The question - "how are miracles performed?", has a very obvious answer - God does it whenever He chooses an appropriate time, and I don't dispute that miracles are ultimately by God's will; but with humans as the intermediary, what role does an individual play in the unfolding of the miracle?
There are examples of people in the Bible who try to cast out demons in the name of Jesus, but fail - which I have difficulty understanding. In fact, Jesus even criticizes them for this, implying that they should have been able to do this, and the fact that they cannot do this (or other miracles) indicates that there is something wrong with their strength of will.
Matthew 17
18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Acts 19
13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Similarily, Peter was able to walk on water, and only sank when he doubted:
Matthew 14
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
So there is a personal prerequisite of faith that the miracle will occur in order for it to happen. If one has any doubts there will be a miracle, it will fail.
Now there are stories of people who took LSD and jumped out a window because they thought they could fly (and their belief did not save them) so clearly just believing something will happen is not enough to make it happen; but there is a definite trend in the Bible of people being required to believe as a prerequisite for a miracle to be possible. When Jesus comes to His own country, he does not perform any great miracles (aside from some healings) because the people there do not believe.
Matthew 13
54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
So a potential conclusion is, God will only perform miracles as a reward, to confirm the faith of those who already trust Him, but will do them freely for those who truly believe (within reason - Jesus still refused to turn stones into bread or throw Himself from a cliff when tempted by Satan).
But things are still unsettled, because there is a passage which indicates an additional condition of the human soul, beyond belief, which seems to be a prerequisite for performing great works. Namely: the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
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.
In Acts, we see these exact things unfolding, and it is always by individuals who "receive the Holy Spirit". Now if you ask any Christian if they have the Holy Spirit, they will say Yes, because they believe... but there is a passage that contradicts the idea that all Christians will indwell the Holy Spirit through belief alone.
Acts 8 (NIV)
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
The people of Samaria already believed, already accepted the Word of Jesus, and had already been baptized in the name of Jesus... and still lacked the Holy Spirit. How is this even possible? Yet when the apostles laid their hands on them, something happened. It was not specified what exactly what, but it was visible to onlookers and so impressive that Simon the sorceror offered the apostles a bag of gold if they would teach him how to do it.
So, I am at a loss. I don't suppose anyone here knows how to perform miracles or we'd be living in very interesting times. But it seems like there are two conclusions from these passages that I find troubling:
1. Faith and baptism in Jesus is not synonymous with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Having the Holy Spirit is a special quality not given to every believer; and receiving the Holy Spirit is an event which visibly changes a person.
2. A person with the Holy Spirit can (or should be able to) call upon a miracle by their own initiative.
So - what exactly must a person do to receive the Holy Spirit in such a way as the Samaritans did? And what kind of miracles does Jesus expect His followers to perform? And consequently - does it indicate a moral failure in a person to be unable to perform or witness a miracle?
There are examples of people in the Bible who try to cast out demons in the name of Jesus, but fail - which I have difficulty understanding. In fact, Jesus even criticizes them for this, implying that they should have been able to do this, and the fact that they cannot do this (or other miracles) indicates that there is something wrong with their strength of will.
Matthew 17
18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Acts 19
13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Similarily, Peter was able to walk on water, and only sank when he doubted:
Matthew 14
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
So there is a personal prerequisite of faith that the miracle will occur in order for it to happen. If one has any doubts there will be a miracle, it will fail.
Now there are stories of people who took LSD and jumped out a window because they thought they could fly (and their belief did not save them) so clearly just believing something will happen is not enough to make it happen; but there is a definite trend in the Bible of people being required to believe as a prerequisite for a miracle to be possible. When Jesus comes to His own country, he does not perform any great miracles (aside from some healings) because the people there do not believe.
Matthew 13
54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
So a potential conclusion is, God will only perform miracles as a reward, to confirm the faith of those who already trust Him, but will do them freely for those who truly believe (within reason - Jesus still refused to turn stones into bread or throw Himself from a cliff when tempted by Satan).
But things are still unsettled, because there is a passage which indicates an additional condition of the human soul, beyond belief, which seems to be a prerequisite for performing great works. Namely: the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
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.
In Acts, we see these exact things unfolding, and it is always by individuals who "receive the Holy Spirit". Now if you ask any Christian if they have the Holy Spirit, they will say Yes, because they believe... but there is a passage that contradicts the idea that all Christians will indwell the Holy Spirit through belief alone.
Acts 8 (NIV)
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
The people of Samaria already believed, already accepted the Word of Jesus, and had already been baptized in the name of Jesus... and still lacked the Holy Spirit. How is this even possible? Yet when the apostles laid their hands on them, something happened. It was not specified what exactly what, but it was visible to onlookers and so impressive that Simon the sorceror offered the apostles a bag of gold if they would teach him how to do it.
So, I am at a loss. I don't suppose anyone here knows how to perform miracles or we'd be living in very interesting times. But it seems like there are two conclusions from these passages that I find troubling:
1. Faith and baptism in Jesus is not synonymous with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Having the Holy Spirit is a special quality not given to every believer; and receiving the Holy Spirit is an event which visibly changes a person.
2. A person with the Holy Spirit can (or should be able to) call upon a miracle by their own initiative.
So - what exactly must a person do to receive the Holy Spirit in such a way as the Samaritans did? And what kind of miracles does Jesus expect His followers to perform? And consequently - does it indicate a moral failure in a person to be unable to perform or witness a miracle?