Signs and wonders refers to experiences that are perceived to be

miraculous A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

as being normative in the modern Christian experience, and is a phrase associated with groups that are a part of modern

charismatic movement The charismatic movement in Christianity is a movement within established or mainstream Christian denominations to adopt beliefs and practices of Charismatic Christianity with an emphasis on baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the use of spiri ...

s and

Pentecostalism Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

. This phrase is seen multiple times throughout the Bible to describe the activities of the

early church Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...

, and is historically recorded as continuing, at least in practice, since the time of Christ. The phrase is primarily derived from Old and New Testament references and is now used in the Christian and mainstream press and in scholarly religious discourse to communicate a strong emphasis on recognizing perceived manifestations of the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

in the contemporary lives of Christian believers. It also communicates a focus on the expectation that divine action would be experienced in the individual and corporate life of the modern Christian church, and a further insistence that followers actively seek the "

gifts of the Spirit A spiritual gift or charism (plural: charisms or charismata; in Greek singular: χάρισμα ''charisma'', plural: χαρίσματα ''charismata'') is an extraordinary power given by the Holy Spirit."Spiritual gifts". ''A Dictionary of the ...

". A further major emphasis of belief in signs and wonders is that the message of the Christian "good news" is communicated more effectively to those who do not believe it if accompanied by

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

manifestations of the Holy Spirit, including such signs and wonders as miraculous healings and modern prophetic proclamations. This is the message of

John Wimber John Richard Wimber (February 25, 1934 – November 17, 1997) was an American pastor, Christian author and musician. Initially ordained as a Quaker minister, he became an early, pioneering pastor of charismatic congregations, and a popular tho ...

's book, ''Power Evangelism''.

Biblical origins

The origin of the phrase in the Old Testament is in , which describes God's actions to free the

Israelites The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele ...

from being enslaved in Ancient Egypt. This phrase is used a total of 31 times in the Bible and it became popular again in modern history around the time of the

Azusa Street Revival The Azusa Street Revival was a historic series of revival meetings that took place in Los Angeles, California. It was led by William J. Seymour, an African-American preacher. The revival began on April 9, 1906, and continued until roughly 1915. ...

, when attendees claimed miraculous and supernatural events had happened.

Critical responses

Critical responses were made by various writers including: J. Woodhouse, K. L. Sarles, K. M. Bond, and D. H. Shepherd, Later in the 1990s, the discussion was taken up by R. E. Jackson (addressing skeptics), and D. Williams. Gene Kim argues that signs and wonders are only reserved for the nation of Israel, and in particular, the

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

. There was evidence of signs and wonders fading in the latter days of Paul's ministry (Phillipians 2:25–27). The Jews require a sign in order to confirm their apostleship (1 Corinthians 1:22–23).

Defense and reflection

The ongoing theological reflection accompanying the signs and wonders movement was evidenced by

Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an interdenominational Evangelical Christian seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller consistently has a student body that compri ...

's 1988 Symposium on Power Evangelism and C. Peter Wagner's book titled ''The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit''. The study of the missiological implications of signs and wonders would continue on into the turn of the century. Cessationists believe that

spiritual gifts A spiritual gift or charism (plural: charisms or charismata; in Greek language, Greek singular: wikt:χάρισμα, χάρισμα ''charisma'', plural: χαρίσματα ''charismata'') is an extraordinary power given by the Holy Spirit in Ch ...

such as speaking in tongues, prophecy and healing ceased with the

Apostolic Age Christianity in the 1st century covers the formative history of Christianity from the start of the ministry of Jesus (–29 AD) to the death of the last of the Twelve Apostles () and is thus also known as the Apostolic Age. Early Christianity ...

, leading to a

cessationism versus continuationism Cessationism versus continuationism involves a Christian theological dispute as to whether spiritual gifts remain available to the church, or whether their operation ceased with the Apostolic Age of the church (or soon thereafter). The cessat ...

debate. The broader debate specifically over the signs and wonders movement and the present-day function of the manifestation gifts would continue into the 1990s.J. I. Packer, G. S. Greig, et al., ''The Kingdom and the Power: Are Healing and the Spiritual Gifts Used by Jesus and the Early Church Meant for the Church Today?: a Biblical Look at How to Bring the Gospel to the World with Power'' (Ventura, California: Regal Books, 1993).

Power evangelism

The term ''power evangelism'' originally comes from

Lonnie Frisbee Lonnie Ray Frisbee (June 6, 1949 – March 12, 1993) was an American Charismatic evangelist and self-described "seeing prophet" in the late 1960s and 1970s. He maintained a hippie appearance and struggled with homosexuality (according to his own ...

's ministry but some of his harshest critics for heavy use of the

and the

came from the churches he helped found.John Crowder, ''Miracle workers, reformers and the new mystics'', Destiny Image Publishers, 2006, , , pages 103-6. Power evangelism is a form of

evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are in ...

which relies on the

power and gifts of the Holy Spirit, that is, on signs and wonders, to reach new converts and work through

born again Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...

Christians. It is not the way most churches practice evangelism currently, which relies on an intellectual argument with the hope of salvation through logic and structured rituals.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

CBN Video: Living a Life of Miracles

CBN Video: Miracles Outside the Church Walls

Personal Accounts of Miracles
Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity Evangelism Christian miracles