What Are Miracles?

Miracles are works of divine power that transcend the ordinary course of nature, wrought by God either directly or through human agents empowered by His Spirit. The apostle Peter, in his Pentecost sermon, described Christ as 'a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you,' as recorded in Acts 2:22. This verse reveals that miracles serve an authenticating function — they bear witness to the divine authority behind the one who performs them. At the wedding in Cana, when Christ turned water into wine, the evangelist John notes in John 2:11: 'This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.' Miracles therefore point beyond themselves to the glory of the One who performs them; they are never ends in themselves but luminous signs pointing to the person and work of Christ. The writer of Hebrews confirms that signs and wonders were given to establish the authority of the apostolic message, saying in Hebrews 2:4 that God was '...bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will.' From the parting of the Red Sea to the resurrection of the dead, miracles throughout Scripture declare that the God of the Bible is sovereign over all creation. He is not bound by natural law, for He authored it, and He may suspend or supersede it whenever His perfect purposes require. Faith in a miracle-working God is not credulity — it is the natural response to the testimony of Scripture.