Working of Miracles
Posted: Jun 30, 2010 at 6:18 PM in Wednesday Bible Study
Working of Miracles
Pastor Grant Williams June 30, 2010
1 Corinthians 13:2 (Amplified Bible)
2 And if I have prophetic powers ([a]the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), and understand all the secret truths and mysteries and possess all knowledge, and if I have [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but have not love (God’s love in me) I am nothing (a useless nobody).
1 Corinthians 12 (King James Version)
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.
3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
Paul in writing this letter regarding the nine spiritual gifts was not writing to one person, he was writing to the whole church at Corinth. He was telling them as a church, as a group, to desire these gifts.
Defintion of a Miracle:
a supernatural intervention by God in the ordinary course of nature
2 Kings 2:1-15 (Amplified Bible)
1 WHEN THE Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were going from Gilgal.
2 And Elijah said to Elisha, Tarry here, I pray you, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel. But Elisha replied, As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. So they went down to Bethel.
3 The prophets’ sons who were at Bethel came to Elisha and said, Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today? He said, Yes, I know it; hold your peace.
4 Elijah said to him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray you, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho. But he said, As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. So they came to Jericho.
5 The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said, Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today? And he answered, Yes, I know it; hold your peace.
6 Elijah said to him, Tarry here, I pray you, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan. But he said, As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. And the two of them went on.
7 Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood [to watch] afar off; and the two of them stood by the Jordan.
8 And Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up and struck the waters, and they divided this way and that, so that the two of them went over on dry ground.
9 And when they had gone over, Elijah said to Elisha, Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you. And Elisha said, I pray you, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.
10 He said, You have asked a hard thing. However, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you–but if not, it shall not be so.
11 As they still went on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire parted the two of them, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
12 And Elisha saw it and he cried, My father, my father! The chariot of Israel and its horsemen! And he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan.
14 And he took the mantle that fell from Elijah and struck the waters and said, Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? And when he had struck the waters, they parted this way and that, and Elisha went over.
15 When the sons of the prophets who were [watching] at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha. And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
In regards to physical healing many times miracles are received but this is not necessarily the “working of miracles” – our bodies are to be made whole – it’s still miraculous when they are but it’s not the “working of miracles” as described in 1 Corinthians 12.
Examples of the gift of “working of miracles”
1. Turning dust into insects.
Exodus 8:16 (Amplified Bible)
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Stretch out your rod and strike the dust of the ground, that it may become biting gnats or mosquitoes throughout all the land of Egypt.
2. Turning water into wine.
John 2:7-11 (Amplified Bible)
7 Jesus said to them, Fill the waterpots with water. So they filled them up to the brim.
8 Then He said to them, Draw some out now and take it to the manager of the feast [to the one presiding, the superintendent of the banquet]. So they took him some.
9 And when the manager tasted the water just now turned into wine, not knowing where it came from–though the servants who had drawn the water knew–he called the bridegroom
10 And said to him, Everyone else serves his best wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then he serves that which is not so good; but you have kept back the good wine until now!
11 This, the first of His signs (miracles, wonderworks), Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory [by it He displayed His greatness and His power openly], and His disciples believed in Him [adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Him].
Water turns into wine by the aging process, or the process of nature, but turning it water into wine by speaking word is a “working of miracles” a supernatural intervention in the ordinary course of nature.
There are several examples in the Old Testament of this gift in operation.
The gift was used in Egypt when God convinced Pharaoh to let Israel go in Exodus 7 – chapter 14. Several miracles happened during that time period.
o Aaron threw down his rod and it turned into a snake Exodus 7:9-12.
o Dust was turned into insects Exodus 8:16-18
o Exodus 14 the Israelites came out of Egypt with mountains in one direction the red sea in another and the Pharaoh and the Egyptian army in the other. So, GOd told Moses stretch forth your rod and the sea was divided.
There were actually 2 gifts in operation there – the working of a miracle to divide the read sea and the gift of faith to keep it divided – it took faith to sustain the miracle.
1 Kings 17 (Amplified Bible)
1 ELIJAH THE Tishbite, of the temporary residents of Gilead, said to Ahab, As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before Whom I stand, there shall not be dew or rain these years but according to My word.
2 And the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
3 Go from here and turn east and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan.
4 You shall drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.
5 So he did according to the word of the Lord; he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan.
6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the brook.
7 After a while the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land.
8 And the word of the Lord came to him:
9 Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her, Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
11 As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.
12 And she said, As the Lord your God lives, I have not a loaf baked but only a handful of meal in the jar and a little oil in the bottle. See, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it–and die.
13 Elijah said to her, Fear not; go and do as you have said. But make me a little cake of [it] first and bring it to me, and afterward prepare some for yourself and your son.
14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: The jar of meal shall not waste away or the bottle of oil fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.
15 She did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days.
16 The jar of meal was not spent nor did the bottle of oil fail, according to the word which the Lord spoke through Elijah.
Examples in the New Testament
1. John chapter 6 – story of the boy with of 5 loaves and 2 fishes feeding 5 thousand.
2. Ananias and Sapphira – Peter had many gifts (knowledge, wisdom and the workings of miracles)
Acts 5 (Amplified Bible)
1 BUT A certain man named Ananias with his wife Sapphira sold a piece of property,
2 And with his wife’s knowledge and connivance he kept back and wrongfully appropriated some of the proceeds, bringing only a part and putting it at the feet of the apostles.
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart that you should lie to and attempt to deceive the Holy Spirit, and should [in violation of your promise] withdraw secretly and appropriate to your own use part of the price from the sale of the land?
4 As long as it remained unsold, was it not still your own? And [even] after it was sold, was not [the money] at your disposal and under your control? Why then, is it that you have proposed and purposed in your heart to do this thing? [How could you have the heart to do such a deed?] You have not [simply] lied to men [playing false and showing yourself utterly deceitful] but to God.
5 Upon hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great dread and terror took possession of all who heard of it.
6 And the young men arose and wrapped up [the body] and carried it out and buried it.
7 Now after an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not having learned of what had happened.
8 And Peter said to her, Tell me, did you sell the land for so much? Yes, she said, for so much.
9 Then Peter said to her, How could you two have agreed and conspired together to try to deceive the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out [also].
10 And instantly she fell down at his feet and died; and the young men entering found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
11 And the whole church and all others who heard of these things were appalled [great awe and strange terror and dread seized them].
12 Now by the hands of the apostles (special messengers) numerous and startling signs and wonders were being performed among the people. And by common consent they all met together [at the temple] in the covered porch (walk) called Solomon’s.
13 And none of those who were not of their number dared to join and associate with them, but the people held them in high regard and praised and made much of them.
14 More and more there were being added to the Lord those who believed [those who acknowledged Jesus as their Savior and devoted themselves to Him joined and gathered with them], crowds both of men and of women,
15 So that they [even] kept carrying out the sick into the streets and placing them on couches and sleeping pads, [in the hope] that as Peter passed by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them.
16 And the people gathered also from the towns and hamlets around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those troubled with foul spirits, and they were all cured.
Gift of “faith” vs. gift of “working of miracles”.
The working of miracles is used to deliver people from unavoidable danger or harm. The gift of faith would carry a person through the danger with great peace and calm without the person being harmed at all.
The difference between the gift of faith and the gift of working of miracles is:
- the gift of faith receives a miracle
- the gift of working of miracles works a miracle
Through the working of miracles:
- God delivered His people and made others fear in Exodus.
- God caused the shadow cast by the sun to go back ten steps on a sun dial as a sign to Hezekiah would live and not die (Isaiah 38:1-8).
- God multiplied loaves (Matt 14:17-21)
- God made a solid iron axed head float in water as if it were a piece of wood. (2 Kings 6:5-7)
- God calmed the raging storm (Mark 4:37-41
- God through Jesus instructions had a multitude of fish fill the disciples nets when they let it down. (John 21:6-11)
- God had the widows small pot of oil become a fountain of oil and provided sustenance for her and her son. (2 Kings 4:1-7)
1 Corinthians 12:31 (King James Version)
31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.