“You will do greater works”!!!
Kenneth Hagin is an advocate of the ‘prosperity gospel’ which teaches that God wants to bless people physically and financially in this life. He said,
“I believe that it is the plan of God our Father that no believer should ever be sick . . . It is not – I state boldly – it is not the will of God my Father that we should suffer with cancer and other dread diseases which bring pain and anguish. No! It is God’ will that we should be healed.”
Such doctrines come largely from experiences but there are some Bible passages that are used to justify such teaching. One of them is this,
“Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” John 14:11-14
At first sight this passage does seem to justify the teachings of such people but when the context and use of words is studied a very different meaning becomes apparent.
Whoever . . .
Jesus’ promise was not just for the apostles or subsequent church leaders but for everyone.
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing . . .” John 14:12
We will all continue to do the works that Jesus did. Every Christian will be involved in this – continuing this work is the normal Christian life. Jesus has frequently used this phrase ‘Whoever believes in me,’ and in each case these are clearly promises that refer to every Christian.
“Whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” John 6:35
“Whoever believes in me as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. By this he meant the Spirit . . .” John 7:38
“Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies.” John 11:25
“Whoever believes in me will not remain in darkness.” John 12:46
The word ‘believe’ comes from old English word ‘lieben’ to love. This meaning is still found in German, where ‘beliebt’ means popular, liked, or loved one. In the Bible the world believe means to love a person and what they stand for, it is certainly not just an intellectual acceptance of an idea.
I had a young lady come to my surgical clinic who was wearing a beautiful silver cross round her neck. I eventually asked her if that meant she was a Christian. She hesitated and then replied,
“Yes, um, but it does depend what you mean by a Christian.”
I didn’t have much time, so I simply said,
“Surely it is someone who is sold out to the Lord Jesus.”
“Oh, them I’m not,” she responded.
These promises of the Lord Jesus apply to real Christians who love and are committed to obeying and living for their Lord – but they do apply to everyone in that relationship with him
In this statement Jesus says that all Christians will do the works that Jesus was doing.
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing . . .” John 14:11
What were the works that Jesus had been doing? Was he meaning the supernatural miracles that he was renowned for? It is very unfortunate that some translations use the word ‘miracles’ for the word here translated ‘works’.
Jesus works certainly included some astounding miracles where the laws of nature were broken. In John’s gospel we read that he had turned water into wine (John 2:1-11), known about the private life of the woman at Samaria (John 4:18), the healing of the royal official’s son (John 4:46-54), the healing of the man who had been paralysed for 38 years at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-9), the feeding of the five thousand (John 5:1-14), walking on water (John 6:19), healing the man born blind (John 9:1-7), raising Lazarus from his grave (John 11:43). Are these the works that all Christians will be empowered to succeed in doing? Clearly this is not the meaning. No christian, not even the apostles, were able to break the laws of nature as Jesus did. The New Testament makes it clear that it was the apostles who performed the miracles in the time of the early church.
“Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.” Acts 2:43
“The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people.” Acts 5:12
“The things that mark an apostle – signs wonders and miracles were done among you with great perseverance.” 2 Corinthians 12:12
It seems that by the time the epistle to the Hebrews was written these supernatural miracles were no longer being seen as the past tense is used,
“God also testified to it by signs and wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will.” Hebrews 2:4
The Bible is clear that every Christian is given one or more gifts to build up God’s church, but the gift of miracles was a gift only given to a few,
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another the gift of healing by that one spirit, to another miraculous powers . . .” 1 Corinthians 12:7-10
It is therefore apparent that Jesus was not saying that every Christian will be able to perform the sort of miracles that marked him out to be the Messiah of God.
‘You will do the works that I have been doing’
Jesus has been reminding his disciples what really is important – belief in him. He had just said,
“Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, whoever has faith in me will do what I have been doing.” John 14:9-12
What Jesus longs for is that all people should be enabled to have faith in him as the very Son of God and then continue to do his work. They should be convinced because of who Jesus is, what he had said and because of the miraculous signs he had performed. So it will be for all his followers, we will continue his work of persuading people to become followers of Jesus. The means will be just the same, telling people about Jesus, who he is, what he said and the miracles he performed, especially his resurrection. The whole Bible emphasises that this has always been why he selected a ‘Chosen People’ to glory in God and his Son and point people to him. We Christians, included in his chosen people, are to live lives, do the works, that will lead people to put their trust in Jesus.
There will be a wide variety of ‘works’ that Christians do but they should always point people to Jesus. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus had stressed,
“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
The way we live must point people to Jesus. It is all too easy to live attractive lives that only benefit ourselves. Professor David Short of Aberdeen was the Queen’s Physician in Scotland. He was very eminent and highly regarded. One day he overheard some people talking about him; they were saying what a great person he was in so many ways, but he noticed that they did not mention that he was a Christian. He then realised that much of what he had done in medicine had been for his glory and not for the glory of the Lord Jesus.
The phrase ‘What I have been doing,’ is found in one other passage in John’s gospel, and again the context is the need to believe in Jesus. He had just been asked directly, ‘Are you the Christ?’
“I did tell you but you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice . . .” John 10:25
In this passage the ‘works that I do’ also refers to everything Jesus did to help people believe in him and included his teaching, his miracles and the outworking of his character.
The New Testament is clear that all Christians will continue the work of Jesus by leading others to have faith in him by continuing his work. One of the keys will be the caring love that Christians have one for another.
“By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35
Just as Jesus loved his disciples so this work in our churches will be a major factor that draws people to Christ. In his prayer in the presence of the disciples, just before his arrest and execution, Jesus said,
“I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.” John 17:4
“As you have sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” John 17:18
All Christians are in the world as Christ’s representatives or ambassadors, to continue his work. It is notable that even for Jesus the miracles were subservient to his main purpose which was to bring salvation through the forgiveness of people’s sin. When Jesus was being inundated with people wanting to be healed of their diseases, he went apart to pray. He then returned and said to his disciples,
“Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so that I can preach there also. That is why I have come.’ Mark 1:38
Proclamation that our sin can be forgiven because of who Jesus is remains the prime or work purpose of his churches.
The work of Christ is that people may believe in him and so receive God’s salvation and enter into his eternal kingdom.
‘You will do even greater things’
Jesus goes on to say something wonderful,
“Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” John 14:11-14
Remember this still refers to every believer, ‘whoever believes in me.’ These works that Jesus is talking about refers to the works of every Christian. Again it is clear that ‘the greater works’ cannot mean ‘greater miracles’. No Christian has ever matched Jesus in performing miracles and the New Testament is clear that we are not meant to.
It is unfortunate that some have suggested that the ‘greater works’ are the sort of miracles Jesus performed. The Greek word used for works is ‘erga’ which is usually translated work, employment or task with the idea of an enterprise. So Paul, using the same word, writes about, “your every deed prompted by faith” (2 Thessalonians 1:11) which denotes every activity undertaken for Christ’s sake. This will include everything we do and say for him. Paul, again using the same word goes on to say,
“May our Lord Jesus christ himself and God our Father . . . encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
Note that Jesus adds, ‘ . . because I am going to the Father.’ His going to the Father meant that the Holy Spirit would be given to all his followers,
“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send you from the Father – the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father – he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.” John 15:26-27
The link is clear, Jesus is returning to the Father but the work of salvation must continue so the Holy Spirit will be sent to enable this work. The greater work is the expansion of God’s kingdom which would spread to ‘the ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:8).
After his resurrection Jesus appeared to his disciples, who had locked themselves in the upper room out of fear, and said,
“ ‘Peace be with you! As the father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20:21-23
This is not just a message to a priestly caste, it is for all christians. We have a message to proclaim that forgiveness can be obtained through becoming a follower of Jesus. Anyone who truly turns to him as their Lord and Saviour can be reassured that their sins have been forgiven. Isn’t that exciting news that we can all share!
Summary
In Jesus’ great prayer, in John 17, he begins by praying for himself and the work that he can come to do, to enable people to have eternal life. He then prays for his immediate followers who are to be ‘sent into the world’ and to whom he had given the words of God. He repeatedly talks about the words they have been given, the ‘word of God’ that they are to pass on. Jesus then prays for the next generation of believers.
“I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” John 17:20
The purpose of christ’s commissioning of his people is obvious,
“Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17:23
The Great Commission, ‘to do greater things’, that God gave to all his church remains the same and keeps being repeated in the New Testament,
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit . . .” Matthew 28:19
This work is to continue through the generations,
“ . . . teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20
So the greater work, the spread of the gospel about Jesus continues today,
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
It is notable that in the epistles in the New Testament the only mention of miracles was in an early letter to the troubled church at Corinth. The overall plea in all the other letters is for God’s people to remain true to Christ both in their characters, their lives and in their making Christ known. Paul wrote,
“All this is from God who reconciled the world to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though god were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:18-21
The apostles certainly recognised what the greater works were and they committed their lives to fulfilling this end.
BVP
August 2022
