Simon, th Philip, an vanglist, wnt north to th city of Samaria. H prachd Jsus to th Samaritans, and usd miracls to prov that h was praching th truth. In that city, thr was a man namd Simon, whom th Bibl calls a sorcrr or magician. Th magic that Simon usd was illusions and tricks, so thr was nothing spcial about it. Th popl of Samaria considrd Simon to b a grat man, and said of his magic, This man is th grat powr of God (Acts 8:10). Howvr, whn Philip cam to Samaria, that all changd. Simon had bn a man who could pull chap tricks, nough to fool and amus th popl, but not nough to do thm ral good. Simon could not prform miracls. Howvr, Philip had th miraculous powr to hal th sick. H had ral powr from God. Strt Magician Strt magicians ar ntrtaining, plain and simpl. Som wandr th strts of citis around th world doing all sorts of tricks and illusions, vn pulling th hads off chickns and thn putting thm back on. Whn a magician dos th trick, h appars to b pulling a chickn s had off, but his hands ar just quick nough that h tucks th chickn s had undr its wing and pulls out a hiddn, fak chickn had. Using his fast hands and hiddn props, th magician is abl to prform any numbr of tricks. Popl ar amazd by his ability, which rally is nothing mor than th ability to fool popl. Dspit how cool his tricks look, a magician s magic is still just that a trick. Thr is nothing spcial, magical, or miraculous about what h dos. Thr is a story of a similar man in Acts 8:9-24, who wandrd th strts of Samaria, amazing popl with his magic. Aftr th church in Jrusalm was scattrd, 50 Confirming and Dfnding Paul was a grat prachr and missionary who trav- ld around th world sprading th Gospl. H spok in Jwish synagogus and to othr assmblis, and wrot lttrs to many churchs. Svral of ths lttrs ar in th Nw Tstamnt. Paul was abl to accomplish ths things bcaus h was snt by God, and th Holy Spirit guidd him in his taching. Th miracls Paul prformd ar on proof of his divinly appointd apostlship. Popl could tll th diffrnc btwn what was ral and what was fak, and soon vn Simon th sorcrr bcam a Christian. Th powr of God to do miracls was not th sam as th tricks of a magician. Th powr of God is ral, and th powr of a magician is fak (though prhaps ntrtaining and innocnt if vryon undrstands that it is mant for innocnt purposs). Th nxt tim you s a magician, rmmbr that w srv a God Who is abl to do far mor than th tricks of mn. Isn t H awsom? At th tim Paul prachd, th Gospl was nw, and popl wr not so sur if thy should bliv Paul. Thy did not hav th Nw Tstamnt to chck and mak sur th things h said wr tru, so thy ndd a way to prov that h was not just making it up. Th Holy Spirit gav Paul th ability to prform miracls so that thos honst popl could b sur Paul was tlling th truth. Whn Paul was in th city of Ephsus, God workd unusual miracls (Acts 19:11-12). By touching th handkrchifs and aprons of sick popl, Paul hald thm or cast vil spirits out of thir bodis. Th miracls of Paul, togthr with his praching, rsultd in th convrsion of many Ephsians. Th Bibl says that th word of th Lord grw mightily and prvaild bcaus of God s work through Paul (Acts 19:20). Not vryon was as willing to accpt th Gospl, vn aftr Paul prformd miracls. In th Grk city of Philippi, Paul and Silas cast an vil spirit out of a young girl. Som mn wr using th girl to mak mony, and thy wr angry whn thy could mak no mor mony. Instad of obying th Gospl lik th Ephsians, ths grdy mn stirrd up th crowd and had Paul and Silas arrstd (Acts 16:16-24). Paul s miracls dfndd th truth against its nmis. Many fals tachrs challngd Paul s praching, and miracls hlpd popl to distinguish fals tachrs from tru apostls. Paul s first miracl srvd this purpos. ippi y of Phil it C h Whil Paul was praching on t f Ruins o th island of Cyprus, a "sorcrr" namd Elymas trid to convinc th proconsul of th island to ignor him and Barnabas. By th Holy Spirit, Paul struck him with blindnss. Whn th proconsul saw this miracl, h knw Paul's taching was from Ruins of th City of God (Acts 13:8-12). Paul Paphos on th Island of Cypr us also usd his miracls to prov to th Corinthians that h was a tru apostl of God, bcaus only by th powr of God could somon prform such amazing signs (1 Corinthians 12:12). Evn today, th miracls Paul prformd 2,000 yars ago show us that God told him what to prach, so w, too, can trust th lttrs h wrot. Thy ar th words of God. July 2013 Discovry 51
Th is Holy Spirit Baptism Som popl think that all blivrs can xprinc Holy Spirit baptism, nabling thm to spak in tongus or prform miracls. Thy say Christians ar Spirit-filld. Yt th Bibl rfrs to Holy Spirit baptism happning only twic. Th vry first rfrnc to Holy Spirit baptism in th Nw Tstamnt was by John th Baptizr: I indd baptiz you with watr unto rpntanc: but H who is coming aftr m...will baptiz you with th Holy Spirit (Matthw 3:11). John was rfrring to Jsus. Just bfor Jsus ascndd, H told th apostls to wait in Jrusalm until thy would b clothd with powr from on high (Luk 24:49). H said th powr would b from th Holy Spirit, making thm abl to tll th world what Jsus taught thm (Acts 1:4-5,8). Jsus said: for John truly baptizd with watr; but you [apostls] shall b baptizd with th Holy Spirit not many days from now (Acts 1:5). Th apostls rcivd this promis of Holy Spirit baptism in Acts 2, mpowring thm to spak in tongus and tach th popl. Th only othr tim th Nw Tstamnt says anyon was baptizd in th Holy Spirit was th Gntils in Acts 10. Ptr said: And as I bgan to spak, th Holy Spirit fll upon thm [th Gntils], as upon us [apostls] at th bginning. Thn I rmmbrd th word of th Lord, how H said, John indd baptizd with watr, but you shall b baptizd with th Holy Spirit. If thrfor God gav thm [th Gntils] th sam gift as H gav us [apostls] (Acts 11:15-17). To undrstand Holy Spirit baptism, just rmmbr ths thr vrss: Matthw 3:11, Acts 1:5, and Acts 11:16. n a M m La Hald As Ptr and John wnt to th tmpl to pray, thy cam across a poor man who could not walk. H had bn crippld from birth, and was now ovr 40 yars old (Acts 4:22). Th man apparntly mad his living by bgging at th tmpl gat (a good plac for bgging, as it was th front door to th tmpl). H askd Ptr and John for som mony. Th lam man was so accustomd to bgging that h did not vn bothr to look up at th apostls. First, h gav God crdit for th miracl (vrss 12-13). It is not always asy for us to giv God thanks and glory for His blssings. Oftn, w ar tmptd to tak all th crdit for th good things w do, and act as if w did it all by ourslvs. Many popl liv as if God dos not xist nor blss us. Paul calld such popl fools (Romans 1:21-22). Scond, Ptr taught th crowd about Jsus (vrss 14-26). How many tims has God givn us opportunitis to tll popl about Christ and th church, only to s us ignor or rfus th offr? W can mak ourslvs awar of chancs to shar th Gospl by rmmbring that ach prson w mt has an immortal soul. Lik Ptr and John, w should us vry chanc w gt to hlp othrs go to havn. Ptr and John did not hav any mony, but thy had somthing much mor valuabl to giv to th crippld bggar th haling powr of Jsus. Ptr said, In th nam of Jsus Christ of Nazarth, ris up and walk (Acts 3:6). Th lam man s lgs instantly bcam strong nough to support him! H lapd up and walkd into th tmpl with Ptr and John. H jumpd for joy and praisd God. Just as w marvl at th amazing miraculous powr givn to Ptr by Jsus, th popl in th tmpl ara on that day wr shockd to s th familiar crippld man bounding across th tmpl court. Thy all wantd to har what th apostls had to say. Ptr saw that h had th attntion of a larg group of listnrs, so h spok sriously to th crowd. Th first to rciv Holy Spirit baptism wr th Jwish apostls on th day of Pntcost in Acts 2. Th scond to rciv Holy Spirit baptism wr th Gntil mmbrs of th houshold of Cornlius in Acts 10. So all flsh in Jol 2:28 rfrs to th outpouring on Jws in Acts 2 and on Gntils in Acts 10. Holy Spirit baptism, thn, filld two spcial purposs: (1) to prpar th apostls for thir apostolic (not Christian) rols; and (2) to show that th Gntils wr to b allowd to bcom Christians. Holy Spirit baptism dos not happn today. 52 July 2013 Discovry 53
ty I t I v c Pag S FIll In th Blanks A 1. In th Grk city of, Paul and Silas cast an vil spirit out of a young girl. 2. Th of th Lord grw mightily and prvaild bcaus of God s work through Paul (Acts 19:20). 3. baptism occurrd in Acts 2:1-4. 4. Simon and Elymas wr. 5. Whn Paul was in th city of, God workd unusual miracls (Acts 19:11-12). MultIpl ChoIc 1. Miracls ar A. Suprnatural B. Normal, vryday occurrncs C. Magic tricks 2. Th nam of th "sorcrr" who was convrtd to Christ (Acts 8) A. Elymas B. Socrats C. Simon Tru or Fals 1. Magicians prform tricks that sm to b ral. 2. God has chosn to still work miracls today lik H did in th first cntury. 3. W nd mor than th Bibl to bliv in Jsus. 4. W should all sit around and wait for Holy Spirit baptism. 5. Th miracls that God workd through th apostls and othrs in th first cntury playd a vital rol in showing popl th truthfulnss of th mssag prachd. 6. Miracls that w rad about in th Bibl ar diffrnt than th so-calld miracls that popl say happn today. 7. Paul and Silas cast an vil spirit out of a littl girl. 8. Many fals tachrs challngd Paul s taching. 9. W can trust Paul s lttrs, bcaus thy ar from God. 10. Som mn wr using th dmon possssd girl to mak mony. 3. In th Bibl, miracls A. Wr usd for ntrtainmnt purposs B. Vrifid th taching of God s mssngrs C. Simply mad popl fl good 4. By th powr of God, Paul struck this sorcrr with blindnss. A. Simon B. Eutychus C. Elymas 5. In Acts 3, Ptr hald a A. Crippld man B. Blind woman C. Child with a fvr 54 Dar Diggr Doug, On A Sparat Sht of Papr 1. Explain why thr was a nd for miracls in th first cntury. 2. Explain why w do not nd such miracls today. What is th diffrnc btwn miracls and magic? Dar Radr, First, magic can b usd just for fun. Miracls wr not just for fun. Thy wr visibl signs that a prson was acting or spaking on God s bhalf (rad Exodus 3:12-4:14). Scond, magic can b usd to dciv. Miracls, on th othr hand, wr nvr usd for dcption. Rathr, thy wr usd to tach important spiritual lssons (lik whn Elijah askd God to prform a miracl on Mount Carml to show that Baal was a fals god 1 Kings 18:20-40). Miracls also wr usd to hlp popl (lik whn Jsus hald a blind man John 9:1-41). Third, magic isn t ral. Whn a magician maks a woman disappar, sh dosn t rally disappar into thin air. But miracls wr ral vry ral! Whn Moss strtchd his rod across th Rd Sa and causd th watrs to part so th Isralits could walk across on dry land, it was no trick. Moss (through God s powr) rally did what th Bibl says h did (rad Exodus 13:14-22). Whn Pharaoh s army followd th Isralits, and Moss causd th watrs to com back togthr to dstroy th Egyptians, th soldirs and horss rally did (rad Exodus 13:26-28). Fourth, magic is intndd to ntrtain us and show us th magician s talnt. That is not tru of miracls. Thir purpos nvr was to ntrtain an audinc or to dmonstrat how talntd a prson was. Thy wr prformd in ordr to show popl th way to havn. Thanks for your grat qustion. Rmmbr, Bibl miracls wr not magic. July 2013 Discovry 55
APOLOGETICS PRESS, INC. 230 Landmark Driv Montgomry, AL 36117 (800) 234-8558 (Ordrs) (334) 272-8558 Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postag PAID Montgomry, AL Prmit No. 513 2013 Apologtics Prss, Inc. All Rights Rsrvd Editor: Kyl Butt, M.A. Associat Editor: Eric Lyons, M.Min. Layout and Dsign: Rob Bakr, M.Ed. ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Miracslds Hav Ca Many popl today bliv that God is still working miracls lik H did in th first cntury. Many popl say that thy can spak in tongus or hal th sick, or that thy know popl who can. But th Bibl dos not tach this ida. A miracl in th Bibl was a suprnatural act. It was an vnt that was byond th usual cours of natur lik rstoring sight to a man blind from birth, or raising a dad prson (lik Lazarus) from th grav. Th Bibl tachs that miracls happnd in Bibl tims for a vry spcific purpos: to confirm th Word (Mark 16:20; Acts 8:6; Hbrws 2:3-4). How did miracls confirm th Word? Whn an inspird spakr stppd forward to dclar God s Word, God confirmd His Word by having th spakr prform a miracl to show that h was from God. Th miracl showd th harrs that God was bhind th spakr s rmarks. Miracls authnticatd th spokn word as God s Word. Miracls vrifid th taching of God s mssngrs, in contrast to th many fals tachrs (rad John 3:2). Paul statd that miracls would cas and b don away whn th prfct (or compltd Word of God) had bn rvald (1 Corinthians 13:8-10; Jams 1:25). Thos things that wr incomplt and partial (miraculous gifts) would b rplacd by th total and complt (th fully rvald Word of God). Onc God rvald all of th information that H wishd to mak availabl to popl, th nd for miracls to confirm th oral Word cam to an nd. Now, popl can sit down with a Nw Tstamnt, th writtn Word of God, and, with honst and dilignt study, conclud that it is God s Word. W hav absolutly no nd for miracls. Sinc thr ar no apostls living today, and sinc Holy Spirit baptism was uniqu to th apostls (Acts 2) and th first Gntil convrts (Acts 10), thr is no Holy Spirit baptism today. Likwis, thr is no miraculous haling today. All thos on whom th apostls had laid thir hands ar also dad (Acts 8:18). Onc th last apostl did, th ability to prform miracls could not b passd on to othrs. Th Bibl tachs that miracls ar no longr ncssary sinc w hav vrything w nd to function in this lif, to b plasing to God, and to surviv spiritually (Rad 2 Ptr 1:3). ANSWERS Fill in th Blanks: 1. Philippi; 2. Word; 3. Holy Spirit; 4. Magicians; 5. Ephsus. Multipl Choic: 1. A (Suprnatural); 2. C (Simon); 3. B (Vrifid th taching of God s mssngrs); 4. C (Elymas); 5. A (Crippld man). Tru or Fals: 1-T; 2-F; 3-F; 4-F; 5-T; 6-T; 7-T; 8-T; 9-T; 10-T. 56 Yarly Subscription Fs in U.S. Funds Only Unitd Stats of Amrica: Individual rat: $14 ach Bulk rat (at last 5 to sam addrss): $10.50 ach. Club rat (at last 10 to diffrnt addrss paid togthr): $12 Homschool discount 10% off abov rats