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God's Special Providence & Miracles
by Pastor Bob Burridge ©1997
Westminster Confession of Faith 5:3 WCF V.III "God, in His ordinary providence, makes use of means, yet is free to work without, above, and against them, at His pleasure."
There is a distinction between the natural and the supernatural
God's ability to do all his holy will, the certainty with which he executes his decrees, and the extent of his decrees to include all that occurs, has already been established in our previous lessons on the decrees of God.
The created physical universe includes more than just the energy-matter continuum. Built into it are the principles which govern how the parts of the universe effect one another and interact. We call these relationships physical laws. Since all that God has made, and all that his providence governs, is an execution of decrees, and since the decrees are ordered to the manifestation of God's nature and glory, we must accept that the operations of the universe are not inherent in the substance of the universe itself, but are imbedded in it as a direct intention of the Creator in fulfilling his eternal purposes.
Included in the plan of God is that at times he would act directly in ordering the course of things without following the laws by which he has decreed they should ordinarily be governed. When God uses and directs secondary causes (see previous discussion in Lessons 4 and 7) to accomplish his decreed ends we say this is a natural operation. But when God, acts directly upon the course of things, since he is not part of his own created order but is by definition above it, he is not bound to follow the ordinary principles of what we perceive to be physical laws. These immediate acts of God are termed supernatural. They do not violate natural law. It is more precise to say that such works of God involve principles that lie above and behind natural law. The motive comes from the eternal purpose of God which is also the cause of the ordinary relationships that govern the energy-matter continuum.
This is why the Confession says that God may freely work "without, above and against" his ordinary providence. Theologians distinguish these two strains of providence as "providentia ordinaria" and "providentia extraordinaria" (ordinary and extraordinary providence). Sometime we call them general and special providence.
Not all is supernatural that appears to be
There is a tendency to call things supernatural that are in reality only things beyond our ability to explain. Medicines that were thought to be magical in the past often come to be identified by their effects upon the body and can be used in a very predictable way that seems most natural.
Healing the human body of disease is not generally to be viewed as a supernatural event. God created the body's immune system to fight various infections and disorders. Sometimes it works in ways we still cannot fully explain or duplicate with medications. The body seems to spontaneously go into remission even when untreated. This is the common way we get over common colds, flues and infections. Sometimes more severe diseases seem also to reverse themselves without any intervention by external treatments. People with various cancers and heart diseases may be given no hope, yet they recover for reasons medical science is not yet able to explain. Such remissions should not be seen as miracle healings since, though not fully understood by all men in all eras, they are in the realm of the natural, involving secondary causes rather than supernatural direct interventions of God.
There are times when people report symptoms and are convinced they have specific diseases but there is nothing physically wrong with them. Such psychosomatic disorders can be reversed simply by convincing the person that the disease has been removed. Often severe stress, fear, or guilt can bring on such conditions. When convinced that the disorder is removed by claims to magical or supernatural means they often will believe that they have been given a fresh start and the underlying stress is temporarily suppressed. Such healings are really not healings at all. Certainly they ought not to be used as evidences of miracle healings by unscrupulous practitioners.
Medical science has made great progress in recent years. But there are many things that still cannot be explained. The connection between wellness and a person's attitude is not well understood.
False religion makes use of such remissions
All through history there have been those who would use deceit to gain a
following. Satan is certainly a great orchestrator of deceptions,
particularly if they would cause people to place their trust in things
contrary to reality and in opposition to the honoring of God as he has
revealed himself.
The ancient Babylonians, Greeks, Barbarians and others have all claimed the ability to perform miracles and supernatural healings to convince people to follow them and to submit to their claims. Roman Catholics, modern charismatics and many other movements and cults use claims to miracles, visions, healings, and wonders to attest that their message is the authentic truth from God. If each claim would be true, then God would be constantly affirming contradictory messages about himself. This cannot be.
When I was in college, several of us drove to the near-by Florida city of Tarpon Springs to see the "weeping icon" which had just been proclaimed a true miracle by the Orthodox church. It was a painting of Mary that had moisture gathering under the glass over the part of the picture where her hand was raised.
Television evangelists parade streams of people before us who give testimony to being healed. They throw down crutches, claim to see with formerly blind eyes, and claim to be set free from exotic diseases. They use these testimonials to entice the gullible to believe in their unbiblical teachings and support their unbiblical ministries.
Some dangerous deceivers have claimed they have traveled through space to planets where Jesus has taught them personally. Others say that God speaks through them as he did in the Bible, or that Jesus has already come back but was not recognized by the rest of us.
We need to establish a view of the supernatural that is not easily manipulated to deceive, if it was possible, even the elect of God. As Jesus said,
Matthew 24:24 "false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect."
We are warned that we need to test the spirits of those who would ask us to trust and follow their teachings. Not all who claim to speak for God are truly his spokesmen.
1 John 4:1 "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
Events that present themselves as supernatural, though they may not in reality be what they seem, are not always honoring to God. Calvin warned (in his Prefatory address of the Institutes to King Francis I), "We may also fitly remember that Satan has his miracles, which, though they are deceitful tricks rather than true powers, are of such sort as to mislead the simple-minded and untutored [2 Thessalonians 2:9-10]. Magicians and enchanters have always been noted for miracles. Idolatry has been nourished by wonderful miracles, yet these are not sufficient to sanction for us the superstition either of magicians or of idolaters."
The term "miracle" can have many meanings.
Charles Hodge explains that the word miracle comes "from 'miror', 'to
wonder', and therefore signifies that which excites wonder (Systematic
Theology, Vol I, pg. 617). Many things may excite our wonder. Even many
natural things. This ordinary use of the term in society is very broad
and general. A good copy machine or a fine tasting margarine have been
called "miracles" by the advertisers.
God has most certainly worked supernaturally. But his supernatural workings, which we call miracles, are not simply acts designed to stir wonder in the observers.
The Davis Bible Dictionary explains that true miracles are not merely amazing or supernatural events where we cannot explain what happens. They are not just extraordinary providences where God works to accomplish his good purposes (pp. 526-527).
Certainly God works powerfully to convert a soul to Christ, or to turn a believer back to God by the influence of the Holy Spirit. They are direct acts of God but do not supervene any natural laws or processes in the observable physical world. They are acts in the realm of spirits and are neither natural nor supernatural in the sense we have seen these terms established.
Certainly God uses the prayers of his people when we intercede for someone's health. But this does not imply that God is not still using the immune system, medical help, or processes we do not yet understand well. These all involve the use of secondary causes.
Dr. Reymond, of Covenant Theological Seminary, writes, "I do not deny that miracles of grace and remarkable answers to prayer occur today. I do however question the occurrence today of what are referred to as genuine miracles of power." (What About Continuing Revelations... P. 43)
If we termed everything a miracle which God does, including things in the spirit realm and acts involving secondary causes, then in onc sense everything would be a miracle and the word would lose its meaning. It would not be something out of the ordinary and it would not distinguish the Creator's immediate interventions by special providence. The whole biblical purpose for such distinct operations would vanish.
The Purpose of Miracles
Miracles have occurred. But they are not presented in Scripture as mere
acts of benevolence and kindness extended to relieve suffering or
restore life. They are not simply acts of wonder performed to convince
the stubborn and unbelieving. It should be remembered that very few
conversions are recorded of the many who observed the biblical miracles.
Egypt saw Moses lead his people out after the great plagues and the death
of the first born. They saw God appear in the pillar and the cloud.
They saw the Red Sea close in over their powerful army. Yet Egypt did
not repent as a nation and come to a true faith in Jehovah.
Some cultish groups claim that it is God's will to cure all who are diseased if they will only have faith. This is a view that is directly contrary to Scripture.
Paul prayed three times about his "thorn in the flesh" (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). The Lord told him that it would not be taken away because it served a purpose. This infirmity, what ever its nature, was to keep the Apostle from "exalting himself." It didn't remain because Paul doubted, or because his faith was not strong enough. It was God's love and wisdom that left Paul with this affliction for purposes not immeditely evident.
God does not will that all diseases should be cured. This is not the purpose of miracles. He has revealed clearly in Scripture that he can do whatever he chooses. God is able to deliver from every disease or affliction. But the question is not what he can do, but what he intends to do and what he actually decrees and does, and what is meant by the idea of "miracle" in Scripture.
By his natural workings of providence and with the use of secondary means God often does deliver people from sicknesses and from injuries. We are thankful for every such deliverance, and we certainly believe in an active, supernatural God. But we make a dangerous mistake to call these ordinary operations "miracles." The miracles of God's direct intervention should not be the ordinary expectation of his people in every era.
B. B. Warfield writes that God does not, "deal with men atomistically, and reveal himself and his will to each individual... this is the mystic's dream. It has not, however, been God's way. He has chosen rather to deal with the race in its entirety." The miracles have a larger purpose than the immediate benefits they may extend to the individuals directly involved (Miracles p. 26).
When did miracles occur in Scripture?
If you were to lay out a time line of biblical history with creation at
one end and the completion of the New Testament on the other, and put a
dot when each miracle took place, you would find something astounding!
Miracles are not distributed throughout the whole of time. They are
confined almost exclusively to specific periods, separated by
centuries.
Certainly creation itself was a direct and immediate act of God and would qualify as a miracle. The translation of Enoch in Genesis 5 was separated from creation by a long unspecified period of time. The various acts of vengeance upon sin that followed are more generally classed as judgments rather than miracles of power. They include the flood in the time of Noah and the division of the human race and confusion of languages beginning from the incident at Babel. Each of these events was separated from the others by what appears to be long ages. There were a few events in the time of Abraham which included supernatural interventions aside from the use of secondary means. Then there is a long gap until the time of Moses ranging from the deliverance of the people from Egypt until the conquest of Canaan. Then there is another gap until the time of the kings in the divided kingdom under the ministries of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. Then after another long gap there are several miracles associated with the time of Daniel and the latter prophets. After several centuries there is another flurry of miraculous activity in the time of Jesus and the Apostles as the promises of God's covenant were fulfilled in the work of the Messiah and the establishment of the Apostolic church.
B. B. Warfield writes, "there is little or no evidence at all for miracle-working during the first fifty years of the post-apostolic church" He points out that such claims began slowly and increased rapidly as Christianity came more and more to compromise with paganism around it adopting the superstitions of the world. "... this stream of miracle-working which has run ... through the history of the church was not original to the church, but entered it from without." (Miracles p. 74)
In each case there is a clear pattern where God's plan of redemption is advanced significantly, and the truth of it is explained by direct revelation through specific chosen spokesmen sent by God. At those times miracles were performed to authenticate the human delivering the revelation as a true representative of God.
Geerhardus Vos explains that associated with major events in God's work of redemption, a period of special revelation occurs to explain the event. He points out that such "objective-central acts" are "never entirely left to speak for themselves; they are preceded and followed by word-revelation." (Biblical Theology pp. 14-15)
Warfield shows how at each of these times, a period of miracles of power occurs to confirm the truth of the messengers of God. We could illustrate these events as follows ...
| MAJOR EVENT OF REDEMPTION | |
|---|---|
| EXPLANATION BY SPECIAL REVELATION | AUTHENTICATION BY MIRACLES OF POWER |
This means that once the event is explained, the special revelation ends. When the special revelation is completed and received, the period of miracles ends. Each is without purpose without its predecessor and must cease when its job is done.
B. B. Warfield writes that miracles "... belong to revelation periods, and appear only when God is speaking to His people through accredited messengers, declaring His gracious purposes." (Miracles p. 25)
Until the final stage of redemption in the return of Jesus Christ in judgment there is no continuing need for added revelation and no promised continuance of the offices of prophet or apostle. Since no such confirmation is needed the biblical purpose for miracles will not exist in this church age again until special revelation resumes at the final consummation.
John Skilton, associate professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary, writes, "when the work of the apostles was done, and they had confirmed the salvation which the Lord began to attest in his earlier ministry, when the church had been planted, the apostolic foundation provided and the New Testament had been written, there was no further need of the apostolic office and of the signs and gifts which had so notably accompanied it. ... With the death of the apostles and of others who in the apostolic age had received special gifts, these special gifts died out." (Special Gifts for a Special Age p. 3)
Biblical support for this specific purpose for miracles
In 2 Corinthians 12:12 Paul wrote in defense of his apostleship: "The
signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance,
by signs and wonders and miracles (works of power)"
This triple expression should be taken as a whole. The supernatural events where God intervenes immediately have three designations: They are called signs because they teach us something about God. They are called wonders because they astonish and amaze us. They are called miracles of power because they are deeds done by God's power over his creation beyond the way he made it to ordinarily operate.
Paul explained directly that the purpose of these miracles is that they serve as signs of true apostleship. They are confirmations from God to attest the message and the messenger.
Charles Hodge agrees saying, "The signs of an Apostle were the insignia of the Apostleship." And Dr. Hughes writes, "These signs were confirmatory of the apostolic work and word, and therefore of the authenticity of the Apostles' mission."
The same three words are found in other places in the New Testament to convey the same idea.
Mark 16:20 (concluding a much disputed portion) explains that the work of the eleven Apostles being addressed by Jesus after the resurrection "confirmed the word by the signs that followed."
In Acts 2:22 Peter explains, "Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs."
In Acts 14:3 Paul and Barnabas were at Iconium. It is said that the Lord "was bearing witness to the word of his grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands."
In Romans 15:19 Paul used these signs as God's evidence that he was at work in those converted "in the power of signs, and wonders, in the power of the Spirit." ("Power" is the same root word as "miracle".)
In 2 Thessalonians 2:9 Paul warns of Satan's work in the lawless one "with all power, and signs and false wonders ..."
In Hebrews 2:4 the writer says, "God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders and various miracles ..."
These terms are used together in many other places as well (see Acts 2:43, 4:30, 5:12, 7:36, 14:3 & 18:13). Clearly their purpose is to act as evidences of the authority of the Apostles.
B. B. Warfield writes, "these gifts ... were part of the credentials of the Apostles... their function thus confined them distinctly to the Apostolic Church, and they necessarily passed away with it." (Miracles p. 6)
John Calvin (also in the Institute's prefatory address) said, "In demanding miracles of us they [our antagonists] act dishonestly. For we are not forging some new gospel, but are retaining that very gospel whose truth all the miracles that Jesus Christ and his disciples ever wrought serve to confirm... This false hue could have been more dazzling if Scripture had not warned us concerning the legitimate purpose and use of miracles."
Davis' Bible Dictionary retains this idea in its definition of biblical miracles of power: "events in the external world, wrought by the immediate power of God and intended as a sign or attestation." (p. 526)
Therefore, miracles of power do not continue today
The historic position of the Protestant churches, particularly the
Reformed is that God never promised that miracles of power would
continue in Christ's church in this present era. The extraordinary gifts
(such as tongues, prophesy and miracles of power) have ceased. They
fulfilled their purpose by the end of the New Testament period. What we
see today therefore cannot pass the biblical test for such
wonders.