Subject: Age of Miracles - Past or Present |
Bible Note: Rowdy, Let me also respond to your presupposition, namely, that expressed in this part of your post: "Again, throughout the NT, there was only two instances where christians manifested miraculous powers WITHOUT the gift of "the laying on of the Apostles hands," in Acts 2 and Acts 10. We all know Acts 2 was when the church was established and Acts 10 was the endowment of power to Cornelius and his household for the single express purpose of impressing on Apostle Peter and the rest of the Apostles that the Gospel was for the whole world and not just for the Jews. So, the conclusion is that only the Apostles and those on whom they "laid their hands" manifested these miraculous powers. Further, we can conclude that since none of these folks are here living any longer, there can be no one with such God given powers. Any such miraculous powers must be from another source." 1 Cor.12:7-11 discusses nine supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit which HE divides "to every man severally as HE will" (v.11). We are also told, "the manifestation of the Spirit is given to EVERY MAN to profit withal" (v.7). Where does it say the Spirit HAS TO use an apostle to distribute these gifts to the Body of Christ? Did the apostles lay hands on EVERY MAN in every church in every city in every country? Is that how the Holy Spirit HAS TO operate? Is that what Paul said? You are looking at the Book of Acts and making conclusions that far exceed the teaching of Paul in his epistle. In my humble opinion, you are coming to a faulty conclusion. Now, remove that false supposition, and your search for a true miracle has the chance of yielding a different result. Phil |