Chapter 10.4

Divine Miracles

The Direct Hand of God

 

Table of Topics

A) Physical Miracles Performed by God

A.1) Examples of direct divine physical miraculous deeds

A.2) Purposes of direct divine physical miraculous deeds

B) Spiritual Miracles Performed by God

Extras & Endnotes

Primary Points

• Direct divine physical miraculous deeds are those miracles that God has performed Himself without apparent human intermediaries, over the physical forces of Nature.
• The most important past examples of direct divine physical miraculous deeds are the initial creation of the Universe (Gen 1:1-2; John 1:1-2) and the Incarnation (cf. Matt 1:21; John 1:14) and Resurrection of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 15:3-5).
• Perhaps the most powerful direct divine physical miracle is illustrated in the fulfillment of prophecy.
• It is interesting to note that when we come to the NT, there are very few direct divine miracles as virtually all those recorded occur through human miracle workers.
• One of the very few direct divine physical miraculous deeds in the NT is Philip’s immediate translation from a desert road to Azotus (cf. Acts 8:39-40).
• God has reserved the most important miracles for Himself (i.e. Creation, Flood, Incarnation, Resurrection, Recreation).
• The most miraculous physical human healing that can occur is restoring physical life to a dead person.
• God’s direct miraculous physical deeds occurred in Scripture to fulfill a purpose or authenticate a covenant or promise of God.
• Related to the fact that God’s direct miraculous deeds authenticated His promises and purposes, they are a powerful revelation of His character.
• In contrast to physical miracles, a spiritual miraculous deed transforms a person’s life, not just a limb.
• It would seem clear that some supernatural working was evident in the lives of such men as Noah, Abraham, and Moses, in order to transform them into the spiritual giants they were, in contrast to all of those around them. We consider this a direct divine spiritual miraculous deed on God’s part.

A) Physical Miracles Performed by God

A.1) Examples of direct divine physical miraculous deeds

Direct divine physical miraculous deeds are those miracles that God has performed Himself without apparent human intermediaries, over the physical forces of Nature. In other words, no Angel or human apparently performed or commanded them, but God alone did both, and while they changed all kinds of natural things and no doubt had psychological effects on those who witnessed them, they did not automatically affect anyone’s soul in an eternal way.

The most important past examples of direct divine physical miraculous deeds are the initial creation of the Universe (Gen 1:1-2; John 1:1-2) and the Incarnation (cf. Matt 1:21; John 1:14) and Resurrection of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 15:3-5). The most obvious present example of direct divine physical miraculous deeds is the physical healing of people, often times in response to our prayers. The most momentous future example of this type of miracle will be our own “rapture” (1 Thess 4:13-18) ^[1] and resurrection (1 Cor 15:51-53) and the coming recreation of the Universe (cf. Rev 21:5).

Perhaps the most powerful direct divine physical miracle is illustrated in the fulfillment of prophecy. When one ponders the myriad of people and circumstances that must be supernaturally manipulated in order to ensure that specific detailed prophecies occur, we think of one word: power. Supernatural power over anything and everything necessary to bring the predestined will ^[2] of God about. ^[3]

Some of the most memorable examples of direct divine physical miraculous deeds of God in the OT include:

• World wide Flood (cf. Gen 7:9-12)
• World-wide confusion of languages (cf. Gen 11:1-9)
• Conception of Isaac (cf. Gen 17:17; 18:12; 21:2)
• Destruction of Sodom (cf. Gen 19)
• Turning Lot’s wife into salt (cf. Gen 19:26)
• Fire coming from heaven (cf. Num 11:1-3)
• Killing 14,700 people with a plague (cf. Num 16:46-50) and many more with poisonous snakes (cf. Num 21:6-9)
• Israelite’s crossing of the Jordan River at flood stage (cf. Josh 3:15-17)
• Intervention in battles in which the Israelites faced overwhelming odds (cf. Josh 6:20; 10:5-11; 2 Chron 20:22-24)
• Feeding Elijah with food brought by ravens (cf. 1 Kgs 17:6)
• Jonah’s three day stay and release from the belly of a whale (cf. Jonah 1:17)

It is interesting to note that when we come to the NT, there are very few direct divine miracles as virtually all those recorded occur through human miracle workers. Even from the periods in the OT in which miracle workers are active (i.e. Moses, Elijah, and Elisha), we see that the direct kind virtually ceases. One of the very few direct divine physical miraculous deeds in the NT is Philip’s immediate translation from a desert road to Azotus (cf. Acts 8:39-40).

Also, we notice that although these direct divine miraculous deeds (i.e. Creation, Incarnation, Resurrection) are the most important miracles in human history, they are also the most rare in biblical history. It would seem God has reserved the most important miracles for Himself (i.e. Creation, Flood, Incarnation, Resurrection, Recreation), because these are particularly supernatural, rare, and awe-inspiring displays of God’s “eternal power and divine nature” (Rom 1:20) and particularly critical to accomplishing His plan for the Universe.

Finally, as mentioned above, the most obvious present example of direct divine physical miraculous deeds is the physical healing of people. For example, we read of King Hezekiah:

In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. . . . Hezekiah . . . prayed to the LORD, “Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in Your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. (Isa 38:1-5)

Accordingly, it is this kind of physical healing that most people think of when they think of modern divine miracles in general. It is healings that God does directly, perhaps in answer to prayers, but apart from the command of a miracle worker like Christ or an Apostle.

Obviously, the most miraculous physical human healing that can occur is restoring physical life to a dead person. We know of no well-documented or attested case of some “faith healer” raising anyone from the dead since Apostolic times, ^[4] however, we believe God has directly performed this miracle since then. ^[5] For example, the case of Don Piper seems both well-documented and attested, and in the prologue of his book he writes:

I died on January 18, 1989. Paramedics reached the scene of the accident within minutes. They found no pulse and declared me dead. They covered me with a tarp so that onlookers wouldn’t stare at me while they attended to the injuries of the others. I was completely unaware of the paramedics or anyone else around me. . . .

While I was [dead], a Baptist preacher came on the accident scene. Even though he knew I was dead, he rushed to my lifeless body and prayed for me. Despite the scoffing of the Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), he refused to stop praying. At least ninety minutes after the EMTs pronounced me dead, God answered that man’s prayers. ^[6]

While direct divine physical miracles may result in healing and raising someone from the dead, they can also bring disease and death (cf. Num 16:46-50). For example, the Apostle Paul wrote the Corinthians:

For anyone who eats and drinks [the Lord’s supper] without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under [divine] judgment. (1 Cor 11:29-32)

Apparently, unbelievers who could not properly “recognize” the true spiritual significance of the sacrificial death of Christ’s “body” were being supernaturally disciplined by God, to the point of being made sick or even killed.

All of the above, of course, are miracles, fitting our definition of an extraordinary revelation of God’s supernatural power. Accordingly, they illustrate the three attributes of miracles described in the previous chapter. They are obvious interventions into natural processes, relatively extremely rare, and awe-inspiring. Finally, they are direct divine miraculous deeds because no apparent intermediary was involved in accomplishing them. ^[7] In other words, while the Baptist preacher prayed for Don Piper, he was not delegated miracle working power to command a miracle, but rather, it was performed directly by God.

This category of direct divine physical miraculous deeds brings up the rather difficult topic of how to categorize the miracles of Christ. He “was God” (John 1:1), yet repeatedly insisted while on Earth that His authority and miracle working power had been delegated to Him by the Father (cf. John 5:19-23, 26, 30, 36; 14:10-11; cp. 15:5). ^[8] For our purposes of distinguishing between direct and delegated miracle working, we have chosen to distinguish between the non-incarnate Christ Who created the Universe in the past (cf. John 1:2-3, Col 1:16), presently preserves it (cf. Col 1:17), and in the future will recreate it (Rev 21:5); from the incarnate Christ Who walked on the Earth in a fully human body. Accordingly, we will consider the miracles of the non-incarnate Christ as direct miracles, including those performed by the Angel of the Lord in the OT which we support elsewhere as a pre-incarnation theophany of God the Son. ^[9] On the other hand, those miracles performed by the incarnate Christ will be discussed in the next chapter under delegated miracle working.

A.2) Purposes of direct divine physical miraculous deeds

Some of the purposes of direct divine miraculous deeds are closely related to our previous discussion on what circumstances make miracles more likely to occur. ^[10] These circumstances included the fulfillment of a predestined “controlling call” on a person’s life, or special authentication, protection, and encouragement of Christians in the context of severe persecution, or the introduction of Christianity to new cultures. In addition, direct divine miraculous deeds occur as simple answers to prayer.

God’s direct miraculous deeds also occurred in Scripture to authenticate a covenant or promise of God. The most powerful and perhaps important example is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This direct divine miraculous deed is the signature of Almighty God on the New Covenant. Accordingly, the Apostle Paul writes that Christ, “through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 1:4; cf. 1 Cor 15:12-19).

It is because of the authenticating nature of God’s direct miraculous deeds that they are often referred to in Scripture as “signs.” Accordingly, John McClintock (1814-1870) and James Strong (1814-1870) relate:

The word simeion, sign, tells us in the plainest language that these works were tokens calling the attention of men to what was then happening; and especially is it used in the Old Testament of some mark or signal confirming a promise or covenant. Such a sign (or mark) God gave to Cain in proof that his life was safe (Genesis 4:15). Such a sign (or token) was the rainbow to Noah, certifying him and mankind throughout all time that the world should not be again destroyed by water (Genesis 9:13). . . .

Thus Ahaz is told to ask a sign, and a choice is given him either of some meteor in the heavens, or of some appearance in the nether world (Isaiah 7:11). . . . Elsewhere the divine foreknowledge is the sign (Exodus 3:12; Isaiah 37:30), and generally signs of God’s more immediate presence with his people would either be prophecy (Psalm 74:9) or miracle (Psalm 105:27; Jeremiah 32:20; Daniel 4:2). . . .

Repeatedly the purpose of the supernatural occurrence is given as a twofold “sign”: “By this you will know that I am the Lord” (Exod. 7:17; cf. 9:29-30; 10:1-2) and that these are “my people” (Exod. 3:10; cf. 5:1; 6:7; 11:7; [cf. Deut. 26:8; cf. 29:2-3; Josh. 24:17; Neh.10; Ps. 105:27; Jer. 32:20-2 1]). ^[11]

Related to the fact that God’s direct miraculous deeds authenticated His promises and purposes, they are a powerful revelation of His character. Accordingly, we see that the miracle of Creation is intended to reveal God’s “eternal power and divine nature” (Rom 1:20), and ever since Creation, God has been revealing His character through this direct miraculous deed. He has continued to do the same. Accordingly, we have written elsewhere:

God demonstrated His holiness to Noah when the flood waters supernaturally destroyed all other breathing beings (cf. Gen 6:5-7). He showed Abraham His faithfulness by supernaturally giving him a son even in old age as He had promised (cf. Gen 15:4). God demonstrated His wrath when He, “rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah” (cf. Gen 19:24). He revealed His sovereignty over human circumstances through the miraculous manipulation of events in Joseph’s life (cf. Gen chs. 37-50). God’s unconditional grace was demonstrated in the Exodus (cf. Deut 7:6-8). His compassion was evident when He lengthened Hezekiah’s life (cf. Isa 38:1, 5), just as He does whenever He miraculously heals someone today. God’s great love was demonstrated by God the Son dying on the cross. And His immense power was again proven by Christ’s resurrection. ^[12]

B) Spiritual Miracles Performed by God

In contrast to physical miracles, a spiritual miraculous deed transforms a person’s life, not just a limb. A possible example in Scripture is when we read of an occurrence of supernatural unity: “Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the LORD” (2 Chron 30:12). Experience tells us that such unity is not natural among humans and this would appear to be a supernatural deed performed by God to effect people spiritually.

Another example of a spiritual miracle performed directly by God is His granting of serving gifts such as “serving . . . teaching . . . encouraging . . . contributing to the needs of others . . . leadership . . . [and] showing mercy” (Rom 12:7-8). These are special desires and abilities to serve God and His people more effectively, and we do not acquire them by natural means, but rather, they are “various forms” of “God’s grace,” (1 Pet 4:10), such that “God works all of them in all men” and they are all “the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines” (1 Cor 12:6, 11). While the possession of these supernatural abilities is a direct spiritual miracle of God, the effectiveness of them is dependent on our faithful exercise of them (cf. 1 Pet 4:10; 1 Cor 15:10). ^[13]

The primary example of such a direct divine miraculous deed of the spiritual kind is spiritual regeneration. We will suggest below that under the New Covenant, this miracle occurs through the delegated miracle working power of preaching the Gospel. However, in the OT it would appear to have happened directly from God in an unmediated way. Accordingly, we have written elsewhere:

We would suggest as well that the reason that ones such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, Caleb, Joshua, David, and the Prophets had such enduring faith in God was not because of something they could take credit for in and of themselves. Rather, we would suggest that God’s Spirit worked in such men in a special and unique way, enabling them to maintain the supernatural faith in God they had.

The Holy Spirit did not give us the stories of these great men to glorify them, but rather to point again to the God who enabled them. The OT heroes seemed to be forerunners of those Israelites, who through the New Covenant, were also to receive the Spirit. In other words, the following promise from Ezekiel was fulfilled for such men long before it would be realized for the Jewish nation in general:

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws. (Ezek 36:26-7)

The faith of Noah (cf. Gen 6:5-14), contrasted with the world; the faith of Abraham (cf. Gen 15:6), contrasted with Lot; the faith of Moses (cf. Num 11:17), Joshua (cf. Num 27:18), Caleb (cf. Num 14:24), and the Prophets (cf. 1 Pet 1:11) contrasted with the rest of the Jewish nation; the faith and character of David (cf. 1 Sam 16:13-14; Ps 51:11), contrasted with Saul; all reflect, as the verses referenced indicate, a special work of the Spirit in their lives, and demonstrate even in the OT the vast difference between regenerated and unregenerated hearts in relation to faith.

There would seem to be good evidence that such men were not under the control of a sinful nature that is “hostile to God [and] does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so” (Rom 8:7). All men born since Adam have been in bondage to the sinful nature, and if these men were not, it was undoubtedly because some action of the Spirit had transformed them so that the sinful nature was dethroned, enabling them to love, obey, and believe God as they uniquely did. Any real virtue in humanity is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

We are therefore inclined to agree with Millard Erickson in his popular Christian Theology when he writes: “There are several biblical considerations that argue for the occurrence of regeneration in the Old Testament (or pre-Pentecost) period.” And it would be such a regeneration that would explain the faith exhibited in the OT. ^[14]

It would seem clear that some supernatural working was evident in the lives of such men as Noah, Abraham, and Moses, in order to transform them into the spiritual giants they were, in contrast to all of those around them. ^[15] We consider this a direct divine spiritual miraculous deed on God’s part. While it would seem that it produced supernatural faith and virtue, the primary purpose of such supernatural action in the lives of these men was to accomplish God’s plan of salvation, as each of them played a unique role in this.

Extras & Endnotes

A Devotion to Dad

Our Father in Heaven, we again glory in Your remarkable works. Praise You for being willing to step into our realm and create the Universe, incarnate Your Son, and raise Him from the dead, all for our salvation and eternal blessing. Nothing has improved the quality and destiny of our lives more than Your miracles. Indeed, we are gaining an understanding of why there is no such thing as Christianity, or hope either, without them.

 

Gauging Your Grasp

1. How do we define a Direct divine physical miraculous deed?
2. What are the most important past examples of direct divine physical miraculous deeds?
3. We claim that in the NT, there are very few direct divine physical miracles and virtually all those recorded occur through human miracle workers. Why would this be the case?
4. What is one of the very few direct divine physical miraculous deeds in the NT?
5. What are the five most important miracles described in Scripture? Are they direct divine miracles or delegated human miracle working? Why is this the case?
6. What is the most obvious present day example of direct divine physical miraculous deeds?
7. What are some biblical purposes of direct divine miraculous deeds?
8. How do we define a direct divine spiritual miraculous deed?
9. What do we suggest is an OT example of a direct divine spiritual miraculous deed? Why do we suggest its NT counterpart is an example of delegated human spiritual miracle working?

Publications & Particulars

1. The “rapture” is the resurrection of those Christians still living when Christ returns (cf. 1 Thess 4:13-18; Matt 24:29-31). ↑

2. For further discussion of the concept of the predestined will of God see section 7.15.B.1. ↑

3. For further discussion of fulfilled biblical prophecy see chapter 9.8. ↑

4. For further discussion of the claims of “faith healers” raising the dead see section 11.8.E. ↑

5. For example, see story of possible resuscitation of life at section 10.3.C.5. ↑

6. Don Piper, 90 Minutes in Heaven (Baker, 2004), prologue. While we believe that Mr. Piper was physically dead and extraordinarily brought back to life, we reserve judgment on his claim that he experienced Heaven. He is certainly a Christian, and he experienced something remarkable, but the fact that he admits he only saw deceased friends and never God, brings up at least some questions as to what he did experience. ↑

7. Angels may have been involved in these direct miracles, as in the angelic miracle working discussed in the next chapter, but we are not told so. ↑

8. This delegation that exists within the Godhead is discussed further at section 4.1.B.2. ↑

9. See section 10.9.C. ↑

10. For further discussion on the proper expectation of miracles see chapter 10.3. ↑

11. John McClintock and James Strong, Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, CD-ROM (Ages Software, 2000), VI:38-39. ↑

12. Excerpt from section 7.11.B. For several additional examples of some amazing direct divine miracles see throughout chapter 10.2. ↑

13. For further discussion of serving gifts as a revelation of God’s will see chapter 7.13. ↑

14. Excerpt from section 4.16.E. ↑

15. On the work of the Holy Spirit in the OT Wayne Grudem writes:

    [S]ometimes [it] is said that there was no work of the Holy Spirit within people in the Old Testament. This idea has mainly been inferred from the King’s words to the disciples in John 14:17, “He dwells with you, and will be in you.” But we should not conclude from this verse that there was no work of the Holy Spirit within people before Pentecost. Although the Old Testament does not frequently speak of people who had the Holy Spirit in them or who were filled with the Holy Spirit, there are a few examples.

    Joshua is said to have the Holy Spirit within him (Num. 27:18; Deut. 34:9), as are Ezekiel (Ezek. 2:2; 3:24), Daniel (Dan. 4:8-9, 18; 5:11), and Micah (Mic. 3:8). This means that when the King says to his disciples that the Holy Spirit “dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:17), he cannot mean that there was an absolute “within/without” difference between the old and new covenant work of the Holy Spirit. Nor can John 7:39 (“as yet the Spirit had not been given, because the King was not yet glorified”) mean that there was no activity of the Holy Spirit in people’s lives before Pentecost. (Systematic Theology [Zondervan, 1994], 637). ↑