Greater Works Than These

John 14:12

In John 14:12, Jesus says, “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.” Isn’t this great news? We know that no word for God will fail, see Luke 1:37. With that being said, what a fantastic promise Jesus has gave us! First, we have the promise of eternal salvation, then this. I will cover how important these great works are. How important they are to your Christian walk and faith building. Also, the role of the Holy spirit in all of this. Let dive into this rich verse!

Jesus says, “whoever believes in me will do the works I am doing.” This is a very important statement. Many Christians today fall victim to three lies. I believe these lies hold them back from what they are truly called to do. First, they believe that the power of the Holy Spirit ceased after the bible. If not, they believe that this statement was for the Apostles. Lastly, they may believe this statement is only for the church leaders of today. These three lies keep us locked in a religious cycle that says, “I am washed in the blood, and that is all I will ever be.” This stronghold is easily broken by four words, “whoever believes in me.” He did not say whoever believes in me for the next century. He didn’t say whoever believes in me and is an apostle. He didn’t say whoever believes in me and is a pastor. There is no “and” in that sentence. What works did Jesus do? Miracles, signs, wonders, healings, and prophecies. Yes, he is saying believers will do the works he is doing. Will we do all of these? No, the Apostle Paul is clear we all have specific gifts, but we do have gifts of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit points people to Jesus, see John 15:26. So, while we exercise our gifts, make sure it is for the right reason.

Jesus says, “they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” How could we do greater things than Jesus? He walked on water and raised people from the dead! He died on the cross for our sins! He did all these things while being fully man and fully God, see Philippians 2:7. He was man. He was not all present at that time. Meaning, he could only witness to people in front of him. Furthermore, he could only tell them about his death and resurrection. He could not impart his Spirit to them. So, that they could experience the love he had for them when he did this. Then, he went to the Father and gave us the Holy Spirit, see John 15:26. Now, as a church body, we can tell people about Jesus all over the world. We are now fulfilling the Great Commission, see Matthew 28:18-20. Now we know faith comes by hearing, Romans 10:17. When people hear our testimonies, their faith grows. When people hear the Gospel, they become saved. Also, when people see miracles, wonders, and see prophecies fulfilled, they also believe. You see, the Greater Work is bringing people to Jesus through the Holy Spirit. No longer is it a one man show. We have a heavenly symphony ministering to the lost every day.

I cannot emphasis the importance of the Holy Spirit in fulfilling the greater works. Without the Spirit living inside of us we are not Christ like. We are not transformed and made new people. We have to rely on the Spirit to give us the strength to do these greater works.