“…while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”
This is the third the Hebrews writer gives for his readers to trust in the salvation offered by the New Covenant and His Son. Verse three gave us the first and second reason. One, the salvation was declared by the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. Two, the salvation was witnessed and affirmed by eyewitnesses, who spent countless hours in His presence. To make sure the point was made, God also joined the witnesses. Three witnesses make a powerful argument.
God gave His witness by doing miraculous signs and wonders. The Jewish nation was familiar with this routine as God had used it to prove His presence or word many times in their history. In the same way that they affirmed the Exodus, they could affirm the New Covenant. Not only did God show them signs and wonders, but He also bore witness by giving believers spiritual gifs. These gifts were the result of the gift of the Spirit, Himself. He, the Spirit, distributed the gifts among the believers as was deemed appropriate.
To have the Holy Spirit and one or more gifts was ample proof that the New Covenant was superior and should be followed by the brotherhood of believers. Receiving those gifts was to have God official stamp of approval and acceptance.
Task for Today: Take a sheet of paper and make a list of the miracles you can recall from the New Testament books. Think about these for a few minutes. What message do you get from just considering the bulk of them? Make a list of the things you have received due to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit you received when you were baptized. Do these two things not convince you that the message of salvation found in the New Covenant is the God-given one and should be accepted?
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