GOD'S GREAT WONDERS
3. THE MAN OF GOD AND FALSE WONDERS
Poul Madsen
We have already observed that so far as the Church's history is concerned, there are many mysteries associated with God's refusal to deliver by means of miracles. He permitted James to be killed by Herod's sword before miraculously delivering Peter. Although Paul witnessed many acts of divine power in healing he was not able to command the recovery of Trophimus, but had to leave him behind sick, and proceed without him (2 Timothy 4:20). It is not for us to argue that there would have been greater spiritual value if Trophimus had been made well enough to journey on with Paul. Nor can we suggest that the apostle should have silenced the tempestuous wind called Euroclydon and avoided shipwreck, or that he should have walked to shore on the waters instead of taking his place with the rest, who only got to land by swimming or floating on boards or [16/17] broken pieces of the ship (Acts 27:43). God's giving or withholding of miraculous deliverances are mysteries which are not explained to us.
Indeed God's real wonders can often be most unimpressive to natural judgment. It is true that He allowed His people, even women and children, to be torn to pieces in front of the mocking crowds in Roman arenas, but can we really imagine any greater wonder than that of saints facing ravenous lions with songs of praise on their lips, or giving radiant testimony to Christ in the cruel fires of the inquisition? Some of God's choicest saints have suffered physical limitation, have been invalids or cripples, with no wonderful acts of power to restore them to health, and yet have been "a wonder unto many". We are not in a position to judge what is most glorifying to God in any given situation. We do know, however, that George Matheson in his blindness, and Andrew Murray after his crippling accident, were used of God to dispense great spiritual riches which perhaps could never have been had their lives continued normally. All the world has come to thank God that John Bunyan was kept so long in prison. God's ways are mysterious -- even to the man of God.
There are, though, other wonders which he ought to enquire into, for he has been specifically warned against seductive signs and false wonders which are especially calculated to deceive even the elect, if that were possible. As early as the days of the tower of Babel, God said that if men really got together nothing would be withholden from what they purposed to do. To prevent this unholy confederation, He scattered the people and confounded their languages, but even so mankind through the centuries has managed to produce many godless prodigies, even before our day. Now that distances and differences have diminished to such a degree that our modern Society is considered to be 'one world', it is not difficult for us to understand God's statement that "nothing will be withholden from them which they purpose to do" (Genesis 11:6). We now live in times when men have successfully penetrated the world of the unseen, not only by scientific achievement but also by traffic with occult, spiritual powers. As a consequence man can do great signs and wonders quite apart from God. This is no surprise to Bible-reading Christians, who have always realised that there are invisible beings, both good and evil, angels and demons.
The man of God knows that it is not for nothing that the Scriptures command him not to communicate with the spirit world, and he realises, too, that the so-called spirits of the dead are in fact deceiving masqueraders of the unseen world of darkness. He does not fear them, for he is indwelt by the Spirit of the living God, but he needs no convincing that they are many and very powerful. Nominal Christian lands have been less affected by wicked spirits in the past, possibly because the atmosphere of such lands has hitherto contained enough godliness to discourage their presence, but those days seem largely to have passed now. In the congenial depravity of our permissive society they probably feel more at home and operate more freely. In any case we are told that as we approach the end of the dispensation we shall witness many false wonders and seducing signs. How shall we be able to evaluate them? How can we determine whether such wonders are from God or not? Let us deal with three considerations: (a) Christianity and magic; (b) Bible teaching on the subject; (c) the character of those involved.
(a) Christianity and magic.
What is the basic difference between Christ's power and false wonders? It is that the man of God never has supernatural power at his own command, to use it as a tool for his own wishes; whereas that is just what a magician has and does. The man of God can do nothing of himself, and in this he is like the Son of God Himself. If the man of God has gifts (and every man of God has!), he cannot employ them at will. If, for example, he has the gift of healing, this does not mean that he can heal whom he will when he will, or that he can make promises of healing. This explains Paul's behaviour and counsel in regard to Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23). If the man of God has the gift of working wonders, that does not mean that he can do a single mighty work of himself, or promise anyone else that he will do so, hence Paul's words of reassurance to the puzzled Philippians who could not understand his prolonged imprisonment (Philippians 1:12). The man of God can do nothing of himself, but only do what he sees his Lord and Saviour doing.
It is quite different for the one who is not a man of God. For him nothing need be impossible; if he has contact with the spirit world nothing restrains him from using its powers. He bears allegiance to no name, he acts according to his own impulses. The most surprising thing is that [17/18] if he chooses to do so he can perform his wonders while using the name of Jesus. We might judge this impossible if our Lord had not foretold that it will actually happen (Matthew 7:22-23). The man of God knows this and is never led astray by mere words or professions, for to him 'the name of Jesus' has no meaning simply as an empty formula, but demands a total personal commitment to the Bearer of that name. The magician has never made that commitment, but uses his link with demons for his own purposes, even though he may pay some lip service to God or Christ.
His activities may appear to be good, for Satan and his ministers can transform themselves into angels of light. In such cases his false wonders may include forecasting the future, healing the sick, and pretending to cast out demons. When he uses his spirit powers in this way he calls it 'white magic'. There are many today who actually claim to be 'white witches'. On the other hand he may use his occult powers for evil, distributing curses, leading into immoral practices, producing destruction in one form or another, and this is called 'black magic'. Both are common today, and in both cases it is 'magic' and not God. It is essential that the man of God settle in his mind that supernatural manifestations are not necessarily of God. They can equally be false wonders. He would be foolish indeed -- and unscriptural -- to dismiss all talk of 'magic' and 'witches' as nonsense, for this could easily lead him to imagine that all genuine wonders must therefore be divine. He must remember that there are 'seducing spirits' as well as the Holy Spirit.
(b) Bible teaching on the subject.
We return to Mark 16:15-20 for light from the Word on this matter of wonders, reminding ourselves that it was as the disciples went out to preach the gospel, not to do signs and wonders, nor to arouse public expectations by preaching signs and wonders that blessing came. To depart from this divine principle is to court error, since the Scriptures insist that the order is first preaching and then signs following. Those who move around promising signs and wonders are veering away from the gospel into the realms of the magical. The perils of such procedure are two-fold:
(1) The way can be thus opened to self-deception, for it becomes possible for a man to imagine that he is serving and glorifying the Lord when, in fact, he is acting out of harmony with the Word and the Spirit of God. A dreadful disillusionment awaits those who have prophesied and done wonders in the name of Jesus only to find in the end that He disowns them and declares that He had nothing to do with their great words and acts (Matthew 7:22-23).
(2) Even more damage may be done by those who make claims or arouse expectations which they cannot themselves fulfil, for they can open the door for false Christs and false prophets (Matthew 24:24), by encouraging or arousing unhealthy excitement about wonders and so making simple people easy prey for any worker of the supernatural. It may be a true Christian who arouses this interest, though unable himself to satisfy it; but dealers in the occult will be quick to take advantage of the opportunity to lead men astray by offering to provide such sensations.
The man of God must realise that the idea behind the word 'antichrist' is as much that of substitution as of opposition. Antichrist, the greatest satanic wonder-worker of all, will first offer himself as 'instead' of Christ, and only later be revealed as 'anti' in the sense in [which] we now use the prefix, that is 'against' Christ. John tells us that "even now there are many antichrists" (1 John 2:18). Such a warning will make the man of God sensitive to the indwelling Spirit, to be sure that nothing and nobody can ever take the place of Christ.
(c) The character of those involved.
The Bible teaches us that in order to evaluate the true nature of signs and wonders, one must first assess the character of the one by whom they are effected -- "By their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:15-20). The man of God does not make it his business to criticise the lives of fellow believers, but he knows that he is warned not to accept as teachers those who do not show the reality of their message in their own lives. An ordinary Christian may rightly resent as unnecessary or unkind too close a scrutiny into his behaviour or private life. A teacher or one who professes to work miracles, however, must expect to have this Scriptural test applied to his life. Christ commanded that it should be so applied.
Wonders are by no means limited to the gospel. Anyone who is travelled or informed enough to know how non-Christian nations live, is aware that all kinds of miraculous signs and wonders can be found among such peoples, even though [18/19] those who perform them are far from Christ. What cannot be found anywhere apart from the gospel, however, is likeness to Christ expressed in practical manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit. The man of God cannot judge whether a miracle is from God or not just by seeing it, still less by hearing about it from others. He may read or hear reports of wonders, but they can have no real significance to him unless he has some personal awareness of the daily life and character, as well as the teaching, of the miracle-worker. It is by the Spirit's fruit, and not by supernatural signs, that a man is shown to be a true servant of Christ. If, therefore, he finds in the one concerned faithfulness, humility, honesty, modesty and quiet holiness, then he can be re-assured about the wonders, and can praise God for them. If, though, he finds arrogance, greed, self-assertion, strife, unkindness or lack of transparent honesty then he cannot accept the teaching, even though it is accompanied by startling miracles. Let it be said again, this is not a question of judging a fellow-Christian, but of applying Christ's own test to a professed worker of wonders.
We are moving into a period of confusion and deception. The end of this dispensation is near. Israel is one sign of this fact but there are others and among them is increased deception. Somewhere, somehow, we may expect soon to see in expression a worldwide 'church' which will prove in the end to have been a counterfeit. The man of God should never be led astray by groupings and associations claiming to be of God because they are sharing some form of wonderful experience. The fellowship of the body of Christ is not based on any such outward manifestations, but always and only on the new birth. The ground of unity in that body is the shared life of Christ. The only foundation for the true Church is Jesus Christ Himself, and the only fellowship of the Spirit is that which springs from submission to Christ's absolute lordship.
We must not be seduced by false wonders, but we have every reason to rejoice that over and against what is empty and unreal, God is doing a true work of uniting men to Christ by new birth and making them into men of God. This work, more often than not, takes place in hidden and quiet ways, but in it God Himself has the initiative and He has its threads in His own hands. When it is finished and complete the whole world will be able to see God's glory shining forth from the one new Man. This will be God's crowning wonder.
(Conclusion)
Poul Madsen
We have already observed that so far as the Church's history is concerned, there are many mysteries associated with God's refusal to deliver by means of miracles. He permitted James to be killed by Herod's sword before miraculously delivering Peter. Although Paul witnessed many acts of divine power in healing he was not able to command the recovery of Trophimus, but had to leave him behind sick, and proceed without him (2 Timothy 4:20). It is not for us to argue that there would have been greater spiritual value if Trophimus had been made well enough to journey on with Paul. Nor can we suggest that the apostle should have silenced the tempestuous wind called Euroclydon and avoided shipwreck, or that he should have walked to shore on the waters instead of taking his place with the rest, who only got to land by swimming or floating on boards or [16/17] broken pieces of the ship (Acts 27:43). God's giving or withholding of miraculous deliverances are mysteries which are not explained to us.
Indeed God's real wonders can often be most unimpressive to natural judgment. It is true that He allowed His people, even women and children, to be torn to pieces in front of the mocking crowds in Roman arenas, but can we really imagine any greater wonder than that of saints facing ravenous lions with songs of praise on their lips, or giving radiant testimony to Christ in the cruel fires of the inquisition? Some of God's choicest saints have suffered physical limitation, have been invalids or cripples, with no wonderful acts of power to restore them to health, and yet have been "a wonder unto many". We are not in a position to judge what is most glorifying to God in any given situation. We do know, however, that George Matheson in his blindness, and Andrew Murray after his crippling accident, were used of God to dispense great spiritual riches which perhaps could never have been had their lives continued normally. All the world has come to thank God that John Bunyan was kept so long in prison. God's ways are mysterious -- even to the man of God.
There are, though, other wonders which he ought to enquire into, for he has been specifically warned against seductive signs and false wonders which are especially calculated to deceive even the elect, if that were possible. As early as the days of the tower of Babel, God said that if men really got together nothing would be withholden from what they purposed to do. To prevent this unholy confederation, He scattered the people and confounded their languages, but even so mankind through the centuries has managed to produce many godless prodigies, even before our day. Now that distances and differences have diminished to such a degree that our modern Society is considered to be 'one world', it is not difficult for us to understand God's statement that "nothing will be withholden from them which they purpose to do" (Genesis 11:6). We now live in times when men have successfully penetrated the world of the unseen, not only by scientific achievement but also by traffic with occult, spiritual powers. As a consequence man can do great signs and wonders quite apart from God. This is no surprise to Bible-reading Christians, who have always realised that there are invisible beings, both good and evil, angels and demons.
The man of God knows that it is not for nothing that the Scriptures command him not to communicate with the spirit world, and he realises, too, that the so-called spirits of the dead are in fact deceiving masqueraders of the unseen world of darkness. He does not fear them, for he is indwelt by the Spirit of the living God, but he needs no convincing that they are many and very powerful. Nominal Christian lands have been less affected by wicked spirits in the past, possibly because the atmosphere of such lands has hitherto contained enough godliness to discourage their presence, but those days seem largely to have passed now. In the congenial depravity of our permissive society they probably feel more at home and operate more freely. In any case we are told that as we approach the end of the dispensation we shall witness many false wonders and seducing signs. How shall we be able to evaluate them? How can we determine whether such wonders are from God or not? Let us deal with three considerations: (a) Christianity and magic; (b) Bible teaching on the subject; (c) the character of those involved.
(a) Christianity and magic.
What is the basic difference between Christ's power and false wonders? It is that the man of God never has supernatural power at his own command, to use it as a tool for his own wishes; whereas that is just what a magician has and does. The man of God can do nothing of himself, and in this he is like the Son of God Himself. If the man of God has gifts (and every man of God has!), he cannot employ them at will. If, for example, he has the gift of healing, this does not mean that he can heal whom he will when he will, or that he can make promises of healing. This explains Paul's behaviour and counsel in regard to Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23). If the man of God has the gift of working wonders, that does not mean that he can do a single mighty work of himself, or promise anyone else that he will do so, hence Paul's words of reassurance to the puzzled Philippians who could not understand his prolonged imprisonment (Philippians 1:12). The man of God can do nothing of himself, but only do what he sees his Lord and Saviour doing.
It is quite different for the one who is not a man of God. For him nothing need be impossible; if he has contact with the spirit world nothing restrains him from using its powers. He bears allegiance to no name, he acts according to his own impulses. The most surprising thing is that [17/18] if he chooses to do so he can perform his wonders while using the name of Jesus. We might judge this impossible if our Lord had not foretold that it will actually happen (Matthew 7:22-23). The man of God knows this and is never led astray by mere words or professions, for to him 'the name of Jesus' has no meaning simply as an empty formula, but demands a total personal commitment to the Bearer of that name. The magician has never made that commitment, but uses his link with demons for his own purposes, even though he may pay some lip service to God or Christ.
His activities may appear to be good, for Satan and his ministers can transform themselves into angels of light. In such cases his false wonders may include forecasting the future, healing the sick, and pretending to cast out demons. When he uses his spirit powers in this way he calls it 'white magic'. There are many today who actually claim to be 'white witches'. On the other hand he may use his occult powers for evil, distributing curses, leading into immoral practices, producing destruction in one form or another, and this is called 'black magic'. Both are common today, and in both cases it is 'magic' and not God. It is essential that the man of God settle in his mind that supernatural manifestations are not necessarily of God. They can equally be false wonders. He would be foolish indeed -- and unscriptural -- to dismiss all talk of 'magic' and 'witches' as nonsense, for this could easily lead him to imagine that all genuine wonders must therefore be divine. He must remember that there are 'seducing spirits' as well as the Holy Spirit.
(b) Bible teaching on the subject.
We return to Mark 16:15-20 for light from the Word on this matter of wonders, reminding ourselves that it was as the disciples went out to preach the gospel, not to do signs and wonders, nor to arouse public expectations by preaching signs and wonders that blessing came. To depart from this divine principle is to court error, since the Scriptures insist that the order is first preaching and then signs following. Those who move around promising signs and wonders are veering away from the gospel into the realms of the magical. The perils of such procedure are two-fold:
(1) The way can be thus opened to self-deception, for it becomes possible for a man to imagine that he is serving and glorifying the Lord when, in fact, he is acting out of harmony with the Word and the Spirit of God. A dreadful disillusionment awaits those who have prophesied and done wonders in the name of Jesus only to find in the end that He disowns them and declares that He had nothing to do with their great words and acts (Matthew 7:22-23).
(2) Even more damage may be done by those who make claims or arouse expectations which they cannot themselves fulfil, for they can open the door for false Christs and false prophets (Matthew 24:24), by encouraging or arousing unhealthy excitement about wonders and so making simple people easy prey for any worker of the supernatural. It may be a true Christian who arouses this interest, though unable himself to satisfy it; but dealers in the occult will be quick to take advantage of the opportunity to lead men astray by offering to provide such sensations.
The man of God must realise that the idea behind the word 'antichrist' is as much that of substitution as of opposition. Antichrist, the greatest satanic wonder-worker of all, will first offer himself as 'instead' of Christ, and only later be revealed as 'anti' in the sense in [which] we now use the prefix, that is 'against' Christ. John tells us that "even now there are many antichrists" (1 John 2:18). Such a warning will make the man of God sensitive to the indwelling Spirit, to be sure that nothing and nobody can ever take the place of Christ.
(c) The character of those involved.
The Bible teaches us that in order to evaluate the true nature of signs and wonders, one must first assess the character of the one by whom they are effected -- "By their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:15-20). The man of God does not make it his business to criticise the lives of fellow believers, but he knows that he is warned not to accept as teachers those who do not show the reality of their message in their own lives. An ordinary Christian may rightly resent as unnecessary or unkind too close a scrutiny into his behaviour or private life. A teacher or one who professes to work miracles, however, must expect to have this Scriptural test applied to his life. Christ commanded that it should be so applied.
Wonders are by no means limited to the gospel. Anyone who is travelled or informed enough to know how non-Christian nations live, is aware that all kinds of miraculous signs and wonders can be found among such peoples, even though [18/19] those who perform them are far from Christ. What cannot be found anywhere apart from the gospel, however, is likeness to Christ expressed in practical manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit. The man of God cannot judge whether a miracle is from God or not just by seeing it, still less by hearing about it from others. He may read or hear reports of wonders, but they can have no real significance to him unless he has some personal awareness of the daily life and character, as well as the teaching, of the miracle-worker. It is by the Spirit's fruit, and not by supernatural signs, that a man is shown to be a true servant of Christ. If, therefore, he finds in the one concerned faithfulness, humility, honesty, modesty and quiet holiness, then he can be re-assured about the wonders, and can praise God for them. If, though, he finds arrogance, greed, self-assertion, strife, unkindness or lack of transparent honesty then he cannot accept the teaching, even though it is accompanied by startling miracles. Let it be said again, this is not a question of judging a fellow-Christian, but of applying Christ's own test to a professed worker of wonders.
We are moving into a period of confusion and deception. The end of this dispensation is near. Israel is one sign of this fact but there are others and among them is increased deception. Somewhere, somehow, we may expect soon to see in expression a worldwide 'church' which will prove in the end to have been a counterfeit. The man of God should never be led astray by groupings and associations claiming to be of God because they are sharing some form of wonderful experience. The fellowship of the body of Christ is not based on any such outward manifestations, but always and only on the new birth. The ground of unity in that body is the shared life of Christ. The only foundation for the true Church is Jesus Christ Himself, and the only fellowship of the Spirit is that which springs from submission to Christ's absolute lordship.
We must not be seduced by false wonders, but we have every reason to rejoice that over and against what is empty and unreal, God is doing a true work of uniting men to Christ by new birth and making them into men of God. This work, more often than not, takes place in hidden and quiet ways, but in it God Himself has the initiative and He has its threads in His own hands. When it is finished and complete the whole world will be able to see God's glory shining forth from the one new Man. This will be God's crowning wonder.
(Conclusion)
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