Table Of ContentKnowing Our God
Advanced Exegetical Theology
The Knowledge of God Series
Book 10
God’s Miracles
How Does God Supernaturally Reveal Himself?
Kurt Jurgensmeier
Copyright © 2012 Kurt Jurgensmeier
Available online at www.trainingtimothys.org
All parts of this publication may be used in any form if due credit is
given. No part of this publication, except brief quotations, may be
used in printed material that is to be sold, without the written
permission of Kurt Jurgensmeier who can be contacted
through the feedback section of
www.trainingtimothys.org.
All Scripture quotations are from the New International Version
(NIV) 1994 edition unless otherwise noted. NIV is a registered
trademark of the International Bible Society.
ISBN: 978-1-300-11158-0
Dedication
To my son-in-law Jon, whose commitment to God and
love for my daughter are a great gift from God to me.
Contents
The chapters below are marked with the following categories in
order to help you prioritize your reading:
Best: The most helpful, interesting and/or important chapters.
Essential: Important chapters to understand the topic of the book.
Specialized: The finer, more complex points of the topic of the book.
Preface 7
Part I: Introduction to Miracles
10.1: An Introduction to Miracles: 11
A Critical but Confusing & Controversial Subject
10.2: The Attributes of Miracles: 25
Their Supernatural, Rare, & Awe-inspiring Nature
10.3: The Proper Expectation & Recognition of 61
Miracles
Part II: The Myriad of Miraculous Deeds
10.4: Divine Miracles: The Direct Hand of God 101
10.5: Human Miracle Working: The Delegated 113
Power of God
10.6: Demonic Miracle Working by satan’s 155
Servants
Part III: The Myriad of Miraculous Words
10.7: Biblical Attributes of Miraculous 175
Communication: Diverse, Discontinuous
& Never “Inspiration”
10.8: Delegated Miraculous Communication: 193
God Speaking through Angels & Animals
10.9: Direct Means of Miraculous 207
Communication: From the Writing of God
to Living with God
10.10: Physically Seeing & Hearing God: 229
The Voice & Apparitions of God
10.11: Mental Visions & Dreams from God 241
Part IV: Extreme & Unbiblical Views of Miracles
10.12: Miracles & Anti-supernaturalism: 279
An Attack on God’s Glory
10.13: Miracles & Super-supernaturalism: 313
A Monumental Delusion
10.14: A History of Super-supernaturalism: 337
The Making of a Monumental Delusion
10.15: An Evaluation of Super-super- 371
naturalism: The Fruit of a Monumental
Delusion
10.16: The Dangers of Super-super- 413
naturalism: The Damage of a Monumental
Delusion
Resources from TrainingTimothys.org 477
7
Preface
Helping the next generation of Bible Teachers
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a
workman who does not need to be ashamed and who
correctly handles the word of truth. (2 Tim 2:15)
These words were written to a young Teacher of God’s word.
They are a reminder of the awesome privilege, responsibility, and
accountability that comes with such a divine calling. Being a
Teacher is God’s gift to a man, but what kind of Teacher he
becomes is his gift to God. And God tells all Teachers something of
what He is expecting in the verse above.
First, the Teacher is to “present” himself “to God” when he
teaches. When we teach it is not only humans that are listening,
but Heaven as well, and God is our most important audience. We
can be concerned with what people will think of our teaching, but
we need to be much, much more concerned with what God will
think.
And God’s expectations can significantly differ from those of
humans. People often expect eloquence and entertainment, God
expects accuracy, “correctly” interpreting, teaching, and applying
God’s word for God’s people. There is nothing in all the world more
important than this because to do otherwise is to misunderstand,
misrepresent, and eventually disobey the Author.
As in all human endeavors, not even God expects perfection, but
He certainly demands that we do our “best.” We need to
remember that we do all of this under the watchful eye of the
Author Himself, and will one Day be either “approved” or
“ashamed” regarding how careful and diligent we were in working
to understand, teach, and apply His word “correctly.”
This book is offered as a help in obeying the Apostle’s command
for those who have, or desire to have, the great responsibility of
teaching God’s word to His people. It is part of a series of books
written under the title of Knowing Our God: Advanced Exegetical
Theology.
These books are advanced in that they are an in-depth,
scholarly study of very specific and often difficult theological topics.
They are uniquely exegetical in that there is a special emphasis
on interpreting the Scriptures applicable to the topic. While many
8
systematic theologies would not require much of a Scripture index,
a large percentage of the current 5000 pages of Knowing Our God is
commentary on Scripture.
Finally, these books are theology, because it is in such an
endeavor that we bring the pieces of God’s word into a harmonious
whole in order to produce the full truth of Scripture. We believe
Advanced Exegetical Theology is a great need in equipping Pastors
today to defend the faith for this and future generations.
Ezra the priest, of course, is our example, of whom it is written:
“the gracious hand of his God was on him. For Ezra had
devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of
the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel”
(Ezra 7:9-10). Obeying God’s word was obviously important to
Ezra, but so was being “devoted . . . to the study” of God’s word,
all so that he could be “teaching” it to God’s people. It is our hope
that this book will help you do just that.
Finally, a few practical points. First, while we are not aware of
anything in it that would be contrary to the historical, Evangelical
Christian faith, if you encounter something that differs from the
beliefs of your Pastor(s), please discuss it with them if it causes
serious questions for you. We desire to respect the pastoral
authority God has in your life as much as possible.
Secondly, studying God’s word is best pursued in community
with spiritual peers, and we encourage you to read this with others
and discuss the Gauging Your Grasp questions usually at the end
of a chapter.
Thirdly, we make an effort to make an organized study of God’s
word not just theological but practical as well. So prayerfully
consider the sections entitled Pastoral Practices along the way.
Fourth, as you read you will notice several references to other
writings. This reflects the fact that this book is an excerpt from a
larger production entitled Knowing Our God. The entire collection of
books on systematic theology that are currently available can be
found at www.trainingtimothys.org.
Finally, we would appreciate the reader visiting the site and
emailing us any feedback on this book, including concerns,
comments, and any proposed corrections. We too wish to study
God’s word in community, and that community includes you.
Pastor Kurt Jurgensmeier
New Life Community Church, Cedar Rapids, IA
Training Timothys at www.trainingtimothys.org
Book 10
God’s Miracles
Part I
Introduction to Miracles
10.1: An Introduction to Miracles: 11
A Critical but Confusing & Controversial Subject
10.2: The Attributes of Miracles: 25
Their Supernatural, Rare, & Awe-inspiring Nature
10.3: The Proper Expectation & Recognition of 61
Miracles
Description:Ezra the priest, of course, is our example, of whom it is written: “the gracious . anti-supernaturalists, 4 and liberal biblicists 5 would cringe at such a claim, it is At first sight contemporary literature on miracles [that does exist] looks inspiring autobiography of Brother Yun, entitled Th
