MIRACULOUS AND NON-MIRACULOUS

Hugo McCord

Since it is “not in man” to “direct his own steps” (Jeremiah 10:23), and since the Father is “not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9), God thought that, during the first century, both miraculous and non-miraculous (1) teaching and (2) faith and (3) prayer should be displayed:

I. TEACHING

Since it is necessary that “all be taught of God” (Isaiah 54:13; John 6:45), the Father made sure that the teaching was done right by having the apostles baptized in the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 16:13; Acts 1:5; 2:1-4). Also error free in their teaching were prophets and prophetesses (Acts 13:1-2; 21:9; 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11), who apparently received their Spirit inspired teaching “by the laying on of the apostles’ hands” (Acts 8:18; Romans 1:11; 2 Timothy 1:6). However, the prophetesses did not do their teaching in the public assembly (1 Corinthians 11:5; 14:34-35).

Also, the Father planned for non-inspired “faithful men” and women “to teach others” the “way of God,” as was done by Aquila and Priscilla (2 Timothy 2:2; Acts 28:26). Some evangelists, as Timothy, were miraculously endowed by the laying on of an apostle’s hands (2 Timothy 1:6; Ephesians 4:11). But others, as Titus, apparently were not Spirit-inspired, yet were able to speak “the things that become sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1).

Apollos was not a prophet, but he was able to be “of much service” to Christians in Corinth, and “to debate publicly with the Jews, showing by the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ” (Acts 18:27-28). This great work he was able to do, not because he was miraculously endowed, but because he was willing to receive a correction, and because he was “fervent in spirit,” “an eloquent man,” and “mighty in the Scriptures” (Acts 18:24-26).

Besides the prophetesses, other Christian women, though without divine inspiration, were included in Luke’s statement that the persecuted Christians at Jerusalem “went everywhere preaching the word” (Acts 8:3-4), though not from the pulpit (1 Corinthians 14:34-35). In a private way, Priscilla taught an erring preacher (Acts 18:26).

Lois and Eunice were not prophetesses, but they were capable Bible teachers (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:15). Also, older women, without the miraculous “word of knowledge” from the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8), were able to be “teachers of things honorable” and to train “the young women” to be good Christians (Titus 2:3-5).

Some effective female non-miraculous teaching, in a private way, must be part of Paul’s compliment regarding Euodia and Syntyche: “They have striven beside me in the gospel” (Philippians 4:3). Other examples of non-miraculous teaching by both men and women are found in several Bible exhortations: “Encourage one another daily” (Hebrews 3:13) “in love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24); “build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11); “warn the disorderly, encourage the despondent” (1 Thessalonians 5:14).

II. FAITH

As there were in the first century two kinds of God-approved teaching, so there were two kinds of faith. One was and is a personal belief that God “is” and that “Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Hebrews 11:6; Acts 8:37; Romans 10:9-10), a victorious faith “that overcomes the world” (1 John 5:4), a faith that abides (1 Corinthians 13:13), a faith that saves (1 Peter 1:9).

The other kind of faith was miraculous. Jesus said,

If you have faith as a seed of mustard, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible to you (Matthew 17:21).

Some try to remove the miracle from mountain-moving faith by saying that the mountains are not literal, but are only some of life’s gigantic burdens. However, Jesus said if one has “faith” (that is, the right kind) it is as easy to speak to a mountain, “Be removed, and cast into the sea” and “it will be so,” as it is to speak to a fig tree, “Never will fruit be on you” and “the tree” will wither (Matthew 21:18-22).

Indeed, wrote Paul, “If I have all the faith [that is, both miraculous and non-miraculous] so as to remove mountains, but I do not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2). Among nine miraculous gifts of the Spirit (apparently conferred by apostolic hands, Acts 8:18; Romans 1:11; 2 Timothy 1:6), one was “faith” (1 Corinthians 12:8-11).

Not all Christians in the first century had miraculous, mountain-moving faith, bestowed only on “some” (cf. Ephesians 4:11), but all Christians had non-miraculous, personal faith (1 Peter 1:5, 11). Miraculous faith was a gift from the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4), while non-miraculous faith came “by hearing” the “word of God” (Romans 10:17).

III. PRAYER

As God’s teaching was done both by Spirit-inspired speakers and writers of Bible books, and by uninspired speakers and writers, and as faith was both miraculous and non-miraculous, so prayers were sometimes miraculous and sometimes non-miraculous.

James sets forth examples of both miraculous and non-miraculous prayer. His first example is of a miraculous prayer:

Is any sick? Let him invite the congregation’s elders, and let them pray over him, having anointed him with oil in the Lord’s name. The prayer of faith will cure the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up (James 5:14-15).

The first thing pointing to miraculous prayer is the application of oil. Oil is sometimes used medically, even as the good Samaritan poured oil and wine on the wounds of a beaten man (Luke 10:34). But oil is not a cure-all, and James said that the “prayer of faith,” not the oil, “will cure the one who is sick.” The ceremonial oil application parallels the practice of the apostles who “cast out demons, anointed many sick people with oil, and healed them” (Mark 6:13).

The second thing pointing to miraculous prayer is that the praying was done, not “for” (peri or huper) the sick man, as is done in non-miraculous prayer (Ephesians 6:18-19; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 3:1; Hebrews 13:18), but “over” (epi) the sick man.

The third thing pointing to miraculous prayer is the certainty of a positive answer from the Lord, sudden and sure: “The prayer of faith will cure the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.” But in normal, non-miraculous prayer, sometimes the Lord says no (Matthew 26:44; 2 Corinthians 12:8-9).

James’ example of miraculous prayer was in a time when there were Christians “with gifts of healings” (1 Corinthians 12:28) apparently conferred “by the laying on of the apostles’ hands” (Acts 8:18). “Philip the evangelist” (Acts 21:8) had apostolic hands laid on him (Acts 6:6) with the result that in Samaria he was able to heal “large numbers of paralytics and cripples” (Acts 8:7).

However, all Christians, even in the first century, did not have apostolic hands laid on them, and so Paul expected a negative answer to his question: “Do all have gifts of healings?” (1 Corinthians 12:30). But “the congregation’s elders” cited by James did have the gift of healing. However, today no elder or evangelist or any other Christian has had “the laying on of the apostles’ hands” (Acts 8:18). It follows then that the first example cited by James (5:14-15) was out of date when he last person died on whom apostolic hands had been laid.

Different altogether are James’ second examples of prayer, non-miraculous and valid in all centuries:

Pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous has powerful results. Elijah was a man whose nature was like ours, and he prayed that it would not rain, and it did not rain for three and a half years; and he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit (James 5:16-18).

The first thing pointing to non-miraculous prayers is that all Christians were to pray for one another (v. 16), not simply “the congregation’s elders.”

The second thing pointing to non-miraculous prayers is that Elijah, in these two prayers, was not miraculously empowered as were “the congregation’s elders” in the previous prayer. In other prayers offered by Elijah he was miraculously endowed (as in raising to life a dead child, 1 Kings 17:17-24; as in causing fire to come down from heaven, 1 Kings 18:30-40). But in the two prayers of Elijah cited by James (5:17-18), he prayed without miraculous power, being, said James, “a man whose nature was like ours” (5:17; cf. Acts 14:15).

If Elijah in these two prayers was “just like us” (James 5:17, NIV), then he was not miraculously endowed. If the cloud bringing the rain, for which he prayed on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18:41-46), had come from the East into Palestine, a miraculous answer from God would have been necessary (wrote J. W. McGarvey). Instead, God answered Elijah’s prayer through his natural law by a cloud from the West, arising over the Mediterranean Sea (1 Kings 18:43).

So, just as Elijah prayed for a drought, and later prayed for rain, Christians today may do the same thing with confidence: “The prayer of the righteous has powerful results” (James 5:16).