Signs, Wonders, and Miracles

Have you ever wondered about Miracles, Signs and Wonders? The Bible is full of stories about supernatural happenings and miraculous testimonies. Personally I have always understood the word miracle to mean something that was, ‘supernatural, beyond human possibilities or natural law’. However, reading the Bible’s usage of these words made me wonder, ‘What’s the Bible’s definition of the words miracle, sign and wonder?’ Or, ‘What’s the difference, if any at all, between these three words?’ I felt confident in my definition of the word miracle. I could describe to someone what a miracle was, but I wasn’t sure how to describe a sign or wonder to someone. I really couldn’t even explain it to myself, even though I could recite many verses containing these words. After musing over these words and their occurrences in the Bible for awhile I decided to study them deeper and get some answers. I actually did a word study on miracles as project in GSSM.[1] So if you are interested in these words, I tried my best to organize all my findings. All verses are in the ESV unless otherwise noted.

First let’s look at the beginning of Hebrews chapter 2. These verses mention all three words, and say that God bore witness to us concerning salvation by signs, wonders and miracles. This verse gives us an idea of the purpose for miracles, signs and wonders. Let me quote the text verses 3 and 4, “how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.” [2]

Hebrews 2:4 is actually the only verse in the Bible that contains all three words (signs, wonders and miracles) within the same verse. One could argue that the words signs, wonders and miracles used here all have the same meaning, but I don’t believe that is the case. The fact that these words are all listed separately implies that they must each have separate, unique meanings.  Otherwise the verse would most likely be shortened down to say something like, “while God also bore witness by miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will,” and skip the other words to keep from being redundant. No, I believe all these words where specifically chosen, God breathed words, and for the author of Hebrews to list each of one of them  individually shows they each must have separate distinctive meanings.

If these three words have separate meanings, doing a word study on each word separately will allow us to differentiate their unique definitions. Before I jump into that, there is actually a fourth word I should introduce: work. This word is used 188 times in the ESV but 88 of those occurrences all come from the same Greek word. That Greek word for work will be our fourth study word. Before I look up the original Greek word meanings and look at other sources, here is a quick reference table of our four words showing their Greek origin and a short definition from the Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains : Greek (New Testament)[3]

 

 

English Word	Modern Greek	Original Greek	Short Definition
Miracles	Dunamis		- ability, power, mighty deed, ruler, supernatural power, meaning
Signs	Semeion		- sign
Wonders	Teras		- portent, wonder, miracle
Works	Ergon		- act, work, workmanship

 

 

 

When doing a word study on a specific word in the Bible there are many steps that can improve your knowledge of the word and help your exegesis. I will walk you through some of the steps I usually use, but if you study in a different order feel free to skip around and compile your own method of Bible word studies. I will go through the steps for miracle, then just the results for the other three words.

First Word: Miracles

You may want to start with the immediate context in the verse(s) around the word you are studying. Try to hypothesize its meaning by the surrounding words and sentences. Try to come up with a working definition of the word you are studying. Maybe even re-write the verse, replacing the study word with your best definition in your own words. For example I would re-write Heb. 2:4 as, “while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various [miracles]supernatural acts that were beyond human possibilities and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will,” to fill in my definition of miracles in the verse. This helps give a starting point, and forces you to write out your assumption of the study word’s definition. Let’s see if my definition changes after more research.

For me, reading and studying multiple or all verses that contain the word you are studying is a must. A good concordance will list all the words in the Bible and their occurrences by verse reference. In the ESV, the word miracle shows up 5 times in the O.T. and 7 times in the N.T. This is a short list and I recommend reading all 12 verses, O.T. as well.  (Old Testament: Exod 4:21, Exod 7:9, 1 Chron 16:12, Ps 105:5, Ps 105:27, New Testament Verses: Acts 8:13; Acts 19:11; 1 Cor 12:10; 1 Cor 12:28; 1 Cor 12:29; Gal 3:5; Heb 2:4) Comparing these other occurrences can help give insight into miracle’s true meaning.  You should typically look first at other occurrences in the same book, but there’s only one occurrence (Heb. 2:4) in the book of Hebrews. Next you should compare other occurrences by the same author. The original author of Hebrews is unknown, but Bible scholars generally ascribe it to the Apostle Paul. So, we can compare our Heb 2:4 verse with the 3 references in 1 Corinthians and the Galatians verse (1 Cor 12:10; 1 Cor 12:28; 1 Cor 12:29; Gal 3:5) Lastly we want to look at other occurrences in the same time period, and look at the verses in Acts (Acts 813; Acts 19:11). You can even compare other occurrences of the study word in non-biblical literature to get a more secular idea of what it means. Here is my thoughts on miracles from reading these verses:

Results from the verses listed above:

• Miracles cause great amazement – Acts 8:13
• Miracles are used to describe ‘extraordinary’ healings – Acts 19:11
• Miracles are a spiritual gift. God appointed people to “work miracles” just like he appointed apostles, prophets and teachers. We are all to desire the “higher gifts” such as miracles and other gifts. – 1 Cor 12:28-31

Non-Biblical Literature from the New Testament time period can be hard to find. However, I was able to find a few writings from around the time of the New Testament. Plato actually wrote on dunamis[the Greek word used for miracles] saying it was ‘the absolute mark of being.’[4] Plato helped birth Greek’s culture into philosophy, and his ideas influenced Greek citizen’s thinking and beliefs. This shows us that around 300 B.C.E. there were Greek philosophies that believed dunamis acts were essential and proved people existed. (Plato and his protégé Aristotle were Greek philosophers that among other things questioned the actual existence of the world in their writings) I don’t know how popular Plato’s writings were when the book of Hebrews was written, but we can assume his writings were known by at least some of the Greek population, and may have influenced their vocabulary and diction. Possible tying together the the use of the word dunamis with the idea of God or the existence of a Deity. Any original Greek writings using dunamis are helpful to perceive how the original word was used in early New Testament times.

The philosophers rarely spoke on God’s power, but mainly on the existence of a Deity. While their writings may be complicated, I believe that they really affected the Greek concept of ‘God’ during their lives. Whenever studying the word and trying to apply it to our lives today, I think it’s important to first correctly determine its application to the first readers. Deciding what a verse or a passage meant to the Greeks in 100C.E. will allow you to correctly apply it to the world we live in today.

Now the next step is to look up the original Greek word used for the word you are studying. This can be done by using either a Strong’s concordance or a Goodrick-Kohlenberger concordance, or a parallel Bible with the translations, ESV and original Greek text linked together. I use the latter, it’s actually called the ESV English-Greek Reverse Interlinear New/Old Testament[5]and I recommend it if it’s available to you.  Here’s a picture of the parallel version:

However you can use any interlinear Bible or a Strong’s or G/K concordance will do just fine. Actually most interlinear Bibles are keyed to a number system either Strong’s or G/K. The red numbers in the picture above are actually Strong’s numbers. If you look up Heb 2:4 in an interlinear Bible, or look up the word miracles from this verse in a Strong’s concordance you will find its number to be: 1411 (1539 if you are using the Goodrick-Kohlenberger number system). The original Greek word is: or in Modern Greek: Dunamis.[6]

Your next step is using a Bible lexicon to get a definition of this Greek word dunamis. Note: a lexicon is basically the vocabulary of a language, so in our case, a Bible lexicon is like a dictionary that list Hebrew and Greek words but defines the words in English.

The Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon shows us that dunamis is a noun and defines dunamis as, “1 strength power, ability. 1a) inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth. 1b) power for performing miracles 1c) moral power and excellence of soul 1d) the power and influence which belong to riches and wealth 1e) power and resources arising from numbers 1f) power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts”[7] The Dictionary of Biblical Domains gives dunamis 6 definitions and provides a verse next to each sub definition: “1. ability, to perform an activity (2Co 1:8); 2. power (Ac 1:8); 3. mighty deed, miracle (Ac 2:22); 4. ruler, human ruler (Ro 8:38); 5. supernatural power (Mt 24:29; Mk 13:25; Lk 21:26; Eph 1:21; Ro 8:38); 6. meaning, what is intended (1Co 14:11).”[8]  While there are slightly different meanings this word can have, most of them have to do with power, and ability. This word is usually used in the Gospels to describe the supernatural acts of Jesus because the word dunamis helps “discloses what He can do“.[9]  Jesus has control and authority to display dunamis/miracles. Each definition really shows different types and forms of power. This changes my perspective on our verse. Before reading these definitions I thought miracle as in Heb. 2:4 meant ‘a supernatural act’ but after reading the lexicon I found it’s actually a little different. It means something more like ‘possessing or having the ability of power, to do something mighty or of importance.’ In the Hebrews 2:4 verse my best re-write of the study word miracles in the verse would now be: “while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various [miracles] demonstrations of His ability and supernatural power He possessed to perform mighty acts and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will”.

After you do this, you may want new list of verses and occurrences: a list of all the occurrences of dunamis. Actually you might want to do this step before you look up your word in a concordance. Here’s why: When you look up a word like miracle in a Bible concordance, it will list all the verses that contain that word. That’s good, but this doesn’t necessarily give you an accurate list of the same word as in your verse. In our example, looking up miracle in concordance will give you: all the occurrences that original Hebrew and Greek scripture most closely translate into the English word miracle, in which ever translation your concordance is. I don’t mean to be a heart breaker if you love your concordance, but they don’t always give you a list of the same word. (At least not the same original word) What you want is to get a list of all the occurrences of the original Greek root word you’re studying. In our case we want all the occurrences of dunamis, and how it’s translated in the ESV.

Original Greek Results: Dunamis, is used 119 times in the New Testament! Seven of those times were translated ‘miracle’ and we can thank our concordance for giving us a list of those seven verses, but what about the other 112 times? It’s actually translated many different ways:  ‘power’ – 90 times, ‘mighty work’ – 13, ‘miracles’ – 7, ‘strength’ – 2, ‘means’ – 2, ‘meaning’ – 1, ‘mighty’ – 1, ‘ability’ – 1, ‘powerfully’ – 1, and ‘miraculous powers’ – 1. You can see how this gives us much more accurate information then a concordance. You can also see that most often, dunamis translates to ‘power’ in English.  Actually 3 out of 4 times dunamis is translated ‘power’ so ‘miracle’ is really a scarce translation for this word!  This helps us see how the translators and writers who originally composed today’s modern ESV Bible choose to translate this word.

My best interpretation of this word in the Hebrews 2:4 verse would be: “while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various [miracles] demonstrations of His ability and supernatural power He possessed to perform mighty acts and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to”.

 

Let’s move on to Signs:

The original Greek word is:     In Modern Greek: Semeion.[10]

(Strong’s number: 4592 G/K: 4956)

Concordance Results: The word signs is used 81 times in the New Testament. I won’t list all the verses, but here are a few notes I took from a few references:

• People in Jesus’ time expected a performance of signs as ‘proof’ of supernatural-authority – Mat. 16:1
• Twice Jesus told the Pharisees that ‘an evil and adulterous generations seeks for a sign’ – Mat 12:39, Mat 16:4
• False Christ and false prophets can perform signs to lead people astray – Mat. 24:24, Mk 13:22
• Signs (specifically: casting out demons, speaking in tongues, not getting hurt from snakes and poison, laying on their hands on the sick and the sick recovering) will accompany those who believe – Mk 16:17
• Some signs take place in the sky, involving the sun, moon, stars and heavens – Lk 21:11, 21:25
• Satan can perform false signs – 2 Thes. 2:9
• Signs are not for believers, but for unbelievers! – 1 Cor. 14:22
• Signs mark true apostles – 2 Cor. 12:12

Lexicon definition: Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance defines semeion as: “1) a sign, mark, token. 1a) that by which a person or a thing is distinguished from others and is known. 1b) a sign, prodigy, portent, i.e. an unusual occurrence, transcending the common course of nature. 1b1) of signs portending remarkable events soon to happen. 1b2) of miracles and wonders by which God authenticates the men sent by him, or by which men prove that the cause they are pleading is God’s.” It also says that semeion comes from the verb word semaino, which means: “1) to give a sign, to signify, indicate. 2 to make known.”[11] These definitions seem to indicate that semeion has somewhat of a visual aspect to it. In English, a sign is usually a visual form of information or direction. For example, a soccer match is made up of 2 teams of players, one team all wearing one color jerseys, the other team all wearing another color. The goal-keeper of both teams wears a special jersey that is a different color from either team. We could say that, ‘his colored clothes are a sign that he is a goal-keeper, and shows players that he can use his hands in the game.’ In much the same way, Jesus performed many miracles and the acts that were a sign that He had supernatural power and authority. His miraculous acts marked Him as one who had a heavenly host backing Him up.

Semeion/sign seems to usually have a visual aspect to the event it is describing. Not that you couldn’t see a dunamis/ miracle, but a semeion/sign is an action or an event that indirectly shows something else or makes something else known other then the miraculous happening. Let me try to explain this difference between semeion/sign and dunamis/miracle. Take for example the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand in John 6. The word semeion/sign is used to describe the multiplication of the food. Now, the multiplication of food is defiantly a miraculous event, and the definition of dunamis/miracle seems to fit very well, but semeion is used. I believe the reason is this: Semeionis usually used to describe a miraculous event, but specifically when there is an emphasis on something else, secondary to the miracle performed. When Jesus multiplied the food, this action showed the five thousand people that he had power and ability to create out of nothing. It also showed that He was compassionate for the people’s needs, and that He could provide for them without natural means. Some of the nature of Jesus is revealed here as well as His power. I believe it is this indirect message, or secondary purpose that the word semeion/sign reveals that distinguishes it from the word dunamis/miracle. After the people saw what Jesus did they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” (John 6:14)

The first definition from the lexicon defined Semeion as: “a sign, mark, or token.”[12]  It is important to note that this word was used for non-supernatural things, much like we use the word sign today. Luke 2:12 says, “And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12 emphasis added) There is nothing supernatural about a baby in swaddling clothes. This shows us that the word semeion/signcan be referring to a non-miraculous event. (Note: Jesus’ birth as a whole was obviously a miraculous event, but here the word is specifically just describing a baby being wrapped in clothes)However, in the verse above, sign had a secondary meaning. It wasn’t just referring to what the baby was wearing, but it also implied that, when the shepherds saw a baby, specifically he would be wearing swaddling clothes and lying in a manger then they would know he was the Savior Christ the Lord. This statement acted as assurance to the shepherds that what the angels were saying was true. When they saw the baby Jesus, just as the angels described, they were likely to believe all that the angels said.

Original Greek Results: Lastly here is a list of all the different English words that are used in the ESV translated from the original Greek word semeion: sign. Yep that’s it, every time semeion is used in the original Greek it’s written as sign in the ESV! There are 77 occurrences of this word in the Greek New Testament.

My best interpretation of this word in the Hebrews 2:4 verse would be: “while God also bore witness by [sign] supernatural acts that where performed for us to see and secondarily revealed God’s power and nature to us and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to”.

 

Next word Wonders:

The original Greek word is: Or in Modern Greek: Teras.[13]

(Strong’s number 5059, G/K 5469)

Concordance Results: The word wonders is used 24 times in the New Testament. I won’t list all the verses, but here are a few notes I took from some of the references:

• Every occurrence of wonders is used with the word signs
• Wonders take place in the Heavens and Signs take place on the earth – Acts 2:19
• The Lord grants signs and wonders to be done by, or through, people’s hands Acts 14:3
• False Christ and false prophets can perform wonders to lead people astray – Mat. 24:24, Mk 13:22

Lexicon definition: Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance: “1) a prodigy, portent. 2) miracle: performed by any one.” The New American Standard describes it as: “a wonder, marvel.”[14] So far, these definitions will make it hard to differentiate between the word teras/wonders and dunamis/miracles. So I will move on to other sources.

The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament tells us that this word was rarely used in the time period of the New Testament outside of the practicing Jewish culture. But to devote Jews of New Testament times this word was well known and, “it [teras] had at this time been given a special accent referring it to God’s self-revelation as the Creator and the Governor of all events, and especially of the destiny of the people chosen by Him”.[15] However, in contrast to dunamis/miracles and semeion/signs, teras/wonders most often stressed God as the creator of the supernatural act, not Jesus or the Holy Spirit. It seems this word was designed to describe miraculous acts of God the Father-head of the trinity. Perhaps it means something along the lines as: ‘a miraculous event that was performed by God Himself’.

It is also interesting that teras/wonders never occurs by its self, without the word semeion/signs. Every occurrence in the New Testament of teras/wonders is this way.  However, semeion/signs occurs by its self many times. This would imply that teras/wonders is something that God chooses to perform in conjunction with signs. We can assume that teras/wonders means something like: ‘a miraculous act that God performs together with a sign.’ Looking at some actual verses will help us define teras/wonders more accurately.

Mat. 24:24 and Mark 13:22 say that, false Christ and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead people astray. We can infer from these verses that teras/wonders can be used to describe an act that man does, as well as God. This word is also used to describe wonders that the apostles did. This adds to the point that ‘wonders’ was not used to describe acts of Jesus, but was not meant exclusively for acts of God the Farther. However, the wonders that the apostles did could have been done by God, through their hands, making God the author of the wonders. But there are still the two references (Mat. 24:24, Mk 13:22) that say false Christ and false prophets can perform wonders. Because of these verses we can say that teras/wonders most often was used referring to something God the Farther did, but not always.

Another verse worth citing is Acts 2:19. “And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below,” This gives teras/wonders a ‘heaven’ location and describes signs as taking place on the earth.  The reference to heaven here could mean either: 1) the sky, space and air above the earth, or 2) the realm where God and other heavenly beings abide. Either one teras/wonders has a specific, different location then signs.

Original Greek Results: Teras, is used 16 times in the New Testament. Ever occurrence from the original Greek is translated into wonders.

My best interpretation of this word in the Hebrews 2:4 verse would be “while God also bore witness by signs and [wonders] supernatural acts performed by God, in conjunction with signs that simultaneously He performed and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to”.

 

Last Word Works:

The original Greek word is:  Or in Modern-Greek:  Ergon.[16]

(Strong’s number: 2041. G/K: 2240)

Concordance Results: The word works is used 188 times in the New Testament. I won’t list all the verses, but here are a few notes I took from some of the references:

• Ever since Jesus ascended, we are able to perform greater works then He did! – Jn. 5:20
• Works bear witness and validate Jesus’ claim of relationship with God the Father – Jn. 5:36, Jn. 10:25, Jn. 14:11
• We must believe in Jesus to do the work of God – Jn. 6:29
• If we believe in Jesus we will do the works that He did! – Jn.14:12
• Works caused people to believe Jesus – Jn. 10:38

Lexicon definition:  The Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon defines this word as:  “1) business, employment, that which any one is occupied. 1A) that which one undertakes to do, enterprise, undertaking. 2) any product whatever, any thing accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind. 3) an act, deed, thing done: the idea of working is emphasized in opp. to that which is less than work.”  This easily translates into our English word ‘work,’ but is there a deeper meaning to this Greek word? Most of the time, ergon simply means work, just the same as our English word. There are some occurrences that are slightly different however. The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament tells us that this word was very common in the time of Homer and Hesiod. It seems in their time ergon had a meaning that portrayed active action and zeal instead of just labor or occupation, as we in the 21st century might perceive ‘work’. It also meant ‘useful activity’ opposed to useless busyness or idleness.[17] To me, many Americans have a predetermined definition of ‘work’ as:  some repetitive, meaningless labor, bland and passionless. However this is not in the least bit what ergon usually means. Ergon is: work for a purpose, for life itself. It emphasizes actively working in expectation of return. For example, a farmer planting crop in expectation of receiving a harvest in season, would be ergon/work. The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament tells us that this Greek word originated from a Hebrew word often times meaning: ‘to plow’.[18]

Let’s look at some verses. When Jesus healed the lame man at the pool of Bethesda in John 5, the Jews began to persecute Him because the healing took place on a Sabbath. In response to them Jesus says, “My Father is working [ergon] until now, and I am working [ergon].”[19] There a many miraculous healings and supernatural acts of Jesus where ergon/works is used in the New Testament, but his verse shows something else. With ergon meaning ‘active’ work, this attributes God as a proactive, non-passive God. He was actively working supernaturally in behalf of His people before the time of Jesus, and continues to do so. He is not a passive God who sits on His throne and waits around with no earthly intervention, and I believe this was Jesus’ point here. Colossians tells us that in Jesus the ‘fullness of God was pleased to dwell,’ so we can look to Jesus as an accurate representation of God.[20] This gives us an active God before the time of Jesus, and Jesus as a model of an active God during His life on earth.

What’s the purpose of ergon/works? Mat. 5:14-16 answers that, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works [ergon] and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”   Works are to give glory to God the Father in heaven. Ergon/works was used to describe mainly regular work but also supernatural acts. Jesus also indicated that after He left, the intensity of the ergon/works of God performed on earth through men should increase saying, “And greater works than these will he [God the Father] show him [Jesus, referring to himself], so that you may marvel.” (Jn. 5:20) We are to continue the works of Jesus as the Holy Spirit enables us and God the Father reveals to us. But not just the same works, greater works then those Jesus did!

Another passage worth mentioning is John 6:28-29, “Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works [ergon]of God?”  Jesus answered them, “This is the work [ergon] of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” Here Jesus teaches the amazed crowd who saw Him multiple the food. They wanted to know how to do these acts, and Jesus’ answer is to, ’believe in God’. Jesus goes on to reference the manna that was provided for the Israelites when they left the oppression of Pharaoh, saying that it was not Moses who provided it, but God. God is the provider and it is His power that performs these works, not man. However, many times God chooses to perform His works through the hands of His people.

Original Greek Results: Ergon is used 166 times in the original Greek Text of the New Testament. The ESV translates ergon to: ‘work’ – 121 times, ‘deed’ – 26 times, ‘what’ – 3 times, ‘done’ – 3 times, ‘thing’ – 2 times, ‘undertaking’ 1 time, ‘well-doing’ 1 time, ‘conduct’ – 1 time, ‘workmanship’ – 1 time, ‘do’ – 1 time, ‘labor’ – 1 time, ‘doing’ – 1 time, ‘task’ – 1 time, ‘good’ – 1 time, ‘effect’ 1 time, and ‘acts’ – 1 time.

 Let us boldly rely on God to work supernatural miracles, signs, wonders and works through us to give Him the glory due to His name! Praise God for all the works He was already performed, and live in constant expectation of more! David Causer

 

Endnotes: