Why Don’t We See Miracles Like the Apostles Did?

[Dan58]

Christians aren't given all the gifts, I believe most of them ceased in the first century. They were specifically given to the disciples; "Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases" (Luke 9:1). Miraculous healings were administered via Apostolic Authority, and there was no apostolic succession. "And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following" (Mark 16:20).

Paul said; "Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds" (2 Corinthians 12:12). When the apostles passed away, these signs of their office also ceased. This is both scriptural and an historical fact. It is the testimony of the early church that the extraordinary gifts of tongues, miracles, healings etc., all passed away with the death of the apostles..

"God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will" (Hebrews 2:4). These extraordinary gifts were signs given of God to confirm the word of the apostles in their preaching. They were only intended to function at the hand of the Apostles in confirmation of Christ.

Miracles were performed to usher in the gospel and establish His Word, which is "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets" Ephesians 2:20). Just as God appointed Prophets for a one time specific purpose, He likewise appointed and authorized the Apostles for a one time mission.

There are no prophets today because they're not needed, there's nothing left to prophesize; "But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things" (Matthew 13:23). And we are called by faith, we don't to get confirmation of Christ via miracles, as Jesus told Thomas; "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

And that's why you haven't seen a real miracle, prophet, apostle, or unicorn to this very day... jmo

 

[aldy]

Why Don’t We See Miracles Like the Apostles Did?

Are we not Spirit filled like they were or is it from lack of faith, prayer, or fasting?

I believe we experience some miracles but nothing like they did.

It is a really good question,
if there are miracles at that time, why not nowadays?
Does God have changed? or we have changed
because:
Hebrews 13:8
8 | Jesus Christ 'is' the same yesterday and to-day, 'yea' and for ever.

if you don't see God's Miracles in your church or in your life, the reason is just God is not there, verry sorry if I say just like this
but if you know the Bible you probably understand as well what I mean

1Corinthians 12:28
28 | And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, 'divers' kinds of tongues.

it is evident for a church of God, if there is a miracle, because God himself design one in it for miracles, it must be like this because,
1Corinthians 1:7
7 | so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ;

so if there is no miracle, mean God is not there, so why???
Isaiah 59:2
2 | but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, so that he will not hear.

it's because, the iniquities reign in this place, in this life or in this church
lawlessness and all opposition of the will of God rule in it

However, the miracles exist, God of miracles is
baby raised from the dead, man seak of the palsy, dumb man healed... still exist,
I saw this

 

[GandalfTheWhite]

My wife and I were taking care of two boys while their mother was in a clinic to rehabilitate from alcohol abuse (long story). They are not Christians and my wife was trying to minister to these two boys. It was difficult to get through to them but here is how God work.

My wife always wanted a chow but with our bullmastiffs we could not allow any other animal on our property. One day she saw an add in the newspaper for a chow and she convinced me that our dogs would be ok with it. I told her we could try but it was a risk with our female dog because she is intolerant with any other dog. The two boys visited us in that time and we were outside on our patio busy playing with the cow. Our patio is isolated from our lawn but you can access it via stares. The two bullmastiffs came along and as the two boys were playing our female basically grabbed the chow and bit a large hole in the artery in his neck. I grabbed her from behind and threw her away from the children, fearing that she might attack them next. As I picked up the chow the blood from this gaping wound was busy flowing all over me.

I held the dog in my arms until he went stiff and cold, and told my wife to please go and find me a black bag so that I can put the puppy in it until we could get rid of the carcass at the vet. I was walking away from the puppy to wash my hands and arms (being full of blood) when my wife started to pray for the dog. She said to God to please spare this puppy and show these two boys that He is alive. The next thing I saw this puppy sitting up and giving this faint little noises. I couldn't believe my eyes. I held the puppy until he was dead and now he is sitting up making noises.

God did a miracle that day in our presence and we were blessed with a small puppy dog being brought back from the dead

 

[GandalfTheWhite]

And that's why you haven't seen a real miracle, prophet, apostle, or unicorn to this very day... jmo

This is very limited view of an Almighty God. We will not see any miracles in our lives if we don't expect God to do them jmo

 

[presidente]

Christians aren't given all the gifts, I believe most of them ceased in the first century. They were specifically given to the disciples; "Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases" (Luke 9:1). Miraculous healings were administered via Apostolic Authority, and there was no apostolic succession.

It is hard for me to see how someone can read the whole Bible and make this argument. Two men in Acts performed miracles who were not apostles, and I Corinthians is written to regular people in the church, and speaks of the 'working of miracles' being given to individuals in the body for the common good. There were miracles before the apostles were born, and the Bible never says working miracles was limited to the apostles.

The disciples rebuked some men who were doing a 'sign' or 'miracle' as Christ would call it, of casting out demons in Jesus' name. Jesus corrected the disciples for rebuking him.

Mark 16 tells us that Jesus said 'these signs shall follow them that believe.'

Paul said; "Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds" (2 Corinthians 12:12). When the apostles passed away, these signs of their office also ceased. This is both scriptural and an historical fact. It is the testimony of the early church that the extraordinary gifts of tongues, miracles, healings etc., all passed away with the death of the apostles..

Scripture had already established that not only apostles did miracles. Exodus shows this. So does Acts.

Statements like yours above make me wonder if you are being dishonest. I think we've discussed this before. Did you bother to look up anything in church history on the subject? If you did your research, you should know your statement is false. If you did not, you should not pretend to have knowledge of the subject and make a pronouncement.

Church history shows that these gifts did not cease with the death of the apostles. I have quoted Ireneaus in other threads. Ireneaus knew Polycarp who knew the apostle John. He was a missionary to what is now France. He wrote a book 'Against Heresies', and he was apparently a respected figure in the churches in that time. Ireneaus wrote of gifts in his own time, tongues, prophecy, healing. He even wrote of his own church having success at raising the dead. That's about 200 AD. Ireneaus considered rejecting the gift of prophecy to be characteristic of the cults.

That is not the only reference, either. In the second century, Justin Martyr recorded making an argument to the Jew Trypho that his nation used to have prophets, but the church had prophets. The Shepherd of Hermas, which was read in some churches after it was written, goes into a bit of detail on how the gift of prophecy works.

Montanists may have been the first cessationists. Eusebius' records a debate in which a Montanist, after Montanus and his two assistants were deceased, in which the Montanist expressed his belief that prophecy had ceased. Montanists based this on I Corinthians 13, apparently. The Christian from the church argued that the church had prophecy and that the apostle taught that the gift would continue until the Lord returned.

There are also numerous accounts and traditions of visions and miracles throughout church history. Gregory was said to have converted Armenia after casting out a demon. Jesus called casting out demons a sign/miracle (depending on your translation). If you believe in contemporary casting out demons, you have to believe miracles continue until the present time.

There is the tradition of St. Nicholas seeing a vision after being jailed for smacking Arius in the face.

St. Patrick is credited with a great number of miracles and healings including raising the dead. The two writings of Patrick which actually are accepted by historians as legitimate tell of his receiving a vision that helped rescue him from Ireland, and hearing a supernatural voice that led him back.

If I were really to dig into history and quote much of it, even in the AnteNicene period, it would be a book. Entire books have been written on this subject.

Cessationism in its current form is only a few hundred years old at first. Historically, Christian doctrine is NOT cessationist.

"God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will" (Hebrews 2:4). These extraordinary gifts were signs given of God to confirm the word of the apostles in their preaching. They were only intended to function at the hand of the Apostles in confirmation of Christ.

Since non-apostles did miracles, and I Corinthians 12 lists miracles as a different ministry from 'apostles' your argument is flawed.

There are no prophets today because they're not needed, there's nothing left to prophesize; "But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things" (Matthew 13:23).

Since, ten chapters later, Jesus said, "Behold I send unto you prophets, wise men, and scribes" and Christ gave prophets after Ephesians 4, your argument is clearly flawed.

And we are called by faith, we don't to get confirmation of Christ via miracles, as Jesus told Thomas; "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

Some people won't believe God does miracles unless they see them. That sounds like some cessationist posters. Thomas was a Christian, btw. He had already seen plenty of miracles prior to the resurrection. There is no reason to think he was less for that. He missed out on a blessing for not believing the resurrection before seeing the physical proof of it. He could have taken Christ's word, spoken before the crucifixion for it. Just like cessationists could just believe the Bible about spiritual gifts.

 

[fredoheaven]

Why Don’t We See Miracles Like the Apostles Did?

Are we not Spirit filled like they were or is it from lack of faith, prayer, or fasting?

I believe we experience some miracles but nothing like they did.

Good question but God still makes miracles of today only that is different from what the Apostles did. True, Jesus said says in Mark 16:17 [FONT=arial, helvetica, sans serif]And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans serif]However, Jesus did not say these signs shall CONTINUE in them that believe. We are in the age of COUNTERFEIT, counterfeit gifts,COUNTERFEIT miracles, counterfeit apostles, and counterfeit prophets.

So, when the apostles died so their miracles dies. It really 'follows' them.[/FONT][FONT=arial, helvetica, sans serif]

Mark 16:20 [/FONT]And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

God bless

 

[fredoheaven]

it is evident for a church of God, if there is a miracle, because God himself design one in it for miracles, it must be like this because,
1Corinthians 1:7
7 | so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Hi,

One of the proof text for spiritual gifts? While gift has a very wide meaning and usage in the bible some believe that this has something to do with spiritual gifting of the Holy Spirit to the church. Let' see what the Bible says in regards to this gift:

1 Corinthians 1:4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
1 Corinthians 1:5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
1 Coritnhians 1:6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
1 Corinthians 1:7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Colossians 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

The testimony of Christ has established the believer through utterance and in all knowledge. We are already complete in Christ because of what He did. This means this gift of God refers to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ.

By context I fail to see miracles or signs and wonders just as the Apostle did as this gift somehow related to the grace of God which is the gift of God of eternal life. This gift is obviously true until the coming of the Lord. If there is such a gift (singular) it will be the gift of knowledge. However, this is not what the OP meant.

God bless

 

[jb]

Why Don’t We See Miracles Like the Apostles Did?

Unbelief, prayerlessness, loss of first love, lovelessness, divisions within the Church, seeking of position, power and wealth by believers...and so forth...

But ofcourse there and those who say miracles don't occur today but were only for the 1st Century AD, these persons fall into above categories!

 

[trofimus]

Because Christianity is already established in our civlization and therefore there is no need for another signs, IMHO.

And we also do not have apostles. Apostles had to be verified by signs that they have the authority to teach and write the word of God.

 

[presidente]

Because Christianity is already established in our civlization and therefore there is no need for another signs, IMHO.

Totally man made theory. No scripture behind it at all. I Corinthians 12 says the Spirit distributes the gifts as He wills. Your made-up theory doesn't allow for that.

The Bible does not teach that the gifts died with the apostles as another poster said. Another man-made theory.

Such things are not part of 'the faith once delivered to the saints' that we are to contend for.

 

[wwjd_kilden]

To some extent I agree with what Matt said.

I do think God caused more miracles to happen back then to sort of .... boost the faith of those who saw them.
I don't think miracles stopped, but I do think there are fewer of them. Especially in the ... uh ... modernized world.
(Why waste time performing a miracle if everyone who sees it will just write it off as special effects or medicine or something else?)

Maybe more miracles are taking place in places where we (with access to all this technology) don't hear about it? Where people who believe are forced to hide their faith and meetings?

 

[wolfwint]

Why Don’t We See Miracles Like the Apostles Did?

Are we not Spirit filled like they were or is it from lack of faith, prayer, or fasting?

I believe we experience some miracles but nothing like they did.

Well, when we read about the Miracles which the Apostel did, we must say they are combined with preaching the Gospel ore to proof their authority.
During the churchhistory we find miracles, but where these not also combined with mission?
It is obvious that they anyhow stopped, maby because the believers began to bring pagan rites and superstition into the churches (relics cult). I know some people try to bring back the apostolic time for today. We are living in the endtimes, more than the Apostel did. And for the last days are miracles and great things prophecied, but not from God. From Satan! So we should ne careful. Thomas believed Jesus because he saw his wounds. Jesus said, that those are blessed who believe without seeing. Miracles are not important for our christian life. If we are belong to Him, we all expierienced the miracle that he made us to a new creature. This is important. Also the reasons which Dan 58 mentioned are worth to read.

 

[plainguy]

[video=youtube;luh30BiCUlI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luh30BiCUlI[/video]

Didn't God tell Kenneth Copeland that Ted Cruz was anointed to be the next POTUS ? Where's that drunk in the spirit when you need it ? Smith Wigglesworth often punched or slapped the face of those he healed. Sounds biblical to me

 

[Grace777x70]

If someone has the "gift of hospitality", they can use that gift at will. If someone has the gift of teaching, they can us that gift whenever they wish and/or whenever it is requested of them. And right down the line with all the other gifts which are still in practice today.

Therefore, if anyone actually had the "gift of healing" they would be able to put that into action at will and at their discretion, just like any other of the gifts. I see zero biblical basis for claiming the gift of healing can only be used at mysterious intervals.

You are confusing the meaning of the word "gift" - there are different Greek words which convey different meanings.

Here the Greek word means "charisma - grace, favor". It is not the same word we use as "gift" when we give something to someone to possess. There is another Greek word for "gift" - it is "dorea" .

It is used 'You shall receive the gift ( dorea ) of righteousness". Romans 5:17

I haven't had a chance to read through the rest of the thread yet but maybe someone already posted this scripture that shows "it is as the Spirit wills". It is called the manifestation of the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (NASB)
[SUP]7 [/SUP] But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spiritfor the common good.

[SUP]8 [/SUP] For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;

[SUP]9 [/SUP] to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts ( charisma ) of healing by the one Spirit,

[SUP]10 [/SUP] and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.

[SUP]11 [/SUP] But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

Notice that it is the Spirit that "works" all there things just as He wills - not activated by our human will apart from Him.

 

[Grace777x70]

I'm still reading but it seams like there is some sort of visual sign at baptism or laying on of hands that let them know if they received it or not.

Sometimes there was - other times there wasn't. The manifestation of how that looks is left up to the Spirit of God. It's not wise to say "It must look like this in order for it to be real".

 

[trofimus]

Totally man made theory. No scripture behind it at all. I Corinthians 12 says the Spirit distributes the gifts as He wills. Your made-up theory doesn't allow for that.

The Bible does not teach that the gifts died with the apostles as another poster said. Another man-made theory.

Such things are not part of 'the faith once delivered to the saints' that we are to contend for.

As He wills. Not as you will.

 

[trofimus]

We have almost none signs or miracles today, but on the other hand, we have sooo many false ones! Is it not great?

Even the convicted pentecostal "miracle makers" who were proved to lie, are still having many members in their churches.
Woo hooo, everybody can choose what he wants to follow.

 

[aldy]

Hi,

One of the proof text for spiritual gifts? While gift has a very wide meaning and usage in the bible some believe that this has something to do with spiritual gifting of the Holy Spirit to the church. Let' see what the Bible says in regards to this gift:

if we talk about gift, it means that there is 2 sides: the one who gives and another who receive
God give this gift by grace of God, in Jesus Christ,
"in Jesus Christ" means:
1John 2:5
5 | but whoso keepeth his word, in him verily hath the love of God been perfected. Hereby we know that we are in him:
not anyone, but people keep the will of God, the word of God

the receiver is the church of God,
1Corinthians 1:2
2 | unto the church of God which is at Corinth, 'even' them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called 'to be' saints, with all that call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, their 'Lord' and ours:

and obviously, this "church of God" in Jesus Christ keeps the will of God, but not every church you find, so be careful:
1John 4:1
1 | Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

so why God give this to His church?
1Corinthians 1:7 - 8
7 | so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ;
8 | who shall also confirm you unto the end, 'that ye be' unreproveable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
to be unreproveable at the End,
so the time these Gift act is right now, the time we wait for the End, it's now

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God have many gifts for His church, all mentioned in 1Cor 1:4-7, and the eternal life is among them and perhaps is the last,

 

[HisHolly]

Who says all the false are indeed false? Jesus said stop what you were doing or something greater may happen to you.. healing is maintained.. The girls parents were told to feed her.. Jesus brought her back and yet she needed food?... Come on now

We have almost none signs or miracles today, but on the other hand, we have sooo many false ones! Is it not great?

Even the convicted pentecostal "miracle makers" who were proved to lie, are still having many members in their churches.
Woo hooo, everybody can choose what he wants to follow.

 

[Demi777]

I see God doing miracles in my life and of others nearly every day. God still heals and does and its more than before. Every day God heals, delivers, helps.... Every real Christian sees it and knows it, so people saying he doesnt, theres something wrong. Your either blind to it and turned your eyes away from him.
Plus we serve him, we dont command him. It happens at his time and God doesnt take commands. Which again doesnt mean he doesnt do it.