What is the Purpose of Miracles?

In light of my previous post, I began to think about the purpose of miracles. I ended my last post by saying that people will not see God (note capitalization) unless the Holy Spirit prompts them and opens their eyes. So then, how does one discern a miracle and what is the purpose of miracles? When I think of miracles, I think of God directly revealing himself to earth. I say directly, because He indirectly reveals Himself to us through what is referred to as General Revelation and Special Revelation, which is revealing himself in nature and through divine involvement (the Holy Spirit prompting the hearts of men). In his book Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem defines miracles simply as “a less common kind of God’s activity in which he arouses people’s awe and wonder and bears witness to himself.”

I would like to include an excerpt from a book by C.S. Lewis called God in the Dock (a book both Jason and I would recommend) that deals with miracles. Here it is:

“Seeing is not believing. This is the first thing to get clear in talking about miracles. Whatever experiences we may have, we shall not regard them as miraculous if we already hold to a philosophy which excludes the supernatural…The experience of a miracle in fact requires two conditions. First we must believe in a normal stability of nature, which means we must recognize that the data offered by our senses recur in a regular pattern. Secondly, we must believe in some reality beyond Nature.”

I found this very interesting. Basically it says the purpose of miracles is NOT to bring people to a saving relationship with Christ. Again, I would like to draw your attention to 1 Corinthians 1:18. This passage says, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God...” If a person with a naturalistic worldview sees an angel, they will view that experience as a hallucination of sorts; however, if a person with a biblical worldview sees an angel, they will (hopefully) see it as God communicating with them. The last sentence of that quote from Lewis is important as well. To believe in miracles, you must believe in something beyond this world.

In light of that, what is the purpose of miracles?

Am I wrong? Can non-believers realize miracles without the Holy Spirit opening their eyes to them? (that is not to say that God cannot and does not use miracles in conjunction with the Holy Spirit to accomplish His will. See Acts 5:12-16; Acts 8:6-8; Acts 9:35; and Acts 9:42..the last two especially).

Because of Him,

J. Hylander