Are there Miracles Today?

What About Miracles Today?

There are lots of people who believe that miracles still happen today.  What does the Bible say?

YES, it is an absolute fact that God through His Holy Spirit gave men in the first century the power to perform miracles. (A miracle is, by definition, a supernatural act that defies explanation by the laws of nature.) The question is: Does God still give men such power today?

NO, there are no miracles (remember our definition) occurring today.  Here are the reasons why:

1) Miracles served a specific purpose in the first century.  They were the means by which God revealed and confirmed His will to mankind (Mk. 16:17-20; Heb. 2:3,4).  Since God has finished His revelation (2 Pet. 1:3) there is no longer any need for men to perform miracles.  They have ended.

2) There were two ways to receive miraculous power in the first century.  One way was by the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4,5; 2:1-4).  That baptism was only for a few - not for all - and it no longer is available (Eph 4:4-6).  The only other way that men received miraculous abilities was by the laying on of the apostles' hands (Acts 8:14-17).  Obviously there are no apostles still living today, and therefore there is no way to receive these powers.  Miracles have ended because the means by which they were imparted are no longer available to us.

3) The New Testament actually tells us that miracles were to end and tells when they would end.  In 1 Cor. 13:8-13, Paul states that miracles would end when God's complete revelation was made known to men.  We now have His final word and, according to His own testimony, miracles have ended.

- by Greg Gwin