This article is not about whether or not miracles were performed in the first-century church. THEY WERE! Jesus performed miracles. The apostles performed miracles. Many members of the church of Christ, in general, performed miracles in the first century. Anyone who believes in the Bible knows that this is true. So again, whether or not miracles were performed in the first century is not the focus of this article.
This article is not about having faith in the power of God. As faithful Christians, we believe firmly and confess confidently that God is all-powerful and that there is no limit to what He can do. That is not the question this article is striving to answer. That God can perform miraculous deeds whenever and wherever He wants was affirmed by the angel Gabriel when he said concerning the miraculous conception of Mary, “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37). We stand upon the truth and rest upon the reality that God is all-powerful and can do anything He wants to do. He created this universe miraculously just by the power of His Word. He created man miraculously out of the dust of the ground. There is no doubt that we serve an omnipotent God.
However, whether or not God is in the miracle-performing business today is not determined by God’s power – it is determined by God’s will. Charismatics like to say that those who deny miraculous activity have a lack of faith. I want to go on record as saying that as members of the Lord’s church, we have as much faith in the power of God as anyone, but faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). So then, it is not a question of faith, it is a question of what the Bible teaches. This is what this article is about—what the Bible teaches about miracles. Emotionalism will not give us the answer! Religious rhetoric will not give us the answer! Relying on manmade testimonials and claims of human experiences will not give us the answer! The answer is found in one place and one place alone—the Bible.
Those who claim they can perform miracles today claim that they do so by the power of Christ. If such is the case, then miracles today should be of the same quality and nature as those performed by Him. He had power over nature (Matthew 8:26), demons (Matthew 8:16), material things Matthew 14:15-21), disease and sickness (Matthew 4:23; 9:35), and even over death (John 11:20-45).
Why are these kinds of miracles not being performed by anyone today? Why do we not see these so-called miracle workers today multiplying bread and giving food to the hungry? I will tell you why—they cannot do it! They cannot raise the dead. They cannot heal all manner of sickness. They can only pretend to perform miracles that consist of inward, unverifiable illnesses. Why? The answer is that they have no power at all.
The miracles of the apostles were just like the miracles of Christ. They healed all manner of sickness (Acts 19:11-12). They raised the dead (Acts 9:36-42). They cast out devils (Mark 6:12-13). They were even able to resist venom from snakes (Acts 28:1-6). Do we see these kinds of miracles today? No! If we did, there would be no doubt about miraculous activity going on, but we do not see so-called “faith healers” doing these kinds of things. When the apostles healed someone, there was no doubt about it (Acts 4:15-16). Now, if indeed those who claim to be performing miracles today do so by the same Spirit as did the apostles, why do they not perform the same kind of miracles?
Another difference between the genuine miracles of the Bible and the pseudo miracles of today is seen in the fact that in the first century there were no failures when one attempted to perform a miracle. Today we could give several examples of failures. Here is of them. In Miami, Florida a so-called faith healer by the name of Jack Coe claimed to heal a little boy of polio. After shouts of “Jesus, heal this body!” he ordered his braces to be removed. When the braces were removed, the boy fell to the floor. Later a doctor said that the braces must be replaced or the child would suffer permanent injury. Ironically, Mr. Coe eventually died of polio (The Holy Spirit, V.E. Howard, pg. 181).
One more distinction between the genuine miracles found in God’s Word and the fake one being set forth today is that in the New Testament, miracles took place immediately. They did not get better gradually. Today it is sometimes claimed that the healing might take several weeks or even months. The simple truth is if miracles were going on today, they would be just like the ones you read about in the New Testament. If not, why not?