Miracles and Healing by Power of Holy Spirit--No. 4
MIRACLES AND HEALING BY POWER OF HOLY SPIRIT NO. 4
Miracles Physical and Spiritual Are miracles being performed today? Yes, every day but in accord with God's divine law. From the viewpoint of human wisdom, every child that is conceived and born of his mother's womb is a miracle. The origin of man was a miracle, but after his miraculous creation God gave the law of procreation. Every person who has been born into this world, from the first son of Adam and Eve to the last infant born this very minute, except the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, was miraculously conceived and born according to God's divine law of pro-creation. There is positively no exception to his law today. The birth of Christ was an exception to the law of pro-creation. It was above the law of nature, as much a miracle as the creation of Adam in the beginning.
In the spiritual realm every time a child of God is born into the kingdom of Christ, according to human wisdom, it is a miracle. The Bible speaks of all those who have been "born again" as being "new creatures" in Christ. But every child of God was born of the incorruptible seed, the word of God (1 Peter 1:22-23). That's God's law and there is no exception to that divine law of spirit-procreation. Yes, it is a miracle, but in accord with God's divine, established, and irrevocable law. No man, no law of man, nor doctrines and commandments of men, can produce, or create a child of God! Even during the days of miracles, during New Testament times, when wondrous and miraculous works were being performed by the power of the Holy Spirit through men, God's divine law of regeneration was not set aside.
Divine Healing By Constituted Law
You may ask, "Does the Bible teach divine healing?" The answer is, yes, my friends." But not miraculous healings as were done during the days of the early church. The apostle Paul referred to Luke as the beloved physician (Colossians 4:14). Jesus himself declared that they who are sick need a physician (Matthew 9:12).
God created the body by divine law. Man is of divine origin. The whole and entire body of man is constituted by law. Our God set in order definite laws for the function of all His creation. When these laws are violated, the consequences are inevitable. Because of certain violations and complications, it becomes necessary to operate on the body of man in order to heal the body. All the organs of the body operate in their regulated sphere. When the laws of nature regulating their function are violated, reconciliation, in harmony with those laws, must be accomplished to heal and restore proper functions. Man's advancement in science and development of useful instruments are avenues, placed at his disposal by Jehovah , through which man may learn more about God's laws regulating the human body, thus accomplishing healing in harmony with God's laws of nature. God is not going to send down a special instrument with which to perform a certain operation on the human body, but through the proper function of the mind of man, he has discovered and put together the useful instruments, which were created by God in the beginning, for the healing and benefit of man's body. God placed the minerals in the earth and created every substance, known and unknown to man; we make the scientific discoveries and apply the benefits to mankind, using all types of medicines and applications to the human body. That is divine healing.
A few years ago, after a major surgery, I was considered to be dead for a few minutes. The doctors could not detect a heartbeat nor a breath during those moments. I was thought to be dead, but I was healed. Not miraculous healing through the instrument of modern healer, but healed, through the providence of God, according to his laws regulating the body which he created. Without the assistance of the doctors and the medical application of those things which reconcile the organs of the body with the laws which God gave to regulate them, I am sure I would not be here to deliver this address.
God created man and every law of nature and every scientific fact of medical science, for man's benefit, should be recognized as from God. When we use the means which God has given, including medicine, surgery, and other benefits, for the healing and repairing of the body, that is di-vine healing. Remember, Jesus said, that they who are sick need a physician (Matthew 9:12).
A More Excellent Way
These miraculous works of the Spirit were never in-tended to be permanent in the church. They were given in the infancy of the church to last until "that which is perfect is come." Having admonished the Corinthians to covet the "best gifts," Paul added, ". . . yet shew I unto you a more excellent way" (1 Corinthians 12:31). Of all the gifts in the Corinthian church, some were to "pass away" and some were to abide. The apostle makes comparisons in these words: "Though I speak with tongues of men and angels ," no doubt, referring to the "divers kinds of tongues," of chapter 12:10, "and have not love, I am become as sound-ing brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy," no doubt, the "prophecy" of chapter 12:10, "and understand all mysteries," no doubt, "the word of wisdom" of chapter 12:8, "and all knowledge; and though I have all faith," no doubt, miraculous "faith" of chapter 12:9, "so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
In these verses the apostle gives appraisal of the value of love over the miraculous gifts. There must be a reason. The gifts of the Spirit were transitory; they would "pass away." Love was superior, in contrast to the impermanent miraculous gifts, because it "abideth" forever.
Miracles Limited Time Ceased
It is an incontrovertible fact, revealed in the scriptures, that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit were to cease. Paul declared, "Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away" (1 Corinthians 13:8-10). Hear it, my friends! Are you listening? The apostle emphatically declared, they "SHALL CEASE," "SHALL FAIL," "SHALL VANISH AWAY," and "SHALL BE DONE AWAY." Prophecies, tongues, and knowledge (super-natural knowledge, of course) were all to cease at the same time. They have ceased!
The Perfect Has Come The inspired apostle even suggests the time when the miracles were to cease, "when that which is perfect is come." To understand the true meaning of this statement it is well to understand the meaning of the word, "perfect." Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon, page 618, defines this word, as used in the original Greek, as meaning, "brought to its end, finished; wanting nothing necessary to completeness perfect." There can be no doubt about it. Paul would have all men to know that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit would end with the complete-ness of the revelation of the gospel of Christ. James refers to this completeness of the revelation of the gospel as "the perfect law of liberty" (James 1:25).
Gospel Once For All The inspired language of Jude is proof of the cessation of miracles. He declared, "Beloved, when I gave all dili-gence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints" (Jude 1:3).
Surely there can be no doubt about the affirmation, in this text, of the complete revelation of God's will. The theory of progressive, additional revelations is condemned, beyond doubt, and Paul adds that the curse of Almighty God rests upon anyone who would pervert, add to, or take from, the word of God (Galatians 1:7-9). There was a period of revelations to the saints and those revelations were con-firmed by the signs and miracles performed by the saints , but miracles are neither needed nor performed today. Jude exhorts that we should "earnestly contend for the faith" of the gospel once and for all delivered unto the Saints.
Mr. Thayer, an authority on New Testament Greek, defines the original Greek, as meaning: "Once, one time, used of what is so done as to be of perpetual validity and never need repetition, once for all" (Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon, page 54). This same word, "once," is used in Hebrews 9:28 with reference to the atonement of Christ: "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many . . ." The death of our Lord was "once for all," a "prepetual validity," which "never need repetition." The atonement of Christ was "once for all," complete and never to be repeated. The faith of the gospel, the word of God, "the faith," was "once" and for all time delivered unto the saints, which "never need repetition." There would be just as much need for the Son of God to die on the cross again as need for miracles and healings today. They were terminated with the fulfillment of their purpose when the gospel was "once for all" delivered unto the saints. Mir-acles "never need repetition" today no more than the atone-ment of Christ "never need repetition."
The purpose of miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit was to witness and confirm the revelation of God's word, "the faith which was once delivered unto the saints," there-fore, when the revelations were terminated the spiritual gifts were likewise terminated.
Full Grown Miracles Not Needed With the completeness of the revelation of the gospel, the church had grown from infancy to maturity. Paul illustrated this fact by comparing childhood with maturity (1 Corinthians 13:11). From childhood to maturity prophecy and supernatural knowledge were fragmentary and im-perfect, therefore, infant accompaniments of the gifts of miracles, tongues, and the word of knowledge. They were only given in "part." Now that the attainment of "that which is perfect is come," that which "is in part" is "done away."
The apostle Paul furthermore described the duration of the miraculous period of the church and the purpose of the spiritual gifts in his letter to the Ephesians, chapter 4. The purpose and duration of them are revealed in verse 11 through 14.
"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness , whereby they lie in wait to deceive."
Cessation Foretold
I submit to you, friends, that miracles were intended for a limited time only. The prophet of God, Micah, told how long they were to last. Hear him in Micah 7:15, "Ac-cording to the coming out of the land of Egypt will I show unto him marvelous things."
From the first miracle of Christ to the destruction of Je-rusalem in A. D. 70, it was 40 years the same period of time foretold by Micah: "according to the coming out of the land of Egypt." Christ was 30 years of age when he be-gan his ministry and Jerusalem was destroyed in A. D. 70, thus, the forty years of miraculous works as foretold by the prophet!
At the writing of James 5:14-15, healing was practiced, the year of 60 A. D. In A. D. 64 Paul referred to Luke as the beloved physician (Colossians 4:14-15). In A. D. 65 Paul recommended medicine for Timothy. In A. D. 65 Paul left Trophimus sick at Miletum. These scriptural facts bear evidence of the diminishing use of the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit to perform miracles. We have no record of any miracles and healing following the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
The books of the New Testament, written after the destruction of Jerusalem, include 1 John, 2 John, 3 John , written in the year of A. D. 90, and Revelation, written in the year of A. D. 96. There is no record of miracles and spiritual gifts being practiced or performed in the church in these epistles. There can be no doubt about it. Miracles, which had been given to confirm the word of God , ceased. It seems evident that miracles had become limited during the lifetime of those who did perform miracles, as was pointed out in the case of Paul's recommendation of medicine for Timothy, and the fact that he left Trophimus , his traveling companion, sick at Miletum. Without fear of successful contradiction, we may conclude that after the death of the last apostle and the death of the last person upon whom an aposle had laid his hands, there has never been another miracle performed, through the instrument of man upon this earth.
With the gospel revelation completed, established, and confirmed its prepetual validity must be accepted without additions or subtractions.
"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are writ-ten in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city , and from the things which are written in this book" (Revelation 22:18-19).
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
"Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doc-trine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doc-trine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son" (2 John 1:9).
When men claim to perform miracles today such is a denial of the power and validity of the gospel! There is not another gospel! To pervert the gospel, or preach another gospel, though claimed to be revealed from heaven, is to be accursed of God (Galatians 1:6-9).
QUESTIONS FOR MEDITATION 1. What is the difference in the miracle of creation in the beginning and the miracle of pro-creation?
2. What is divine healing by constituted law?
3. Were miracles intended to be permanent?
4. When were miracles to cease? Why?
5. If the revelation of the gospel was completed in New Testament times, could there be new revelations today?
6. What is the more excellent way?
7. If miracles are performed today, has the church reached maturity yet?
8. If that which is "perfect is come," then are miracles still needed?