Many In Ephesus, a city of ancient Greece, saw the unusual miracles God worked through the apostle Paul as handkerchiefs or aprons from his body were taken to the sick, and those who possessed evil spirits and all were healed (Acts 19:11, 12).

Then some of the Jewish exorcists who traveled from place to place and seven sons of a Jewish chief priest “took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying ‘We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.’”

The evil spirit answered and said “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them and they ran from the house naked and wounded. This became known to all the Jews and Greeks, and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified (verses 13-17).

The purpose of miracles was to confirm that what was happening and being taught was from God. Though God no longer works through miracles, His word, revealed and inspired by the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures, confirms the truth or shows the falsehood of what is taught and preached today. You can confirm that in 1 Corinthians 13:8 and Ephesians 4:13. In this way, God blesses us today even more than then, as we don’t have to wait for a teacher who had been given the power to work miracles to confirm their word, but we can open our Bibles and confirm it at any time.

Luke tells us in Acts 19:18-20 that the unusual miracles of God also caused many who, before becoming Christians, had practiced magic to burn their books in the sight of all. The total value was 50,000 pieces of silver. “So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.” Is the word of God prevailing in your life? Follow the example of the believers in Ephesus and rid your life of any and all hindrances, and let God’s word achieve victory over sin and Satan in your life.

Questions to aid your spiritual growth:
1. What was the purpose of miracles?
2. How can we confirm that what we hear today is true?
3. How will the word of the Lord enable us to achieve victory over sin and Satan?