Miraculous Works Performed Through the Power of the Holy Spirit

Continuation from “The Teachings from the Book of Acts of the Apostles.”

Introduction

After the Lord Jesus' resurrection from the dead, He commanded all His disciples, both then and now, to go and preach the gospel of salvation to the whole creation. He promised that He would go with them and work through them in miraculous ways by the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:14-18; Luke 24:46-49; John 20:21-22; Acts 1:8). Yet all these things mentioned in these verses can be done only in the name of the Lord Jesus and under the power of the Holy Spirit (John 14:12-14).

Furthermore, we as believers today must understand that there are no new apostles appointed to the office of apostle as were those personally chosen by the Lord Jesus. The apostles were special and were given unique authority. They had authority to call down fire from heaven, pronounce judgment, heal through their shadow, and heal through cloths that had touched them. This type of authority ended with the era of the apostles.

After the apostolic era, the Lord Jesus no longer gives this type of authority to anyone. A new era of gifts and mercy began, in which miracles are performed through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. There is a difference between authority and gifts. By authority, the apostles could command in the name of Jesus (see Acts 5:1-11). Through gifts, the power belongs to the Holy Spirit, and miracles are performed through prayer and intercession.

The miraculous ministry of the Holy Spirit on earth began on the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came with mighty power upon the disciples waiting in Jerusalem and baptized them in the Holy Spirit. This baptism is the promise of the Father given through the Lord Jesus Christ and is available to true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ in every generation.

Since the coming of the Holy Spirit to earth, miracles have been performed through prayer and intercession to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus, according to the will and power of the Holy Spirit. In the Book of Acts, we witness many miraculous works performed through the power of the Holy Spirit in the name of the Lord Jesus. These miraculous works were done through the apostles of the Lord Jesus and through other disciples whom the Holy Spirit used in mighty ways for the glory of the Lord Jesus.

The Spiritual Themes

In the Book of Acts, we find that the Holy Spirit worked many miracles through the apostles and disciples during the apostolic era. Although these miracles occurred during that time, they continue to glorify the name of the Lord Jesus and bear witness to all generations that the Lord Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God, that He rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and that the Father gave Him all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18).

In the Book of Acts, through the holy men of God, the Holy Spirit worked miracles of healing, mercy, deliverance, punishment, salvation of souls, and prophetic revelation. These miracles, performed under the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of the Lord Jesus, testify that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God and the only Savior of the world. Through these mighty works, the Holy Spirit brought many people to faith in the Lord Jesus, for the salvation of souls is the ultimate goal of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus: to bring into His kingdom all those whom the Father has given Him (John 6:37; John 17:2).

Many passages from the Book of Acts fall within this spiritual category. For the purpose of our study, we have classified these passages into four spiritual themes and grouped the relevant passages from the Book of Acts under each theme.

Miracles of Healing and Mercy
Miracles of Deliverance and Punishment
Miracles of Salvation of Souls
Miracles of Prophetic Revelation

1. Miracles of Healing and Mercy

Apostles Peter, John, and Paul, and the disciple Philip, full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, were used mightily by the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts to perform extraordinary miracles of healing and mercy. These miracles included the healing of a lame man, the healing of a man who had been paralyzed for many years, the raising of Dorcas from the dead, the saving of the jailor's life, and many other miraculous healings and acts of mercy.

These miracles presented to us in the Book of Acts should be examples for all believers. By studying these accounts, we can see that these holy men acted in the name of the Lord Jesus and under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. None of them attributed any of these miracles to themselves. Instead, all glory was given to God the Father through His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore, everything that we do in the service of the Lord should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus and for the glory of God the Father.

Below, we highlight all the Book of Acts passages that entirely cover this theme, with hyperlinks to our Bible Commentary Forever (BCF) work, where you will find more comments and explanations. In addition, we provide a short description of each passage, characterizing its content.

BCF Links in the Book of Acts: Acts 3:1-11 (Peter and John healed the lame man at the temple gate called Beautiful through the power of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ); Acts 8:4-8 (Philip by the power of the Holy Spirit performed miraculous healings in Samaria); Acts 9:32-35 (Peter, in the name of Jesus Christ, heals Aeneas, a man who has been paralyzed for 8 years); Acts 9:36-43 (In Joppa, many believe in the Lord as a result of Dorcas being raised from the dead in the name of the Lord Jesus through the prayer of Peter); Acts 14:8-10 (At Lystra, the apostle Paul performs a healing miracle in the name of Jesus); Acts 16:28-30 (The Lord shows mercy to the jailor and the soldiers by saving their lives); Acts 28:1-10 (On the island called Melita, the Lord shows His mercy to the people and performs many healings through the hand of Paul).

2. Miracles of Deliverance and Punishment

In the Book of Acts, the disciples of the Lord Jesus, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, boldly proclaimed the salvation found in the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord promised to send them the Holy Spirit to guide and help them; however, He never promised that they would not suffer persecution. Yet, in His mercy, the Lord God Almighty acted miraculously many times to deliver His servants from the hands of evil men.

Under this spiritual theme, we see miraculous deliverances from the hands of evil men and from the power of darkness. Peter was miraculously delivered from prison after being imprisoned by the Jewish leaders because of his preaching of the Lord Jesus. Paul and Silas were also miraculously delivered from prison. In Ephesus, many people were delivered from the power of the darkness, turned from their evil practices, and repented.

We also see examples of various types of punishments under the power of God. The accounts of Herod and Paul present a contrast between the one who did not repent and the one who repented and was mightily used by the Lord in His work.

We should take all these accounts as examples for our own lives and turn from darkness and sin to the light, salvation, and repentance found in the Lord Jesus.

BCF Links in the Book of Acts: Acts 12:3-11 (Herod seized Peter and put him in prison; however, an angel of the Lord came by night and freed Peter miraculously from prison); Acts 12:12-16 (After his miraculous deliverance from prison, Peter went to the house of Mary, where many were praying, and they were all amazed to see him); Acts 12:20-25 (An angel of the Lord struck Herod for failing to glorify God, and the word of God grew and multiplied); Acts 16:35-39 (The Lord God Almighty miraculously delivers the apostle Paul and Silas from prison); Acts 16:40 (Paul and Silas comfort the believers and depart); Acts 17:8-10 (The brothers send Paul and Silas away by night from Thessalonica to Berea); Acts 19:13-20 (Many in Ephesus were delivered from the power of the dark and repented; the name of the Lord God Almighty was glorified through many great miracles); Acts 22:10-18 (The Lord Jesus appears to the apostle Paul on the road to Damascus; the apostle becomes blind; Ananias prays for his healing and baptism and gives him the prophetic word about his mission).

3. Miracles of the Salvation of Souls

The will of God the Father, in His mercy, is that all come to faith in His beloved Son, Jesus Christ (John 6:40; 2 Peter 3:9). In the Book of Acts, we see the Lord God Almighty using the apostles and disciples, who boldly proclaim salvation in the name of the Lord Jesus, to build the church of God and multiply souls in the kingdom of His Son.

Saul (Paul) was once a persecutor of the Church of the Lord Jesus. However, the Lord Jesus, in His mercy, appeared to him while he was traveling to Damascus and continuing, in his false zeal, to persecute the name of the Lord Jesus of Nazareth (Acts 9:1-9).

The apostle Paul (Acts 13:9) was a chosen servant of the Lord Jesus, called to serve under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and to become the apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 11:13). The apostle Paul was one of the first mighty missionaries and remains an example of ministry under the guidance of the Holy Spirit for all believers. Through the hands of the apostle Paul, the Holy Spirit worked mighty miracles of the salvation of souls and used him to spread the good news to many nations throughout the ancient world.

We, as followers of the Lord Jesus, must take the accounts and examples of ministry described to us in the Book of Acts as examples for our own ministry and conduct in serving our Lord and Master, the Lord Jesus Christ.

BCF Links in the Book of Acts: Acts 2:42-47 (The apostles and disciples, guided by the Holy Spirit, live in unity, break bread, pray, and follow the teachings; the Lord adds new souls to them every day); Acts 4:13-14 (The Holy Spirit gives the Lord Jesus’ servants boldness to proclaim salvation in the name of the Lord Jesus); Acts 5:12-15 (The Holy Spirit works miracles of healing and the salvation of souls through the apostles); Acts 8:9-13 (Philip proclaims the Lord Jesus in Samaria, and men and women believe and are baptized); Acts 9:8–19 (The Holy Spirit guides Ananias to meet Paul in Damascus, where through the laying on of hands, Paul is healed of his blindness and baptized); Acts 16:24-27 (Paul and Silas pray and sing to God in prison; the Lord sends a great earthquake and loosens the prisoners' chains); Acts 16:31-34 (Paul and Silas preach faith in the Lord Jesus to the jailor and his household; they believe and are baptized); Acts 17:32-34 (At the preaching of Paul in Athens, some believed in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead); Acts 28:22-31 (The apostle Paul shared the good news about the Lord Jesus Christ with boldness to all who came to him, both Jews and Gentiles; some believed and some did not believe).

4. Miracles of Prophetic Revelation

While on earth, the apostles and disciples of the Lord Jesus walked with Him, learned from Him, and relied on Him in all things. After the Lord Jesus' resurrection from the dead and His ascension to the Father, the Lord Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be with them in all things and to guide them in the work to which they had been called: the spreading of the good news of salvation in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, which is at the heart of the work of the Holy Spirit on earth.

The disciples faced many challenges after the Lord Jesus returned to the Father. They needed to remain obedient to the calling that the Lord Jesus had left with them, and for this they needed to rely on the Holy Spirit in order to accomplish the will of the Father for the church of God on earth.

The Book of Acts reveals several accounts in which the Holy Spirit miraculously showed the disciples things that He would do and things that would happen to them. He guided them in their ministry, revealed hidden sins, warned them of future events and coming tribulations, spoke through prophets and believers, and prepared them for the work to which they had been called. Yet, despite these warnings and difficulties, the disciples remained faithful to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and continued the work that the Lord Jesus had entrusted to them.

The Holy Spirit is the same throughout the ages, and we too can be used by the Holy Spirit in mighty ways if we believe and call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.

BCF Links in the Book of Acts: Acts 5:1-11 (Peter, through the power of the Holy Spirit, revealed the sin of Ananias and his wife; great fear of the Lord came upon the whole church); Acts 20:22-24 (The Holy Spirit testifies to the apostle Paul concerning the tribulations awaiting him as he is bound to go to Jerusalem); Acts 21:1-6 (The apostle Paul, in his journey to Jerusalem, lands at Tyre and finds disciples with whom he prays; through the Holy Spirit they reveal to him not to go up to Jerusalem at that time); Acts 21:7-13 (The apostle Paul continues his journey to Jerusalem; at the house of Philip the evangelist, a prophet reveals through the Holy Spirit what will happen to Paul in Jerusalem); Acts 21:14-18 (The apostle Paul and his companions arrive in Jerusalem; he meets James and all the elders of the church).

Conclusions

In conclusion, the Book of Acts serves as a witness to the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit in the name of the Holy Son, Jesus Christ, through the apostles and the disciples of that time.

From the Gospels and the Book of Acts, we see that the apostles performed miracles because the beloved Son of God had given them authority. After His crucifixion, the beloved Son of God did not appoint others to serve in the same apostolic office as those who had walked and served with Him, except for the apostle Paul, to whom He personally appeared. Even so, miracles did not cease with the apostles, but they are no longer performed in the same manner. When true believers come to the beloved Son of God with faith, seek Him with all their hearts, and ask for the power of the Holy Spirit, miracles may still be done in the name of the beloved Son of God. They are not done by human power, nor in any other name. Give attention, true believers: under the name of the beloved Son of God, miracles can still be done according to His will. When believers ask, the Holy Spirit performs the work according to the will of the beloved Son of God, because the Holy Spirit belongs to the Father, and the Father and the beloved Son of God are One.

As true believers in the Lord Jesus, we must believe that the Holy Spirit was not sent only for Pentecost, nor only until the Scriptures were completed. He was not given only for the apostolic age or only for the disciples recorded in Acts. The Holy Spirit remains on earth today and will continue His work until the Lord Jesus returns to take His Bride, the Church, home. Therefore, the Holy Spirit remains active today and is available to all followers of the Lord Jesus who believe in this gift and seek Him through prayer and intercession.

We encourage all readers to consult our blog article “Teachings about the Lord Jesus Being the Son of God and the Son of Man,” where we present Gospel passages organized into various spiritual themes, including themes that focus on the miraculous works performed by the Lord Jesus during His ministry on earth.