Intro
Have you ever tried to work a miracle, and it did not work? When I first started operating in the supernatural, I was alone at a lake for a time of prayer. After extended prayer, I was feeling very spiritual. I looked at that lake and thought, Jesus walked on water, even Peter walked on water; I am going to walk on water. As I stood at the banks of that lake, I worked up all the spirituality I could muster. Then I stepped out on the lake, and I went straight down. As I crawled out of that muddy water, I thought there must be some things about working miracles that I don’t know. And there is still much I don’t know about working miracles. At least Peter had the good sense to first ask Jesus to command him to come. Only after Jesus said, “come”i did he walk on water. Even then, he did not do it perfectly.
Our subject today is the workings of miracles, and our text is 1 Corinthians 12:10. To get the context, let’s begin reading in verse 1 of 1 Corinthians 12.
“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:”ii How important is it that we not be ignorant of spiritual gifts? This is not something we can take it or leave it at our own whim. It is commanded in Scripture. In 1 Cor. 14:1 we are told to “desire spiritual gifts….” We are to be zealous in our pursuit of these gifts according to 1 Cor. 12:31. Apathy toward the gifts is actually disobedience to the command God has given us. What are the consequences of the church’s ignorance of this subject? Well, there are people dying of cancer and other diseases who could be healed by the power of God. There are souls slipping into hell who could be saved if the church were preaching the gospel with power and demonstration of the Spirit.iii There are people bound by habits and addiction who could be free if the gifts of the Spirit were flowing freely in the church. The stakes are extremely high, as high as it gets. Yet the church at large is ignorant of spiritual gifts. Some have never heard about the gifts. Many are misinformed concerning the gifts. Many are told they are not available to the church, and that God’s plan was to give power to the early church; but then take that power away and let the church pursue its mission without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. It’s such a strange concoction, yet millions of sincere Christians think that is what God has done. They are ignorant concerning spiritual gifts. What a tragedy for everyone concerned. “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:”
Verse 2 “You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. 4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles…”
WHAT is Paul talking about when he lists “working of miracles”? It’s easy to make a premature assumption that we know even before we examine the text.
Webster’s defines a miracle as “an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs.”iv Miracles are events that transcend and supersede the normal laws of nature. For our purposes, if the event follows the normal course of nature, it is not a miracle. It may be inspiring. It may be wonderful to behold. But we are not considering events that follow the laws of nature as miracles. A beautiful sunset is not a miracle, by our definition. It is inspiring and may invoke a sense of wonder, but it happens according to the laws of nature. The birth of a child is not a miracle according to our definition because, again, this is something that happens in the course of nature. We should be amazed and appreciative of all the wonderful capacities God has established in His creation. But miracles transcend natural laws.
The Bible opens with the miraculous. Gen. 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Throughout the first chapter of Genesis, we see miracles happening in response to God’s spoken word. “Let there be light, and there was light.” Gen. 2:7 says, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” That was a miracle with profound implications. Those were miracles God did on His own. There was no partnership with man in the accomplishment of those miracles. This is what I want us to see, those kind of miracles are not what Paul has in mind in our text. Paul is talking about miracles in which God involves His people in the process. How do I know that? I look closely at the text. 1 Cor. 12:10 “to another the working of miracles.…” Who is the “another” in that verse? It refers to a believer that God uses in the process. In these miracles, the Holy Spirit is manifesting Himself through a believer. “to another the working of miracles.…” In Gen. 1:1, God sovereignly created the heavens and the earth. No human being was involved. In fact, humans had not even been created at that time. But, in 1 Cor. 12, Paul is talking about manifestations of the Holy Spirit that God does with believers.
In the text, we find two Greek translated working of miracles. Both are in the plural. Energema is translated working. We get our word energy from this Greek word. In the Greek, the emphasis is on the effect the activity has. It is effectual.vi Dunamis is usually translated power. We get our word dynamite from it. In our text, dunamis is translated miracles which is a valid translation. But a more literal translation would be workings of power or mighty deeds. So, a simple definition for this gift of miracles might be “the workings of God’s power through His people that transcend the laws of nature, not including the other eight gifts of the Spirit.”
The workings of miracles are typically preceded by the gift of faith. By a gift of faith, a believer is inspired to call forth the miracle, and God releases the power that fulfills that word. Let me give some examples of that.
When Jesus stood at the tomb of Lazarus, operating in a gift of faith, he said with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!" (John 11:43). That act of faith released the power of God that resurrected Lazarus. The resurrection was a miracle that transcended the laws of nature. Dead people don’t come forth unless God works a miracle. But it’s helpful to understand the chain of events in this miracle. Even the gift of faith did not come in a vacuum. Jesus had already received a word of knowledge and a word of wisdom from the Father. When people came to Him and told Him that Lazarus was sick, Jesus said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it" (John 11:4). How did He know that? He had received a word of knowledge. Why did he wait two more days before going to Lazarus? Because He was obeying the Father. He had received a word of wisdom to do it that way. That revelation was a prelude to the gift of faith, which was a prelude to the working of the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. It seems to me that the workings of miracles are the least frequent of the nine gifts. But notice what had to happen to get there. Two revelation gifts went into operation. When Jesus walked in the light of those gifts, the gift of faith then enabled Him to command the impossible. When Jesus operated in the gift of faith, the working of a miracle occurred. Getting to the gift of faith often requires receiving the word of the Lord concerning the matter. “…faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of the Lord” (Rom. 10:17). When the “rhema”vii word of God comes into the heart, it carries with it a seed of faith for the fulfillment of that word. So, there were supernatural steps leading up to the operation of the gift of miracles.
When Jesus ministered in his hometown, some gifts were functioning, but not the workings of miracles. Mark 6:5-6: “Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.” It takes more faith for the working of miracles than other gifts of the Spirit. On God’s side, all the gifts are easy for Him. But our side has to do with the principle of faith. Because of their unbelief, Jesus “could do no mighty work there.”viii The Greek translated “mighty work” is dunamis, translated miracles in 1 Cor. 12:10. He couldn’t operate in workings of miracles but he could operate in gifts of healings. Working miracles requires a high level of faith. The people who operate in working miracles, as far as I know, also operate in the other eight gifts of the Spirit. Smith Wigglesworth, Kathryn Kuhlman, Reinhart Bonnke, Aimee McPherson, and John Wimber operated in all the gifts of the Spirit.
We will probably operate in the other gifts of the Spirit before we are ready to work miracles. Other gifts are usually in operation before the workings of miracles take place. I say that as a general statement, not an absolute statement. God distributes the gifts of the Spirit "as He wills."
In 1 Kings 17, Elijah came before King Ahab and made a bold declaration, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.” How does a person muster the courage to make such a statement to a ruling king? Elijah had heard the word of the Lord. God had given a word of wisdom and told him to do it. He wasn’t speaking his own words. He was declaring the word God had dropped in his heart. That revelation positioned him to operate in the gift of faith and make the declaration. What follows was a weather miracle, a three-year draught. It is the same pattern of the gifts in operation as we saw when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
Turn with me to 2 Kings 2. In this passage, God is about to take Elijah to heaven by a whirlwind. God has spoken to Elijah about this, and Elijah has shared it with his students at his school of prophets. Elijah is being led by the Spirit in preparation for his departure. God had prompted him to go from Gilgal to Bethel. One of his students insists on going with him. His name was Elisha. Elijah did not make it easy for him; he told Elisha to just stay at Gilgal. But Elisha wouldn’t go back. He continued with Elijah to Bethel. There, God told Elijah to go to Jericho. Again, Elisha stuck close to his master. All along the way, the other students were discouraging Elisha. “Look, it’s over. Elijah’s leaving and you’ll no longer have his leadership. You just as well sit down with us and accept the inevitable.” They knew the same thing Elisha knew. But their response to it was very different than his. Theirs was a passive acceptance. His was an aggressive pressing in.ix Another test comes. Elijah is going down to Jordan. Will Elisha say, “Enough is enough,” or will he follow Elijah down to Jordan? He stays with Elijah all the way through the Jordan River. Finally, Elijah turns to him and asks, “Ok, what is it you want? What do you want me to do for you before I am translated?” Elisha’s answer, “I want a double portion of your spirit.” He is asking largely of God. He is earnestly desiring the best gifts. Remember how we opened this message talking about the command of God that we would desire spiritual gifts? He is a man who is passionately doing that. He is pressing through all kinds of obstacles and discouragements to receive a greater portion of the Spirit. Elijah tells him that his request is a demanding one. Why? Because it requires a crucified walk with God. There is a price to be paid for something like that. Are you sure you want it? Don’t ask flippantly. Don’t ask for the wrong reasons. It’s good and right to ask, but be sober-minded when you do so. Covet earnestly the best gifts. Understand that includes walking away from the world and walking close to God.x Elijah says to Elisha, “If you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so." The answer is not Elijah’s to give. God alone can give that double portion. But if you see me when I’m taken away, then you will know that your request has been granted. From there they continued on. 2 Kings 2:11: “Suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” Elisha was there in the right place at the right time and saw the whole thing. Something had fallen from Elisha; it was his mantle. Elisha reaches down and picks it up. It is symbolic of the answer to his prayer and the authority God had granted him. As Elisha walks back, he comes to the Jordan River. He remembers how Elijah got them across previously. He takes Elijah’s mantle and, as he strikes the waters, says, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” It was not a question. It was a declaration of faith. Then, a miracle happened for Elisha. Those waters parted supernaturally.
I want to point out two things from that story.
(1) The tenacity of Elisha’s desire was rewarded. There were plenty of places along the way where he could have gotten discouraged and given up. But he persisted in his desire for more of God. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”xi Not everyone gets filled. The other prophets stood afar off. They did not press in. They did not get what Elisha got. They also did not stop Elisha from getting his double portion. Desire spiritual gifts. Desire them zealously and fervently. Follow Elisha’s example.
(2) The pattern for Elisha’s miracle is familiar. He receives a word of prophecy from Elijah. If you see me when I’m taken away, you will have your request. That word and his experience when Elijah was taken away prepared him for the Jordan River. The gift of faith was in operation when he said, “Where is the God of Elijah?”. He was acting in faith when he struck those waters with Elijah’s mantle. The miracle of parting the Jordan followed. It’s unlikely we will operate in the workings of miracles if we do not listen for the word of the Lord and act in faith when the time comes. The workings of miracles do not just drop out of the sky. They are manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers.
The miracles that I have talked about were monumental events. It was a monumental event when the Red Sea parted.xii It was a monumental event when the walls of Jericho fell down and later when the sun stood still for Joshua. But we also see miracles that address crises in individual lives.
In 1 Kings 17, God sent Elijah to a widow in Zeraphath. I think it is humorous how God sent the prophet who had no money to the widow who had no money, and in that connection, resourced both of them. Elijah walks into the town and encounters this widow gathering sticks. Elijah asks her to get him a drink of water. As she’s going, he also tells her to bring him something to eat. She informs him that all she has is a handful of flour in a bin and a little oil in a jar. She was gathering the sticks to make a fire so she and her son could use it for their last meal. Then Elijah gives her a word of wisdom and prophecy, 1 Kings 17:13: "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.'" What followed was a daily miracle. Every time she drew the flour and oil, it was supernaturally replenished. It was not one of those one-time, magnificent miracles. It was a small miracle every day. It kept them trusting God on a daily basis, but they also got to see the hand of God at work every day.
In 2 Kings 6, Elisha’s prophet students were cutting down some beams so they could build additional residential space. One of the students was cutting down a tree with an ax he had borrowed. When the iron ax head fell into the river, he panicked and cried out to Elisha for help. When Elisha identified where it had fallen, he threw in a stick. When that act of faith was done, the iron ax head floated to the surface. Elisha had the young prophet retrieve it from the water. God cares about your problems. It doesn’t have to be a Red Sea event to get a miracle from God. If we look to Him in faith, He will meet the need, whatever it is. Notice how this miracle transcended the laws of nature. Iron usually doesn’t swim. But it did that day.
The first miracle that Jesus performed was turning the water into wine. During His ministry, He worked many other miracles: feeding the multitudes, walking on water, calming storms, and raising the dead, to name a few. We simply don’t have time to look at them. Miracles were a part of His agenda. Then, in John 14:12, He made an astounding promise to His followers. "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” He has made it possible for ordinary believers to participate in miraculous ministry by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The early church looked to God for miracles. They took Jesus at His word. Miracles occurred under the apostles’ ministries. But they didn’t stop there. Acts 6:8 says, “Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people” (KJV). Acts 8:5: “Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. 6 And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.” The workings of miracles were not confined to the twelve apostles. The evangelism in Samaria was profoundly effective because Phillip operated in the workings of miracles. There is nothing in the Bible that says God withdrew that. The early church prayed for God to work with them miraculously. When they were under persecution, instead of asking God to take away the persecution, they asked for signs and wonders. Listen to their prayer in Acts 4:29-30 “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus."
In 1952, God spoke to American evangelist Tommy Hicks in a vision. He told him to go the South America and preach the gospel. While on a flight to Buenos Aires, the name Peron flashed into Hick’s mind. He asked the flight attendant if she knew anyone by that name. She told him that Juan Peron was the president of Argentina. Hicks tried to get an appointment with Peron but ran into difficulties. While asking for an interview, he met Peron’s secretary, who had a bad leg. When Hicks prayed for the man, he was instantly healed.xiii That opened the way for him to be introduced to General Peron.
When Hicks met Peron, he told him that he wanted to conduct a salvation-healing campaign in a large stadium with press and radio coverage. President Peron was suffering from a persistent and disfiguring skin disease. It had become so noticeable that he no longer allowed photographs to be taken. He asked Tommy Hicks if Jesus could heal him. As they joined hands, the power of God flowed into Peron’s body, and his skin disease was healed!
Peron gave Hicks access to a large stadium and free access to the government-controlled radio and press. In two months, three million attended, with an estimated 300,000 decisions for Christ and a massive number of healings and miracles. Hicks later went to Russia and ministered behind the Iron Curtain.xiv
This is a modern-day example of what Jesus promised in the Great Commission.xv In Mark 16:15, Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them;[those are workings of miracles that transcend natural laws] they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." The day of miracles has not passed. The day of miracles is now, and you can be part of it!
ENDNOTES:
i Matthew 14:29. The difference between presumption and faith is the word of the Lord.
ii All Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise.
iii 1 Cor. 2:4; Acts 8:5-8
iv Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed. (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1993) p. 742.
v NT:1755 (Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006, 2010 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
vi Gordon Fee, The New International Commentary of the New Testament; The First Epistle of the Corinthians () p. 588.
vii The Greek word translated "word" in Romans 10:17
viii Someone might ask how their unbelief could keep Jesus from working miracles. God does not violate freewill. 2 Pet. 3:9 tells us that God is not willing that any would perish, yet Scripture teaches that many will. Why? Freewill. Only those who repent will not perish, even though it is God’s will that none perish.
ix Phil. 3:4; Matt. 11:12
x Matt. 16:24-26; Luke 14:25-33
xi Matt. 5:6
xii The signs and wonders Moses did before Pharaoh, during the ten plagues, defied natural laws. It is interesting to see how Pharaoh’s magicians counterfeited miracles, but reached their limit and had to acknowledge "This is the finger of God" (Ex 8:19).
NKJV
xiii John Wimber, Power Evangelism (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1986) p. 181.
xiv Tony Cauchi, The Voice of Healing, Tommy Hicks, retrieved at http://voiceofhealing.info/05otherministries/hicks.html as quoted from Bibliography: D. Harrell, Jr., All Things Are Possible (1975); Art: S. Shemeth, International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (2002); Thy God Reigneth: The Story of Revival in Argentina; Various VOH magazines.
xv Although the gifts of healings are at the center of this story, miracles continue in modern times. Smith Wigglesworth once prayed for a man who had no feet. God miraculously gave the man feet (Rodney Howard-Brown, Flowing in the Holy Spirit: A Practical Handbook on the Gifts of the Spirit (Shippingsberg, PA, 2000) pp. 67-68.)
