Where Are the “Greater Works?” 

John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

When the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ was drawing to a close, He gathered His staff together at a supper and delivered to them an assemblage of final instructions that were of immeasurable import.

The disciples, already reeling from Christ’s pronouncements that He was going away, must have wished for a scribe to record every word as they perceived the earnestness of their beloved leader’s expression and the gravity of His tone as He spoke with them.

We can only imagine how intently they hung onto every word, straining to hear clearly, and struggling to divine the meaning!

This impassioned final sermon, recorded in John Chapters 13-17, was lengthy, broad in scope, and filled to the brim with detailed instructions and exhortations that specifically apply to the soon-to-emerge church. 

The disciples listened and ultimately obeyed the Word of the Lord as articulated in this priceless sermon, yet have we the modern church decided to categorically ignore some of its contents? 

We cherry pick which commands we find doable or acceptable and rationalize away those we’ve had little or no success in. 

Can we serve one another in love? John 13:14-15

Somewhat.

Do we bear much fruit?  John 15:8

Sometimes.

Do we pray expecting to receive outstanding results? John 16:23.

Once in a while.

Is our joy full? John 16:24

Not necessarily.

We struggle to emulate the character of our Lord. We long to serve Him more fully and bear fruit, yet despite our best efforts most of us have not come even close to moving in the works of our Savior let alone the “greater works” mentioned in His sermon.

Why not?

We can readily list the works of Jesus. He healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons, preached and taught with authority, even superseded natural law as He calmed the wind and the waves and walked on the water.

Many of us are aware that Jesus commanded the church to follow in His footsteps by working these same works. In Mark 16:15-18, He made it abundantly clear what He expected His followers to do, none of which could be construed as mere suggestions.

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” 

Yet, we question.

Do we imply that our precious Savior who is the same yesterday, and today, and forever, would provide us with instructions impossible to fulfill?

Some dodge the issue by insisting that the miraculous has ceased and was only present to jump-start the church. This is an absurd conjecture in light of the fact that the miraculous occurred consistently through vessels of unregenerate men and women in both the Old and New Testaments. 

Do they mean to suggest that we who walk in, “a better covenant established upon better promises, Hebrews 8:6,” would have fewer rights and privileges and diminished power as compared with unregenerate men? 

Men of old performed exploits when the Holy Spirit came UPON them. The Holy Spirit did not indwell them, because the holy and the unholy cannot coexist. At that point in time mankind had no access to the miracle of salvation. It takes a Savior to recreate a human spirit and Christ had not yet been given. 

Thus, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a phenomenon particular to the church. This could only occur after salvation! Jesus made this clear in John 14:16-17 when He told His disciples that the Spirit was WITH them and would eventually be IN them.

“And I will pray the Father and He will give you another Comforter that he may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive because it sees Him not neither knows Him: but you know Him because He dwells with you and shall be in you.”

Thus, this infilling happened at Pentecost as recorded in Acts Chapter 2, and not before. The disciples walked in unprecedented power and victory after the Holy Spirit came to dwell.

It would appear that this same Holy Spirit, the One Who overshadowed the champions of old and rested upon our Lord at the Jordan River, is a source of tremendous power.

One would then expect that works of power would manifest through the church because we have the matchless privilege of both God and His precious Holy Spirit dwelling within us!

Knowing this, wouldn’t you agree that in this era something seems to be dreadfully amiss?

Have we fully understood and embraced the present day ministry of the Holy Spirit and the manifestations through His agency of the power of God?

Perhaps not.

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