The Gifts: Understanding the Signs, Wonders, and Miracles of the Bible

By Steven D. Graham and Rev. Kevin Minske

The nature and availability of spiritual gifts can be confusing. Often, new believers study signs, wonders and miracles without knowing their purpose.

Steven D. Graham, a veteran pastor and Bible teacher, wrote this book for those who earnestly want all God truly has to offer. In it, he establishes a biblical basis for understanding the reason for spiritual gifts and, in the process, explores what many find to be three of the most confusing chapters of the Bible: 1 Corinthians 12, 13, and 14.

He answers questions about the “signs, wonders, and miracles” of the Bible and how they fit into God’s plan (and therefore, His plan for you and me). By drawing on a sound study of God’s Word, he leads new believers on the right path toward growth in Christ and away from the misguided approach that so many have taken.

God is the creator of language, and as such, He is consistent, noncontradictory, and purposeful in all that He does. That purpose involves you and me and is revealed to those willing to search out these things diligently and skillfully.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 7, 2024
• ISBN: 9798385020584

Steven D. Graham

Steven D. Graham has served as a pastor and Bible/theology teacher for more than forty years. Raised in Janesville, Wisconsin, he came to know Christ as his savior on December 26, 1975, while serving in the US Navy. Since then, he has devoted himself to an in-depth study of God’s Word, earning a Bachelor of Arts in pastoral theology from the Moody Bible Institute and a Master of Arts and Master of Divinity from Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, Indiana. He lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with his wife, Lois.

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Copyright © 2024 Steven D. Graham.

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models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

ISBN: 979-8-3850-2057-7 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-3850-2059-1 (hc)

ISBN: 979-8-3850-2058-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2024904465

WestBow Press rev. date: 03/06/2024

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter 1 When Belief and Reality Conflict

Chapter 2 Words Mean Things

Chapter 3 The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit

Chapter 4 Corinthians 12

Chapter 5 Corinthians 13

Chapter 6 Corinthians 14

Chapter 7 Signs of the Kingdom

Chapter 8 Objections and Problem Passages

Chapter 9 Where Do We Go from Here?

Bibliography

Endnotes

Soli Deo gloria

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my wife, Lois, and our wonderful children who have gone so many hours without me, patiently awaiting the completion of this book. I’m sure there were times when they thought it would never be done! I would also like to thank my friend and pastor, Kevin Minske, for his input and review of this work; Mrs. Carole Knapp, who has encouraged and challenged me repeatedly to finish what I started; and finally, my parents, Robert and Joan Graham, who never stopped believing in me. May God bless you all.

FOREWORD

It was my privilege to read the manuscript of this book before it was published. Of the various theological doctrines one can explore, Spiritual gifts is one of the most divisive and multifaceted. Steve Graham has presented what I found to be a theologically consistent presentation of the issues. The approach offered herein is fair to those in various camps while also challenging the reader to question his or her own long-standing beliefs regarding the topic in general.

The author’s approach to this manuscript clearly exemplifies his belief that the Bible is the only complete and authoritative standard of truth. Such men are increasingly in short supply in our world. I thank God for him and for all those willing to take an unyielding stance in their exegesis of the Word of God and in staying true to the old paths (Jeremiah 6:16 KJV).

Kevin Minske

Lead Pastor

Christ the Rock Church De Pere

INTRODUCTION

I started life in an America where it was socially expected that people would attend church on Sunday, dressed in their best clothes. The particular brand of church that we attended had classes for all the kids and then worship services where we would join together in singing songs and hearing a message from the pastor. This all generated a sense of reverence for the things of God. We had great respect for the Bible and were taught the stories from it. That, however, is where it ended.

There was no discussion about the reality of Christ in our lives or a personal study of God’s Word. Additionally, I attended public school where the things that I was being taught at church conflicted with what I was learning in my classes. Life as a churchgoer seemed to be out of touch with the reality of the life lived by those around me. If God did exist at all, He did not seem to play much of a role in our lives except where we could attribute to Him our imaginary thoughts about His blessing to us in the good things of life or His abandonment or anger with us in the terrible things of life.

It was a functional deism. God made us and then left us to fend for ourselves, but it was our religious duty to give Him a customary acknowledgment of His existence once a week before we went out and lived as we deemed in our best interests. My prayers also seemed to hit the ceiling and never gave me the sense that God ever heard them, much less that He would answer them! It seemed like people experienced God in their prayers the same way a person experiences purchasing a lottery ticket. You don’t have much chance of winning, but you are just putting in an effort in case you might get lucky.

The attitude that I sensed was one that religious things are good for general guidelines, but the realities of life and business were on another plane. People lived as they chose, being kind to one another but avoiding discussions about religion, politics, or any other issue that might become divisive. As for the Bible, reading it and living by it was best left to the professionals. People (I was told) without proper training and background often took what it said literally and digressed into raving fanatics. It was best to have that book in your living room as a sign of your reverence, but don’t read it. Use it to keep old family pictures in, press fall leaves, or maybe even write out your family tree. Just don’t read it. The most essential thing in this life is to get along peacefully with others, get a good education, get a good-paying job, and be monetarily and socially successful.

What I experienced in my younger years is often called dead orthodoxy. It refers to those church groups that claim affiliation with the things of Christ but have turned away from His Word and the reality of a personal relationship with Him. A genuine connection has been replaced with stained glass windows, religious garments, repetitious chants (disguised as prayers), and prescribed sequences of sacred liturgies. Church attendance is functional and boring with nice people who go about their own business once the professional ministers are done leading everyone in performing their religious duties. Worship had devolved into an outward display that had lost the power of the good news that Christ proclaimed. It is just as the apostle Paul once warned about where leaders and attendees hold to a form of godliness but deny its power (2 Timothy 3:5). He was personally qualified to say this since he had come through a similar religious system that scripture repeatedly condemned (see Isaiah 29:13, Matthew 15:8–9, and the entire book of Malachi, to name a few). Jesus warned that the day would come when people would appeal to Him for mercy based on the religious duties and supposed miracles that they had performed. Unfortunately, His reply was, I never knew you (Matthew 7:23). Knowing a particular religious practice has no value if one does not know Christ.

Consequently, when a person comes to genuine faith in Christ from that background, the reality of God’s existence and His interaction can be dramatic. It is, therefore, easy to understand why a person would wonder what other truths have been hidden from him under the cloak of dead religion. New questions arise in his mind about what it means to be a genuine Christian. These are legitimate concerns, but getting the correct answers is essential at this point in one’s spiritual growth. The solutions that one gets here will help determine his path in building up his faith.

To guide the new believer in his understanding of this new life, God has given us His Spirit and His Word. One clear sign of the reality of a person’s faith is that he will feel drawn to the Bible as a source of guidance. The Spirit of God now causes within him a sort of magnetic attraction to its teachings. King David expressed this truth when he said, I opened my mouth wide and panted, For I longed for Thy commandments (Psalm 119:131). It is here that he discovers new food for his soul. As he reads and is given understanding, he finds a growing thirst for more knowledge of the incredible salvation he has been given.

However, it must be understood that while the message of salvation is simple, not all things in the Bible can be readily understood apart from utilizing the standard rules of interpretation. Knowing the historical and prophetic backgrounds, the context of what has been written, the meanings of the original languages, and other factors are sometimes necessary to interpret what is being said correctly. These things are almost always missing in the life of a new believer. For example, Paul was the most highly trained apostle in his knowledge of the Old Testament. At times, he can get into intricate discussions that, as Peter said, are hard to understand (2 Peter 3:16). He did not say that it was impossible to understand, just that it was hard. This gives even more importance to Paul’s warning that we should Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

This is the case today when a new believer comes to specific passages of the New Testament. For instance, as he reads the book of Acts, he sees things happening in the Christian community that were not true to his prior Church experience. He asks, Why haven’t I seen these things happening in my church?

From this point, wanting to have the kind of Christianity spoken of in the first century, he begins searching for teachers and churches to explain this. Earnestly wanting to follow God’s will, he is searching for answers to questions he is not yet equipped to answer. If he is fortunate, he will find another believer, teacher, or pastor competent and accurate in his study of the Bible.

However, he may also find one of the many people who have taken shortcuts or wrong methodologies to discern the Bible and its teachings. In some cases, if he begins to rely on questionable instruction and interpretations of errant teachers, it might be falsely communicated, for example, that the salvation he was given is not guaranteed. They tell him that it is conditional. What he does with his life after receiving Christ will determine whether he will attain eternal life. In other words, his good works are not the evidence of his salvation but the means to salvation together with the work of Christ on the cross. This teaching is just a deceptive lie from the enemy of our souls to bring in discouragement and ineffectiveness for the new believer. It directly opposes what the apostle Paul affirmed in Ephesians 2:8–9: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast."

He may also be told that being saved is only the beginning. God has something more for him! Both statements are correct, but one must be careful to understand what they are offering as the more! The implication is that we lack what we need to be effective in our Christian walk. We are not quite there yet. What you need (they say) is what some call the second blessing. It would be his if only he would yield to God and trust what his new teachers are telling him. This is just another tactic of the enemy.

While it is true that God has so much more planned for us, it is not true that we need some other kind of event to live the Christian life. By yielding ourselves to God, His Word, and the Spirit, we will experience being filled with the Spirit, which is already in accord with what God has done for us. Peter said, His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence (2 Peter 1:3). We have already been given all that we need. Still, the new believer may not understand this and is subject to the misleading of others. He may comply, but inwardly, his spirit says, But I have already yielded my life to You, God. You know that! What more do I have to give?

He then begins his search for understanding. He may find a way to dig deeper into the Word, but it is more likely that he will follow the teaching and counsel of someone with whom he is connected. The unfortunate probability is that this teacher will have a divergent view of these issues, which is not based on a thorough understanding of God’s Word, purposes, and prophetic plan. Also unfortunate is that once a person has accepted a divergent view of scripture, he begins to interpret the rest of God’s Word from that viewpoint and creates more erroneous teachings to explain away the passages that contradict what he believes. When others try to correct him, pride and defensiveness often set in. He has blocked his mind from further growth and must continually come to his studies with presuppositions rather than a heart open to learning and being guided by the Spirit of God. For him to consider any other viewpoint would be tantamount to denying the faith and betraying God.

Those who would try to share any other viewpoint are generally regarded in one of two ways:

First, they are considered the uninitiated and are dismissed because they cannot challenge what they have not experienced. Unfortunately, they are making the same error in judging the legitimacy of the uninitiated person’s viewpoint as they are in making their own: they are determining the validity of truth based on a person’s experience, or lack thereof, not on the Word of God.

A second way that they regard another person who tries to present an opposing viewpoint is to write them off as a tool of Satan who is trying to rob them of the joy in what (they believe) God has given them. For them, even considering the possibility that their experience is not legitimate would be tantamount to denying the faith and turning away from Christ. For these people, though their faith may have begun with a trust in the promises of God, it is kept, continually affirmed, and nourished through their experiences. Their foundation of belief has made the unfortunate shift away from the objective Word of God to the shaky, unreliable grounds of experience. This has regrettably brought about the destruction of a believer’s true joy in the salvation given to him.

One more thing I have seen, highlighted in the recent film, Jesus Revolution, is when a believer grows dissatisfied with the transforming power of salvation and begins to look for more immediate, demonstrable acts of power, as seen in the book of Acts. This greatly appeals to many people who crave visible miracles. Still, it is evidence that they neither understand the reason nor the prophetic significance of the Bible’s signs, wonders, and miracles. It becomes a distraction to the real work of salvation that the Spirit of God wants to do within people and robs our witness of credibility when things don’t go as planned. Unfortunately, challenging a person regarding this mindset often results in a retort that one is limiting the Spirit of God, along with various excuses for the lack of genuine miracles.

We all encounter various experiences throughout life, but those experiences must be evaluated in the light of a solid exposition of God’s Word. I write all this while reflecting on situations I have encountered in my close association with the charismatic-Pentecostal movement for over forty-six years. With it comes a reminder that many things in the Bible are hard to understand. The Gospel is a straightforward message that the Holy Spirit will give the receptive heart the ability to understand and respond to. Beyond that, the reality is that one should build their faith on an accurate, literal, grammatical, and historical study of God’s Word. It has a single Author—the Holy Spirit. He employed the various prophets and apostles to convey what He wanted to say to humanity from Genesis to Revelation. His message is consistent and without error from beginning to end in the original manuscripts. What we call the Old Testament forms a foundation for understanding the New Testament, so it follows that much of the New Testament cannot be correctly understood apart from understanding the prophecies and events given in the Old Testament.

Yet the unfortunate reality is that many new believers will be misled into false teachings. Yes, God does have a plan for growth in our relationship with Him through His Word, worship, ministry, and fellowship with other believers, but that plan does not include things that others proclaim as being scriptural. Following that different path can result in discouragement, pretentiousness, impaired biblical understanding, physical suffering, and even death. Additionally, those seeking to teach it to others become ministers of false teachings that can ruin lives.

In this regard, this book is written to answer some of the hard biblical questions regarding the signs, wonders, and miracles of the Bible and how they fit into God’s plan (and therefore, His plan for you and me). I intend to offer a viewpoint that comes from a sound historical, grammatical, contextual study of God’s Word—one that can help guide new believers on the right path toward growth in Christ and away from the misguided approach that so many have taken. God is the creator of language. He is consistent, noncontradictory, and