If we could have been present during the times of Jesus Christ, as described by the Gospels and the book of Acts, we would have witnessed signs, wonders, and miracles as everyday occurrences. It was the signs, wonders, and miracles that testified to the world that Jesus was who He said He was, He was God in the flesh! Show More
A sign is just that, it is a pointer or indicator of God’s presence in our lives. For example, the Star that pointed to the birth of Jesus would be such a sign. The star was a signpost pointing to God becoming flesh and living among us. A wonder, on the other hand, is an event that makes one “wonder”. Jesus was good at making people wonder in that He was able to present the truth in ways no one had ever done before. When Jesus said, “you must be born-again to enter the Kingdom of God”. To the skeptic, it didn’t make sense, but to those who were seeking God, it resonated with the truth! Even if they didn’t quite understand what He meant. Miracles, of course, were those events that defied knowledge and natural experience; cleansing the leper, healing the crippled, giving sight to the blind, and raising the dead to life.
The Book of Acts is a record of the birth of the Christian Church. When Jesus finished His work on the Cross, He initiated a New Covenant which replaced the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant was the covenant that God had made with Israel. This covenant was introduced by Moses and the giving of the Law, the Ten Commandments, to the people of Israel. The entire Old Testament which is a testament of the Law demonstrated to all that the Law was unable to save one from sin, or in other words disobeying God. The Law was given to show that mankind needed a Savior. A Deliverer from the sinful nature that dwells in all of us.
As Jesus ascended to Heaven the Holy Spirit descended from Heaven to live in the Believer on the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came to unlock the power and authority of the New Covenant which was “Christ in us the hope of glory! Just as an aside, remember we don’t believe in three Gods; God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit of God. In fact, there is only one true God just 3 different expressions of the one God. God the Father is the one eternal God, God the Father became human flesh, Jesus, to dwell among mankind so that mankind could see the character and nature of the Father evidenced by His love. When Jesus in the flesh died upon the Cross of Calvary for our sins He had to leave and return to Heaven, but He sent the Holy Spirit, actually Himself, to live in us in a spiritual dimension. I know it may be somewhat confusing but be assured we serve one God who reveals Himself to us in three different ways. Here is an example I have often used myself, I am a father to my children, a husband to my wife, and a son to my parents. In a natural sense, I am only one person, but I function in three different ways with three different purposes. While the concept of the Trinity of God may be difficult to understand, we accept this truth by faith. I don’t know how my brain works but I know that it does, and I use my brain without understandings how it works.
I have tried to clarify the Trinity with this purpose, what makes a Christian a Christian is the fact that the Holy Spirit lives in us! That is how the Christian church distinguishes itself from all other religions. A true Christian is a “Holy Spirit-filled” Christian. I know that the term Spirit-Filled has a lot of baggage attached to it and is controversial in some circles of Christianity, but never the less without the Holy Spirit in you, you are just acting like a Christian. Christianity is not about acting or behaving like a Christian, it is about being a Christian.
Here is the conclusion, it is the Spirit of God who produces signs, wonders, and miracles and because the Holy Spirit lives in you these signs, wonders and miracles can work through you! I am not saying that you control the Holy Spirit, but I am saying that if you let Him the Holy Spirit can do incredible things through you.
As a Spirit-filled Christian, your life is a sign that Jesus lives in you, you make people wonder at your faith and demonstrate God’s power and authority when He performs a miracle through you.
