Gifts of the Spirit pt.6-Working of Miracles

The second of the “do something”, power gifts of the Holy Spirit is the gift of the working of miracles.

A miracle can be defined as a supernatural intervention by God in the ordinary course of nature.

We need to understand that what we perceive as a miracle is simply God doing what He does. He does not recognize a certain event as a miracle. We see a miracle as a miracle because something happened that we could not do with our own strength or ability. But, performing miracles is simply a part of God’s nature. In fact, the very first verse of the Bible reveals God’s miracle-working power: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Remember that the gift of faith was a “receiving” of a miracle where we just watch and marvel. Whereas the working of miracles is when God entrusts us with His power to perform a miracle.

The working of miracles is an expression of God that every eye-witness, saved or not saved, cannot deny.

The working of miracles, for most of us, carries the impression of God doing something good and precious on our behalf. But, as we will see in some of the examples below, the working of miracles can also carry out divine judgment.

Examples in the Bible

The Turning of Water into Wine (John 2:7–11)

Jesus’ first miracle was when He turned water into wine. Verse 11b tells us that the miracle had two immediate affects: “He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.”

Jesus feeding the 5,000 (John 6:5–14)

Verse 14 tells us the affect that the miracle had on the people: “After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world."

Jesus calming the wind and the waves (Mark 4:39 )

With three words, “Peace be still”, Jesus performed a miracle that confounded the disciples and made them say to each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" (v 41). Miracles have a way of making us realize the greatness of our God.

Jesus cursed the fig tree (Mark 11:12 –14, 20)

The death of a tree by Jesus cursing it is also a miracle. Although it was not a “blessing” type of event in our thinking, it was a miracle none the less. The sudden death of the tree by Jesus’ words altered the ordinary course of nature.

The sudden death Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–10)

The divine judgment that fell on Ananias and Sapphira was a miracle. God supernaturally intervened into the natural course of their functioning hearts. Verses 5 and 11 tell us the impact of this miracle: “And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.” (v 5) and “Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.” (v 11).

The sorcerer Elymas struck blind (Acts 13:4–12)

Elymas was a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet who tried to stop the gospel from reaching the proconsul (governor), Sergius Paulus, and withstood Paul. But Paul, being full of the Holy Ghost, told him that he was an enemy to everything that was right and that he would become blind. This miracle (a divine judgment) of Elymas going blind confirmed to all that the Word being preached was from the True and Living God. Verse 12 describes the result of this miracle: "When the governor saw what happened, he became a believer, full of enthusiasm over what they were saying about the Master.”

The working of a miracle is the supernatural intervention by God in the ordinary course of nature.

It is my prayer for you that Father will continue to help you to hear His voice, and more and more frequently.

With God’s grace and in His peace,

Gary

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