A gracEmail reader writes, "You said that early Christian writers document miracles for several centuries after the New Testament was written. I have been taught that spiritual gifts and miracles stopped when the Apostles all died. Can you give some citations for your statement?" * * * We continue our look at some of many Church Fathers who testify to Christian ministry in the name of Jesus Christ, through which individuals were healed of various diseases or were released from demonic oppression, as follows. Lactantius (died A.D. 320), "The Epitome of the Divine Institutions," chap. 51 -- … [Read more...]
MIRACLES STILL HAPPEN (4)
A gracEmail reader writes, "You said that early Christian writers document miracles for several centuries after the New Testament was written. I have been taught that spiritual gifts and miracles stopped when the Apostles all died. Can you give some citations for your statement?" * * * Among many Fathers who testify to Christian ministry in the name of Jesus Christ, through which individuals were healed of various diseases or were released from demonic oppression, are the following. Tertullian, "To Scapula," chap. 4, written between A.D. 196-212 -- "Heaven knows how many distinguished … [Read more...]
MIRACLES STILL HAPPEN (3)
"If God's revealed word is perfect and complete," writes a beloved brother serving God in South America, "I do not expect a new message today. 'His divine power has given us everything we need' (2 Pet. 1:3). Through the Scriptures, we are 'thoroughly equipped for every good work' (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Jesus brought God's final and perfect message (Heb.1:1-2). Does that make sense? Have you thought through some of these things?" * * * It makes sense that we need no more Scripture -- although if one took your point absolutely, we should not need the New Testament Scriptures either, since the … [Read more...]
MIRACLES STILL HAPPEN (2)
A brother in Mississippi says that Acts relates the Greek word dynamis ("power") only to Apostles or persons upon whom they laid their hands. He concludes that God has not exerted such "miracle" power since then. He rejects contrary testimony by later church fathers, since we are not to "discard revelation for perception." * * * It should not surprise us that the book called "Acts of the Apostles" reports the acts of the Apostles (including apostle-extraordinaire Paul) and those with whom they had first-hand contact. However, Luke suggests a somewhat deeper focus in his opening verse. His … [Read more...]
MIRACLES STILL HAPPEN (1)
A Mississippi brother suggests that divine miracles such as those found in the Book of Acts occurred until the Apostles and their immediate converts died, then ceased forever. As evidence, he cites Acts 1:8, Mark 16:20 and Hebrews 2:4. * * * The specific promise in Acts 1:8 of forthcoming "power" is addressed to the Eleven Apostles. In this verse, Jesus directly relates that power to the coming of the Spirit, an event which the very next chapter of Acts records. However, divine witnessing power is not limited to the Apostles, as Acts 4:31 makes plain with its report not only that the whole … [Read more...]
NATURAL AND SUPERNATURAL
A gracEmail reader says: "I believe that God still works but not in supernatural ways. Today God works through natural law. Miracles in the Bible go against or supercede natural law. God has stopped doing miracles." * * * God is supernatural and all his works are supernatural by definition. What we call "natural" activities are merely the usual or ordinary ways we observe God working in the universe. "Laws of nature" are nothing but our conclusions based on inductive reasoning, formed by observation of the ordinary courses of the created world around us. There is no "law of nature" apart … [Read more...]
MYSTERY OF THE WIND
We welcomed recent days of steady rain in these west Houston suburbs. Now I welcome this break in the rain for a neighborhood hike. Scattered rain-clouds, flung in a wide sweep across the sky, hide the evening sun on this Texas Gulf Coast. Developers planted our Katy prairie land with trees two and three decades ago, and they now form a trekker's pleasant canopy overhead. Around and below me, the gentle wind rustles through the grass and flowers and trees. Overhead it moves the clouds across the half-darkened sky. I think of Jesus' comparison of God's Spirit to the wind. Both are invisible … [Read more...]
THE SOURCE OF SAVING FAITH
A Christian college Bible professor writes: "Why do people believe the gospel? Reasoning from historical witness that one believes to be real history, attesting to events that happened in time -- that has been and remains the Christian way. If that is not the only source of belief, it remains an important one." * * * "Important," we can agree, but scarcely the ultimate answer, mustn't we say in view of New Testament revelation? Consider Jesus' bold affirmation: "No one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the … [Read more...]
BIBLE INSPIRED (2)
A gracEmail subscriber in Arkansas writes, "I've always been taught that the Bible was divinely given word by word (I think this is called verbal inspiration). But some passages just sound like a believer pouring out his heart to others. Could you offer some thoughts on inspiration and the Bible?" * * * Just as Jesus was both human and divine, so Scripture is written by men although it is called "the Word of God." But God used ordinary men to write it, men who usually had no idea that they were writing Scripture. The Bible includes a wide variety of ordinary types of literature, composed … [Read more...]
BIBLE INSPIRED (1)
A gracEmail subscriber in Arkansas writes, "I've always been taught that the Bible was divinely given word by word (I think this is called verbal inspiration). But some passages just sound like a believer pouring out his heart to others. Could you offer some thoughts on inspiration and the Bible?" * * * Unlike the Qur'an, the Bible does not claim to be dictated word for word by God, except for certain portions which repeat oracles given to prophets and which usually are introduced by the statement, "Thus says the LORD . . . . " The Apostle Paul does say that "all Scripture is inspired by … [Read more...]
