Three “Grand Miracles” described in scripture shape the Christian’s understanding of God. Each of these three grand miracles have been challenged by non-believers and watered down by believers.
1. The Miracle of Creation
(Gen 1:1 NIV) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
The most insidious and damaging ideology ever foisted upon the mind of modern man is the notion that human beings are but animals, and the offspring of other, more primitive creatures. It’s known as the theory of organic evolution.
Tragically, multiplied thousands across the land have ingested this dogma.
• Evolution is not a scientific law. It is a mere hypothesis that falls quite beyond the pale of the scientific method (observation, experimentation, and verification).
• Many scientists dispute that evolutionary dogma is true science. Evolutionist Robert Jastow has conceded that belief in the accidental origin of life is “an act of faith much like faith in the power of a Supreme Being.”
• Theodore Tahmisian, a nuclear physicist with the Atomic Energy Commission, has said: “Scientists who go about teaching that evolution is a fact of life are great con men, and the story they are telling may be the greatest hoax ever. In explaining evolution we do not have one iota of fact … It is a tangled mishmash of guessing games and figure jaggling … If evolution occurred at all, it was probably in a very different manner than the way it is now taught”.
2. The Miracle of the Incarnation
How does God reveal Himself? Through scripture…through our conscience…through the indwelling Holy Spirit. But it begins for many through nature…called by a member of our weekly Beijing Skype Bible study just this past week “The Book of Nature.”
Psalm 19:1-6 (ESV)
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
Romans 1:18-21 (ESV)
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
These two sets of verses were the first two studies we conducted with our teachers and students while in Jigzhou and Beijing.
In the Bible God tells us what He is like. We learn how He thinks, how He feels, and how we can expect Him to act. If we want to know God, we must begin by opening the Bible and reading what He has to say about Himself.
But God is infinite, and we are finite human beings. How can the finite ever really understand the infinite? How can the human ever truly know the divine?
It seems that God must reveal Himself to us in some way more personal than mere written words if we are ever to know Him genuinely.
And that is exactly what He did through Jesus Christ.
John 1:14-18 (ESV)
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”)
16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
Hebrews 1:1-3 (ESV)
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Jesus Christ is the out-shining of God’s glory and the perfect expression of God’s essential being. To know Him is to know God.
Jesus Himself made that claim when He said:
“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him. (John 14:7).
The knowledge of God is desirable.Will Durant wrote: “The greatest question of our time is not communish vs. Individualism, nor Europe vs. America, nor even the East vs. West; it is whether men can bear to live without God.”
The miracle of Jesus’ Birth.
Biblical names frequently have a profound theological meaning. For instance, in Isaiah 7:14 the prophecy was given: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
The name “Immanuel” in Hebrew means “God is with us,” and the prophecy finds its fulfillment in the birth of Jesus Christ.
By the use of “Immanuel,” at least two things are in view:
First, that Jesus is a divine being; he is God.
Second, there is the implication that in some way Deity has identified “with us.”
As the sustainer
The Bible teaches that the divine Christ sustains the very universe in which we live. In that great chapter which is designed to exalt the Lord, Colossians 1, Paul affirms that in Christ Colossians 1:17 (ESV) 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. “all things consist” (Col. 1:17).
In human nature
Though Christ was existing eternally as Deity, yet it was the divine plan that he become human. So in the fulness of time the “seed” of woman came to earth:
Genesis 3:15 (ESV)
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Galatians 4:4 (ESV)
4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
In order that he might identify with us, Jesus came “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Rom. 8:3).
The Lord was tempted in all points, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15).
So he is able to deal compassionately and justly with those whom he is not ashamed to call his brethren (cf. Heb. 2:11, 17; 4:15).
Further, it was essential that he become human in order that he might die! The writer of Hebrews makes it clear that Jesus partook of human nature that Hebrews 2:14 (ESV) 14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
Through his vicarious death
The identification of God the Son with us in his death is vividly stressed in Isaiah 53. Note the interchange of pronouns:
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows…he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:4ff).
With daily watchfulness
The Scriptures are filled with promises that God will be with his saints on a daily basis. He was with Joseph as a slave in Egypt (Gen. 39:2-3, 21). He was with Moses (Ex. 3:12) and Joshua (Josh. 1:5). The Psalmist could confidently claim: “Jehovah of hosts is with us” (Psa. 46:7).
Similarly, Jesus, in concluding the Great Commission, announced: “lo, I am with you always (phoenetic pronunciation: pas haymera: literally, all the days – i.e., day by day) even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:20).
If not even a sparrow falls to the ground without the Father’s knowledge, and if the very hairs of our head are numbered (Matt. 10:29-30), we may be assured that the Lord watches over us and that he sees our ways and numbers our steps (Job. 31:4).
3. The Miracle of the Resurrection
The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the foundation of the Christian system (cf. 1 Cor. 15:14ff). If there was no resurrection, Christianity is a hoax, and we are wasting our time. But the truth is, the event of Jesus’ resurrection is incontrovertible.
Professor Thomas Arnold, a world-renowned historian, once said that Christ’s resurrection from the dead is the “best-attested fact in human history” (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, IV, p. 2569).
(Rom 1:1-4 NIV) Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God– {2} the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures {3} regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, {4} and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
(1 Cor 15:20 NIV) But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
(1 Cor 15:23 NIV) But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
First, the resurrection is one of the major evidences that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Paul affirmed that Christ is “declared to be the Son of God with power … by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4).
Second, Jesus’ resurrection represents an assurance that we can have forgiveness from our sins.
Paul contended: “… if Christ hath not been raised, our faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17). The reverse of the apostle’s affirmation would be this: If Jesus was raised, sins will be forgiven when we obey the gospel – Acts 2:38; 22:16.
Third, the resurrection tells the world that the kingdom of God is ruled by a living sovereign.
The founder of Islam is dead and his bones lie dormant in the earth. But the founder of Christianity – sixty years after His death – appeared to John on the island of Patmos and said: “I am the first and the last, and the Living one … I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore …” (Rev. 1:17-18).
Fourth, Jesus’ resurrection proves that physical death is not the termination of human existence.
God, who is the giver of life (1 Tim. 6:13), has the power to reanimate the human body. Christ’s triumph over the grave is Heaven’s pledge to us that we too shall be raised. This is why Jesus is referred to as the “firstfruits of them that are asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20, 23).
Fifth, the Lord’s resurrection previewed the ultimate victory of Christianity over all its enemies.
In the book of Revelation, Jesus is depicted as a lamb that had been slain, but was standing again (5:6). This same Lord was “the lion of the tribe of Judah” that had overcome His foes (5:5). Christians too will overcome as a result of the Lamb’s sacrifice and victory over death (cf. Rev. 12:11).
IV. These Questions Must Be Asked and Answered.
1. Do we accept these three “Grand Miracles”?
2. Do we accept the belief in a God who exists apart from and superior to all others?
3. Did God become man?
4. Did Jesus experience resurrection?
Gary Davenport
