, their team won a great victory (a cup or a championship) or even when they got to work on time in a busy traffic day.
Today we are going to look at the Bible and talk about miracles.  What were the miracles that the Bible talks about and what about miracles today?
1.         Miracles in the times of Jesus and their purpose
In order to understand the true nature and meaning of miracles, we need to look at the miracles that took place during the times of Jesus and when the New Testament was being written.
In John 11 we find the story of Jesus and Lazarus.  In this story, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, as we read in verses 41-45: 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”  43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”  44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”  45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.
So, we see that a type of miracle that Jesus performed was raising someone, Lazarus in this case, from the dead.  The purpose for this miracle was so that the people could see the power of God and realize that Jesus was sent by God and that’s where His power to perform miracles came from.
John continued saying in John 20:30-31 that: 30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
Jesus did many other miracles about which we read in the Bible.  He healed sick people, made paralyzed people walk and blind people to see again and healed many people from their evil spirits.
Jesus’ apostles also had the power to perform miracles.  This power, given to them by the Holy Spirit, allowed them to do similar miracles like Jesus for the same reason: so that people may believe they were the messengers of God.
In Acts 1:4-8, we read about the apostles: 4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
So, the apostles received the power to work miracles from the Holy Spirit and they went around the world, preaching the Word of God, the Good News of salvation that comes from God and doing miracles to prove to the people that they were truly from God, so that the people could believe in them.
Who else could work miracles besides the apostles?
The power that the Holy Spirit had given to the apostles allowed them also to transfer this power to other believes they considered as worthy to have this power.  These were trusted believes who shared in their work and who could also do good work by using this power.  So, the apostles laid their hands and transferred this power to them.
The expression “laying of hands” in the New Testament most of the time means the transfer of this power.  Occasionally, it means giving people authority, in the same way that today we give someone authority by using a seal or a certified document.
For example, in Acts 8, we read in verses 5-6:  5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. 6 And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.  Then, in verse 12: 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.  And then in verses 14-17:  14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
So, the apostles could transfer the power to do miracles to other people, but these other people, in return, could not transfer this power to other people.  Otherwise, Philip would have done so and there would have been no need for Peter and John to go to Samaria.
2.         Miracles today
What about today?  Do we have miracles today?  Does the absence of miracles means that God’s power is not at work today?  How do people believe in God today if they cannot see miracles?
The Apostle Paul warned the Christians in the first century that the gifts that the Holy Spirit could give to people (which besides the healing powers were also the ability to speak in languages they had not learned and the ability to see the future and prophesy about it) would soon end.  He says in 1 Corinthians 13:8:10 that: 8 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. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
When the last of the people on whom the apostles had laid their hands upon died, so did the miracles, the prophecies and the ability to speak in other languages without first learning them.  But what happened at the same time.  What is the thing that Paul is referring to in verse 10 – the perfect?
The Bible was completed at that time.  Tradition puts some of the books of the New Testament to have been written around 50-60 A.D., about 20 to 30 years after Jesus’ death, during the time when some of the apostles were still alive.  The rest of the books were completed over the next few years. 
When the miracles stopped, the people could read about it in the Bible.  In the early years, many of the people mentioned in books like Acts or the gospels were still alive and people could go and talk to them to check if the things were so.  Today, we have the Bible in the same form and in the same conditions as when it was first written.  Today, we believe in God and in His power to save us by studying the Bible and checking its accounts.  In the same way that someone is judged in a court of law, by listening to the eyewitnesses and people who know about the facts of the story, today we read the accounts of these witnesses, so that we too can be convinced of the miracles that God made and can believe in Him as well.  As we read in 2 Timothy 3:16-17: 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
This is not to say that God is not at work today.  When we diligently pray, God answers our prayers.  We may not see His answer in a miracle way, like the people living in Jesus’ time did, but God answers prayers.  If it is His will for you to be healed by your disease, you will.  If it is His will for you to get this job or to be admitted to that school, you will get those things.  God is always at work and He always takes care for us and our needs.
Conclusions
There was a time and a place when God chose to use miracles to support the work of His son, Jesus, and His apostles.  This time ended when the last people to whom the apostles had given the power to do miracles dies.  Today, we learn about God and His power to give us salvation from our sins by studying the Bible and by checking its facts for ourselves.

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