The Cessation of Miraculous Gifts

8/14/2019 The Cessation of Miraculous Gifts

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Preached:

Memorial Parkway church of Christ (Huntsville, AL) (July 2008)

LR

The Cessation of Miraculous Gifts

Christianity 101: Lesson 12Introduction

A. We live in a confused religious world. So often, we are told conflicting things

about the same subject; thus the large number of churches around us, all

teaching different things about the same subjects. Sadly, so few are willing

to be honest or even open when it comes to thinking about a subject in view

of Gods Word.

B. One of those topics is our subject for this lesson. As per our assignment in

this series, we will be looking at miracles.

1. Recently, I was listening to a program by a denominational preacher, as

he introduced a series on miraculous gifts. I was eagerly anticipating his

lessons for many reasons, but one reason was because of this lesson

tonight.

2. I was upset, though, when he began the series by showing the listeners

two stacks of books. Remember that I was listening to this sermon, so I

couldnt see what he was doing, but it seemed like he had a stack on

either side of the pulpit.

3. He introduced the series and said that this was an issue with which he had

struggled for many years. I thought that was fine to admit. People need

to know that preachers struggle from time-to-time, too.

4. Then he told them what the books were. One stack, he said, was from

authors that believed that miraculous gifts are still available and used,and that we should be seeking our miracle. The other stack was by

writers who said that, no, miraculous giftsat least in the way they are

described in the NThave no place in the church today.

5. Now here is the part that upset me. I listened to most of that series

despite what the preacher did next. He told the listeners that he had

struggled with the issue, BUT he felt that it was time to preach on it. He

wanted to consider both sides (which is fine), but (now notice) he wanted

to just see where we end up. To give a basic summary, he was saying

that he still didnt know if there were miracles today, but he was going to

preach on it anyway and just see where he ended up. Thats truly sad!6. Tonight we are going to examine miracles, most specifically in the NT, and

then we will do our best to answer the question as to whether or not NT

miraculous gifts are still available and used today. I know we can find the

answer to that question in the NT.

C. Before looking at modern claims and the Bible, lets make sure we

understand what we are talking about.


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1. As with so many other words, the word miracle is used in dozens of

different ways today, and those usages can cloud our thoughts as to what

we are thinking about when we talk about miracles in the Bible.

2. Some use the word often when something amazing happens. We often

hear it thrown around in the world of sports. If one team defeats another

that it was not supposed to beat, we refer to it as a miracle victory. Wetalk of miraculous comebacks or catches. I think we understand that we

are using the word miracle in that way just to refer to something amazing.

3. More often, though, people use the word miracle in reference to

something medical. Most specifically, we will hear the word used in

reference to the birth of a baby. Hes our little miracle,or That was a

miracle are statements we hear often just after the birth of a baby. While

totally amazing and awe inspiring, birth happens all over the world every

day. It is amazing, but it is not a miracle.

4. Some of you know that our oldest child, Mary Carol, is adopted, while

Turner, our son, is not. Because he was born after we were told we could

not have children, many call him a miracle baby. It was amazing, but it

was not a miracle.

5. So, just what are we speaking of when we refer to something as a

miracle? Bernard Ramm gives this definition that I think is short, but

accurate: A given, transcendent, supernatural act of Gods power. Lets

break that into its parts briefly:

a. Given. A miracle is an act that can be reported. While we may not

be able to explain it completely, there are details that are a part of the

action.

b. Transcendent. It is above the ordinary. We sometimes speak of

someone in sports having a transcendent moment when he or she hasa great game. From that use of the word, we can get something of the

meaning. It is out of the ordinary. More than that, it is above the

ordinary.

c. Supernatural act. This is where we remove such things as the birth

of a child from the realm of a miracle. Having a child, while amazing,

is a natural action. The same is true of great feats of athleticism.

While they may be amazing, and I, personally, may not be able to do

them, they are still natural acts. A supernatural act is something that

is removed from the realm of acts of nature.

d. Gods power. When we read of something in the Bible that is amiracle, it might have been done through the agency of man, but the

miracles could not have happened without God. They are acts from

Him.

6. If I may, let me give one more similar definition. This was written by

George Fisher in his Manual of Christian Evidences. He defined miracle in

this way: A miracle is an event which the forces of natureincluding the


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natural powers of mancannot of themselves produce, and which must,

therefore, be referred to a supernatural agency.

a. I wanted to add this definition because of one thing Fisher pointed out,

b. He makes mention that a miracle cannot be done by the natural

powers of man. He admits in that definition that man can do miracles

(or, rather, he couldin certain times), but not because of mans ownpower. A miracle only comes from the supernatural; it only comes from

God.

D. With the word defined, let us take the next few minutes to discuss miracles in

the Bible, and then tackle our question: have miracles as they occurred in the

Bible ceased, or can men still perform miracles with Gods aid and sanction?

I. First, lets notice the Biblical Classifications of Miracles.

A. In 1998 Wayne Jackson made a list of several types of miracles

recorded in the Bible. (This list is included in an article upon which I

relied heavily for this lesson.) He then listed them with just a few of

each type. All told there are ___ miracles according to ____ recorded in

the Bible. So the following examples of each type of miracle are by no

means meant to be exhaustive of the type.

1. Firstly, there are supernatural acts of creation. Obviously, the

clearest example is found in Genesis 1-2. God spoke everything

material into existence and those things came to be. Psalm 33:9

teaches, For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it

stood firm. Creation from nothing by the power of words is a

miracle.

2. Secondly, there were, as brotherJackson words it, miracles which

involved a temporary and localized suspension of laws regulatingnature. As we think of this category, we might list events such as

Jesus stilling the storm on the Sea of Galilee, or God causing the

sun to stand still so His army would win a grand victory.

3. The third category, and the one that so many still attempt to claim

to perform, involved physical healing of the body. This was done by

Jesus and His apostles, as blind people were given sight, lame and

maimed were healed completely, and those who had issues with

bleeding were healed.

4. Next, and in extension of physical healing, were those instances

where the dead were raised. Elijah raised the dead in the OT,Jesusraised Lazarus, a widows son, a centurions daughter and others.

Paul raised Eutychus. The most famous, though, was the

resurrection of Jesus Himself, which serves as the basis of belief in

Him, as Paul reminded us in a powerful way in First Corinthians 15.

5. Fifthly, there were many miracles in the NT that dealt with

exorcising demons from those who were afflicted. At times, these

were connected with physical maladies, too. Maybe the most


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healing and then, at a later service, someone comes to the stage

and says, The next week I started to get better, or Within a

month the problem was gone. Do you not find it interesting that

the effects of the miracles in the Bible were immediate?

4. Add to that, the miracles performed in the NT had more than just

temporary interest. 2000 years later, not only are we still talkingabout these miracles, we are still affected by them. They still hold

our interest and build our faith. Modern claims of miracles might

hold some interest for a few weeks, months, or even a few years,

but usually that interest is no more than the neighborhood or town

in which the claim was made. The miracles of the NT hold the

interest of the world two millennia after the fact.

5. Add to that, every miracle was subject to perception by one or more

of the human senses. There was not some mystical effect; the

effects were real and discernable. It is worth noting that these

effects did not even need a second opinion! The results were

obvious. For example, when Jesus turned water in wine, it was

tasted and noted to be the best (John 2:9).

6. Add to that what might be the most important factor for when we

turn our attention to modern claims: there is not possible secondary

source or cause. For example, we have the ear of the servant of

the high priest that was cut off in a brutal fashion. Jesus did not

sow it back on. He simply touched the ear and it was fully restored.

There is no other way to explain this type of action than as a

miracle.

7. Finally, add to our list that miracles in the Bible were done with a

moral and worthy motive involved. There was not a financialmotive, as is so often the case with claims today. The miracles

were done with the idea of proving God was powerful, that the

words spoken were from Him, and with the healing of the people in

mind. One example comes from the life of Peter and John. When

Peter healed a lame man, there was no money involved. In fact,

Peter wasnt interested in money, since he didnt have any!

III. That Leads us to a Key Word: Confirmation

A. Mark 16:20 teaches us the reason for the miracles performed by Jesus

and those with Him: And they went out and preached everywhere,while the Lord worked with them, and confirmedthe word by the signs

that followed.

B. We also have the same idea in Hebrews, near the beginning of that

great book of belief. Hebrews 2:3-4 speaks of the word, spoken

through the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard; God also

bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by


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manifold powers, and by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His

own will.

C. In both references (Mark 16 and Hebrews 2) the word confirmed

comes from the same Greek word.

1. The word, bi-bye-ah-o, according to Strongs can mean, to make

firm, establish, confirm, or make sure.2. According to Colin Brown, the word carries with it the idea of

evidence that establishes the validity of the divinely-given word.

D. So, if the miracles confirmed the word, then they accomplished their

purpose and there is no reason to even attempt to perform miracles

today!

IV. C essation

A. With all that in mind, let us not turn our attention to our theme for the

evening: have miracles ceased or do they continue to be performed?

B. Before answering that question, let me quickly dismiss one thing. I

have heard people say things to this effect: If we could just have

miracles,or bigger miracles today, more people would believe and

come to Jesus. I think we can dismiss that quite easily for one very

simple reason: there is no way we could ever do greater miracles than

those Jesus did, and not many believed Him! Miracles confirm the

word and we have the records of dozens of miracles to help us

establish our faith in Jesus.

C. Now, as we begin to answer our question, lets turn to the end of the

Gospel according to John. Near the end of that book, John wrote his

purpose statement. John 20:30-31 tells us that Jesus did many signs

which were not recorded, but that the ones in John are written thatyou may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The words

are written translate one Greek word that carries with it the idea of

written in the past, but with an abiding effect. In commenting on this

passage, A.T. Robertson said John,has had precisely this effect of

continuous and successive confirmation of faith in Jesus Christ through

the ages. Why do we bring that up? Because if the recording of these

miracles is what God, through John, gave us to believe in Jesus, then

why would we need miracles today? These miracles continue to be in

the Bible, confirmed and true, and should be sufficient to help us

establish and grow in our faith in Jesus.D. But the teaching of miracles ceasing is more fully discussed in two

other passages in the NT that we want to spend the balance of our

time studying.

1. The first is rather lengthy, and runs from First Corinthians chapter

12 through chapter 14. We will focus our attention on certain

verses only in chapters 12 and 13.


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a. In 12:8-10, there are nine spiritual gifts listed. Those verses say,

For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and

to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit,

to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of

healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of

miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another thedistinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and

to another the interpretation of tongues. We dont have time

this evening to discuss what each of these means, but suffice it

to say that, if there are miraculous gifts today, they would all fall

under one of these 9 categories.

b. Now, from that list, Paul uses 3 in chapter 13, representative of

the entire list. Most scholars say that the 3 mentioned in

chapter 13 (prophecies, tongues, and knowledge) were

considered by some in the first century to be the best gifts. In

other words, those who were blessed with these miraculous gifts

had an even more special miraculous gift than the others. Keep

that in mind.

c. Paul goes on in chapter 13 to teach that these gifts would cease.

Some do not think these have ceased, but many will concede

that they will end. So we need to figure out when they will end,

or if they have already.

d. Read with me from verses 8-13: Love never fails; but if there

are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are

tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done

away. For we know in part and we prophecy in part, but when

the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was achild, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a

child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For

now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know

in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully

known. But now faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the

greatest of these is love.

e. In verse 9, you will notice that Paul says that the spiritual gifts

were made known in part. In other words, they were made

known in a gradual way. The word translated in part can have

its meaning expanded to the part as opposed to the whole,which helps us as we look further into these verses. Now, Paul

says that these in part things will be done away with. Since

these in part things are the supernatural gifts, the Bible is

saying that these gifts would cease. But the question again is

when?

f. The chapter goes on to say, When that which is perfect is

come. Perfect is better translated complete or whole.


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J.B. Phillips translates this part of the verse: When the Complete

comes, that is the end of the Incomplete.

g. Brother Wayne Jackson, again in his work that I have used

heavily as a source says, So, we may reason as follows:

Whatever the in-part things are partially, the whole is, in

completed form. But the in-part things were the spiritual giftsemployed in the revealing of Gods will (word). Therefore, the

whole was Gods will (word)as conveyed through the gifts

completely revealed.

h. In other words, what Paul is saying is, These gifts are being

used to confirm or prove the revelationthe Word of God. When

the revelation is complete, there will be no more need for the

gifts and they will cease. W.E. Vine said about this: With the

completion of Apostolic testimony and the completion of the

Scriptures of truth (the faith once for all delivered to the saints,

Jude 3), that which is perfect had come, and the temporary

gifts were done away.

2. The other passage we will look at more briefly is found in Ephesians

4. In this passage, Paul is speaking of several kinds of gifts, but he

specifically mentions spiritual gifts. Note verses 7-8: But to each

one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christs gift.

Therefore it says, When He ascended on high, He led captives, and

He gave gifts to men. In the next verses, we are given a list of

some of the works that Jesus gave some to do: apostles,

prophets, etc.

a. We are then told, at the conclusion of the list in verse 12, for

the perfecting of the saints. The word perfecting means,complete qualification for a specific purpose. Arndt and

Gingrich give it this way: to equip the saints for service.

b. Now, as in First Corinthians 12 and 13, we are again told of the

duration of these gifts. Verse 13 tells us they will be until we all

attain to the unity of the faith. The word Until (or till in

other translations) carries the idea of a certain amount of time

up to which something was to last. In this case, we would have

the desired amount of time, assigned by God, through which

these gifts were to last.

c. So what was the time frame God assigned? Until there is a unityof the faith. The faith, as we often see it in Scripture, means

the entirety of the Gospel system. In other words, Paul was

teaching that these gifts were to last until the entire Gospel

system was unified. We might say it better this way: the gifts

were to last until the NT was completed as a unit.

3. One final thingsthat comes as a result from these two passages.

Keep in mind that those who performed these miracles were


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allowed to do so by the power of God and the words they spoke (if

they had gifts of prophecy or tongues) were divinely given. In other

words, the words spoken by those with these gifts were just as

binding as the words being divinely penned that would come to us

as the NT. So what? If miracles are still going on, then the words

being spoken are binding and the NT is not the final word from God.This clearly violates Jude 3 and other passages which teach us that

the NT was finished and unified.

E. So, from a careful and honest examination of the NT record, we can

determine that miracles were a certain activity for a certain time and

were not neededand did not continueafter the collection of the NT

writings.

1. There are some who say, and I have read several articles from

people who have said similar things to this, Well, if we had

miracles today, more people would believe. Why would God end

that which would cause people to believe?

2. There are two responses we may give:

a. First, it is worth noting that not everyone believed the miracles

that were done in the Bible. Even those who witnessed first-

hand the miracles done by Jesus, Peter, Paul, and others did not

believe. So, if we had miracles today, it would not necessarily

mean we would have more believers.

b. Second, we need to teach people to respect and love the Biblical

record. The miracles that are recorded in the Bible bear witness

to the fact of Gods power, love, provision, providence, care and

compassion. If we who love the Bible would do our best to

preach not just the specifics of the miracles, but also the Godbehind the miracles we would be more effective, I think in

bringing people to Him through the record of those miracles.

Invitation

A. We do not have miraculous gifts today. They were for a specific time.

B. But the same God Who gave those gifts is still just as powerful and just as

ready to save.

C. He may not have His word confirmed through miracles today, but we have

the Bible, complete and filled with all we need to be saved and live for Him.

D. Have you given your life to the Father?

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The Cessation of Miraculous Gifts