FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
THE GIFTS
OF THE SPIRIT – XVI
THE WORKING
OF MIRACLES - I
1 Corinthians 12:10 To another the working of miracles…
“The
working of miracles” is actually quite an unfortunate rendering of the name of
this gift. In the Greek text, this is
the “energema”
of “dunamis,”
which literally is “the operation of
power” or “the working of power.”
Presumably, the translators used the
word “miracles” because the exercise of power through this gift always resulted
in the miraculous.
Matthew 11:20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works (dunamis) were done, because they repented not:
21 Woe
unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works (dunamis),
which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have
repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre
and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
23 And
thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell:
for if the mighty works (dunamis), which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom,
it would have remained until this day.
The “mighty works”
(dunamis)
is a term that referred generally to all of the supernatural ministry of
Messiah, which included: healing the
sick, raising the dead, cleansing the lepers and casting out demons. In this passage of Scripture, the demonstration
of the Spirit and power by Yahushua was sufficient evidence of the Kingdom of
IAUE to have warranted the repentance of all who witnessed it. Such mighty works will testify against the
unrepentant in the day of judgment. (Can you now see
why signs and wonders necessarily accompany the presentation of the
gospel? Without them, the Kingdom of
IAUE does not come near those who only hear the gospel, and see not the mighty
works. Faith is not borne of
miracles. They simply give evidence to
the truth and the authority and power of the gospel and they hold men
accountable for rejecting the gospel.)
Now,
we already know that we shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon
us (Acts 1:8), and that the power referred to is manifested in the gifts of the
Spirit, generally; but this gift, “the working of miracles” is not constrained
or limited by specific manifestations, like healing, the word of knowledge, the
word of wisdom, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues, etc. This gift is the enablement to dispense the
power of IAUE in whatever manner it is needed in order to accomplish the will
of IAUE. The one to whom is given this empowering
grace functions much like the SWAT team of the Body of Messiah. Let me explain.
Consider
the role of the policeman. He wears a
uniform and a badge that represents the authority bestowed upon him to maintain
order in the kingdom. When a policeman
asks you to stop your car; you stop your car. When he asks you to stand back
from a location, you stand back from the location. Why do you do this? It is because you recognize and respond to
their authority. Not all, however, are
as cooperative with the authority of a policeman as you. There are those who resist their authority.
In those situations, the uniform and the badge are not enough to maintain the
peace. That is when the policeman
resorts to power by drawing his weapon.
The weapon no longer speaks of the policeman’s authority. All eyes are focused on the dispenser of
power, and that is the only thing that matters at that point. The resister now succumbs, not to the uniform
or the badge, but to the pistol, the power.
You
will recall from our prior posts on the gifts of healing, we noted that ALL
disciples have the AUTHORITY to heal the sick in conjunction with the presentation
of the gospel message. All believers do
NOT have the POWER to heal the sick apart from the presentation of the
gospel. There is a big difference
between authority and power, as we observed in our policeman illustration
above.
Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall
they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing,
it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall
recover.
We
may deduce from this passage that as with healing the sick, all believers have
the AUTHORITY to cast out demons in conjunction with the presentation of the
gospel message; but all believers do not have the POWER to do so when it is not
in conjunction with presenting the gospel.
When confirming the gospel, it is not the gifts of healing, or the
working of power that is in manifestation.
It is Messiah working through the believer to confirm the Word.
Mark 16:20 And they
went forth, and preached every where, the Master working with them, and
confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
When
Messiah sent out the 12, he gave them power AND authority…authority
AND power.
Luke 9:1 Then
he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power (dunamis) and authority (exousia) over all demons, and to cure diseases.
2 And he
sent them to preach the kingdom of IAUE, and to heal the sick.
Note the distinction the Master makes in these
verses. It is very important for us to
understand. He makes a distinction
between healing the sick (v.2) and casting out demons, which includes curing
diseases (v.1). Though both sickness and
disease ultimately are traceable to a root cause found in sin/disobedience to
the will of IAUE; sickness is not the consequence of demonic spirits; but
diseases are. Diseases differ from
sicknesses in that they are also referred to as afflictions and
infirmities. Sicknesses, for the most
part, will run their course and cease to trouble the body. Diseases, more often than not, are intent on
killing their victims or tormenting them permanently. This difference should alert the believer to
understand that the affliction is the result of a demonic spirit, and healing
is not needed in these circumstances. Deliverance is.
When dealing with demons, authority alone is not always
enough. You also need power. If you
do not cast out the evil spirit from a diseased person, you will not cure the
person. As we discussed in our last
post, the Scriptures record several occasions where a person recovers from a
malady as a consequence of an evil spirit being cast out, or the person being “loosed”
from their affliction/infirmity. Though
we discussed it in our study of the gifts of healing; this is more accurately a
manifestation of the working of power.
Let’s take another look at those examples.
In Mark 1:40-42,
the leper came to Yahushua and Yahushua touched him and said “I will; be thou clean,” and “immediately the leprosy departed from him.” This was a declaration of power over the
leper to become clean. He could not
become clean with the demon of leprosy still in his body; so the demon HAD to
leave his body for the man to become clean.
Power drove out the demon.
In
Luke 13:11-13, Yahushua saw a woman who
had been bowed over for 18 years. He
called to her and said, “Woman, thou art loosed from
thine infirmity;” and “immediately she was
made straight.” The Master did
not speak to the demon. He simply declared the woman to be free; and the demon
had to leave in order for the Master’s words to be fulfilled in the woman’s
experience. This was the working of
power, not a healing.
In
Matthew 8:14-15, Peter’s mother-in-law
was “sick of a fever.” Messiah “touched her hand and the fever left her.” Messiah did not speak to the demon; but the
demon had to leave because of the power that was transmitted from Yahushua into
Peter’s mother-in-law.
Casting out demons is
one of the principle manifestations of the gift of the working of power. It is the bringing to bear the power of the
Kingdom of IAUE where His authority is not respected. Let me share an illustration of this.
Many
years ago, a group of people I knew convened at another person’s home who had
requested help with deliverance of an evil spirit. They gathered around her and
commanded the spirit to leave her body…and did so for nearly two hours, when
the Spirit lead yet another believer to the house, who knew nothing of what was
going on inside. When they answered the
door and saw her, they were very pleased that she had come; and they explained
to her that they had been trying to cast out this demon for two hours but it
had been resisting leaving. This woman calmly walked inside, looked at the
person and simply said, “Come out,” and immediately the spirit left. This is the difference between authority and
power when it comes to casting out demons.
Many demons will leave when confronted with one having authority; but
not all of them will. ALL demons respond to the power of IAUE.
In 1975, my wife and I were visiting an Assembly of
God church one Sunday morning. The
minister of music led the “praise and worship service” with the assistance of a
skilled choir and organist. He moved
from song to song until he found the song to which the congregation responded;
then he began repeating choruses and doing key changes, working up the
congregation into an emotional frenzy.
Suddenly, a young boy, maybe 17 years of age, began marching back and
forth across the front of the church, moving mechanically and making grunting noises. The entire assembly began praising, believing
this to be a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
I looked at my wife and said, “Isn’t anyone going to do something?” She replied, “They think it’s the Holy Spirit.” I said, “But we are just visiting here.” My wife said, “They are not going to do anything.” With that, I became inwardly furious at the
mockery that demon was making of this unlearned assembly. With my hand covering my mouth, and speaking
from virtually the back pew in the church, looking at the young man but
speaking to the demon, I whispered, “Shut up, and sit down.” Immediately, that boy collapsed to the floor
as though he had been hit with a sledge hammer.
He did not make another noise for the rest of the service.
Power had been exercised over that demonic spirit.
The working of power is a gift that is exercised
either by touch or by words, or both, as we have seen in these illustrations in
Scripture and from personal experience.
Words which declare the existence of a condition that does not currently
exist is a common manner of exercising this gift. I recently heard a recording of Kenneth Hagin
sharing a personal testimony of something that happened in his life over 20
years ago. He spent the day with a
family whose mother was insane (but not violent). All day long she spoke nonsense and was
clearly not in her right mind. At the
end of the day, she looked at Rev. Hagin and said with clarity, “Will I ever
get better.” Rev. Hagin said he
instantly knew that she would and he declared to her, “Yes, you will.” Three days later she just came out of her
insanity and was completely normal. The
spirits that had her mind bound were gone.
They had to leave in order for the command of power to be fulfilled in
her life.
Though the working of power is used predominantly in
the realm of casting out demons; it is effective in any application where power
is needed. For example, a person with a
sickness needs to be healed; but a person with one leg shorter than another
needs a miracle. I have had the joy of
speaking to the short legs of scores of people and commanding them to come out
to their proper length, watched as the short legs grew instantly. One who is born deaf does not need
healing. He needs a miracle. One who is lame does not need healing. He needs a miracle.
Next week:
The “trigger” of the working of power.
Kingdom
heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the
performance of the will of IAUE.
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