Signs and Wonders—Obedience

Signs and Wonders—Obedience

Paul received the apostleship to work obedience to the faith among all nations to the glory of His name. Rom. 1:5. God’s name is only glorified through obedience! This is hidden to most people. They want to glorify Jesus by speaking about Him who was obedient, which is also great and to His glory. However, He is only truly glorified through our obedience. Then we will become the fruit of His work!

Many people think if we could just perform signs and wonders, then God would be glorified! This is a deception of Satan, and when he schemes to deceive the nations so they can receive the man of sin, he will do it with signs and wonders. 2 Thess. 2:8-12.

God also performs signs and wonders through His servants in order to help people and to lead them to faith, which means to obedience to the faith. In other words, the great thing is not signs and wonders, but rather obedience to the faith. When do people usually cry out to God and want to see signs and wonders? It is when they have come into need through their disobedience. Through obedience signs and wonders are mostly superfluous.

We can learn this from the history of Israel. God performed signs and wonders in Egypt in order to deliver them. Afterwards He performed signs and wonders to get them to believe; yet in spite of all the signs and wonders they did not believe. Num. 14:22-23. They had to wander around in the desert for forty years where they continually experienced signs and wonders. Their garments and their shoes did not wear out, they received manna from heaven, and all they had to do to be healed from deadly bites of serpents was to look at a brass serpent, etc., etc. Why did they come into all this need; why were they bitten by serpents, etc.? It was all because of their disobedience.

In the beginning, when they entered the land of Canaan, they came into great need because of their enemies, and God performed signs and wonders. By being obedient they were able to destroy the enemy, and they could live in peace and cultivate the land. God blessed them, and there were no more signs and wonders. Life evolved naturally and became more and more glorious. But then they were disobedient again and came into great need; they cried out to the Lord, and He helped them, and so signs and wonders became necessary again. Ps. 107:10-21.

From this we can learn that God is gracious, and by means of signs and wonders He helps people out of the need into which they have come because of their disobedience. Those who call out for signs and wonders also say what kind of people they are: “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign . . . .” Matt. 12:39.

The intention with signs and wonders has been attained if people come to faith through God’s mighty works. They enter into God’s plan with their life by being obedient to the faith. Then they will no longer call out for signs and wonders; rather they follow Jesus who learned obedience by the things He suffered. Heb. 5:8-9. Instead of calling for signs and wonders, they will experience 2 Corinthians 4:17: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”