Miracles and Healing by Power of Holy Spirit - No. 1
MIRACLES AND HEALING BY POWER OF HOLY SPIRIT NO. 1
Friends, our subject for discussion is: "Miracles and Healings by Power of the Holy Spirit." What is a miracle? Are miracles and divine healings possible today? These are questions worthy of consideration.
Someone has defined a miracle as "something contrary to the laws of nature," but this definition is incorrect. Rather, a miracle is something above the laws of nature; something that laws of nature could not do in its ordinary course and operations. To illustrate: no law of nature ever brought Adam and Eve forth in this world at maturity and without parents. In other words, nature never produced life without parents.
It is not a miracle for an oak tree to produce an acorn, nor for the acorn to produce the oak, but it is a miracle to produce an oak tree without an acorn, or an acorn without the oak tree. The first tree, or the first acorn, was a miracle. The first man and woman were a miracle. In fact ladies and gentlemen, everything; every specie of life, animal, insect, and vegetable began by miracle. The beginning was a miracle!
What is a miracle? It is that which is above the laws of nature! Something beyond the finite mind and ability of man. No law of nature ever raised a person from the dead. A miracle has done so! No law of nature ever gave immediate hearing to the totally deaf, sight to the blind, speech to the dumb, nor legs to the lame! Miracles have done so! My friends, no law of nature can multiply "five loaves and two small fishes" sufficiently to feed five thousand per-sons and have "twelve baskets full of fragments" left over! No law nor circumstance, without divine interposition, could enable men to speak in some fifteen or seventeen languages which they had never studied or learned. A miracle evidently is above all human concept, law, and regulation. It is divine!
Pretentious Miracles
There may be pretenders to perform miracles who may sometimes seem to succeed in their deceptive pretensions. Pretenders fail, but miracles never fail! An example of ancient pretenders of miracles may be found in Daniel, the second chapter. Old Nebuchadnezzar demanded of his "would-be" miracle performers, or magicians, to tell his dream that he had forgotten and give the interpretation of it. Realizing that this was beyond their power they cunningly replied, "Let the king tell his dream, and we will show the interpretation of it." But the king insisted, say-ing, "Tell me the dream and I shall know that you can show me the interpretation." Then, acknowledging complete failure, these deceitful workers replied, "there is not a man in the earth that can show the king's matter." King Nebuchadnezzar was wroth and displeased with their lying pre-tenses, and declared, "There is but one decree for you, make known to me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, or ye shall be cut to pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill!"
To expose the deceitful work of these "would be" miracle performers, God sent Daniel, the prophet of God, to the king and made known to him his dream and the interpretation of it. I tell you, my friends, God has a way to expose the false claims of pretenders.
Is it possible for man to perform miracles and divine healings today, as in Bible times? By miracles, and divine healings, we mean those as revealed and manifested in the word of God, such as taking up serpents and not being harmed, drinking deadly poison without injury, raising the dead, and healing the sick. These are miracles indeed; a power above the laws of nature.
According to Mark 16:17-18 these acts accompanied the works of the early disciples in the church. Christ sent the twelve to "heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, and cast out demons," as revealed in Matthew 10:8. Now, the question is, are these miracles, or any other miracles, performed today? Do men today have the power to perform such miracles?
Purpose of Miracles
First, let us observe the purpose or design of miracles and healings. That will help much to answer the question at hand.
The design and purpose of miracles was two-fold: namely, to confirm the word of God, and make men believe that Jesus was the Son of God. Hear the apostle in Hebrews 2:2-4 : "For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, ac-cording to his own will?"
The great purpose of miracles was to establish the foundation truth of Christianity and salvation, that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. In John 20:30-31 Jesus declared, "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name."
Miracles and divine healings, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and performed by the apostles and disciples of Christ, were to convince the world that their message of salvation was from Christ, and that they were divinely chosen and sent by God. Miracles were their credentials! In Mark 2:2-12 we have the record of the paralytic. There were infidels present then, as there are infidels today. Some of them accused Him of blasphemy, but Jesus said, recorded in verse 10, "But that ye may know that the Son of man hath authority (or power) on earth to forgive "sins.
Nicodemus was convinced that Jesus was the Christ be-cause of the miracles he did. In John 3:2 he said, "we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him."
The purpose of miracles performed in New Testament times was so different from the purpose of "pretenders" today. The main theme and plea of these modern miracle performers is healing of the sick and diseased bodies. The matter of physical healing is so important to them that they have little to say about Christ's gospel, which is the power of God to save the sin sick soul. I can tell you, la-dies and gentlemen, Jesus, nor His disciples, ever healed anyone of physical disease merely for purpose of healing the body. As stated already, the purpose of miraculous healings was to make men believe that Jesus was the Son of God and to confirm the word spoken as His word. The sick were not healed just because they were sick. The sick who were miraculously healed, were not immune from sickness or disease again. The dead who were raised from the dead would die again!
Word Confirmed When the word was spoken by men of God, who were guided by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21, John 16:13), it was confirmed by the miracles and wonders that accompanied the preaching of the word. Once the word was confirmed as the word of God, it was forever and eternally confirmed as His word. There is no such thing as reconfirming the word of God. When the high court of our land confirms the decision of a lower court it is for all time confirmed. When the word of God was confirmed by signs, miracles and wonders it was confirmed, confirmed for eternity. It is absurd for poor, weak, and foolish men to presume to aid the infinite wisdom of God by presuming to perform miracles, assuming to re-confirm God's word, which has already been confirmed by God's chosen men who were guided by the Holy Spirit.
No Power For Miracles
Miracles and healings have ceased because the means of securing miraculous power to perform miracles have ceased. The New Testament reveals two means of bestowing miraculous power upon men chosen by God. One: the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4; Acts 2:43). Two: the laying on hands of the apostles. (Acts 8:14-40; Acts 19:1-7).
The Bible reveals only one recorded example of Holy Spirit baptism in New Testament times. According to Acts 2:4, the twelve apostles received it. In Acts 10:44 and Acts 11:18 it revealed that a special miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit was bestowed upon Cornelius and his household. Of course the Apostle Paul, as a special chosen apostle, was endowed with the Holy Spirit and was divinely guided by the Spirit. (Galatians 1:11-12). This last occurrence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which we have a record of, was about the year of A. D. 33. Some twenty-three years later the apostle Peter wrote about water baptism which saves (1 Peter 3:20-21). The Holy Spirit, through Paul, declared there is "one baptism" now. Obviously, that is water baptism. We must, therefore, scripturally conclude that there is no baptism of the Holy Spirit now , as a source for miraculous works.
Oh, yes, I am quite aware that many today claim to have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but you may be sure, my friends, no man or woman on earth today has ever received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. If any man today ever received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, he could do the miraculous works the apostles did and he could speak by inspiration as did the apostles. But that, no man can do! The very fact that men cannot perform the miraculous works done by the apostles is evidence of the fact that no man has received the baptism of the Holy Spirit as did the apostles. The very fact that no man today has received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as did the apostles, is evidence of that fact that man cannot perform miracles as did the apostles.
The Bible does teach that God's people receive the Holy Spirit, as a gift, when they obey the gospel, (Acts 5:32. and Acts 2:38), but not the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Some people, it seems, become confused every time they read anything in the Bible about the Holy Spirit. Every time the Holy Spirit is mentioned they think it means the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is a gross mistake! There is only ONE baptism today (Ephesians 4:5). That is water baptism. Read Acts 8:35-39 1 Peter 3:20-21; Mark 16:15-16).
Power Through Laying On Of Hands The apostles were the only ones in the Jerusalem church who could work miracles until they imparted this power to others (Acts 2:43 and Acts 5:12). The seven deacons could perform miracles only after the apostles laid their hands upon them (Acts 6:6). Stephen could perform miracles (Acts 6:8). Philip could perform miracles (Acts 8:6), but not until after the laying on of the apostles' hands.
Although Philip could do miraculous work, he could not impart this power to others. He went to Samaria, preached the gospel and confirmed the word with miracles. Many believed and were baptized into Christ (Acts 8:12). It was necessary for Peter and John, apostles of Christ, to go from Jerusalem to Samaria and lay hands on the new converts and impart to them miraculous power of the Spirit to confirm the word by miracles (Acts 8:14-21).
Simon evidently recognized that it was through the laying on of hands of the apostles that miraculous powers were imposed upon others (Acts 8:18). He "saw that through laying on of the apostles hands the Holy Spirit was given" and he offered them money to purchase that power. Peter informed him that this "gift of God" could not be pur-chased. Furthermore, he declared, "Thou host neither part nor lot in this matter" (verses 20, 21). From this text we are forced to the conclusion that the "gift of God," obviously, the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, was received only by the early Christians "through laying on of the apostles' hands."
Another example of the laying on of the apostles' hands is found in Acts 19:1-6. At Ephesus Paul "laid his hands upon them and the Holy Spirit came upon them; and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied." The Ephesians spoke in tongues and prophesied only after they had received the Holy Spirit through the laying on of the apostle Paul's hands. Also, there can be no doubt that Paul conferred this miraculous gift upon Timothy through the laying on of his hands (2 Timothy 1:6).
Ladies and gentlemen, hear it! Are you listening? . . . It is evident that only apostles could lay their hands on men and confer on them the power to do miraculous works. Like Philip, who was not an apostle, those who had the power to perform miracles, who were not apostles, could not bestow that power to someone else. The apostles have been dead more than nineteen hundred years now. The last persons upon whom the apostles laid their hands and conferred miraculous power have been dead now about nineteen hundred years. When the last apostle died and the last person upon whom the apostles laid their hands died, miracles ceased. Regardless of all the fantastic and ridiculous claims made by men and churches, there have been none since!
Use Limited
According to Acts 28:3; Acts 28:5; Acts 28:8-9 the apostle Paul had power to heal the sick and render harmless the bite of a poisonous serpent. Yet, he left his traveling companion, Trophimus, at Miletum sick (2 Timothy 4:20). The apostle had the power to heal, but he did not heal even his traveling companion , just because he was sick! He also had another traveling companion who was sick, Epaphroditus (Php 2:25-26). Timothy, Paul's son in the gospel, and a preacher of the gospel himself, was told by Paul to take some wine for his stomach's sake (1 Timothy 5:23). Miracles were not always performed by those who had the miraculous power to heal , as the practice of miraculous works were being terminated.
My friends, miracles and healings were never for the physical benefit of man, neither were they to show the faith of the person through whom the Spirit of God performed the miracle. Yes, the sick were healed, the dead were raised, and the poisonous bites from snakes were rendered harmless, but such were miracles and performed only by those whom God especially chose and appointed for that special purpose. There is not a man on earth today that has ever performed a miracle. There are quite a number, however, who are in their graves because they attempted to perform miracles by handling snakes and allowing them to bite them. Others have gone to their graves because they refused medical aid to help sustain health, according to the laws of nature! A number of times people, including some parents, have been carried into the civil courts of our land because they contributed to the death of innocent children by refusing them medical attention to help sustain health of body, according to the laws of nature. Surely, there can be no doubt about the honesty and sincerity of those mistaken parents. Some of them lost their children, whom they loved dearly, in death because of their misunderstanding of God's word!
QUESTIONS FOR MEDITATION 1. What is a miracle?
2. What was the purpose of miracles?
3. What was the source of power to perform miracles?
4. Were miracles performed for mere physical benefit of man?
5. Why should miracles not be performed today?
6. Who was able to impart miraculous power by laying on of hands?
7. Why could not all Christians impart miraculous power of the Holy Spirit?