LIBERTY UNIVERSITY JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
God speaks for himself through miracles
A Paper Submitted to
the Faculty of the School of Divinity
in Candidacy for the Degree of
Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (Ed. D) Department of Christian Leadership and
Church Ministries
By
Mary Gracias
Lynchburg, Virginia
5/2022
God speaks for himself through miracles
In the Old Testament, God’s acts of power serve as both a defense against alternative
deities and an argument for the reality of the living God. In Exodus, for example, God
demonstrates his power over false gods by turning Moses’s rod into a serpent and by directing
the ten plagues against particular Egyptian gods.
Many such acts of power are recorded in the Old Testament, but perhaps the most famous
occurs in 1 Kings 18, when Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal. Elijah sets the terms of
competition: the god who ignites the wood under a sacrificial bull on an altar will be recognized
as the true God.
The 450 prophets of Baal shout loudly, prophesy frantically, dance around the altar, and
cut themselves with swords and spears, but they are unable to awaken their god. When they
finish, Elijah douses his sacrifice with eight large jars of water and then asks God to ignite it so
“these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back
again” (v. 37). The fire of the Lord falls, consuming everything—the sacrifice, the wood, the
stones, the soil, and the water. When the people see this miracle, they fall prostrate and cry,
“The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!” (v. 39). God, through acts of power, is his own
apologist.
Miracles reveal the truth about Jesus
Jesus likewise performed miracles to validate his message about the kingdom of God and
to demonstrate his identity and God’s love for all people.
Jesus performed so many miracles that John writes, “If every one of them were written
down . . . even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written”
(John 21:25). John states the apologetic value of miracles clearly: “But these are written that
you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have
life in his name” (20:31).
Miracles reveal the truth about the early church
Miracles continue in the book of Acts, where the apostles perform them to verify that God
is at work. On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit enables the disciples to speak in foreign
languages. Peter connects this miracle to the prophecy of Joel 2 and to the signs and wonders
God performed in Jesus’ ministry.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul identifies miraculous powers (12:10, 28), healing (12:9, 28), tongues
(12:10, 28), and interpretation of tongues (12:10) as tangible witnesses to God’s reality. Some
call these Spirit-given abilities “sign gifts” because they point to the authenticity of the gospel;
they could even be called “apologetic gifts.” The author of Hebrews further affirms that signs,
wonders, miracles, and spiritual gifts testify to the message of salvation announced by the Lord
(Hebrews 2:3–4).
Throughout Scripture, miracles and acts of God’s power are presented as powerful
apologetics. Even so, many who witnessed them did not believe. The miracles recorded in the
Bible and the occurrence of miracles today can have a powerful apologetic impact, but they
have limits. Some will need the cumulative impact of other apologetic methods to be
persuaded, and others will not believe at all.
5. The early church relied on eyewitness accounts
At the beginning of his gospel, Luke claims access to eyewitness testimony of Jesus Christ’s
life. He asserts that he carefully investigated what eyewitnesses told him before writing down
an orderly account; he thoroughly researched his gospel so the reader could have confidence in
what he recounted. In Luke’s own words:
Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among
us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and
servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything
from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent
Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
In Acts 1, Peter stands before 120 believers and urges them to choose a disciple to replace
Judas. The primary qualification: the new disciple must “have been with us the whole time the
Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was
taken up from us” (1:21–22).
In the early church, some eyewitnesses were able to give testimony, not just to certain
episodes of Jesus’ life, but to the whole of his story, from his baptism onward. These
eyewitnesses became leaders in the early church, and many were still alive when the Gospels
and New Testament letters were written. These eyewitnesses were living guarantees of the
gospel tradition.
Paul used witnesses to lend credibility to the gospel
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul asserts that Jesus appeared after his resurrection to “Cephas
[Peter], and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the
brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen
asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me
also, as to one abnormally born” (15:5–8).
Paul seems to be saying, “The evidence for Jesus’ resurrection abounds. Check it out. Ask
the eyewitnesses yourself. They are still alive!” It would have been easy to destroy Paul’s
credibility if the claim were untrue.
6. New Testament writers pointed to fulfilled prophecies
A favorite apologetic method of New Testament authors and preachers is fulfilled
prophecy. Sometimes Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by Christ were employed to convince
unbelieving Jews; at other times, they were used to ground the faith of those who already
believed.
In general, Jesus fulfills all Old Testament hope. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus
identified himself as the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law and Prophets; he stated that he
did not come to destroy the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them (Matt 5:17). After his
resurrection, Jesus taught two discouraged disciples how the Old Testament witnessed to him
(Luke 24:27). Just before his ascension, he grounded the gospel message for his apostles in the
Old Testament (Luke 24:44–49).
Jesus does not contradict the Old Testament’s story, but brings it to its intended goal. He
also fulfilled many specific prophecies, such as the prophecies that the Messiah would be born
in Bethlehem and would preach to the poor and brokenhearted.
The primary audience for New Testament authors was religious Jews who accepted the
authority of the Old Testament. Teachers spent their time poring over it, interpreting and
counter-interpreting it. There was constant dialogue over the meaning and relevance of the
Law. Thus, first-century believers demonstrated that their faith in Jesus Christ was in continuity
with Old Testament hope, pattern, and prophecy.
7. The way Christians live is proof of the gospel’s power
The lives of Jesus’ followers ought to make an apologetic impact. The way we live is
evidence of the living reality of God.
At the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus summarizes the counterintuitive
norms of God’s kingdom, pronouncing a blessing on those who are poor in spirit, who mourn,
who are meek, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, and who are persecuted (Matthew
5:1–12). Ironically, it is those who seek peace and show mercy, people who do not put
themselves first, who are blessed—persecuted, but blessed.
The humble, cruciform lives of God’s people are meant to be an apologetic for the reality of
the kingdom of heaven. Jesus calls us “the salt of the earth” and the “light of the world”
(Matthew 5:13–14).
As the salt of the earth, we preserve the world from moral decay and function as an
influence for good. As the light of the world, we do good deeds in such a way that some people
will recognize us as children of God, and come to praise our Father (Matthew 5:16). Through
our lives, we add value to the world and give evidence of the heavenly Father.
Christians love as Christ loved
During a meal before the Passover, Jesus gives a “new” commandment filled with
apologetic power: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By
this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (13:34–35).
Love—self-sacrificing, cruciform love—testifies to the reality of the gospel.
8. Jesus used questions to challenge people’s beliefs
Jesus often uses a subversive methodology in which he asks insightful questions in order to
challenge and undermine false beliefs. Here are few examples:
When Jesus’ authority is questioned, he replies, “John’s baptism—where did it come
from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?” (Matthew 21:25).
When questioned about paying taxes to Caesar, Jesus responds, “Whose image is this?
And whose inscription?” (Matthew 22:20).
Jesus asks the Pharisees a series of questions concerning the nature of the Messiah in
Matthew 22:41–46:
“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
“How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’?”
“If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”
All of these questions are designed to undermine and disarm false beliefs. Questions can
both subtly subvert wrong assumptions and directly challenge erroneous dogmas.
Questions force people to think for themselves, and in turn they force us to directly listen
and respond to their thoughts rather than just talk at them. This enables a richer, much more
personal exchange of thoughts and feelings and can set a relational context for persuasion.
9. Scripture addresses suffering
The Bible never shies away from the fact that there is suffering in the world. In fact, its
pages are filled with expressions of raw emotions that are caused by evil and suffering. There is
even a genre called lament devoted to the expression of these emotions, and an entire book of
the Bible titled “Lamentations” (in Hebrew the title is simply “How!”).
Thus, one of most common apologetic methods the Bible uses in addressing the problem of
suffering is to invite the sufferer to engage God with honest grief and complaint. In biblical
laments, the Bible gives verbal, lyrical, and liturgical shape to the messiness of our confusion.
The Bible explains suffering
Does the Bible give an apologetic for our suffering? Put simply, does the Bible give a reason
for our suffering? Yes. Without exhaustively answering every question related to suffering, the
following are different ways the Bible addresses the issue:
Humanity suffers because of sin. Adam and Eve chose to disobey God’s one command; as
a result, sin entered the world, and suffering followed (Genesis 3).
Disciples of Jesus suffer persecution because they follow Christ, who was persecuted
himself (Matthew 5:10–12).
Christians suffer in order to mature spiritually (James 1:2–4), grow in righteousness and
peace (Hebrews 12:5–11), and be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Rom 8:28–30).
