10/10/2022
Miracles!
What are they and are they important?
We may define a miracle as follows: a less common kind of God’s activity in which he arouses people’s awe and wonder and bears witness to himself.
The Bible frequently tells us that it is God himself who is the one who performs “miracles” or “wondrous things.” Psalm 136:4 says that God is the one “who alone does great wonders” (cf. Ps. 72:18) and therefore we must guard against the thought that we have any ability to control or manipulate/ manufacture miracles by our own will and for our own benefit.
Now if we accept the definition that a miracle is “a less common kind of God’s activity in which he arouses people’s awe and wonder and bears witness to himself,” then we may ask what kinds of things should be considered miracles? Firstly, we must acknowledge the incarnation of Jesus as God-man and Jesus’ resurrection from the dead as the central and most important miracles in all history and the only miracle in which we should boast daily about.
But should we consider unusual answer to prayer as miracles? Sure, if they are remarkable enough to arouse our awe and wonder and cause us to acknowledge God’s power at work, however, we should not water down our definition of miracle so much that every answer to prayer is considered a miracle!
What is the purpose of miracles?
One of the primary purposes of miracles is to authenticate the message of the gospel. Whether this purpose was valid only when the gospel was first preached (before the New Testament was written) or it holds good throughout the church age depends on what we think the miracles are confirming: Are they confirming only the absolute truthfulness of the words of Scripture (as the very words of God), or are miracles given to confirm the truthfulness of the gospel generally, whenever it is preached? In other words, do miracles confirm Scripture or the gospel? Miracles were not limited to those who wrote Scripture or spoke with absolute apostolic authority. This suggests that miracles given in confirmation of the gospel might be expected to continue throughout the church age .
A second purpose of miracles in the New Testament is to show that the kingdom of God has come and has begun to expand its beneficial results into people’s lives
A third purpose of miracles is to help those who are in need. The two blind men near Jericho cried out, “Have mercy on us,” and Jesus “in pity” healed them. Here miracles give evidence of the compassion of Christ toward those in need.
A fourth purpose of miracles is to remove hindrances to people’s ministries. As soon as Jesus had healed Peter’s mother-in-law, “she rose and began to serve him” (Matt. 8:15). Related to this category would be the fact that Paul expects people to be edified (or “built up”) when miraculous gifts are used in the church (1 Cor. 12:7; 14:4, 12, 26), and removing physical hindrances to people’s ministries would certainly serve to build up the church.
Finally, a fifth purpose for miracles (and the most important one to which all the others contribute) is to bring glory to God - Jesus said that the man who had been blind from birth was blind “that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3).
We should not assume that an obviously miraculous answer to prayer is somehow better than one that comes through ordinary means (such as medical help for sickness), and we must also realise that asking God for a particular need does not guarantee that the prayer will be answered.
On the other hand, our faith that God will work in powerful and even miraculous ways may be far too small. We must beware of being infected by a secular worldview that assumes that God will answer prayer only very seldom, if ever. And we should certainly not be embarrassed to talk about miracles if they occur—or think that a non miraculous answer to prayer is better! Miracles are God’s work, and he works them to bring glory to himself and to strengthen our faith. When we encounter serious needs in people’s lives today, it is right for us to seek God for an answer, and where miraculous intervention seems to be needed, then to ask God if he would be pleased to work in that way. This would seem to be especially appropriate when our motivation is a Christlike compassion for those in need and a burning desire to see Christ’s kingdom advance and his name glorified.
Adapted from Wayne Grudem's chapter on Miracles, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, Second Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020), 470-488.
