{"id":28243,"date":"2011-07-29T20:01:00","date_gmt":"2011-07-30T01:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=28243"},"modified":"2020-12-04T20:05:52","modified_gmt":"2020-12-05T02:05:52","slug":"isnt-it-a-miracle-when-a-person-sees-an-angel-or-receives-the-holy-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/isnt-it-a-miracle-when-a-person-sees-an-angel-or-receives-the-holy-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"Isn’t it a miracle when a person sees an angel or receives the Holy Spirit?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

What about people who see angels these days? Is that not a miracle or are you teaching that is of the devil? What about receiving the Holy Spirit is that not a miracle?<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

Miracles are alterations of natural events. The birth of a baby is a wondrous event, but it is not a miracle because its birth follows the course God set for the world. Jesus healed people, but the reason we call his work miraculous is that they happened instantaneously. They weren’t a mere reversal of the course of a disease; the disease ceased to exist. There was no recovery time as the body restored itself after a battle with disease; the people displayed full use of their bodies. Take the example of the lame man: “Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked<\/em>” (John 5:8-9). Read through the miracles of the Bible and notice how often it is emphasized that the change was immediate and complete.<\/p>\n

Angels are a part of God’s creation. They are not commonly seen, but the fact that someone met an angel does not mean they experienced a miracle. “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels<\/em>” (Hebrews 13:2). Angels’ involvement with mankind is less than it once was. God used angels, at least in part, to deliver His message. That is no longer true in the New Testament.<\/p>\n

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds<\/em>” (Hebrews 1:1-2).<\/p>\n

“For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?<\/em>” (Hebrews 2:2-4).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That is why Paul warned that even angels cannot alter what God has delivered. “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed<\/em>” (Galatians 1:8).<\/p>\n

The receiving of the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), which is the guarantee of salvation (Ephesians 1:13-14), is a promise of God. It doesn’t require altering how the world naturally operates for a person to be saved. It requires a person willing to submit to the commands of God.<\/p>\n

The gifts of the Spirit were another matter. Christians who received the gifts of the Spirit were able to do miraculous things. See:\u00a0When Paul asked the Ephesians if they had received the Holy Spirit, what was he referring to?<\/a>\u00a0It is these miraculous gifts that have ceased as Paul stated would happen.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: What about people who see angels these days? Is that not a miracle or are you teaching that is of the devil? What about receiving the Holy Spirit is that not a miracle? Answer: Miracles are alterations of natural events. The birth of a baby is a wondrous event, but it is not a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[1502,86,363],"class_list":["post-28243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-angels","tag-holy-spirit","tag-miracles"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8745,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-miracles-happen-every-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":28243,"position":0},"title":"Do miracles happen every day?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 23, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Recently, in a discussion, someone said that miracles happen every day; and that if you anoint someone and pray over them, then they can be healed. Also, they say that proof of miracles today is the fruits of the Spirit. They \"defy the nature of man,\" so they are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45428,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/careful-with-the-word-miracle\/","url_meta":{"origin":28243,"position":1},"title":"Careful with the Word “Miracle”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Gardner Hall I see increasing numbers of references among disciples of Christ referring to events in their lives as miraculous, or even asking for a miracle. Perhaps it's time for a reminder that we don't live in the miraculous age. That fact almost used to be taken for granted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34448,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/have-miracles-ceased\/","url_meta":{"origin":28243,"position":2},"title":"Have Miracles Ceased?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: John 9:14-34 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Several denominations teach the continuance of miracles \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Proofs offered are based on emotional feelings and indirect evidence (I know a person who heard a person claim they saw ...) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The standard appealed to is what a person thinks is right \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0To oppose is taken as the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23752,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-we-limiting-god-by-saying-miracles-dont-happen-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":28243,"position":3},"title":"Are we limiting God by saying miracles don’t happen today?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a friend who believes, like many people, that spiritual gifts still exist. He says to believe that they don't is limiting the Holy Spirit. I told him that I see that as the opposite being true. To say that some have the gift of healing today and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32777,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-the-demons-falling-down-before-jesus-and-his-transfiguration-among-the-miracles-of-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":28243,"position":4},"title":"Were the demons falling down before Jesus and his transfiguration among the miracles of Jesus?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Question No.1 - Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, \"You are the Son of God\" (Mark 3:11). In this passage, is it right that the fallen down evil spirits are healed before Jesus? If so that, should this be counted as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6893,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-age-of-miracles\/","url_meta":{"origin":28243,"position":5},"title":"The Age of Miracles","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Clem Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 57, No. 47, Nov. 21, 2008. Question: Most of the older members of the church tell me that the age of miracles has ended. But I can't find anyone who can give me the passage of Scripture that teaches that. Can you provide\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28243"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28243\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}