Austin Bible Church
The temporary spiritual gift of miracles was the ability to perform a miracle at will. This was the sign that he was from God. Faith of the person who had the gift of performing miracles was not required. It didn't depend on how strong or weak his personal faith was. It depended upon God the Holy Spirit to get the job done. God the Holy Spirit performed the miracles through the one who had the gift of miracles. 1 Cor. 12:28.
"And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues." (1 Corinthians 12:28, NASB)
Miracles and healing do occasionally occur in the Church Age as a sovereign decision of God. This is not the objective in the Church Age because, for the first time, we have something greater than any miracle - the completed written Canon of Scripture. One line from the Word of God is worth all the miracles that have ever been performed. The Word in your life must be more important to you than anything else. Psalms 138:2; Heb. 4:12.
"I will bow down toward Your holy temple And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name." (Psalms 138:2, NASB)
"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12, NASB)
This temporary spiritual gift of miracles was designed to authenticate and certify communication gifts during the Apostolic Age. This gift was used by apostles, prophets, pastor-teachers, or evangelists to establish their authority in the early Church. 2 Cor. 12:12.
"The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles." (2 Corinthians 12:12, NASB)
The purpose of miracles was to call attention to the message given by the person. It was their credit card, establishing the authority of the Word taught by the individual. The purpose was not just to alleviate human suffering. Otherwise, our Lord would have been remiss in not healing everyone when He was on earth. Miracles were designed to focus attention on the power of God and the Word of God. Miracles were designed to focus attention on the one with the message from God. The fact that miracles often alleviated suffering was incidental to their purpose. It was an after-the-fact result. The greatest thing in life is not a miracle, but Bible doctrine resident in your soul.
Miracles are sovereign and personal, never in the hands of a human being during the Post-canon period of the Church Age. Paul performed miracles, indicating that he had the gift of Apostleship. Therefore, he was given a hearing. Whenever our Lord performed a miracle, it was always in relationship to His message. The message of Bible doctrine is infinitely more important than any miracle that has ever occurred. Acts 8:13.
"Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed." (Acts 8:13, NASB)
Today, no one has the gift of miracles. Further, no one has had this gift since 96 A.D. because of the completion of the Canon of Scripture. The greatest miracle of all is the power of Bible doctrine in the life of the positive believer who makes doctrine their highest priority in life.
People tended to lean on miracles during the Apostolic Age and resulted in apostasy. Whenever someone had a problem, instead of using and applying Bible doctrine, they waited for a miracle to occur to get them out of their situation. Miracles became the basis for leading many into apostasy, even though it was legitimate at that time.
Remember, the Jews saw all of these gifts and wonders for 40 years, yet the majority of the Jewish nation rejected Jesus Christ as their Savior. This led to their destruction in 70 A.D. Today, no believer has the gift of miracles. God performs miracles today, as in every age, according to His sovereign will. No miracles are performed today by any human through a spiritual gift.
Be aware that Satan has a clever system for duplicating miracles. Also, you should already know that there is no such thing as an intermediary between you and God for the performance of miracles. There are no ceremonies to perform or system of prayers to complete for a miracle to happen. Believers who practice this today insult God as though He were a genie to grant wishes apart from His sovereign will.
The false function of miracles today is designed to call attention to man. It's an ego trip for the arrogant person trying to control and influence a lot of people with no understanding of Bible doctrine. Miracles are not the issue today. The fact that people ask and pray for miracles means they do not begin to understand the true greatness of God's power or the greatness of His plan for every believer.
One of the easiest things God can do for us is to perform a miracle. This is because it does not require any cooperation or positive volition from any of us. It only requires a decision from the sovereignty of God and the use of His omnipotence. The greatest demonstration of God's power toward mankind was sending His Son to be our substitute on the Cross. The next greatest thing He did was to provide the grace apparatus for perception for all believers. In this way, we can all achieve God’s plan through consistent intake and application of Bible doctrine. We also glorify Him because He provides it all. All we do is stay with His plan through faith.
We have something greater than any miracle today. We have the entire written Word of God for the human race. This is God's miracle of the ages. The Word of God in your life must be more important to you than anything else.