MIRACLES-GENERAL

[Miracles are] the extraordinary work of God that involves His immediate and unmistakable intervention in the physical realm in a way that contravenes natural processes.

Phil Johnson

A miracle is an extraordinary event wrought by God through human agency, an event that cannot be explained by natural forces. Miracles are always designed to authenticate the human instrument God has chosen to declare a specific revelation to those who witness the miracle.

John MacArthur
Charismatic Chaos, Zondervan, © John MacArthur, 1992, p. 127-128, www.zondervan.com.

Most biblical miracles happened in three relatively brief periods of Bible history: In the days of Moses and Joshua, during the ministries of Elijah and Elisha, and in the time of Christ and the apostles. None of those periods lasted much more than a hundred years. Each of them saw a proliferation of miracles unheard of in other eras. Even during those three time periods, however, miracles were not exactly the order of the day. The miracles that happened involved men who were extraordinary messengers from God – Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, Jesus and the apostles. Aside from those three intervals, the only supernatural events recorded in Scripture were isolated incidents.

John MacArthur
Charismatic Chaos, Zondervan, © John MacArthur, 1992, p. 134, www.zondervan.com.

God confirmed His Word through the apostles by the miracles that they were able to do. The New Testament indicates that only the apostles and those who were closely associated with them had the power to do miracles. That is why 2 Corinthians 12:12 speaks of such miracles as “the signs of an apostle.”

John MacArthur

Twelve Ordinary Men, © John MacArthur, 2002, p. 23.

Nowhere on the pages of the Gospel record did anyone ever deny the reality of Jesus’ miracles. Who could deny them? There were too many, and they had been done too publicly to be dismissed by even the most skeptical gainsayers. Of course, some desperately tried to attribute Jesus’ miracles to the power of Satan (Matthew 12:24). No one, however, ever denied that the miracles were real. Anyone could see that He had the power to cast out demons and do miracles at will. No one could honestly question whether He truly had power over the supernatural world.

John MacArthur

Twelve Ordinary Men, © John MacArthur, 2002, p. 150.

A Christian is a perpetual miracle.

C.H. Spurgeon

Indwelling Sin. Sermon from Job 40:3-4.

A miracle is an event in nature, so extraordinary in itself and so coinciding with the prophecy or command of a religious teacher or leader, as fully to warrant the conviction, on the part of those who witness it, that God has wrought it with the design of certifying that this teacher or leader has been commissioned by Him.

Augustus H. Strong
Systematic Theology, Judson, 1907, p. 118.

I never have any difficulty believing in miracles, since I experienced the miracle of a change in my own heart.

Augustine

The miracles Jesus performs...do not compel faith; but those with faith will perceive their significance.

D.A. Carson
Matthew, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Zondervan, 1984, p. 363. www.zonderban.org.

Our salvation is a miraculous intervention of God. Evangelism is all about miracles. We pray asking God to change the human will, or to override and arrange the natural course of things in certain ways, or to defy all odds.

Jim Elliff

Seeking Miraculous Healings: Musings and Cautions, Christian Communicators Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by Permission.

Several inadequate definitions of miracles need to be rejected:

1. Some define a miracle as a direct intervention of God into the world. But “intervention…into” implies that God is outside the world and only occasionally intrudes.

2. Some define a miracle as God working in the world apart from means to bring about the desired result. But God often uses “means” or “instruments” in performing the miraculous, as in the case of Jesus' feeding of the 5,000.

3. Others define a miracle as God acting contrary to natural law. But this implies there are forces (“natural laws”) which operate independently of God, forces or laws that God must violate or override to perform a miracle. God is the author and providential Lord over all natural processes.

Sam Storms
Introduction to Divine Healing, November 6, 2006, www.enjoyinggodministries.com. Used by Permission.