Signs, Wonders & Miracles For Today?

September 25th, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 2:3b-4 After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, 4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.

The “it” in v. 3 is the “so great a salvation” previously referred to by the author of Hebrews. This gospel, as it otherwise known, was “at first spoken through the Lord,” that is, the gospel of salvation came to the world through the mouth and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth—the Jewish Messiah, or Christ. He is “the Lord,” God in human flesh (cf. John 1:1-3, 14). In his introduction to the epistle, the author says that the Lord Jesus is to superior to all as the Son of God, the Heir of all things, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, the Purifier of sins, and the Redeemer/King of mankind sitting at the right hand of God the Father (Heb. 1:1-3). It is He who revealed “so great a salvation,” offered to all without cost, to be received by faith alone in Christ alone.

After the so great a salvation, or gospel, was preached by the Lord Jesus Christ, the author says, “it was confirmed to us by those who heard” (v. 3). This means that the author (“us”) heard the gospel not through Jesus firsthand but through “those who heard” Jesus speak the gospel, namely through His disciples. Therefore, the Hebrews author was a second generation Christian, his faith “confirmed” by those who witnessed Christ firsthand. To “confirm” (Gr. bebaioō) is to prove something to be true. Though many throughout the centuries have denied the salvation Jesus offered, far removed from the original eyewitnesses and early second generation believers, the truth is that who Jesus was and what Jesus said was “confirmed” by early eyewitnesses.

But the gospel of Jesus Christ was not simply confirmed by eyewitnesses of Christ, for v. 4 says, “God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.” In other words, the Holy Spirit also played a part in confirming the great salvation offered by Jesus Christ. How? Through the giving of “signs” (Gr. sēmeion) and “wonders” (Gr. teras)—synonymous terms that refer to divine, supernatural events that defy natural laws. The Holy Spirit enabled Jesus’ apostles for this. Also, by various “miracles” (Gr. dunamis), a term that speaks of great power (from which we get the English term dynamite). The author also includes “gifts” (Gr. merismos) which refers to distributions from the Holy Spirit—the spiritual ability to speak in a language one has never learned (tongues) for the purpose of sharing the gospel to those who could not otherwise understand. In all of this, the so great a salvation the Lord Jesus Christ offered was confirmed!

Food For Thought
The question for us now is, “Shouldn’t we as believers also be able to confirm Jesus’ so great a salvation by the use of signs and wonders?” The answer is no, for the gospel has already been confirmed. The foundation for faith has been laid through the apostles to whom the Spirit of God gifted (cf. 2 Cor. 12:12). We either believe what God has given or not. Certainly God can perform miracles, but does He need to? It might sound strange, but miracles in the Bible are quite rare, occurring briefly in only three eras: the era of Moses and Joshua, the era of Elijah and Elisha, and the era of Jesus and His apostles—about 70 years in each era. It is enough to know that God exists and can do mighty things, so what more do we need? Note also that many in the three eras of miracles failed to believe in spite of the miracles. Even Christ was rejected after being resurrected! Today we have all we need: the Spirit-inspired word of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Personal experiences, dreams, visions, and rumors of apparent miracles cannot add a single thing to God’s word. Scripture is enough, for God has no need to add to or subtract from His word.