Page 53 - Pneumatology - A Study of the Holy Spirit

that as we make Him our delight, He will give us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4-5). This would surely
include preparing us to serve Him in a way that will bring us purpose and satisfaction.

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The purpose of the biblical sign gifts: tongues, healing, prophesying

When we speak of the biblical sign gifts, we are referring to miracles like speaking in
tongues, visions, healing, raising the dead, and prophesying. There is no question among
believers whether or not they existed, for the Bible plainly describes them. Where
disagreement arises among believers is their purpose, as well as the question of whether
we should experience them today. Some say that these gifts are a sign of one's salvation, while others say
they are a sign of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and yet others say their purpose is to authenticate the
message of the gospel. How can we know the truth? We must search the Scriptures to find God's purpose
statements about these things.

One of the earliest references to sign gifts in the Bible is found in Exodus 4, when Moses is being instructed
by God about the impending deliverance from Egypt. Moses worried that the people would not believe that
God sent him, so God gave him the signs of the rod becoming a snake and his hand becoming leprous. God
said these signs were “that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you” (v. 5). If the people still did not believe, God
told Moses to take water from the Nile and pour it on the ground, where it would turn to blood (v. 9). The
purpose for the children of Israel was that they would believe God's messenger.

God also gave Moses miraculous signs to show Pharaoh, so that he would let the people go. In Exodus 7:3-5,
God told Moses that He would multiply His signs and wonders in Egypt, so “the Egyptians shall know that I
am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among
them.” God wanted the Egyptian people to know that He was the one working to deliver the Israelites.
In Exodus 10:7, Moses told Pharaoh that the final plague, which would kill the firstborn, was to show that
God distinguished between the Egyptians and the Israelites. The signs and wonders confirmed God's message
to Pharaoh and the Egyptians, so they would know that Moses was sent by God.

When Elijah confronted the false prophets on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18), he prayed for God to miraculously
send fire from heaven so the people would know “you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that
I have done all these things at your word....that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God” (v. 36-37).
The miracles he and the other prophets performed were a confirmation that God had sent the prophets and
that God was at work in Israel’s midst.

Joel was given a message of God's judgment on Israel, and within that message was a prophecy of mercy and
hope. When the judgment came as prophesied, and the people responded with repentance, God said that He
would then remove the judgments and restore His blessing: “You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame”
(Joel 2:27). Immediately after that statement, God spoke about pouring His Spirit on the people, so they
would prophesy, see visions, and see wonders happening. When the disciples began speaking in tongues on
the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21), Peter declared, “This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.” What
was the purpose? That the people would know the message brought by Peter and the others was God's
message.

Jesus' ministry was accompanied by various signs and wonders. What was the purpose of His miracles?

30 https://www.gotquestions.org/sign-gifts.html - Used with permission
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