The Ohio Independent Baptist, September 1972

• \ 1 l l { n lud d from p g I11 1 l 1 1 1 l l 'l'' s 1 ,.. l \ s I , , .. t 11"' J\ 1 I S) If faitl1-l1 'nl ~r~ ate n \' ital 11art t'l (f', J)rogrn ,11 for tl1c l1tJr l1 t ,d,\). ,, 11, lu.i till: .1\1 ~tic Patil c 1,cricr1ce tl1c c11d l t ti 11 i t ,, l"t littri 111~ l1is )\\ 11 Ii fct i111c? Wl1 tlc ,lt l r1l11.. ,ti~. l1c.' t1cnlcc.i 111,111\ 11co1llc t,, 111irac t1l ti, 111can, \ c· '-> : i 1- 1 ) : l t1t , t1<.i cl1l1 c r1<..1t t a11"\\Cr 111 l)ftl r, fr 11 \1,\11 l1,.1liiJ,, l1cal111g ( ll .... r. 1-.7- 10) . The reason f r t 11, , c.' Ct'cdtng1, 111111 rt ant. h 1 ' grace i uffic icnt f )r t l1c~. t )f 111, l' )\\ c r 1 111adc pcrfcct in \: cakne .,. \ 1 l1at. tl1cn. "l1,1Jl ,, c think f a 111odcrn faith-healer who t,1t<.: • t)T ir111 Ii~~ tl1at certain aint f d 111u "t continue tt, l"c cripples l c au. e the)· ha,,c i11sc1ff icier11 fait/1 or be– ",1t1 ·c th ) ha, c n t n1c t 1/1e rig/11 ,,1ar1? I thi the rt,1, n ,, h, great hri ttan uch a John alvin, David ... ..... Brainerd. ran C ' H a \ ·ergal. Robert Murray McCheyne t "" harle.. H addon ptirg on, and Fanny Cro by among t1ther ,. tiff er d n1an) 1 )'ear of ill health or died young? If 1od· .. po,\ er i n1ade perfect in weakne , i robu t ph~ i al health nece arily a mea ure of one' piritual \\ 1 ell-being? Paul" la t recorded miracles were performed on the i land f 1alta, one of "vhich was a remarkable fulfillment of our Lord' promi e to the apostles that they would not be hurt b)' deadly erpent (Acts 28:1-10 · Mark 16:18). But after P aul arrived in Rome, hi miracle-working pO\\ er "'ere apparently withdrawn by the Lord. In a letter to the Philippi an church he explained how Epaphro– ditu , their me enger to him, had almost died from a ickne , and the clear implication is that Paul was unable to help him ( Phil. 2:25-30). After a time, Paul was re– leased f rom pri on visited the Aegean area again, and was brought back to Rome for execution. In his final letters to Timothy he explained that he had left Trophimus at Miletu sick ( II Tim. 4: 20). In fact, he knew of no faith– healer who could help Timothy either, so he recommended to him: Be no longer a drinker of water [which was often dangerou ly polluted], but use a little wine for thy tomach· sake and thine often infirmities,, (I Tim. 5: 23) . Thus step by step God was removing the scaffolding of miracles from the early church as the New Testament Scriptures were being completed and the apostles and prophets were dying off. The Holy Spirit was now focusing the eyes of Christian s exclusively upon the written Word, apart from which there is no salvation or spiritual ma– turity ( II Tim. 3: 15-17). God's plan for this age, said P aul, is for men to walk by faith rather than by sight ( II Cor. 5: 7), just as our Lord reminded Thomas, the ign-seeker "blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed' (John 20:29). VI. CHRIST CLEARLY IMPLIED THAT PHYSICAL MIRACLES WOULD BE SUPPLANTED BY EVEN GREATER WORKS DURING THE CHURCH AGE The very night of His betrayal, the Lord Jesus told His disciples: ' 'He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do because I go unto the Father' (John 14: 12). What did He mean by these words? The works that Jesus performed during His public ministry were fantastically great. Diseases were banished demons were cast out, dead men arose, wine. bread. and fishes were created, and mighty storms \\ ere instantly calmed. But it must be recognized that each of these miracles was intentionally superficial and tem– porary in qL1ality! In other words, no one was permanently helped by any of them, nor were men's deepest needs met bj such works of pO\\'er ! Creating food for one occasion did not automatically st1pply the need for later occasion . 12 SEPTEft\BER, 1972 11(1 \ itl1 regard to 1',odily ail111c11ts, C\'ery <.lisca ed crip JJlc<.t , lc1,rou\ r>erson Jes tis ever heal d finally c..lic<.I anyway - ever 011c of tl1c111! 11d poor I a1ar11s. It j · trL1e that J C\llS 1''1t~c<.i 111111 fro111 the clca<.I, i 11 s t ,int I y and comJJ1e tcly v 1tl1 n con alcsccncc nccclcd . But lat er on he clictl again! Wot1ld c)tl like to <.iic twice? When hri~t raises you r <l ca<. l10<.I son1c <.Jay, wotJld yot1 want it to lJc raised to mortal J1tc again? hi5 was certainly no favor to I a,arus, nor wa it intended to be! It was rather a mere temporary and lin1itcd . ign of hrist' power to do the greater work of resurrection to glory in the Day of the ord (John 5:28- 29). In thi light our Lord's words take on new meaning: "greater works than these shall ye do because I go unto the Father ." an there be any greater works than the miracle of Jesu ? Yes there can be and there are. When our Lord returned to heaven, the Spirit of God came ten days later and baptized the disciples into the Body of Chri t. Peter then arose, preached a sermon to a vast multitude of Jews, and three thousand men experienced the spiriti,al 1niracle of regeneration in one day! This was the "greater work" because it met man's basic need , and met it permanently. Let it be remembered that our Lord's purpose in coming to earth was not to preach the Christian Gospel but to make such preaching possible (I Cor. 15:1-4). If He had not died as our substitute for sin, there could be no Gospel (John 12:20-24). But since His death, resurrection, and ascension, many pastors, evangelists, and missionaries have }VOn more ,nen to saving faith than the Son of God did, and physical miracles have not been the cause of their success. For a few years, the apostles and prophets did both the lesser works (sign-miracles) and the "greater works" (winning men to saving faith); but as the apostlic age reached its close the sign-miracles phased out and the ''greater works" continue as God's basic program for the Church age, until Jesus comes again. Then, at last, our need for complete and permanent physical transformation will be met, for "the Lord Jesus Christ shall change our body of humiliation, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, .according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself,, (Phil . 3 :21) . And there will be no debate about the genuineness of that miracle, "for the earnest expectation of the creation wait– eth for the revealing of the sons of God" (Rom. 8:19). God does care about our physical needs and sufferings; but He has a special plan and program for dealing with these needs; and continual, guaranteed healings through special men and gifts does not happen to be in that pro– gram for the Church in its superstructure stage of maturity. No, the Church doesn't need new revelation from heaven today! We already have a completed Bible and the Holy Spirit of God to interpret and apply it! The Church doesn't need more apostles to guide her through the troubled waters of this Satan-dominated world. An apostle might fail u s, as Peter did at Antioch. That is why the Holy Spirit wrote, through Peter himself, that "we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay atten– tion as to a lamp shining in a dark place" (II Pet. 1 : 19). The Church doesn't need special powers, like those which Christ promi sed to the apostles in Mark 16: 17-18, namely, ( 1) to cast out demons, (2) to speak with new tongue , ( 3) to pick up serpents, ( 4) to drink deadly poi sons and ( 5) to heal the sick. The Church doesn't need any holy places, /1ealing centers, faith-healers, or signs and r1'onders to appeal to the five senses. WHAT THE CHURCH NEEDS IS A NEW CONFRONTATIO WITH THE WHOLE COUNSEL OF GOD, PROCLAIMED 1 THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WITH AUTHORITY THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST