Can People Perform
Miracles
Today? Many people believe they can do miracles, or their religious leaders can do miracles. Some of these miracle workers have been exposed as nothing more than magicians, while others have spent time in jail for various crimes. Others, no doubt, truly believe God has empowered them to do miracles. What does the Bible say about receiving miraculous power? Can people do miracles today? What was the Purpose of Miracles? After God’s word was confirmed, the need for miracles no longer existed. Hence, Paul tells us that miracles were temporary, telling us there’s a better way to live than with miraculous power (1 Cor. 12:31). Miraculous Power was Conferred by an Apostle Laying Hands Upon
a Person Since Paul was the last apostle (1 Cor. 15:8; cf. Acts 1:21-25), there are no apostles on earth today. Since there aren’t any apostles on earth to lay hands on people, it is impossible for people to perform miracles today. Miracles Were Temporary Paul tells us that miracles were temporary, and that they would cease (1 Cor. 13:8-12). Miracles would cease when the “perfect” came, then the “partial” (miracles) would be done away with (1 Cor. 13:10) and they would “know fully” (1 Cor. 13:12). What is the “perfect” that would be present at the time miraculous power ceased?
Note that the "perfect" law of liberty is the doctrine and law of Christ revealed in the New Testament.
The "perfect" (1 Cor. 13:10) was present on earth when Christ's law and doctrine (Gal. 6:2; 2 Jn. 1:9) had been fully revealed. Hence, there was no further need for miracles after God's word had been fully revealed (Heb. 2:1-4). At that time, man was fully equipped to live by faith, hope, and love (1 Cor. 13:13; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). Today, Christians are blessed to live by a "more excellent way" (1 Cor. 12:31) than those to whom Paul wrote in Corinth. People Today Aren’t Speaking in Tongues, Like in the Bible On the day of Pentecost, the apostles spoke in tongues (Acts 2:4). These tongues were known human languages (Acts 2:6) which they hadn’t learned to speak (Acts 2:7). If someone spoke in Bible tongues today, it would be like a person who had never studied French immediately speaking fluent French. People claiming to speak in tongues today do not speak known human languages. They do not speak in the tongues we read about in the Bible. There are religious leaders today, who tell people that they are lost in sin if they can’t do miracles (speak in tongues). Fortunately, this is not the truth. As a matter of fact, we know that some Christians in the Bible couldn’t speak in tongues or do any miracles, and they were saved (Acts 8:12-16; Rom. 12:4-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-31). Some People do Miracles to Deceive Others Bar-Jesus was another one of these men (Acts 13:6). He was a false prophet who used magic to turn people away from the faith (Acts 13:6-8). Paul says he was "full of all deceit and fraud" and calls him a "son of the devil" and an "enemy of all righteousness" who would not "cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord" (Acts 13:9-10). Summary: If a religious teacher claims to have miraculous power, we should be suspicious of what he teaches, knowing that some false teachers use fake miracles to deceive people, scrutinizing his teaching with the word of God, knowing that people can’t do miracles today.
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