Weapons for the Believer 5.3 – The Gifts of the Holy Spirit – Working of Miracles

Weapons for the Believer 5.3 – The Gifts of the Holy Spirit – Working of Miracles

According to Paul, there are weapons of warfare.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (ESV)

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

We are considering ten weapons that the Believer has at their disposal. We looked at the first four in previous posts. If you haven’t read them I encourage you to do so.

The next weapons are referred to as The Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Gifts of Healing, Working of Miracles, Prophecy, Discerning of Spirits,

Different Kinds of Tongues, and Interpretation of Tongues.

When our faith intersects with the Spirit’s power, there is nothing that cannot be accomplished in those moments. I do not believe these are given permanently as some teach. I do not believe that some “posses” these gifts, but instead are given in the moment when needed. Consequently any or all of these may manifest in each Believer as the Spirit chooses.

There are nine gifts list by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12. Traditionally these have been divided into three groups: The Power Gifts, The Revelation Gifts, and The Speaking Gifts.

            The Power Gifts:                  Faith (or special faith, as some have described it)

                                                            Gifts of Healing (the only plural gift)

                                                            Working of Miracles

            The Revelation Gifts:          Word of Wisdom

                                                            Word of Knowledge

                                                            Discerning of Spirits

            The Speaking Gifts:                        Prophecy

                                                            Tongues

                                                            Interpretation of Tongues

Today we will look at the third of these in more detail: Working of Miracles. There is certainly a fine line between some of these gifts mentioned. For instance, a healing can be seen as a miracle. Something that manifests by the exercise of special faith could be seen as a miracle. Apparently the Holy Spirit differentiates between these, but our human minds may have difficulty seeing that line. Personally, I don’t believe it matters what we call an event as long as it is accomplished through our response to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Whatever He wants to do, we should be willing agents to work in concert with His leading.

The best working definition I’ve ever heard for “miracle” is this: something that defies the natural laws in operation on earth. When God created our world He set in place certain laws to govern our existence; things like gravity, thermodynamics, biology, etc. A miracle is something that occurs outside of these laws. One Old Testament example is when Joshua prayed for more time in the day to fight an enemy.

Joshua 10:12-13 (ESV) At that time Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.

A New Testament example is when Jesus turned water into wine. The molecular structure of the liquid in the barrels changed from H2O to that of fermented grapes. That is a miracle!

John 2:7-9 (ESV) Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom

Some in the Church assert that the Believer’s life should be one filled with the miraculous. I do not believe this is what Paul was attempting to communicate. He stated later in 1 Corinthians 12, after giving the list of the Gifts of the Spirit, a series of rhetorical questions:

1 Corinthians 12:29-31 (ESV) Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

The answer to each question is, “No.” “Do all work miracles?” The Believer lives a life guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Miracles are available when needed, but are not part of our normal existence. When we follow the Spirit’s leading He will keep us out of many situations that would require miraculous intervention. In essence the Believer does live what the world might view as miraculous, but it is the result of the Spirit’s presence.

Our life after being born again is a process of learning how to respond to the prompting of God’s Spirit coming to live in us. As we spend time learning the character and nature of God, and allow His nature to change us into the image of Jesus, our actions will also begin to reflect that of Jesus; showing the love of God to those we encounter, being used as an agent of the Holy Spirit to manifest the Fruit of the Spirit, and also manifest the Gifts of the Spirit when needed, including the Working of Miracles.