Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
…and to another the effecting of miracles…– 1Co 12:4-7,9
Effecting of Miracles
Yet again this spiritual gift is pretty self explanatory. Let’s take a look at the word miracle. Webster’s dictionary defines miracle as the following:
An event or effect contrary to the established constitution and course of things, or a deviation from the known laws of nature; a supernatural event. Miracles can be wrought only by Almighty power
There are plenty of examples of miracles throughout the bible. From Moses with the plagues of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea; to Jesus causing the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak, and the lame to walk; to Paul healing the sick and even raising the dead.
The confusion comes when trying to distinguish this gift with that of the gift of healing. By the definition given by Webster’s Dictionary any supernatural event is considered a miracle and technically supernatural healing is by definition a miracle. In my previous post I listed the following act as an example of Paul’s gift of healing:
On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.” When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted. – Acts 20:7-12
While you can make a case that Paul did heal the boy this event fits better under the category of the effecting of miracles.
Paul stated that this was a sign of a true apostle:
The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles. – 2Co 12:12
Therefore we can know that all the apostles possessed this gift.
I firmly believe that this gift was given solely to demonstrate the awesome power of God to confirm His message through His people. Moses was given this gift to show Pharaoh who the one true God was, to show the Israelites that God will provide for them and that His justice will prevail. Jesus used miracles to show that He was the chosen one, the one that the scriptures spoke of and that He was God. The apostles had this gift in order to show that they were chosen by God to deliver his message and to help bring about the church age.
