#59 WHY NO ONE IS WORKING MIRACLES TODAY 8-30-26
If the miraculous gifts of the Spirit are still operating today, then we should honestly ask why we do not see the kind of miracles described in the New Testament. I am not talking about answered prayer, providential blessings, medical recoveries, or things we cannot explain. I mean real biblical miracles, such as the blind receiving sight, the lame immediately walking, the dead being raised, or diseases being instantly and completely healed. Jesus performed these signs openly, and His apostles did the same (Matthew 11:4-5; Acts 3:6-8; Acts 9:34-35; Acts 20:9-12). These were not private experiences that could not be examined. They were visible signs that demonstrated the authority of Christ and confirmed the message being preached (Mark 16:20; Hebrews 2:3-4).
That is why I believe we have to be consistent. If someone says that tongues, prophecy, and miraculous healing are still operating as the same spiritual gifts they were in the first century, then there should be no reason to limit God to a lesser version of those gifts. The New Testament does not present a category of “real miracles” that have somehow disappeared while only certain miraculous manifestations remain. Paul speaks of these gifts together in the context of the Spirit’s work in the early church (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). The apostles and prophets were part of the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:19-20), and the Bible gives us good reason to believe that these miraculous gifts belonged especially to that foundational period. That does not mean God has stopped working. It means God is no longer giving men the miraculous gifts by which they could perform signs.
And there is an important distinction between God doing a miracle and a person possessing the gift of miracles. God still answers prayer, heals according to His providence, opens doors, protects His people, and does things we could never accomplish ourselves (James 5:14-16). But we should not confuse God’s sovereign activity with the continuation of the apostolic miraculous gifts. More importantly, Christianity does not stand or fall on our ability to produce signs. It stands upon Jesus Christ and the once-for-all revelation He has given us (Hebrews 1:1-2; Jude 3). We do not need someone today to duplicate the miracles of Peter or Paul in order to know that the gospel is true. The greatest miracle is not a spectacular sign performed before our eyes, but a sinner transformed by the gospel into the likeness of Christ. And the evidence we should most desire is not miraculous power, but the fruit of the Spirit in a faithful life (Galatians 5:22-23).
BDD
