Acts 12-13

Sometimes when I read the accounts of Acts I am amazed by the great power and authority handed over to the apostles. They were able to work all sorts of miracles. They could give sight to men and blind others. They could even raise people from the dead! All these things God granted to them that the message of the gospel might be confirmed.

I believe this special dispensation of miraculous signs was given during the early church to do exactly that, confirm the gospel. These men had a monumental task! They were seeking to shift a major world religion by correctly centering it and interpreting it through a now-manifested central figure, Jesus Christ.

As God worked through these men, the canon of a new testament was written, one as valid and authoritative as the old. Together, the old and the new, were to affirm the sovereign eternal plan of our Creator. The message of these men was affirmed as God's power was so boldly displayed.

But what about now? Well, for starters we have the entire Bible, the complete revelation preserved and established as God would have it. Our ministries should then find their power and authority based on that Word, not on a sign or miracle.

Those early apostles were granted something at a certain time in Christianity that permitted the gospel to be validated. Only in rare cases do I think we are still given that type of power. We still have the same God, but now that power is unleashed through the preaching of the Gospel. The power is still present, ask anyone whose been saved. The Gospel is the power of God for salvation to anyone who would believe!

This is one reason we must insist on placing Scripture in its right position in our lives. It must be our sole authority for faith and practice. It is not a suggestion or an outdated philosophy. It is the breathed inspired words of our Creator. It is a special revelation by God of His plan to His creation.

Praise God for the confirmed Truth of the gospel and praise God that that gospel continues today to be just as powerful in the lives of those who are pierced by its message as it was in those first early years.