Table of Contents

Appendix A Detailed Contents

Chapter 11.13

Distinguishing Divine from Demonic Miracle Working

Virtue, not Power or Doctrine

Table of Topics

A) The Challenge of Distinguishing Between Divine & Demonic Miracle Working

B) Supernatural Virtue is the Ultimate Test of the Divinity of Miracles

C) It is the Virtue of the Miracle Worker that Matters, not the Miracles Themselves

D) The Insufficiency of Mere Power to Test the Source of Miracles

E) The Insufficiency of Mere Doctrine to Test the Source of Miracles

Extras & Endnotes

Primary Points

According to Jesus, distinguishing between divine and demonic miracles is both important and potentially difficult.
satan is not confined to copying God and is actively operating a multitude of creative schemes that have no relation to anything God is doing.
There is one kind of miracle that satan will not and cannot duplicate and it is the greatest miracle of all: the supernatural virtues of love and holiness.
The Apostle points to the supernatural virtue of love as the distinguishing characteristic of anything coming from the Holy Spirit (cf. 13:1-7).
“No amount of miracles could convince a good man of the divine commission of a known bad man.”
Not even Judas used accusations of immorality against Christ, because as a close associate of Christ’s he knew otherwise.
Edwards: “I think it to be abundantly manifest, that Christian practice is the most proper evidence of the gracious sincerity of professors, to themselves and others; and the chief of all the marks of grace, the sign of signs, evidence of evidences, that which seals and crowns all other signs.”
Even demonic miracles are performed with power ultimately delegated by God. So then the potential power of even demonic miracles is very great.
We should ask ourselves what kinds of things would satan’s “servants” have to say or do in a group of Christians to deceive them into actually accepting them as “apostles of Christ,”? No doubt, far more than most Christians will give him credit for.
satan’s servants will act and talk like Christians, in public, including preaching the Gospel.
satan is willing to “give up” a few converts, if it puts him in a position to lead many Christians astray.

A) The Challenge of Distinguishing Between Divine & Demonic Miracle Working

Distinguishing between divine and demonic miracles is both important and potentially difficult. Along these lines, Dr. Carson shares concerning Christ’s warning of demonic miracle workers:

[I]t is . . . necessary to remind ourselves that Jesus could warn against the efforts of false christs and false prophets who by performing signs and wonders would “deceive the elect-if that were possible” (Mark 13:22). The language suggests they are extraordinarily deceptive and come within a whisker of this end. That means it will take more than usual discernment to see what is askew; and our generation of believers is not noteworthy for discernment. ^[1]

Such discernment is even further complicated by the insufficient ways many go about making such distinctions. Some claim we can distinguish between divine and demonic miracle working by the sheer power of the miracles. Others claim that no one who preaches the Gospel could be a false miracle worker. We will demonstrate below that these approaches are not adequate to protect the Church from demonic, miraculous infiltrations, and that the biblically prescribed test of supernatural virtue is our best hope.

We will mention here one interesting twist in super-supernatural arguments concerning their claims to the miraculous gifts. Some will admit that there is satanic deception occurring in their midst, but will insist this is even more proof that real miracles are occurring among them because satan’s schemes always involve counterfeiting what is real. In other words, because the devil evidently lacks all creativity, he can only copy what God does, and we can therefore discern what is divine by noticing what is demonic. Therefore, the reason that satan might empower miracle workers is because God is empowering them today as well.

However, such an insufficient understanding of our enemy will surely make us vulnerable. Is satan confined to only copying God? Do we discover what God is doing by observing what the devil is doing? Where is the real Ouija board, crystal ball, or Tarot cards? satan is actively operating a multitude of creative and deceptive schemes that have no relation to anything God is doing. He is not confined to copying God, and will, in fact, do anything within his power to take advantage of us.

B) Supernatural Virtue is the Ultimate Test of the Divinity of Miracles

In previous chapters we have offered biblical and historical evidence that satan’s servants can indeed produce miracles of great power. There is, however, one kind of miracle that satan will not and cannot duplicate and it is the greatest miracle of all: supernatural virtue such as love and holiness. We have discussed what we call virtue apologetics elsewhere, and have claimed that it is the ultimate proof of anything divine. Among other things we wrote:

An important and final reference to virtue apologetics in the Sermon on the Mount occurs when Christ says:

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit [e.g. morality] you will recognize them.

Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only he who does the [moral] will of My Father Who is in Heaven. ²²Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!’ (Matt 7:15-23; cf. 12:33-34)

The ultimate power of virtue apologetics is perhaps best expressed by Christ when He prescribes it for distinguishing between the divine and the demonic. We can imagine all of the religious things a person would need to do and say to be accepted as a prophet of God (i.e. the “sheep’s clothing”). Christ even points out that they may do authentic and amazing miraculous things in His name (cf. v. 22).

As we point out elsewhere, the Scriptures teach that the sheer power of demonic miracles can equal those of God Himself, including foretelling the future (cf. Deut 12:32-13:1-4), and resurrecting the dead (cf. Rev 13:3). How then can we possibly know that people who have the power to perform miracles and gladly do so in the name of Jesus, are actually “evildoers”? Jesus said by their moral fruit.

It is not by the content of their message alone that a false prophet will be exposed, but rather, it will be primarily by the content of their character. The first can be faked, the other cannot because it requires a supernatural enablement that God will only grant to those who are His. Christ knows that the unregenerate cannot match the virtue (“good fruit”) of the regenerate, no matter how religious they may be.

In addition, in spite of all the supernatural power God may grant satan, he cannot and will not duplicate the greatest miracle which is supernatural virtue. Accordingly, because virtue is the ultimate apologetic, in the end, it alone is sufficient to distinguish divine from demonic power and people. ^[2]

Therefore, ultimately, only those who are supernaturally moral, can be considered as agents of divine miracles.

Not only did Jesus point to supernatural virtue as the test of anything divine, but so did the Apostle Paul. ^[3] As we point out elsewhere, the Apostle is giving the Corinthian church instruction on this very thing in chapters 12-14 of his first letter to them. ^[4] Apparently supernatural manifestations are occurring in the assembly, and the Corinthians have asked how to discern the real from the fake and demonic (cf. 1 Cor 12:1-3). One should notice that the Apostle points to the supernatural virtue of love as the distinguishing characteristic of anything coming from the Holy Spirit (cf. 13:1-7).

Accordingly, the ancient Christian document referred to as the Didache (c. 70) relates: “But not everyone who speaks in a spirit is a prophet, except he have the behavior of the Lord.” ^[5] Likewise, Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) wrote that the fruits of the Spirit are far greater than the gifts, and someone may have extraordinary gifts “and yet be abominable to God, and go straight to hell.” ^[6]

Along the same lines, replying to the charge that Jesus’ works were no different from those that could be witnessed in any Egyptian marketplace, the early Church leader Origen (c. 185-c. 254) retorted:

They might have been comparable if he [Celsus] had first given sufficient proof of the similarity to those who employ trickery. But in fact no sorcerer uses his tricks to call spectators to moral reformation; nor does he educate by the fear of God people who were astounded by what they saw, nor does he attempt to persuade the onlookers to live as men who will be judged by God. Sorcerers do none of these things, since they have neither the ability nor even the will to do so. ^[7]

Likewise, the biographer of the influential British preacher D. M. Lloyd-Jones (1899–1981), illustrates the authenticating power of supernatural virtue when he tells the story of a well known London spiritist who was converted to Christ after attending Lloyd-Jones’ church. She testified:

The moment I entered your chapel and sat down on a seat amongst the people, I was conscious of a supernatural power. I was conscious of the same sort of supernatural power as I was accustomed to in our spiritist meetings, but there was one big difference; I had the feeling that the power in your chapel was a clean power. ^[8]

Indeed, as the great Baptist theologian Augustus H. Strong (1836–1921) put it many years ago:

Miracles, therefore, do not stand alone as evidences. Power alone cannot prove a divine commission. Purity of life and doctrine must go with the miracles to assure us that a religious teacher has come from God. . . . No amount of miracles could convince a good man of the divine commission of a known bad man. ^[9]

Therefore, the Hindu guru sai baba described in the previous chapter would certainly seem to have supernatural abilities, talks a lot about love and even honors Jesus in his teachings, but, the number of testimonies being produced concerning his sexual perversions exposes him as demonic. For example, contrast sai baba’s moral reputation with that of Christ Who could challenge even His enemies to detect any lack of virtue in Him (cf. John 8:46; 2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 7:26; 1 Pet 2:22). Not even Judas used accusations of immorality against Christ, because as a close associate of Christ’s he knew otherwise.

Recognizing that supernatural virtue is the ultimate biblically prescribed test for distinguishing between divine and demonic miracle working, helps us avoid common errors in the teaching that is given on this topic.

Yet even the ultimate test of supernatural virtue has its challenges. Of course, because we are human there is no perfect way of distinguishing the demonic from the divine, and while supernatural, consistent virtue is the best indicator, it too can be faked. Accordingly, Jonathan Edwards wrote under the subtitle: “It is no evidence that religious affections are saving, or that they are otherwise, that there is an appearance of love in them.”:

[T]he subtlety of satan, and men’s deceitful hearts, are wont chiefly to be exercised in counterfeiting those [things] that are in highest repute. So there are perhaps no graces that have more counterfeits than love and humility; these being virtues wherein the beauty of a true Christian does especially appear.

But with respect to love; it is plain by the Scripture, that persons may have a kind of religious love, and yet have no saving grace. Christ speaks of many professing Christians that have such love, whose love will not continue, and so shall fail of salvation, Matt. 24:12, 13: “And because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Which latter words plainly show, that those spoken of before, whose love shall not endure to the end, but wax cold, should not be saved. . . .

The apostle seems to intimate, that there were many in his days who had a counterfeit love to Christ, in Eph. 6:24: “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.” The last word, in the original, signifies incorruption; which shows, that the apostle was sensible that there were many who had a kind of love to Christ, whose love was not pure and spiritual.

So also Christian love to the people of God may be counterfeited. It is evident by the Scripture, that there may be strong affections of this kind, without saving grace; as there were in the Galatians towards the Apostle Paul, when they were ready to pluck out their eyes and give them to him; although the apostle expresses his fear that their affections were come to nothing, and that he had bestowed upon them labor in vain, Gal. 4:11, 15. ^[10]

Nonetheless, in the same very lengthy and detailed treatise on how to discern real divinity in people, Edwards concluded that:

Now from all that has been said, I think it to be abundantly manifest, that Christian practice is the most proper evidence of the gracious sincerity of professors, to themselves and others; and the chief of all the marks of grace, the sign of signs, and evidence of evidences, that which seals and crowns all other signs. ^[11]

Likewise, and more recently, John MacArthur has written:

[F]alse teachers aren’t necessarily even that obvious. They don’t wear badges identifying themselves as apostates. They usually try hard not to stand out as enemies of truth. They pretend devotion to Christ and demand tolerance from Christ’s followers. They are often extremely likable, persuasive, and articulate people. According to Jude, that is what makes apostasy such an urgent matter of concern for the church. It produces people who can infiltrate the church by “[creeping] in unnoticed’ (Jude 4, emphasis added). . . .

Like the Pharisees whom Jesus targeted with those words, most false teachers are experts at feigned piety. Their masquerade can be quite convincing. They maintain a carefully polished veneer of charm and innocence-and at least the appearance of some kind of “spirituality.” They usually come with permanent smiles, gentle words, likable personalities, and vocabularies full of biblical and spiritual words. ^[12]

Nonetheless, Dr. MacArthur concludes:

Apostate false teachers are not humble. They are not broken. They are not submissive. They are not meek. They are blatant, proud sovereigns of their own religious empires. And while they like to use Christ’s name for their advantage, they do not really know, obey, or love the truth-written or Incarnate. ^[13]

C) It is the Virtue of the Miracle Worker that Matters, Not the Miracles Themselves

Of course the healing of even a wicked miracle worker seems to benefit people and can appear to be a moral thing. However, as Erwin Lutzer comments on Christ’s warning and instruction on discerning demonic miracle workers in Matthew 7 quoted above:

[A] miracle is not necessarily from God just because it helps people. In this text, Jesus assures us that demons were evidently cast out and beneficial miracles were performed. Yet, the miracles did not originate in the power of God. . . . satan is willing to give something that appears good in exchange for blind allegiance. . . .

Let us not overlook the fact that when the Israelites worshiped the pagan goddess Ishtar, whom they called “the Queen of Heaven” (Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-25), they insisted that it was she who gave them crops and food. In fact, they had the audacity to say, “But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine” (v. 18). The Israelites were convinced that their prayers to a pagan goddess paid dividends; they thought they were better off because of their false worship.

God would have none of it and told them that such worship was an abomination. But mark it well: It is possible to benefit from false worship; it is possible to claim miracles of provision and help. But even such “miracles” do not justify wrong doctrines.

Remember, satan’s goal is not to create as much misery as he can on planet earth; he wants to make us comfortable while keeping his eventual goals in sight. His primary objective is to spread false doctrine, to reinforce the cultural conception of God. He wants people to believe in a benevolent God who dispenses help to all. It is naive to say, as some do, that reported miracles must be the work of good angels because the effects are good and beneficial. We must boldly say that “good” miracles can be done by “bad” angels. ^[14]

Just as Christ’s miracles were intended to lead men and women to Him, satan wants his miracles to lead multitudes to worship him. Not directly, of course, since that would be frightening to the masses. All he desires is that they come to venerate a prophet or a shrine. All they need to do is to get in touch with the “powers,” not knowing that behind these miracles is a sinister spirit intending to steer the unwary away from Christ to Mary; or from Christ to Krishna; or from Christ to an Angel.

Healings, financial windfalls, and dramatic rescues arrest the attention of an undiscerning public. satan’s goal, of course, is to make people think that anyone can access God-no matter what you believe, no matter what religion you adopt, no matter what lifestyle you live. God is an “equal-access partner.” Indeed, angels are waiting to deliver you from trouble, no matter your religion. ^[15]

D) The Insufficiency of Mere Power to Test the Source of Miracles

We have discussed thoroughly elsewhere the fact that even demonic miracles are performed with power ultimately delegated by God. ^[16] This helps us understand that the mere magnitude of a miracle does not automatically discount the demonic nature of it. If all power for such deeds is God’s power, then the potential power of even demonic miracles is very great.

This is why it would seem unwise to automatically claim that there are physical miracles the devil can’t do, including creating things, foretelling things, or empowering someone to rise from the dead, all of which we believe antichrist will have the power to do. If such deeds will accomplish God’s purposes, then the power to do them will be granted, and what the devil might be able to do may be far greater than what many might think he could do.

This is why Christ warned us: “false christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect–if that were possible” (Matt 24:24). Accordingly, it is dangerous to use power as the ultimate test of something divine.

The fact that supernatural virtue instead of supernatural power is the ultimate test of the divine has often been missed in Christian theology. For example, the eighteenth century authority on Christian evidences, John Locke (1632-1704), wrote something that contains a great deal of truth, but would not seem to go far enough in addressing the abilities of the antichrist, and even those who might come before him:

The number, variety and greatness of the miracles, wrought for the confirmation of the doctrine delivered by Jesus Christ, carry with them such strong marks of an extraordinary divine power, that the truth of his mission will stand firm and unquestionable, till any one rising up in opposition to him shall do greater miracles than he and his apostles did. For anything less will not be of weight to turn the scales in the opinion of any one, whether of an inferior or more exalted understanding. ^[17]

Again, real miracle-working abilities are a very effective first line of defense against fraudulent phenomena. This is why most of the claimed “miracles” in super-supernaturalism mean so little. They can easily be explained in a number of natural ways and don’t seem to be supernatural at all. However, satan has the power to perform great miracles. This is precisely why the antichrist’s ability to deceive “even the elect” will be so great (cf. Matt 24:24). Therefore, the mere magnitude of a miracle is insufficient.

Unfortunately, there is too much misunderstanding about distinguishing between the divine and demonic, particularly in super-supernaturalism. For example, Wayne Grudem suggests that we will be able to distinguish divine from demonic miracle working because, “The power of God is greater than the power of satan to work miraculous signs.” ^[18] Again, it would seem he fails to recognize that demonic miracles are empowered by God’s delegated power, and therefore such a view leaves the Church open to deception.

We see the same vulnerability from the super-supernaturalist C. Peter Wagner who defines an evangelistic “power encounter” as “a visible, practical demonstration that Jesus Christ is more powerful than the false gods or spirits worshipped or feared by a people group.”^[19] Nonsense. It has always been and always will be supernatural virtue like love and holiness that are the ultimate God-ordained demonstrations of His presence, not raw power.

Likewise, presumably because R. C. Sproul, John Gerstner, and Arthur Lindsey believe that only servants of God can do miracles, as noted elsewhere, ^[20] they argue that a physical miracle is the only certain confirmation God can use to authenticate His messengers. Accordingly they write:

Now if God would certify His messengers to us-as we have shown He would do if He intends to send them at all-He would give them credentials that only He could give. Thus, we would know indubitably that they are to be received as the messengers of God. What would God give His messengers that all could see could come only from God? Since the power of miracle belongs to God alone, [physical] miracles are a suitable and fitting vehicle of attestation. ^[21]

Unfortunately, we must disagree with these godly men. We are warned against false prophets, apostles, and even christs who will possess much of the supernatural power of Christ, but none of His supernatural virtue (cf. Matt 7:15-27; 24:24; 2 Cor 11:13-15). Of course, those who would deny any value in physical miracle working for authenticating the words and works of God are mistaken and unbiblical in their view. ^[22] And, the fact that satan can and would counterfeit miraculous deeds to deceive does not automatically disqualify such things. On the contrary, the devil is apt to counterfeit that which is especially valuable to God, and this includes physical miracle working for the authentication of new divine revelation. Nonetheless, it is the supernatural fruit of the spiritual miracle of regeneration that is the ultimate authentication of divine words and works. ^[23]

E) The Insufficiency of Mere doctrine to Test the Source of Miracles

Paul’s warning to the Corinthians regarding false apostles is particularly sobering:

These people are false apostles. They have fooled you by disguising themselves as Apostles of Christ. ¹⁴But I am not surprised! Even satan can disguise himself as an Angel of light. ¹⁵So it is no wonder his servants can also do it by pretending to be godly ministers. In the end they will get every bit of punishment their wicked deeds deserve. (2 Cor 11:12-15 NLT)

We should ask ourselves what kinds of things would satan’s “servants” have to say or do in a group of Christians to deceive them into actually accepting them as “apostles of Christ,”? To what lengths will satan go to in order to be able to infiltrate the people of God? No doubt, far greater lengths than most Christians will give him credit for.

First, the Scriptures make it clear that on the surface, these demonic servants will look like Christians. Jesus said they would have “sheep’s clothing” (Matt 7:15). Here, the Apostle calls them “servants of righteousness” (v. 15, NIV), which no doubt included the fact that they preached morality while all the while serving satan! The Apostle Paul warned elsewhere that “Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:30-31).

More specifically, we would like to make the point that satan’s servants will act and talk like Christians, in public, including preaching the Gospel. How else could they gain the kind of acceptance into the Christian community that the NT describes and actually (although falsely) be regarded as Apostles of Jesus Christ?

In fact, the Apostle Paul describes such people elsewhere as indeed preaching the Gospel when he writes from prison:

Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly. It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. ¹⁶The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the Gospel. ¹⁷The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. (Phil 1:12-17)

A biblical understanding of the place that virtue plays in distinguishing the spiritual fakes from the authentic, and the demonic from the divine, helps us to interpret this passage correctly. In fact, it would seem that only a total disregard for the immoral ways the Apostle describes “some” who “preach Christ” would lead us to still conclude they are even Christians. ^[24]

Real Christians will “preach Christ . . . out of goodwill [eudokian: “kind intention”]” and “in love” (vs. 15-16), the necessary virtue for anyone or anything to be called Christian. As the Apostle John put it, apparently too simply for many, “Anyone who does not love remains in death” (1 John 3:14). However, the fakes “preach Christ out of envy and rivalry” and “selfish ambition, not sincerely” (vs. 15, 17), words the Apostle uses elsewhere to describe those who are surely going to Hell (cf. Gal 5:19-21; Rom 1:28-32; Tit 3:3).

Again, in terms perhaps too simple for our sophisticated brand of Christianity, the Apostle John says:

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who does what is sinful [like to “preach Christ out of envy and rivalry” and “selfish ambition, not sincerely”] is of the devil . . .

This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. (1 John 3:7, 10)

Accordingly, the mere hatred that these Gospel preachers had for the Apostle Paul clearly exposes them as demonic counterfeits.

Since when have mere words or correct doctrine been the sufficient test for an authentic Christian? Unfortunately, it is today throughout the Church. On the contrary, if one has any understanding of the biblical perspective on what really marks a Christian (i.e. supernatural love and holiness) one will not only properly interpret the Apostle here in Philippians, but be appalled at how vulnerable the Church is today to satan’s false apostles who can speak the Christian language, but if evaluated more carefully, cannot live the Christian life. ^[25]

It is true that the Apostle chose to “rejoice” (Phil 1:18) even in the work of these false apostles, but that does not mean that he approved of it, or would not have personally confronted them had he not been confined to prison.

Lest we get the impression that mere rejoicing was the Apostle’s standard reaction to satan’s servants preaching the Gospel, we should be reminded of his response to the demon possessed slave girl in Philippi. Luke records:

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a [demonic] spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.

This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days.

Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the [demonic] spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. (Acts 16:16-18)

Indeed demons will preach the Gospel. And here it would seem that it was not the content of what the possessed slave girl was saying that bothered the Apostle, but the source of her preaching. The Church today should be concerned with the same.

For those who accept predestination to salvation at face value and believe that the eternal destinies of every human being were determined irreversibly by God “before the creation of the world” (Eph. 1:4; cf. Rom 9:6-24), the idea of satan’s servants preaching the Gospel is less troublesome. satan cannot change the eternal destiny of a human being, nor the number of those God has chosen. The most effective thing he can do against the Kingdom of God is not to keep someone from coming into it, but rather, to harass and deceive them once they become children of it. Therefore, it is suggested here that satan is willing to “give up” a few converts, if it puts him in a position to lead many Christians astray.

Nonetheless, it is noticed that in many “faith healing” ministries, the Gospel message is very scarce, obscured, or completely absent anyway. For example, one can watch a whole hour of Benny Hinn’s antics and not hear a single thing of the Gospel. And yet he will call himself an “Evangelist.” One only has to compare such a ministry to a real Evangelist like Billy Graham. We need more Billy’s, not Benny’s.

Finally, Christ would seem to be warning us of people serving satan who will be communicating all kinds of Christian sounding things when He says many “evil doers” will “prophesy” (speak what would seem to be Spirit-inspired, edifying, Christian truth) in, and no doubt with, the “name” of Jesus Christ (Matt 7:22-23). ^[26] Therefore, the idea that anyone who is willing to preach the Gospel should be automatically accepted as a Christian would seem a dangerous and inadequate defense from protecting the flock from “ferocious wolves” who remarkably and deceptively “come to you in sheep’s clothing” (Matt 7:15). They will act, talk, and look like sheep, even good, Gospel preaching, Jesus loving sheep.

In light of what the Church’s great enemy is willing and able to do to deceive God’s people, is it any wonder that the Bible’s warnings to “watch out” for such deception are so numerous? Is it any wonder that God commands His children, and certainly His Pastors: “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God”? (1 John 4:1). And what better way to “test the spirits” then to demand that the supernatural moral fruits of the Holy Spirit are undeniably and consistently present (cf. Gal 5:22-23).

Unfortunately, as noted elsewhere, while Scripture repeatedly warns us to “keep our guard up” regarding spiritual imposters in the Church, super-supernaturalists are constantly encouraging us to keep our guard down, and be more “open” and less critical to the claims that people want to make to being servants of Christ. All of this unfortunately makes super-supernatural churches all the more vulnerable to demonic deception.

For example, we see such dangerous error in Dr. Grudem who writes:

The identity of these workers of false miracles [in Matt 7:22-23] is always known through their denial of the gospel. There is no indication anywhere in Scripture that genuine Christians with the Holy Spirit in them will work false miracles. ^[27]

On the contrary, false apostles will preach the Gospel, and anyone who would follow Dr. Grudem in this would be dangerously susceptible to them. Dr. Grudem’s second sentence is obviously true, which is why Jesus said these false miracle workers were not Christians, but “evil doers.” But again, non-Christians can and will preach the Gospel.

Dr. Grudem continues:

In fact, in a city filled with idolatry and demon worship (see 1 Cor. 10:20), Paul could say to the Corinthian believers, many of whom had come out of that kind of pagan background, that “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3). Here he gives them reassurance that those who make a genuine profession of faith in Jesus as Lord do in fact have the Holy Spirit in them . . .

This should reassure us that if we see miracles being worked by those who make [merely] a genuine profession of faith (1 Cor. 12:3) who believe in the incarnation and deity of Christ (1 John 4:2), and who show the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their lives and bear fruit in their ministry (Matt 7:20; cf. John 15:5; Gal. 5:22-23), we should not be suspicious that they are false miracles but should be thankful to God that the Holy Spirit is working, even in those who may not hold exactly the same convictions that we do on every point of doctrine. Indeed, if God waited to work miracles only through those who were perfect in both doctrine and conduct of life, no miracles would be worked until Christ returns. ^[28]

First, Dr. Grudem is mistaken to suggest that the Apostle intended a mere profession of “Jesus is Lord” to be sufficient evidence of someone’s true spiritual state. It is, of course, a necessary requirement for anyone claiming to be a servant of Christ, but Jesus warned that false miracle workers would “perform many miracles” in His name (cf. Matt 7:22) and be “wolves” “in sheep’s clothing” (Matt 7:15).

Secondly, just how imperfect “in doctrine and conduct” would Dr. Grudem suggest we allow a miracle worker to be and still think he represents God? Surely he is not trying to defend the moral failures we have documented in the lives of the foremost celebrities of super-supernaturalism?

Of course no human is perfect, but, as we have discussed elsewhere, such a statement coming from a movement that claims superior spirituality and miracle working abilities, but has actually been a source of great moral embarrassment, is rather disturbing. ^[29] Would he denounce many of the most celebrated past and present leaders of super-supernaturalism who have been exposed as greedy, sexually immoral, liars, and heretics? Even if ones like Branham, Roberts, Kuhlman, McPherson, Wimber, Cain, Hinn, and Haggard performed a great miracle, we would not believe it to be divine because of their lack of Christian character.

It is one thing to observe how someone may act on stage in front of a church or cameras, but it is quite another to know how they live in private. Christ said we will know false prophets and miracles workers by their conduct (cf. Matt 7:15-23), and if such a biblical requirement is watered down, what are we left with? If modern “miracle workers” wish to claim to have powers equaling or even surpassing those of Christ and the Apostle Paul, why should we not expect them to have the character of these men?

In addition, Dr. Grudem claims that we can discern fake or demonic “miracle workers” by the “fruit in their ministry.” Unfortunately, he does not define what he means by this and, as we have discussed elsewhere, it is both common and erroneous in super-supernaturalism to merely point to the popularity and of these so called “miracle workers” as proof of their authenticity. ^[30] And again, we do not believe that mere Gospel preaching or conversions to Christ is a sufficient proof that someone is a servant of Christ.

Finally, why would we expect any God-sent miracle workers at all, when every single one of them described in Scripture was also a source of extra-biblical, Scripture-quality revelation from God to be believed and obeyed? ^[31] Dr. Grudem completely ignores one of the most important attributes of all divine “miracle workers” in Scripture. Every one of them was also a source of new, extra-biblical, divinely authoritative, Scripture-quality revelation. Nowhere in Scripture do we find a mere “miracle worker” being empowered by God. As we have said, Simon the Sorcerer is the closest example in the Bible to the kinds of people super-supernaturalism promotes today.

All in all, the tests that Dr. Grudem and super-supernaturalists suggest for discerning demonic miracle working are wholly inadequate against “the strategies and tricks of the Devil,” leaving those under their care unfortunately vulnerable to the “cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming” (Eph. 4:14). Super-supernaturalism’s failure to demand high standards of private Christ-like character does not adequately protect God’s people from satan’s people, and leaves the Church wide open to “false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ . . . for satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness (2 Cor 11:13-15).

D. M. Lloyd-Jones was more discerning when he wrote:

But surely when a man comes along and says he has done it in the name of the Lord, he must be right. No! it does not follow. Read the passage [Matt 7:15-23] again. Is this point not very plain, my friends? It is not enough that people should say that Jesus is the Lord.

Let me give you further proof of what I am saying, and show you further the importance of applying these tests, because these evil spirits can make most extraordinary statements in order to delude us. Read Mark 3:11 “And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.” Here are evil spirits falling down before him in the persons of the victims and making the confession, “Thou art the Son of God.” So it is obviously not sufficient that people should say, “Jesus is Lord;” evil spirits may say that. Here they were, according to the record, doing that in the very days when our Lord was here in this world. . . .

Now I trust that these pieces of evidence are more than sufficient to convince us that even if the confession is made of the name of Christ, it does not guarantee that everything that is being done is of necessity the work of the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures warn us. ^[32]

This is an important point considering both the number of claims to miracle working in the Church today, and the number of biblical warnings about deceiving miracle workers. One would hope that the Bible’s warnings would be properly heeded and greater discernment exercised in the alarming circumstances of our own day when virtually anything physically miraculous occurring in the Church is automatically considered to be from God. On the contrary, not everything supernatural is holy.

Extras & Endnotes

A Devotion to Dad

Our Father in Heaven, help us protect Your precious sheep from satan’s wolves. Give us the needed biblical knowledge, spiritual discernment, and humble courage to detect, confront, and drive away anyone who would harm the people of God under our care. And we don’t care what kind of “gifts” they may seem to have.

Gauging Your Grasp

What did Jesus say to indicate that distinguishing between divine and demonic miracles is both important and potentially difficult?
How do we answer the super-supernaturalists’ claim that there must be real miracles mixed in with the demonic in their ministries because satan always counterfeits what is real?
We claim there is one kind of miracle that satan will not and cannot duplicate. What is this? Do you agree or disagree and why?
Why is the relative supernatural power of a miracle not sufficient means to distinguish between demonic and divine miracles?
What passages of Scripture do we use to claim that demonically empowered miracle workers may preach the Gospel? Do you agree or disagree?

Publications & Particulars

D. A. Carson in Power Religion: The Selling Out of the Evangelical Church? (Moody, 1992), 97. ↑
Section 5.3.D.4. ↑
The rather liberal Baptist NT scholar James D. G. Dunn agrees, writing in his well known work Jesus and the Spirit:

Paul characterizes Christian experience of [the] Spirit in terms of Jesus. When he wants to mark off the religious experience of himself and his converts from that claimed by his opponents or from a less than Christian experience, it is what we might call the Jesus-character of Christian experience which he seizes upon.

I refer first to I Cor. 12:3, which we have already discussed (pp. 234f) – Paul, as we have seen, was clearly aware that there was nothing distinctively Christian in ecstatic and charismatic experience (12.2). Consequently he at once attempts to define more closely the character of Christian charismatic experience . . .

I think secondly of Rom. 8.14ff- (see above pp. 2 If, 240f). Here again Paul is striving to express something of the distinctive character, of Christian experience – here as the experience of being led by the Spirit, of walking according to the Spirit rather than in accordance with the flesh. . . .

In short, Paul in effect looks around at all the various manifestations of the Spirit claimed by his converts and his opponents and says firmly, “The yardstick is Jesus.” The character of the Christ event is the hallmark of the Spirit. Whatever religious experience fails to reproduce this character in the individual or community, it is thereby self condemned as delusory or demonic; it is not the work of the eschatological Spirit. For the eschatological Spirit is no more and no less than the Spirit of Christ. . . .

When Paul wants to find the distinctive mark of Spirit-given experience, he finds it not in the charismatic Spirit as such, nor in the eschatological Spirit as such, but in the Jesus Spirit, the Spirit whose characteristics are those of Christ. (Jesus and the Spirit: A Study of the Religious and Charismatic Experience of Jesus and the First Christians as Reflected in the New Testament (Westminster Press, 1975), 319-324. ↑
Regarding Paul’s intention to teach the Corinthians how to discern demonic or fleshly manifestations in their assembly see chapter 12.7. ↑
Didache 11.8; online at http://www.ccel.org. ↑
Jonathan Edwards, Treatise on Religious Affections, II:274; online at http://www.ccel.org. ↑
Origen, Against Celsus, 1.68; online at http://www.ccel.org. ↑
Related by Doug Bannister in his, The Word and Power Church (Zondervan, 1999), 147. ↑
Augustus H. Strong, Systematic Theology, 3 Vols. (Judson, 1907, 1953), 128. ↑
Edwards, II:VI. ↑
Ibid., II.12.1, 2.5. ↑
John MacArthur, The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception (Thomas Nelson, 2007), 72. ↑
Ibid., 143. ↑
Lutzer, Judge, 112, 204-205. ↑
Erwin Lutzer, Seven Convincing Miracles (Moody, 1999), 22 ↑
Regarding the delegated power of God in demonic miracles see section 10.6.A. ↑
John Locke, The Reasonableness of Christianity, ed. I. T. Ramsey (Black, 1958), 83-4. ↑
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Zondervan, 1994), 369. ↑
C. Peter Wagner, “Special Kinds of Church Growth” (unpublished class notes, Fuller Theological Seminary, 1984), cited by Wimber, Power Evangelism, p. 16. ↑
Regarding the erroneous claim that only servants of God can do miracles see section 10.6.A. ↑
R. C. Sproul, John Gerstner, and Arthur Lindsey, Classical Apologetics: A Rational Defense of the Christian Faith and a Critique of Presuppositional Apologetics (Academie Books, 1984), 144. ↑
Regarding the God-ordained place of miracles to confirm divine revelation see section 3.1.D, 7.1.B.5 and 7.6.F. ↑
For further discussion of the fact that the supernatural fruit of the spiritual miracle of regeneration is the ultimate authentication of divine words and works see section 9.12.D. ↑
Such a total disregard for the place of virtue in distinguishing a Christian would seem to be the reason that so many modern commentators claim that the Apostle is speaking of authentically Christian preachers in Philippians 1:15-16. This would include Ralph P. Martin in the TNTC (Philippians [Eerdmans, 1987, repr. 1999]), Homer Kent in the EBC (Frank E. Gaebelein ed. CD-ROM [Zondervan, n.d.], Peter O’Brien in the NIGTC (The Epistle to the Philippians [Eerdmans, 1991]), and John MacArthur (MacArthur’s New Testament Commentary, Electronic Edition STEP Files CD-ROM [Parsons Technology, 1997]).

The oddity of claiming these preachers were Christians is perhaps best illustrated in the Life Application Bible which states, “All of those who preached Christ were sincere believers” in spite of the fact that Paul specifically says they preached “not sincerely.” This separation of a person’s actions and morality from an evaluation of their person may be politically correct in our tolerant age but it has no place in the Church, nor in these fine biblical commentaries.

For example, Dr. O’Brien admits that Paul’s description of these false preachers include “evil qualities that characterize the unredeemed life . . . a feature of life before conversion” (99), yet still claims them to be Christians. He primarily bases his conclusion on the presumption that throughout the passage, Paul is speaking of the same, “brothers in the Lord [who] have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly” that he mentions in v. 14.

Essentially, Dr. O’Brien thinks it too grammatically awkward that Paul might be speaking of a whole other group that he describes as selfish, envious, and insincere. We do not wish to put it too harshly, for Dr. O’Brien is among the finest of exegetes, but here we would suggest his attention to the trees (i.e. what would seem grammatically smoother), causes him to miss the forest (i.e. the absolutely unchristian behavior).

Older commentators did a better job on this passage. Albert Barnes comments: “It would seem most probable, though this is not mentioned, that these persons were Judaizing teachers, professing Christianity” (Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament, Electronic Edition STEP Files CD-ROM [Findex.Com, 1999]). While it is not necessary, or probably accurate to interpret these unbelievers specifically as Judiazers, Barnes was correct in recognizing them as merely professing Christians.

In addition, Calvin commented:

Here we have a lengthened detail, in which he explains more fully the foregoing statement; for he repeats that there are two classes of men that are stirred up by his bonds to preach Christ — the one influenced by contention, that is, by depraved affection — the other by pious zeal, as being desirous to maintain along with him the defense of the gospel. The former, he says, do not preach Christ purely, because it was not a right zeal. For the term does not apply to doctrine, because it may quite well happen, that the man who teaches pure and sound doctrine, will have, nevertheless, an evil disposition. . . .

It is asked farther, “Since the gospel cannot be preached but by those that understand it, what motive induced those persons to persecute the doctrine of which they approved?” I answer, that ambition is blind, nay, it is a furious beast. Hence it is not to be wondered if false brethren snatch a weapon from the gospel for harassing good and pious pastors.

Paul, assuredly, says nothing here of which I have not myself had experience. For there are living at this very day those who have preached the gospel with no other design, than that they might gratify the rage of the wicked by persecuting pious pastors. . . . If, however, there were envious persons, who were thus hurried away by ambition, we ought to acknowledge the wonderful goodness of God, who, notwithstanding, gave such a prosperous issue to their depraved affections [cf. 1:18] (Commentaries, online at http://www.ccel.org, in loc.).

We believe Calvin correctly concludes that just because the imprisoned Paul chose to rejoice at counterfeits preaching the Gospel, does not mean they were otherwise, or that a free Paul would not have confronted and exposed them as he did with the false apostles in Corinth.

Unlike Calvin, modern expositors overall seem to have a preconceived bias against the idea that a false apostle would actually preach a doctrinally sound Gospel. Surely we might think the same way about people who would perform miracles, cast out demons, and prophesy in the name of Jesus as well, but Christ intentionally corrected that bias (cf. Matt 7:15-23). Is a false prophet who prophesies in the name of Jesus all that different than a false apostle who preaches the Gospel of Jesus? We don’t think so, and suggest such an attitude would protect a great many Christians from present and future works and deceptions of the evil one. ↑
For other possible descriptions of false Gospel preachers see 2 Corinthians 2:17 (they speak the word of God) and 11:3 (they use Jesus in their preaching). ↑
K. Neil Foster tells the story of a woman seeking help because she was overcome by a spirit that identified itself as Jesus. This “Jesus” threw her on the floor and bragged that it had control over a certain congregation in a certain city. This spirit hated the Lord Jesus Christ but was driven out by that name-the Lord Jesus Christ. Obviously, there are spirits that will take the name Jesus to confuse and deceive. (Lutzer, Judge, 94). ↑
Grudem, 369, italics in the original. ↑
Ibid., italics in the original. ↑
Concerning the moral embarrassment of super-supernaturalism see section 10.15.A.7. ↑
Regarding the erroneous nature of super-supernaturalism habit to merely point to the popularity of their so called “miracle workers” as proof of their authenticity see section 10.15.A. ↑
Regarding the biblical fact that every God-sent miracle worker described in Scripture was also a source of extra-biblical, Scripture-quality revelation from God to be believed and obeyed, see chapters 11.1 and 11.2 ↑
D. M. Lloyd-Jones, The Sovereign Spirit: Discerning the Gifts (Harold Shaw, 1985), 114-15. ↑