THE MIRACULOUS – ANALYTICAL STUDIES

© Copyright Rosemary Bardsley 2007

IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

The Greek words:

[1] the word ‘work’ – ergon, is not used in Acts to refer to miracles.

[2] the word ‘miracle’ – dunamis, is used only 3 times to refer to miracles.

[3] the word ‘sign’ – semeion, is used 12 times

[4] the word ‘wonder’ – teras, is used 9 times [in each of these it is in partnership with ‘signs’]

A. MIRACLES, SIGNS AND WONDERS IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

From an analysis of the Acts of the Apostles [see table below] we learn:

About miracles, signs and wonders

The kinds of miraculous actions reported in Acts are:

• Healings
• Raising the dead [2 occurrences reported – one each by Peter and Paul]
• Miraculous discernment [Peter, and Paul – 3 in total]
• Casting out of spirits
• Supernatural ability to inflict a disability as punishment [once only – Paul]
• Miraculous protection or deliverance from danger of various kinds [by God’s direct intervention, or by angels - no direct human agent]. Sometimes this was in response to prayer; sometimes not.

In addition, we find that:

• Peter taught that Jesus was accredited by his miracles [Acts 2:22 ].
• The miracle of Christ’s resurrection is repeatedly referred to as the confirmation of the apostolic message about Christ.
• Apart from Peter’s references to the miracles of Jesus in his sermon in Acts 2, and explanations of the healing of the lame man in his speeches in Acts 3 and 4, miracles of healing etc do not feature in the apostolic sermons; that is, they are not used as levers to coerce belief or to promote allegiance to the apostles.
• Miracles are never used as a means of monetary gain, or as a base for soliciting finance.
• The only believers reported as doing signs, wonders or miracles of any kind are (some of) the apostles, including Paul; and four people who were associated with the apostles in ministry: the deacons – Philip and Stephen; Ananias [who was used by God in the restoration of Paul’s sight]; and Barnabas.
• When miracles, signs or wonders are reported, in the large majority of cases the active person is God, not the person through whom the miracles etc are performed.
• Miracles, signs and wonders are understood to be the Lord’s confirmation of his message [14:3]
• The miracles reported in Acts were performed only by the apostles and four people intimately associated with the apostles [one of whom, Barnabas, is actually termed an ‘apostle’].
• At the council in Jerusalem [Acts 15] Paul and Barnabas reported on the signs and wonders the Lord did through them among the Gentiles. There is no mention of ‘signs’ and ‘wonders’ beyond this point in Acts. There is only one mention of ‘miracles’ beyond this point. It was in Acts 15 that Paul’s message to the Gentiles [a message that included salvation by grace apart from Jewish law] was confirmed as valid, in writing, by the leaders of the church in Jerusalem . After this point in Acts there is significantly greater emphasis on teaching and reasoning [use of the mental faculties to understand and validate the message] in communicating the message of Christ.
• The number of reports of ‘miracles’, ‘signs’ or ‘wonders’ [using those words] performed by the apostles or their associates is 10. In addition there are 7 reported miraculous incidents where the words ‘miracles’, ‘signs’ and ‘wonders’ are not used, including the 2 instances of reviving the dead. That makes a total of 17. The period of time covered by Acts is approximately 34 years [assuming Paul died in 67AD.] This is not an impressive number of miraculous.
• Of the additional 7 noted above, one instance of healing sounds more like normal prayer for healing than exercising any ‘gift of healing’ [Publius’ father, Acts 28:8].
• On every reported occasion on which ‘signs’, ‘wonders’ or ‘miracles’ were performed, Jews were present. On all but the last three of the additional 7 instances, Jews were definitely present. It is possible they were also present for these three. Jews were definitely present on every occasion in which the miraculous is referred to as ‘signs and wonders’ – that is, up to the Council of Jerusalem.
• After Acts 15 the only person reported to have been involved in performing any miracles is Paul.
• There is no report of Paul doing anything miraculous during his two years under house arrest in Rome .

Conclusions about miracles, signs and wonders:

Predominantly miracles are referred to by the term ‘signs and wonders’. They were reported as the work of God done through human agents. The men used in this way were very few in number – the apostles, including Paul; plus associates of the apostles: Philip, Ananias, Barnabas and Stephen. . There is no mention of ‘signs and wonders’ after Acts 15 when the Council of Jerusalem verified the Gospel preached by Paul, and the inclusion of the Gentiles into the people of God without adherence to Jewish law and ritual. ‘Miracles’ are only mentioned once after that time. Jews were always present where ‘signs’ and ‘wonders’ are mentioned, and up to the Council of Jerusalem . However, from Acts 15, once the message had been validated by signs and wonders and by the church leaders in Jerusalem , there is heavy emphasis on reasoning, on teaching, on understanding, the message and its validity. It would appear from Acts that the role of the miraculous was to confirm to the Jews the apostolic message, and its application to the Gentiles. Once that was confirmed the role and the occurrence of the miraculous faded.

To take this very minimal and restricted evidence and occurrence of miracles, signs and wonders and to build upon it an entire theology of ‘signs and wonders’ or ‘power evangelism’ or ‘kingdom now’ is to give such theology a very precarious basis.

About demon possession and casting out of demons or spirits:

• There are 5 reports of people with indwelling spirits
• In 4 of these the spirits were cast out.
• In the other some unbelieving Jews tried to cast a spirit out in the name of Jesus but failed.
• The only people reported to have cast out demons are the apostles [specifically Peter], Philip, and Paul.
• There are no instructions about dealing with demons or spirits.
• None of those possessed by demons were believers at the time.

About speaking in ‘tongues’:

• The word used is the normal word for normal languages – glossa.
• The word ‘glossolalia’ does not occur in the Greek New Testament.
• Speaking in languages is reported only 3 times [Chs 2, 10, 19]
• Only a small number of people are involved in these three incidents: In Acts 2, it is possible from the context that only the 12 apostles actually spoke in languages [they are called ‘all … Galileans’, and Luke writes that ‘Peter stood up with the Eleven.’]. In any case the number was not more than 120. In Acts 10, Cornelius and his household spoke in languages. In Acts 19, ‘about 12 men’ spoke in languages.
• The things spoken in languages in Acts 2 were clearly understandable. The word used for ‘speak’ means to declare solemn, weighty sayings, and those listening heard them ‘declaring the wonders of God’ in their own languages. We are not told what was said in Acts 10 or 19, but we are told that those in Acts 10 were praising God.
• There is no mention of the 3000 who were saved in Acts 2 speaking in languages, even though Peter promised them that if they believed they would ‘receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’.
• When Peter explained the coming of the Holy Spirit on Cornelius and his household, he referred to it as ‘just as we have’ [ 10:47 ] and ‘as he had come on us at the beginning’ [ 11:15 ; see also 15:8]. Peter’s comments indicate that there was no continuum of speaking in languages etc between Acts 2 and Acts 10 – a period estimated to be about 8 years; if every Jew who believed in Christ had spoken in languages Peter would have said something like ‘as he comes on every Jew who believes.’ It was only because of this visible evidence of the giving of the Spirit that the Gentiles were accepted into the church by the Jewish believers, and that Jewish law was not imposed on them.
• There is no reference in Acts to speaking in languages being a common and on-going practice of either the apostles or the church. Peter did not say ‘Cornelius spoke in languages just like we do all the time’.
• The first Samaritans who believed [Acts 8] are reported to have received the Holy Spirit, but no mention is made of them speaking in languages.
• There is no command in Acts either to speak in tongues or to seek the ‘gift of tongues’.
• There is no reference to praying in tongues or singing in tongues.
• There is no reference to speaking, praying or singing in an angelic or otherwise non-human language.
• There is no indication in Acts that speaking in tongues was viewed as a necessary or initial evidence of either genuine faith or of the baptism of the Spirit.
• When Paul met a group of about 12 ‘disciples’ in Ephesus he did not ask them ‘did you speak in tongues when you believed?’ he asked ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ These men had obviously heard only the incomplete message preached by Apollos, prior to his instruction by Aquila and Priscilla [Acts18:24-19:7]. They had not previously really believed in Jesus nor attested such belief by baptism into Jesus’ name. Their belief was essentially Old Testament belief, expressed in response to John the Baptist’s call to repentance.
• Paul is not once reported to have ‘spoken in tongues’. It is reported that on one occasion he spoke in Aramaic, the Hebrew language of the day which he would have learned from childhood, rather than in Koine Greek, the trade language, which we assume he spoke when teaching the Gentiles.
• There was at least one Jew present on each occasion on which tongues is reported.

Conclusions about speaking in tongues:

In the Acts of the Apostles ‘speaking in tongues’ meant speaking in human languages. It was reported only 3 times, with a possible fourth unmentioned time [Acts 8]; each of these 3 [or 4 occurrences] were at definitive points of the spread of the Gospel. None of these people who spoke in tongues on these occasions is ever reported to speak in tongues again. Thousands of people were converted without any mention made of them speaking in tongues. Nothing in Acts gives any basis for teaching that speaking is tongues is commanded or desirable for all believers, or that it is the essential or initial evidence of either regeneration, salvation or the gift or baptism of the Spirit. Its role in Acts appears to be [1] the visible evidence that the promised Holy Spirit had been poured out by Christ onto his church – the one-off outpouring on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 in which only Jews were involved; [2] to confirm to the Jews God’s acceptance of the Gentiles into the church – Acts 10; [3] to confirm the ultimate nature of the message of Christ, in contrast to the pen-ultimate nature of the message of John the Baptist – Acts 19; and [4], if tongues did occur here, to confirm the inclusion of the Samaritans into the church – Acts 8.

About the Holy Spirit

• Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit from heaven on the Day of Pentecost [Acts 2]. The verb is Aorist Tense, referring to a one-off out-pouring of the Spirit from heaven. Audible and visible phenomena accompanied this initial outpouring.
• ‘Receiving’ the Holy Spirit is reported only 3 times [Acts 8, 10, 19]. This is understood to be the baptism with the Spirit which Jesus promised would happen [1:5; 11:16 ].
• The reception of or baptism with the Spirit is also referred to as a ‘gift’ or a ‘promise’ [1:4; 2:38 ; 8:20 ; 10:45 ] – something that is the result of God’s grace, and that is not obtained by human methods, manipulation, merit or money.
• Apart from the original out-pouring of the Spirit, there are only three occasions on which the reception of the gift of the Spirit was accompanied by visible or audible signs. [1] In Acts 8, when the first Samaritans were incorporated into the church; it is not mentioned what signs were observed, but it obvious that something visible or audible most likely occurred. [2] In Acts 10, when the first Gentiles were incorporated into the church, they spoke in tongues. [3] In Acts 19, when some disciples of John the Baptist were incorporated into the church, they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
• Receiving the Holy Spirit is promised to those who repent and believe [only in Acts 2:38 ].
• The only reported delays between confessing faith in Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit occurred [1] in the case of the original disciples, who had to wait for the Day of Pentecost for the outpouring of the Spirit from heaven; and [2] the Samaritan believers in Acts 8; this delay was most likely because an apostle was not present when they believed. Depending on when they first believed in Christ, there is a slight possibility that disciples of John the Baptist [Acts 19] might also fit in this category, although it is more likely that these were Old Testament believers [whether Jews or proselytes to Judaism] who had responded to Apollos’ preaching of John the Baptist’s call to repentance, and had not previously believed in Christ as Lord.
• The deacons generally, and Stephen and Barnabas in particular, are described as ‘full of the Holy Spirit’; the word is an adjective [pleres], referring to an on-going godly quality of life under the controlling influence of the Spirit.
• Disciples [believers] are described as being ‘filled with the Spirit’ in the same way as they are described as being ‘filled with joy’; this verbal form refers to a continuing passive condition. The verb used in this reference [pleroo] is related to the adjective used in the references in the previous dot point; it is not related to the verb used in the other references to being filled with the Spirit – see next point.
• The apostles as a group [once], Peter [once], the believers as a group [once], Saul/Paul [twice], are described as ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’ [pletho] where it refers to a temporary enabling [the tense is Aorist] that resulted in bold proclamation of God’s truth in a specific situation. Some of those who are described with this being ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’ in this way, were also among those who were ‘filled with the Spirit’ [same verb] on the Day of Pentecost. It is quite obvious, that they were ‘filled’ in this way, more than once. This verb, which is used only by Luke in reference to people, is distinct from the verb in the previous dot point. It is never used to refer to the on-going state of being filled with the Spirit.
• Thus Luke differentiated between two kinds of being filled with or full of the Spirit: [1] the optimum on-going impact of the indwelling Spirit in the life of a believer, and [2] a special, non-continuous, enabling by the Spirit to speak boldly in specific situations.
• There is nothing about being ‘slain in the Spirit’.
• There is no reference to extreme, out-of control, or ecstatic behaviours accompanying the baptism or filling with the Spirit.
• There is no report of people or preachers begging the Holy Spirit to ‘come’.
• There is no record of the preachers conversing with the Holy Spirit in the middle of preaching or teaching.
• There is no formula mentioned by which people will receive the Spirit.
• There is nothing said about spiritual gifts or seeking spiritual gifts.

Conclusions:

[1] There is a one-off outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This out-pouring fulfils the prophetic symbolism of the feast of Pentecost, just as the death of Christ fulfilled the prophetic symbolism of the Passover Feast. This out-pouring occurred on the Day of Pentecost, and was accompanied by audible and visible phenomena. The NIV ‘when the Day of Pentecost came’ fails to communicate the meaning of the Greek text, which uses the word sumpleroo – fully come, completed, fulfilled. This outpouring had to occur on the Day of Pentecost just as surely as the crucifixion had to occur on the Passover. Like the death of Christ it is a one-off, unrepeatable fulfilment of the prophetic meaning of the Feast of Pentecost [the Feast of Harvest or Firstfruits].

[2] From this point on, all who repent and believe in Jesus Christ receive both forgiveness of sins and are baptized with [receive the gift of] the Holy Spirit.

[3] The Christian life is ideally one ‘full of the Spirit’ or ‘filled with the Spirit’ – lived under the control of the Spirit [adjective pleres; verb pleroo]. This being full of or filled with the Spirit is only possible for those who are believers – that is, those who have received the gift of, or the baptism of, the Holy Spirit described in the previous point. It is this being filled with the Spirit that Paul commands in Ephesians 5:18.

[4] On specific occasions, there was a special temporary filling by the Holy Spirit which gave empowerment to boldly speak God’s truth [verb pletho]. This was additional to and distinct from the baptism of the Spirit at regeneration, and the on-going fullness of the Spirit. This is reported only 5 times. This second kind of filling seems to have much in common with Old Testament instances in which individuals were filled with or empowered by the Spirit of the Lord in specific situations.

[5] This special, temporary filling is not even once in Acts associated with performing miracles, signs and wonders; it is rather associated with bold speech.

[6] There is no evidence in Acts that audible and/or visible miraculous phenomena were evident in all who believed. Such phenomena are reported on 4 occasions only – the initial outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, and the inclusion of the Samaritans, Gentiles and disciples of John the Baptist into the church.

[7] There is nothing to validate any division of believers into those who have received [or been baptized by the Spirit] and those who haven’t.

About supernatural guidance

• There are a few instances of supernatural guidance. It was not the norm. Most of the instances of supernatural guidance and intervention in human decisions occurred when the Lord wanted a new people group or geographical area to be reached with the Gospel.
• Reported instances of supernatural guidance involve only Peter, Philip, Ananias, Paul, plus the elders at Antioch regarding Paul & Barnabas.
• These instances of supernatural guidance include visions [only Paul, Ananias, Peter, and Cornelius – all ‘visions’ – no ‘dreams’; ‘dreams’ are mentioned only in the Joel quote in Acts 2].
• These instances of supernatural guidance include guidance by an angel [Philip, Paul, Cornelius].
• None of these instances of supernatural guidance were sought by the people involved.
• Usually the apostles, their fellow workers, and ordinary believers made their decisions on the basis of ordinary human preferences and circumstances and within the general guidelines of Christ’s teaching and the mandate or commission Christ had given them.
• There are no instances of anyone using verses from the scriptures as a means of individualized personal guidance.
• There are no instructions about finding the will of God.
• Apart from Paul’s ‘what do you want me to do?’ [ 22:10 ], which was in the context of a vision of the Lord on the occasion of his conversion, there are no instances of anyone asking God for guidance.
• Apart from the Lord teaching Saul/Paul through Ananias, there are no instances of the Lord giving an individual person directions to be passed on to another.
• There are no instances of people being used to guide others by ‘words of knowledge’, ‘words of prophecy’ or ‘revelations’.
• The reference [21:4] to people urging Paul ‘through the Spirit’ not to go to Jerusalem is puzzling, as the Holy Spirit had already compelled Paul to go to Jerusalem [ 20:22 ].
• The prophecy made by Agabus [ 21:11 ] concerning Paul was not ‘guidance’; it simply stated what would happen if Paul went to Jerusalem , which Paul basically already knew anyway. If it was meant for guidance, then Paul disobeyed that guidance, for one would naturally assume that such ‘guidance’ was given so that Paul’s arrest would be avoided.

Conclusions:

The contemporary quest for divine guidance cannot be supported by the Acts of the Apostles. Divine intervention in people’s plans was the exception, not the norm. Such intervention or guidance was not sought by the persons involved. It occurred only when God wanted to direct his servants in a way different from the direction their normal human choices would have led them. There are no commands to seek supernatural guidance. There is nothing to endorse the perception that ‘God has a wonderful plan for my life, and I have to find it.’ There is nothing to endorse the fear that if I make a ‘wrong’ choice, I will miss out on God’s best or God’s blessing. Rather, for the most part, God worked out his purposes and extended his kingdom in and through normal, ordinary, non-supernatural, human choices and decisions.

About ‘prophecy’:

Apart from references to Old Testament prophets and prophecy, and reference to prophesying in the quote from Joel, Acts records:

• 2 instances of fulfilled predictive prophecy; in both instances Agabus is the prophet. Some might wish to also include Peter ‘predicting’ the death of Sapphira.
• 1 instance of a false prophet. He is not termed ‘false’ because of failure of predictive prophecies but because he was a child of the devil and opposed everything that is right, trying to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
• 2 clear instances of the word ‘prophet’ being used to refer to several men whose ministry was something other than predictive prophecy.
• 2 instances in which people were said to ‘prophesy’ but no indication given if this was predictive prophecy or proclamation of God’s word.
• There is nothing about ‘words of prophecy’ or ‘words of knowledge’ or ‘revelations’.
• There are numerous significant references to the Old Testament prophets and prophecies.

Conclusions:

During the Acts of the Apostles there are two distinct meanings given to the concept of ‘prophecy’:

[1] predictive prophecy – recorded only of Agabus, on two separate occasions. There are no other indisputable instances of predictive prophecy.

[2] spoken messages that teach, lead, encourage and strengthen believers.

In addition, the prophecy that Acts deems important is the Old Testament prophets and their messages.

About spiritual gifts:

• The terms ‘spiritual’ and ‘spiritual gifts’ do not occur in Acts
• The word ‘gift’ is used 4 times to refer to God’s gift of the Holy Spirit
• The word ‘gift’ is never used to refer to God-given or Spirit-given abilities
• There are obviously, therefore, no commands or reports about seeking or exercising ‘spiritual gifts’.

Conclusions:

The only conclusion we can form about the concept of ‘spiritual gifts’ is that it was not an issue in Acts, either positively or negatively. It simply isn’t there.

About apostles:

• Christ gave instructions ‘through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen’.
• It was the apostles Christ instructed to wait in Jerusalem until they were baptized with the Holy Spirit.
• One more apostle had to be chosen to take the place of Judas. This had to be someone who had been with them the whole time Jesus was with them, and a witness of the resurrection. This puts a clear boundary and definition around the concept of ‘apostle’. Matthias thus became one of the twelve apostles.
• It was Peter and the rest of the apostles who spoke in languages on the Day of Pentecost. [Some believe it was the 120 believers, not just the apostles.]
• The believers ‘devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching …’
• Signs and wonders were done by the apostles.
• The apostles testified to the resurrection of the Lord.
• The apostles were summoned when the Samaritans believed, and were present when they received the Holy Spirit.
• An apostle was present when the Gentiles first believed in Christ and received the Holy Spirit.
• Paul and Barnabas are first called ‘apostles’ in Acts 14:4; again in 14:14 .
• Paul and Barnabas consulted with the ‘apostles and elders’ in Jerusalem

Conclusions:

The apostles and the teaching of the apostles are viewed as the foundation of the church. They and their teaching were confirmed by signs and wonders. At least one apostle was present on each occasion when the acceptance of non-Jewish groups into the gospel was confirmed by the Holy Spirit.

In Acts that there is a distinction between

• the twelve [the faithful 11 plus Matthias] – who were with Jesus Christ from the beginning and witnesses of his resurrection; 
•  Paul, uniquely and specially commissioned by Christ to be the ‘apostle to the Gentiles’, and with the same authority as the twelve [this becomes obvious in his letters.

Apostles of the above class, being foundational, were unique, and their role unrepeatable.

• Others who were seen as apostles in a non-foundational way: Barnabas [others are mentioned in the New Testament letters].

B. ANALYSIS: MIRACLES, SIGNS AND WONDERS IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

The notes above include references to the Greek grammatical forms used to refer to being filled with or full of the Holy Spirit. In particular:

• The Aorist Tense: this indicates an inceptive action, or a one-off action.
• The Perfect Tense: this indicates an action completed in the past, with its impact still in effect at the time referred to.
• The Imperfect Tense: this indicates an action that was continuing in the past at the time referred to.
• Adjectives, which describe a condition or state, not an action.