Miracles and Preaching
What comes to your mind when youthink of a miracle? In modern terms, we typically connect a miracle withsomething that is improbable or unlikely to happen. We may even attribute it toGod. But in the Bible, miracles play an important role in the plan of God. Heused different kinds of signs and wonders in order to fulfill his purposes inthe world. Our faith is based on a miracle that God performed 2,000 years ago:the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. That is the miracle that weproclaim when we share the gospel.
Since God has used miracles in the past, you may be asking yourself some important questions: Does he still use miracles today? Should we look for God to perform miracles in our lives? Does God use Christians to perform miracles? These are legitimate questions, and the Bible has answers.
While God used miracles to spread the gospel in the early church, he accomplished this primarily through the preaching of his Word.
This study is not intended to be a comprehensive biblical theology of miracles. Instead, we will focus on how God used miracles in the book of Acts, specifically to further the message of his Son. We will see that while God used miracles to spread the gospel in the early church, he accomplished this primarily through the preaching of his Word.
Six Reasons for Miracles
There are six main reasons why God performs miracles in the book of Acts. Notice how all of them center around the spread of the gospel message.
Miracles met a physical need
This is one of the most recognizable reasons that miracles take place in the Bible. We see this happen in the ministry of Jesus. People came to him with serious physical maladies, so he healed them, completely and immediately.
The same kind of phenomena takes place in Acts through the ministry of the apostles. One of the best-known examples is the healing of the lame man by the temple gate (Acts 3:6-9). Peter and John were going to the temple for prayer, and a lame man stopped them to ask for money. Instead of giving him money, Peter restored strength to his legs so he could walk again. The miracle caught the attention of the crowd at the temple, so Peter took the opportunity to preach to them. After this message was preached, Luke, the writer, tells us that 5,000 people came to faith in Christ. Through this miracle, the good news of Jesus continued to spread.
What I mean by a spiritual need is that the need has some spiritual dimension to it. In the book of Acts, this is evident through casting out demons. Jesus performed these miracles in the gospels. By his authority, the apostles perform similar miracles of exorcisms and healing those who were oppressed. God used the Apostle Paul to cast out the demon of fortune-telling from a young girl in Philippi (Acts 16:17-18). By doing so, he made her owners mad, so Paul and his ministry partner Silas were imprisoned. In that prison, God used an earthquake to bring a suicidal jailer to Jesus Christ. Again, we see how a miracle brought about particular circumstances so that people could be saved.
Miracles authenticated the earthly ministry of Christ
The apostles were eyewitnesses of Jesus' life and ministry, including the miracles he performed. From their perspective, the resurrection was God's clear vindication of Jesus' message and deity. But if anyone had any question or doubt as to who Jesus was, the apostles could point to his miracles as proof of his divine claims. He was not a fake or a charlatan. He performed signs and wonders by the hand of God, and none could question the genuineness of his work. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter reminded the Jewish people of Jesus' miraculous works and used that as a proof of his message (Acts 2:22). The 3,000 converts made as a result of that sermon demonstrate how the record of Jesus’ miracles convinced people of the gospel truth.
Miracles authenticated the ministry of the apostles
Later on in chapter 2, we see how the miracles done by the apostles confirmed their part in God's plan for the Church Age. After Pentecost, the church launched with thousands of believers. In those early days, the apostles performed many miracles, and the Bible says, "fear came upon every soul" (Acts 2:43). People in Jerusalem saw the miracles and were convinced that what the apostles preached was true. As a result, the church continued to grow, and believers were established in their faith.
Miracles confirmed the inclusion of Gentiles in the church
One of the most interesting connections we see in Acts is the use of miracles to bring non-Jews into the family of God. The most striking example of this is Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10. God convinced Peter through a vision that what he has called clean, Peter should not call unclean. After this vision, Peter was beckoned to visit Cornelius and share the gospel with him. As he preached, the Holy Spirit fell upon Cornelius and his household so that they began speaking in other languages (Acts 10:44-46). The Jews that accompanied Peter were astonished that the Spirit was granted to Gentiles as well as Jews. God confirmed through this miracle that Gentiles belong in his church.
Miracles delivered the apostles from harm
The final category of reasons for miracles shows God's protection over his servants. Several times in Acts, the apostles were delivered from prison by a miracle of God. As a result, they continued to preach the gospel. On his way to Rome for trial, Paul's life was spared by God as he survived a snake bite on the island of Malta (Acts 28:3-6). This miracle gave him credibility with the natives and allowed him to minister to their chief, Publius. Ultimately, Paul’s deliverance from the viper preserved him until he could have an audience with the Roman Emperor. God protected his apostles in their ministry so they could share the good news of Jesus with as many as possible.
In all of these reasons formiracles, we see how God supernaturally furthered the work and message of thechurch. Apart from some of these miracles happening, there is no telling wherethe church would be today.
God Connects Miracles with Preaching
Miracles do not usually stand alone in the book of Acts. In conjunction with signs and wonders, God used believers to proclaim his good news. Notice three examples of this.
The Day of Pentecost
This important event marked the beginning of the church. As many of Jesus' followers gathered together, the Holy Spirit filled them with power so they could speak about Jesus Christ in many different languages (Acts 2:1-12). The crowd listening to these believers wondered if they were drunk. But Peter stood up and preached Christ's death and resurrection to them from the Old Testament. As a result of hearing the message, the audience responded, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37).
The miracle of tongues no doubt helped Peter and the other disciples declare the message, but by itself, the tongues were not totally helpful. In fact, it was almost a distraction to the audience; they thought the Christians must be drunk. But Peter's message clarified the purpose of the miracle - to declare Christ unashamedly and powerfully to the Jewish pilgrims in Jerusalem. The preaching of Scripture, coupled with the miracle, produced change in the hearts of the hearers.
The Church of Samaria
Since the early church grew so rapidly, Jewish authorities increased persecution against it. As a result, many believers fled Jerusalem and spread throughout Palestine and the Mediterranean region. They continued sharing the good news of Jesus in the places they settled. A church deacon named Philip followed this pattern by going to the most unlikely place for a Jew to settle - Samaria. In this region, he witnessed a number of conversions. His ministry focused on the clear preaching of Christ (Acts 8:5-8).
In addition to his preaching ministry, he also healed people and cast out demonic spirits. But these miracles played a subservient role to his true purpose there. His message is emphasized later in the passage - "he preached concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 8:12). Philip did not settle for a healing ministry; he trusted the message of the gospel to produce spiritual transformation.
The Church of Ephesus
As we look at Paul’s ministry to Ephesus in Acts 19, we notice that he began according to his usual pattern: reach the Jews first by preaching in the synagogue. When they rejected his message, he used a school as his next forum to preach. It was through his influence in that city that many believed so that we see in verse 10, "all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks." His impact as a witness for Jesus Christ was based on his bold proclamation of the Word.
It is only after the foundation of Scripture was established that we see God used Paul to perform unusual miracles (Acts 19:11-12). Believers soon began burning their books of magic and sorcery to show they turned away from those things to the Lord. Luke highlights these dramatic lifestyle changes in the believers by focusing on the impact of Paul’s message: "the word of God grew mightily and prevailed" (19:20). Even with the unusual miracles, God's Word still took preeminence in the ministry of Paul.
God Spreads the Gospel as Christians Proclaim His Word
What does all this information tellus about miracles? For one, we should acknowledge that God is able to spreadhis message by means of miracles. He did this in the Gospels, in Acts, and yes,he can do so today. Perhaps you have even heard stories or accounts of thishappening. My purpose in this study is not to verify whether those accounts ortrue or whether God really did them. The question for us is what we shouldexpect God to do as he continues the work of his church.
While I am firmly convinced that God can use miracles today, I am more convinced that his Word (not miracles) is the power to reach lost souls with the gospel. The way that his Word reaches lost souls is through you and me telling them. Consider these final reflections as we conclude this study.
In Acts, the Word of God grew in prominence as miracles became less frequent.
When you read the book of Acts, you will notice a peculiar pattern. Miracles play a heavy role in the early years of the church, particularly in the ministry of the apostles in Jerusalem. But as the story of the church continues, miracles feature less and less prominently. Miracles don’t go away, but they don't seem as important to the progress of the church. In Peter's ministry, you see miracles wherever he goes.
This is also true of Philip's ministry in Samaria. In Paul's travels, you see different accounts of miracles in all three of his journeys. But in his ministry, you also see the distinct role that God's Word played in his effectiveness. In Acts 17, he preached to the philosophers of Athens and saw many saved there (Acts 17:22-34). We already noted in Ephesus that the word of God captured the attention of that city. At the end of the book when Paul is under house arrest in Rome, we do not see him performing miracles or casting out demons in order to validate his message. Instead, we see him preaching the kingdom of God (28:30-31). The message of Acts is that the gospel was spread through ordinary believers as they obeyed Jesus in fulfilling the Great Commission.
The Great Commission compels us to teach all nations.
This brings us to an important command from Jesus himself in Matthew 28. If miracles were necessary for the church to flourish, then you would think Jesus would mention that in his last words to the disciples. Instead, his final words were to "teach all nations", specifically to teach them everything he had taught (Matt 28:19-20). We have everything Jesus taught recorded in the New Testament. In order to obey this command from our Lord, we don't need to wait for him to perform signs and wonders. We just need to be obedient in getting his Word to the people who need to hear it.
The Word of God is powerful and convincing.
There have been times in my Christian life that I have wondered why I haven’t seen God do miracles today. Whenever he performs one in the Bible, it seems like people respond. I think God still does miracles today because that is the only way some people will believe on him. But in our Western culture in which God's Word is so prevalent and we have the freedom to proclaim it, we have no excuse to keep us from sharing it with others. God wants us to be convinced that his Word is just as powerful as it has ever been. When preached with clarity and boldness, it has the power to change lives and discern the thoughts of men (Heb 4:12).
As you serve the Lord in your localchurch and in your personal life, consider what you expect God to do. Are youexpecting the simple declaration of the gospel to change minds and hearts? Whenyou engage in evangelism and outreach, go forward in the confidence thatScripture is powerful to transform lives when proclaimed through ordinarybelievers.
