I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask anything in my name, and I will do it. John 14:12‑14
If God really is supernatural, should we think it strange when the miraculous occurs? Put more personally, can we trust God for that which has no human explanation today? Or should we simply conclude that God put the world into operation, then withdrew, leaving our world to run itself? There is one thing for sure. The twelve men who walked with Jesus experienced a great deal of the supernatural, for Christ, according to the Gospels, touched blind eyes and men saw. He cleansed the lepers. He unstopped deaf ears, and the lame walked. This, of course, was very unsettling to some of the people who were present, especially the religious leaders who were convinced that God could, but to actually see it, was alarming and distressing. How could they account for it?
Paul explained, when he wrote to the Corinthians, “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them …” (2 Corinthians 5:19). Paul’s explanation was that God’s power was manifest in the life and person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Miracles were not any problem because they believed that when Christ did something miraculous, God was working through Him. It’s also a historical fact that miracles were prominent in the early church. After the day of Pentecost, Peter and John went to the temple and there encountered a lame man. “We don’t have any silver and gold,” Peter explained. “But we’ll give you what we have. In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.” And the man got to his feet and walked, leaping and praising God.
Luke, the historian for the early church said, “And they were continually devoting themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe, and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.” Later in the Book of Acts he wrote, “Many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico.” Mark closes his Gospel saying, “And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the Word by the signs that followed.”
Unquestionably, these early Christians simply expected the supernatural. They had nothing yet had everything. What they had then, the church seems to have lost today! Now, were those miracles confined to the days of the first century alone? Some believe so; they never see anything more miraculous than a common cold going away in three days. Yet others believe the words of Hebrews 13:8, which says, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and they expect God to meet them in ways that offer no human explanation. From its inception, Christianity has been cradled in the supernatural, and it can only follow that this very nature and character should be the same today.
To His disciples in the Upper Room, the night before the crucifixion, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to my Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask anything in my name, and I will do it“ (John 14:12‑14). Do you believe that? Then believe that God can do and will do that for which there is no human explanation. As the songwriter put it, “I believe in miracles.”
Resource Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:11-21
