Miracle: An event in the external world brought about by the immediate agency
or the simple volition of God, operating without the use of means
capable of being discerned by the senses, and designed to
authenticate the divine commission of a religious teacher and the
truth of his message
(John 2:18; Matthew 12:38) It is an occurrence at once
above nature and above man. It shows the intervention of a power that
is not limited by the laws either of matter or of mind, a power
interrupting the fixed laws which govern their movements, a
supernatural power. "The suspension or violation of the laws of
nature involved in miracles is nothing more than is constantly taking
place around us. One force counteracts another: vital force keeps the
chemical laws of matter in abeyance; and muscular force can control
the action of physical force. When a man raises a weight from the
ground, the law of gravity is neither suspended nor violated, but
counteracted by a stronger force. The same is true as to the walking
of Christ on the water and the swimming of iron at the command of the
prophet. The simple and grand truth that the universe is not under
the exclusive control of physical forces, but that everywhere and
always there is above, separate from and superior to all else, an
infinite personal will, not superseding, but directing and
controlling all physical causes, acting with or without them." God
ordinarily effects his purpose through the agency of second causes;
but he has the power also of effecting his purpose immediately and
without the intervention of second causes, i.e., of invading the
fixed order, and thus of working miracles. Thus we affirm the
possibility of miracles, the possibility of a higher hand intervening
to control or reverse nature's ordinary movements. In the New
Testament these four Greek words are principally used to designate
miracles:1. Semeion, a "sign", i.e., an evidence of a divine commission; an
attestation of a divine message
(Matthew 12:38,39; 16:1,4; Mark 8:11)
(Luke 11:16; 23:8; John 2:11,18, 23; Acts 6:8) etc.; a token of the
presence and working of God; the seal of a higher power.
2. Terata, "wonders;" wonder-causing events; portents; producing
astonishment in the beholder
(Acts 2:19)
3. Dunameis, "might works;" works of superhuman power
(Acts 2:22)
(Romans 15:19; 2 Thessalonians 2:9) of a new and higher power.
4. Erga, "works;" the works of Him who is "wonderful in working"
(John 5:20,36) Miracles are seals of a divine mission. The sacred
writers appealed to them as proofs that they were messengers of
God. Our Lord also appealed to miracles as a conclusive proof of
his divine mission
(John 5:20,36; 10:25,38) Thus, being out of the
common course of nature and beyond the power of man, they are
fitted to convey the impression of the presence and power of
God. Where miracles are there certainly God is. The man,
therefore, who works a miracle affords thereby clear proof that
he comes with the authority of God; they are his credentials
that he is God's messenger. The teacher points to these
credentials, and they are a proof that he speaks with the
authority of God. He boldly says, "God bears me witness, both
with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles." The
credibility of miracles is established by the evidence of the
senses on the part of those who are witnesses of them, and to
all others by the testimony of such witnesses. The witnesses
were competent, and their testimony is trustworthy. Unbelievers,
following Hume, deny that any testimony can prove a miracle,
because they say miracles are impossible. We have shown that
miracles are possible, and surely they can be borne witness to.
Surely they are credible when we have abundant and trustworthy
evidence of their occurrence. They are credible just as any
facts of history well authenticated are credible. Miracles, it
is said, are contrary to experience. Of course they are contrary
to our experience, but that does not prove that they were
contrary to the experience of those who witnessed them. We
believe a thousand facts, both of history and of science, that
are contrary to our experience, but we believe them on the
ground of competent testimony. An atheist or a pantheist must,
as a matter of course, deny the possibility of miracles; but to
one who believes in a personal God, who in his wisdom may see
fit to interfere with the ordinary processes of nature, miracles
are not impossible, nor are they incredible.
