Gifts of the Spirit · Manifestation (1 Cor 12) · Working of Miracles
energēmata dynameōn · workings of mighty deeds · δύναμις, a mighty work
the Spirit working a deed of power — God's might breaking into the natural
One phrase · workings of powers
The phrase joins two rich words. δύναμις is power — a “mighty work,” a miracle (the root of the companion study on Power). ἐνέργημα is an effecting, an operation — from ἐνεργέω, to work something in. So the gift is God working His power through a person: an act that overrules, suspends, or transcends the natural order.
Like “gifts of healings,” the Greek is plural-plural — workings of powers — many distinct acts, each a fresh operation of God “as He wills” (1 Cor 12:11). No one owns a standing miracle-power; God effects each one. And every true miracle serves a purpose beyond itself: it magnifies God and confirms His gospel (Heb 2:4).
Workings of powers defined; the mighty deeds of Jesus; God's power through His servants; why miracles happen at all; and whose power it really is.
A double plural — many acts, one God effecting them.
ἄλλῳ δὲ ἐνεργήματα δυνάμεων
allō de energēmata dynameōn
to another, the workings of miracles.
Both words are plural: workings of powers. As with gifts of healings, the grammar guards us from thinking anyone carries a possessed power. Each miracle is a fresh act of God, the one Spirit “effecting all these as He wills” (12:11).
He commanded wind, sea, bread, and the grave.
… σιώπα, πεφίμωσο. καὶ ἐκόπασεν ὁ ἄνεμος
… siōpa, pephimōso. kai ekopasen
“Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased.
He stilled the storm, multiplied the loaves, walked the water, raised Lazarus — “believe because of the works themselves” (John 14:11). Yet even He said, “the Father who dwells in Me does His works” (14:10). The mighty deed always points beyond the worker to God.
God did extraordinary miracles by their hands.
δυνάμεις τε οὐ τὰς τυχούσας ὁ θεὸς ἐποίει διὰ τῶν χειρῶν Παύλου
dynameis … ou tas tychousas … dia tōn cheirōn Paulou
and God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul.
Moses over the sea, Elijah and Elisha, the apostles’ “many wonders and signs” (Acts 2:43; 5:12), Peter raising Tabitha (9:40) — God works His power through yielded people. Note the wording: God did them, by Paul’s hands. The servant is the channel, never the source.
To glorify God and confirm His word.
συνεπιμαρτυροῦντος τοῦ θεοῦ σημείοις τε καὶ τέρασιν καὶ ποικίλαις δυνάμεσιν
synepimartyrountos tou theou … dynamesin
God bearing witness by signs and wonders and various miracles.
Miracles are not entertainment; they confirm the message and reveal God’s glory (Mark 16:20; John 2:11). They are signposts pointing to Jesus and His salvation. When the sign becomes the point, it has been pulled off course.
By the Spirit, as He wills, in Jesus' name.
τί … ἡμῖν ἀτενίζετε ὡς ἰδίᾳ δυνάμει … πεποιηκόσιν τοῦ περιπατεῖν;
… hōs idia dynamei … peripatein?
why do you stare at us, as though by our own power we had made him walk?
Peter refuses the credit at once: it was “the name of Jesus” and “faith in His name” that did it (3:16). The gift is exercised by the Spirit, as He wills, in the name of Jesus — never as the worker’s own might, never for the worker’s glory.
Not every wonder is from God. Pharaoh’s magicians, Simon the sorcerer, and finally the lawless one all work “signs” — and Jesus warned that false christs would do great wonders to deceive. There is also the lesser trap of sign-seeking: craving the spectacle while missing the Savior. Power alone proves nothing; the question is always its source and whether it exalts Jesus.
… ἐν πάσῃ δυνάμει καὶ σημείοις καὶ τέρασιν ψεύδους
… kai terasin pseudous — lying wonders
…with all power and false signs and wonders.
The enemy counterfeits power (Ex 7:11; Acts 8:9–11; Matt 24:24; Rev 13:13). So a miracle is never self-authenticating. Test it as you would prophecy: by its source, by Scripture, and by whether it magnifies Jesus — false wonders draw eyes to a man or a lie.
γενεὰ πονηρὰ … σημεῖον ἐπιζητεῖ
genea ponēra … sēmeion epizētei
an evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign.
Chasing the spectacle for its own sake is rebuked, not blessed. And the opposite ditch — denying that God still works at all — limits Him by unbelief. Seek the Giver, welcome the gift, and let the wonder do its job: point to Christ.
So welcome this gift without chasing it. Where God means to confirm His gospel and reveal His glory, He still works deeds of power through ordinary, yielded people. Take no credit; it is His power and His name. Refuse the counterfeit and the sign-hunger alike. And let every miracle do what miracles are for: to turn astonished eyes onto Jesus, and to back the message of the cross.
ACTS 4:30 · THE PRAYER FOR POWER
ἐν τῷ τὴν χεῖρά σου ἐκτείνειν σε … σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα γίνεσθαι διὰ τοῦ ὀνόματος Ἰησοῦ
…stretch out Your hand … that signs and wonders be done through the name of Jesus.
God bearing witness by signs and wonders and various miracles (Heb 2:4) — the power is His, the name is Jesus’, and the glory belongs to God alone.
Few gifts are more debated than this one — cessationists hold that the miracle-gifts confirmed the apostolic message and then ceased; continuationists (in whose stream this study stands) expect God still works them. All can agree that miracles were never on tap by human command, that they are given “as He wills” (1 Cor 12:11), and that their purpose is to glorify God and confirm His word, not to enrich or exalt a minister.
Two cautions. First, test the wonders: Scripture is explicit that false signs exist (2 Thess 2:9; Matt 24:24), so power alone authenticates nothing — only what exalts Jesus and accords with the Word. Second, do not weaponize the miraculous against the suffering: when a miracle does not come, it is not proof of anyone’s failure, and the “now and not yet” means even great saints await full deliverance. Seek God, not spectacle, and never set the miraculous against medical care or honest grief.
Just like “gifts of healings,” the Greek here is plural-plural: ἐνεργήματα δυνάμεων, workings of powers. The grammar matters. It is not one standing “miracle ministry” a person owns and can fire at will, but many distinct acts, each one God effecting His power afresh “as He wills” (1 Cor 12:11). That keeps the worker humble and the glory God’s. (See the companion studies on δύναμις — Power — and on gifts of healings.)
The purpose of a miracle is never the miracle. Scripture is consistent: signs glorify God, confirm the message, and reveal Christ (John 2:11; Mark 16:20; Heb 2:4). The instant a wonder becomes the point — a draw, a brand, a proof of someone’s anointing — it has been bent off its purpose, and an “evil generation seeks a sign” (Matt 12:39). Welcome God’s power; keep your eyes on the One it reveals.
| Theme | Key texts |
|---|---|
| Workings of powers | 1 Cor 12:10, 28; Gal 3:5 |
| Mighty deeds of Jesus | Mark 4:35–41; John 6:1–14; 11:38–44; 14:10–11 |
| Through His servants | Acts 2:43; 5:12; 9:36–42; 19:11–12 |
| Their purpose | Heb 2:4; Mark 16:20; John 2:11; Acts 4:29–30 |
| Not our power | Acts 3:12, 16; 1 Cor 12:11 |
| The counterfeit | 2 Thess 2:9; Matt 24:24; Acts 8:9–24; Matt 12:39 |