THE SPIRIT & THE ENDURING NEED FOR DIVINE EMPOWERMENT
I was raised in a Pentecostal home. Talk of Pentecostal phenomenon was very common in my home as a young child. Especially after the age of 12 when my family moved to the mission field in Guatemala, accounts of healings and miraculous events filled my young world. During my most formative years, I heard of and personally witnessed more miraculous events than I could describe in this short article. These all left a lasting imprint on my mind and heart that years of Western rationalism couldn’t delete.
I have reflected on these impactful early periods of life for many years now. If I’m honest, it was excitement more than devotion that drew me to the Pentecostal experience as a young man. Witnessing someone healed of an incurable disease or someone get out of a wheelchair is about as exhilarating an event as I could envision. Yet, over time there have been many seasons when miracles lost their luster—and I am thankful! Most of these foundational experiences for me as a young man were rooted in a love of novelty, not in an appreciation for what God was trying to do or say during these times.
The slick environment of many Pentecostal/Charismatic churches has a not-so-subtle way of endearing congregants to the stage and to those who occupy it. God certainly seemed to be doing and saying something. Yet, to my young self, it felt like God was doing miracles as an endorsement of the minister or of the church. As a young man, mostly a spectator to ministry, I found that some of these dynamics obscured what God was saying through the miraculous phenomena, and, ultimately, they left me indifferent to what God was saying. They were cool to experience but ultimately felt trivial.
I’d like to share a little about how Jewish eschatology restored a deep sense of urgency around the Holy Spirit and the subjects of miracles, signs, and wonders.
Jewish faith, just like early Christian faith, is constantly forward looking. The resurrection and the Kingdom of God have always had center stage in discussions of Jewish eschatology. The hope of eternal life is the primary motivator for devotion to God, for denying the flesh, and for living lives of integrity before Him. The more material the hope, the greater the ability to walk in these virtues. Within this context, miraculous phenomena not only take on new meaning, but are also transformed into a vital part of discipleship rather than a tangential one. “Signs” are not miraculous events arbitrarily ‘pointing to God’. Signs are proof that God is able to do the exact things he said he would in the Torah and the Prophets.
Miracles of healing and of resurrection[1] when accompanied by the Gospel logically offer proof that God is able to one day restore and revive the body.[2] Miraculous provision[3] is a demonstration of the blessed day when men will ‘beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks’[4] in order to steward the abundance of provision in the kingdom of God. Casting out demons[5] reminds the observer that the day is coming when God will deal with every rebellious spirit.[6]
In the words of Hebrews 6, miraculous signs are ‘the powers of the age to come’.[7] Miracles, signs, and wonders are not primarily an exciting life upgrade. Lazarus, following his miraculous revival from the tomb, still died. Those who taste miraculous provision will yet again need provision. And those who experience deliverance from demons do not also receive a lifetime immunity to oppression in this age. Signs are intended to stir our faith, but they are temporary. You don’t need a sign indicating that you are on the right path to the Grand Canyon, once you are standing in the Grand Canyon. A sign, by nature, is not the anticipated object of our hope. It is a powerful reminder that we should continue in the path. In this age signs serve as a reminder of the world to come.
Within this framework, miracles fit naturally within the Holy Spirit’s larger job description. In larger Jewish tradition, the Holy Spirit is the agent of divine empowerment for a task. He filled the builders of the temple,[8] enabling them to fulfill their task. God’s Spirit was also in the prophets[9] enabling them to prophesy. We also hear from John’s Gospel that the Spirit is God’s agent of encouragement and truth.[10] The Spirit functions as a teacher—reminding us of the things that the Master has said.[11] He reveals the things that are to come.[12]
The Spirit’s work, in all of its forms, is to keep disciples on the path of life in anticipation of the judgment and coming Kingdom. We need the Spirit’s work—all of it. Despite how they may have been presented to you previously, miracles are intended to serve the same purpose. The conviction of sin, the encouragement, the revelation of the Spirit; these all serve the exact same purpose as signs and wonders. The Spirit is simply trying to turn our attention to what matters—the fact that God will judge the world, the dead will be raised, and some will be raised to life and others to destruction.
The older I get, the more I learn about the Gospel, the more I recognize that learning is no substitute for the Spirit’s ongoing, present activity. We need the Spirit’s working among us. This includes the work of signs, wonders, and miracles. If you have been a part of traditions which haven’t historically emphasized the Spirit’s miraculous activity, I’ve got great news. The Spirit doesn’t have denominational preferences. Any group of people who recognize their need for strength and encouragement that only the Spirit gives are eligible. If you have come from a miracle-focused tradition and have been hurt by their misuse of miraculous phenomena, I’ve got great news for you. Your experience of the Spirit’s grace is not tied to any denomination or movement. This is great news because moving forward to the time of trouble that is about to erupt on the world armed with good theology or solid eschatology is not a good plan at all. It may feel like a complicated subject to approach, but it is a vital subject moving forward. We need God to strengthen our faith in a way that only the experience of miracles can provide.
Being called to take up your cross when the spilling of your own blood is a realistic outcome requires immense confidence that God will keep his word. We will live again. The grace that the Spirit provides by means of doing miracles in our midst is special and of great importance for the days ahead. I feel more hungry for God to move miraculously now than I ever have. And not because I am bored with the Bible. I want to be strengthened to endure the things that the Bible talks about. If you take anything from this short article, let it be this: I need all of the grace that God is willing to provide for the days ahead. Miracles, signs, and wonders are an indispensable part of this grace. May God bless you all with the same hunger.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Have you experienced signs and miracles in your own life?
How do you relate to these things? What is your perspective on signs and miracles?
How can you ask God to strengthen your faith today & in the days to come?
[1] 1 Kings 17:17-24, 2 Kings 4:32-37, 2 Kings 13:21, Mark 5:21-43, Luke 7:11-17
[2] Ezekiel 37:1-4, Daniel 12:2, Isaiah 26:19
[3] Exodus 16:4, Exodus 16:12, 1 Kings 17:14-16, Matthew 14:15-21
[4] Isaiah 2:4
[5] Mark 5:1-20, Matthew 15:21-28, Luke 10:17, Acts 16:16-18
[6] Isaiah 24:21, Isaiah 34:4-5, Matthew 8:29
[7] Hebrews 6:5
[8] Exodus 31:2-3
[9] 1 Peter 1:10-11
[10] John 14:16-17
[11] John 14:25
[12] John 16:13
Bill is married to Charis and they have 7 children. Bill is one of the hosts of the Apocalyptic Gospel Podcast, a pastor, and disciple-maker living in Northern, CA.