The Ebb and Flow of Miracles

One argument that has been used against the continuing of the miraculous spiritual gifts is whether the gifts exhibited at the present time stack up to the miracles at the time of the apostles. It is claimed that we do not see the same degree of blatant miracles that were seen in New Testament times. All spiritual gifts are given according to the will of God (1 Corinthians 12:11) and are used within the will of God (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Now there do seem to times that God is particularly blatant in His outpouring of miracles.  The times of the Exodus, of Elijah and Elisha, and of the New Testament are examples of these. These seem to happen at times God is instituting some new thing. But this does not mean that all miracles or miraculous gifts vanish in the times in between. There are miracles seen in those periods (Judges 15:14-19; 2 Kings 19:35; 1 Kings 13:3-5). Therefore, just because God is not working in as blatant a way does not mean He has stopped working miracles or giving miraculous gifts in the times in between. Now we do need to test a particular miracle, whether it is from God or is a coincidence or is some kind of placebo effect (1 Thessalonians 5:21,22). But we cannot say because we do not see the dead raised or the Red Sea parted that no miraculous gifts exist at this time.    

On or Off

Sometimes God's power is pictured like a light switch; it is either all there or totally absent. But Scripture pictures God giving new supplies to meet new situations. At the time of Pentecost the disciples were filled with the Spirit (Acts 2:4). But later Peter was filled to stand firm against opposition (Acts 4:8). After this the disciples prayed for boldness and were filled with the Spirit in answer (Acts 4:31). Paul (then called Saul) was filled with the Spirit soon after his conversion (Acts 9:17). But later he was filled again to deal with a magician (Acts 13:9). There is no indication that any of these individuals became carnal and had to be restored to a condition where they were spiritual again. Rather, God filled them in a new and fresh way to meet new circumstances. God gives us what we need to accomplish His purpose (2 Corinthians 3:5,6; Ephesians 2:10; Colossians 1:28,29). Therefore, we should trust in Him to provide us with the power we need when we need it (Proverbs 3:5,6; Psalms 127:1,2; 1 Corinthians 3:6-9).

Make the Problem Go Away

 

There is an idea that the power of God can make all the problems in our life go away. While the most prominent advocates of this are those in the Word-Faith Movement, it often is found far beyond them. God clearly states that, in this world, we who have put our faith in Christ for salvation will have problems (John 16:33; Acts 14:22; 1 Peter 4:12,13) and we should not be surprised by them. We are also told that God uses these problems to help us grow in Him (Romans 8:28-30; 5:3-5; James 1:2-4). Also, He encourages us to look beyond them to a time when these things will pass away (2 Corinthians 4:17,18; Romans 8:18-25, Revelation 21:4).Therefore, while God, according to His will, may on some occasions miraculously take away our problems, there will be many times He will require us to go through them. Since this is the case, we need to trust Him to bring us through the troubles of life (Proverbs 3:5,6; Hebrews 11:13-16; 2 Corinthians 5:7).

What's the Word?

The Bible does not say much of the spiritual gifts of the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom. In fact, all we have is their names in a list (1 Corinthians 12:8). What are these gifts about? (I am going to deal specifically with the word of knowledge, as it is the one I am most familiar with, but I suspect the word of wisdom works the same way.)

The traditional charismatic approach is to see this gift as God's dropping statements into our minds without any previous basis for such knowledge. I have no problem in principle with this; I have had it happen to me on occasion. (There are limitations of privacy that prevent me from describing the circumstances.) Others, trying to avoid a blatantly miraculous understanding of the gift, have seen it as a gift of working with knowledge.This would be the type of gift you might find, for instance, in a seminary professor . I do not violently object to this either. After all, seminary professors need gifts too. Might I suggest something in the middle that perhaps would incorporate the extremes? Could the idea be that God leads you to the knowledge He wants you to have? It could mean the knowledge coming totally out of nowhere. But it could also mean  picking up just the right book or just the right article to answer something you needed to know, even if it was not what you went to the book or article for. Or God's bringing to mind the right thing to say at the right time. Now it should be noted that some knowledge is valuable even if you do not know where it comes from, while other knowledge is only useful if you know the source. I realize this is highly conjectural, but it seems to fit with my experience and the substance of the text.

Now the one thing it clearly does not mean is that we can trust every impulse or thought that runs through our mind as being from God. We are commanded to test all things (1 Thessalonians 5:21).Nor should the word of knowledge be equated with full, inspired revelation; it is in the same verse as prophecy, and why would there be three different terms for the same thing? It also clearly does not mean a person will know everything they want to know. Even full-blown prophets are sometimes not told everything (2 Kings 4:27). But I do find this approach helpful in understanding these two gifts.

Where Do I Get the Power?

Where do we get the power to do God's work in the world? An interesting example was the story of King Saul. Saul needed God's empowerment for his new role as king. Samuel the prophet told him what he needed to do. He was to go to the oak of Tabor and meet three men, one with three kids, one with three loaves, and one with a jug of wine, and they would give him two loaves of bread. Then he was to go the hill of God, where the Philistine garrison was, and meet a group of prophets playing musical instruments. Saul did so, and the Spirit came upon him mightily (see 1 Samuel 10:1-13). Now no one today, or even in the past, has held that this is the standard way to obtain God's empowerment to serve Him. But the point is that Saul did what God had told him to do, and God gave him the needed power through the Spirit. The way to have God's power is to do what He has you in particular to do; there is no standard procedure.

Also, God gives a new empowerment to face new situations. Peter and John were faced with the need to confess their faith to the very men who had put Jesus to death, and Peter was filled with the Spirit (Acts 4:8). Now Peter had been among those who had been filled at Pentecost (Acts 2:4). I see no reason to believe he had lapsed into some form of carnality since then. But God gave Him a new filling to meet the new situation, and then also gave later a new empowerment for the body as a whole (Acts 4:31). Also Saul, who was to become the Apostle Paul, was filled with the Spirit at conversion (Acts 9:17), but was later filled again to deal with the challenge of an evil magician (Acts 13:9). Therefore, I would conclude that as we obey God, He will give us the empowering to meet the situation we are in.

Now I do believe that the Holy Spirit is at work within all genuine believers (2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 2:13) and He will empower them to minister as He wills (2 Corinthians 3:5,6; Ephesians 2:10). So as we obey Him (Galatians 5:16; Colossians 2:6,7) and trust in Him (Proverbs 3:5,6; Psalms 127:1,2), He will provide us with the power we need when we need it. But He will do it according to His plan, not ours.

The Bethesda Factor

Does God always heal if we just have enough faith? Jesus came to the Pool of Bethesda and found a crowd of sick people (John 5:1-17).  But Jesus approached and healed only one of them.  There is no indication that this individual had any high degree of faith (he was looking to be healed by being dipped in the pool). But Jesus only approached this one man. Now there are cases where it says Jesus healed all the sick brought to Him (Matthew 8:16; 12:15; Luke 4:40), but it is clearly speaking of those who happened to be there at that day and time.  But as Bethesda shows, Jesus could also be selective. We see this even more clearly in the case of the Apostle Paul.  Paul had a consistent record of praying for people and having them be healed (Acts 19:11,12), and he continued to do so at least till the near end of the book of Acts (Acts 28:1-10) and most probably beyond it.  Yet he could not obtain healing for himself (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) or Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25-30), or Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23), or Trophimus (2 Timothy 4:20). 

Therefore, God does not heal in every case nor has He ever healed in every case.  Now many who believe healing has passed away at the present time seem to believe that in New Testament times, God did always heal, and now He has ceased doing it.  But I would suggest that while God still heals today (and I see no basis in Scripture for believing He does not), He never healed in every case. Now it is true that faith is a factor in whether an individual is healed (Matthew 13:58; 9:22; Mark 2:5).  Though the one case where the disciples failed to accomplish a miracle (it was casting out a demon rather than a healing), Jesus rebuked the disciples for lack of faith, not the demonized boy or his father (Matthew 17:14-20).  He then cast out the demon based on the father's shaky faith (Mark 9:14-29).  But though faith is a factor, it is also clear that there is in healing a matter of God's will, and to assume that God will heal everyone if they only have enough faith is simplistic. Therefore, we should pray to God that He will heal people but be willing to accept the fact that there may be cases where it is God's will not to heal. And we should avoid jumping to the conclusion that if someone is not healed it is because of their lack of faith.

Do You Have to Be Crazy to Be a Charismatic?

Do you have to be crazy to be a charismatic? Or does it just help?  Let's look at the issues involved.

The idea that certain spiritual gifts have passed away has no solid basis in Scripture, and we are told not to forbid people to speak in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:39). (I know it is claimed that modern tongues are not real tongues,  but would God command not to forbid something that is about to pass away?)  Now there are rules laid down for the use of the gifts (1 Corinthians 14:26-40).  However, the description given is fairly informal. We are instructed not to all talk at once and not to do things, such as speaking in tongues without an interpreter, which are not understandable.  But we need to be careful of  looking down on something because it is not dignified enough (2 Samuel 6:20-23).  Also, the fact a gift is misused does not mean it is not legitimate. 1 Corinthians 12-14 was written to check the misuse of spiritual gifts. (Note that Paul was not shy, and if the gifts being used were largely counterfeit, we would expect him to say so.)

There is an emotional aspect to our response to God's truth.  We are to rejoice (Philippians 4:4), we are to have peace (John 14:27); even faith, hope, and love have emotional components (1 Corinthians 13:13).  But what is appropriate and what is overboard?  Now I am hesitant to criticize other people's spiritual experiences, if they do not result in false teaching or disobedience to God's commands.  But it is when people pursue experience rather then pursuing God and hold up their experience as necessary for everyone that it creates problems.

Scripture speaks of people being overwhelmed by the greatness of God (Daniel 10:8-12; Acts 9:3-9; Isaiah 6:1-5).  I myself have felt the Spirit fall so powerfully I felt like I had been hit by a truck.  But I have never fallen over backwards nor felt that God wanted me to.  I do not feel I can discount this in all cases as a genuine spiritual experience, but I see no Scriptural basis for requiring it.  I have known cases where God's truth has come home to me in such a powerful way I ended up crying or laughing .  I am not at all sure this is the same as "holy laughter".  As for "holy drunkenness," I do not think this is what Acts 2:13 means.  Further, regarding rolling in the aisles, barking like a dog, or roaring like a lion, I do not see a Scriptural or rational basis for these.

But the basic problem is that certain spiritual gifts and emotional experiences are seen as showing a higher level of spiritual life in those who have them.  This is contrary to Scripture (1 Corinthians 13:1-3; 12:28-30; Romans 12:3), which says God is at work in all His people to accomplish His purposes (2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 2:13; Ephesians 2:10).

Using the Right Bait

Does whether or not people come to Christ depend entirely on our methods? And if we could just get it right, would nearly everyone believe? I think most Christians would find these statements extreme. Yet it is easy to fall into this mindset. We can think if we just approach things the right way, it would open the floodgates to people becoming Christians. But the Scripture says no one comes to God unless God draws them (John 6:44) and God chooses who will come to Him (Ephesians 1:4). Now I am not saying we must not use diligence in our approach to reaching people for Christ (2 Timothy 2:24-26; Colossians 4:4-6; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23). Much less am I denying the obligation to proclaim the truth of the gospel (1 Peter 3:15; Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 10:14,15). But there can often be a thin line between persuasion and manipulation (1 Thessalonians 2:3-5). This is important because if only the way a person can truly come to Christ is through the power of God, then manipulation can only produce false converts (Matthew 7:21-23). So when we start to trust in our methods rather than the power of God, we end up sabotaging our efforts to genuinely bring people to Christ (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).

What Does "Nothing" Mean to You?

How do we understand it when Christ says that apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5)? I once had an experience that helped me understand this.

I was involved in a discussion with the elders about whether some of the things I had done on the worship team were too charismatic. It had not gone as I wanted it to go. They encouraged me to continue on the worship team, but within certain boundaries. Now I did not regard the boundaries themselves to be that big a problem. But I was concerned that the issue would be divisive in the congregation, which had various opinions on charismatic issues. However, I enjoyed being on the worship team. So I convinced myself that the discussion was not over and I could still manage to convince the elders to see my point of view. The bottom line is I am stubborn and sometimes God has to do something to get my attention.

Often on the worship team I would feel the power of God flowing through me. That morning what I felt was God slowly pulling His power out. It was like God was giving me just enough for that morning . At the end of the service I felt like a dead battery, sucked dry of its last reserve of current. I had never felt a more desolate feeling in my life. I do not believe God personally ever left me, but any feeling of His power working through me was gone. I do not know if this is how King Saul felt, but if it was and it was permanent, I am not surprised he went crazy, even ignoring the help of a demon (see 1 Samuel 16). One of the elders, a very sensible man, when I said I was considering resigning from the worship team, suggested I wait a few weeks and see if I still felt that way. But there was no way I was going back up on that platform. Not without His power. Now do not get me wrong; I am sure if I gritted my teeth I could have physically walked up on the platform. But I do not know and do not want to know what the results would have looked like.

I am convinced the presence of the Holy Spirit is always with the genuine believer in Christ (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19) and is at work in them to transform them into who God wants them to be (2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 2:13). But He also gives power to meet specific situations (Acts 4:23-31; 13:9-12). Now you cannot prove doctrine from personal experience, but I feel mine does illustrate the fact that apart from Him we really can do nothing. And while my feeling that God is working through me has returned since I resigned, this puts in perspective the times I simply feel dry and am not aware of God working through me as strongly as normally.