Should Christians Expect Miracles Today? Objections and Answers from the Bible, Part 3, by Wayne A. Grudem

Now that type of event does not challenge a true understanding of “the sufficiency of Scripture” at all. Scripture tells me gossip is wrong; it does not tell me two people in the room have been gossiping (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:24-25). Scripture tells me to go to my brother if he has something against me; it does not tell me that Robert has been angry with me about something I said. In addition, out of all the verses in the Bible, God will sometimes use prophecy to bring to mind exactly the right Scripture passage for the situation at hand. This happened to me recently at a meeting for our church. I had awakened that morning with a passage from 2 Samuel on my mind, and when I read it without comment at the meeting, the Holy Spirit used it to bring conviction to our hearts and tears to our eyes.

What a rich blessing this is for the New Covenant Age (from Pentecost until Christ returns)! Here is a great privilege we have over believers in the time of the Old Testament, when only a few people had the gift of prophecy. On the day of Pentecost, Peter said that the New Covenant Age had begun, because Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled:

And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; yes, and on my menservants and my maid servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy (Acts 2:17-18). Peter does not say only the apostles would prophesy. He does not say only church leaders would see visions and dreams. He says the Holy Spirit is going to give these things to old and young, to men and women, to parents and children. That means all sorts of people in the Church.

And Peter does not say this will be limited to the first few years of the Church (as some would tell us). Joel was predicting the time of the New Covenant, the time of the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit on God’s people. That is the age we still live in today—and these are the blessings we should yet expect from God today.

Tags: adding to scripture, answers, apostles, bible, cessationism, continuationism, exorcism, foundational gifts, grudem, Holy Spirit, Kingdom and the Power, miracles, objections, office gifts, prophecy, prophesy, sign gifts, signs and wonders, tongues, Wayne Grudem

Category: Pneuma Review, Spirit, Summer 2000