Greater Works Than These Shall You Do Devotion #9 of 13

"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." (John 14:12)

JESUS' WORKS

Not for Display

The works of our Lord were not a display for spectators. Even though multitudes flocked to see them, that was not the reason for them being wrought. Much of the professed miracle-working of our day is more like a circus than a display of Divine power. Frankly, it is offensive to a person dwelling in heavenly places to see so much ado made of temporal things. I do not deny that God works in the temporal realm, answering prayer, healing the sick, and accomplishing great deliverance--in fact, I affirm that He does! However, I emphatically deny that this is the PRIMARY work of the kingdom, that it is where our emphasis should be placed, or that it is what Jesus is talking about in our text. I realize several of our readers will take this as a denial of supernatural working. It is not! It IS an emphatic denial of the supremacy of such works. God is still "able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think according to the power that works in us" (Eph 3:20).

The Works of His Father

Christ's works were really the "works of the Father" (John 5:36). He referred to them as "the works of Him that sent Me" (John 9:4). They were never an end of themselves, but had to do with Divine objective, or intent: God's "eternal purpose" (Eph. 3:11). CHRIST'S WORKS WERE HIS ENTRANCE INTO THE FATHER'S WILL--DOING WHAT GOD HAD DETERMINED TO BE DONE. Anyone supposing that God's objective is to prolong the natural order in any dimension is seriously lacking in spiritual understanding. His PRIMARY work will never become obsolete, and its effects will transfer into the world to come. This is not a matter of accepting one order of work and denying another. It is a matter of placing the priority where God has placed it.

Christ's Words Primary

Christ's works supported His words, which were the primary thing. His words were "spirit and life," not His works (John 6:63). He came to "preach the Gospel to the poor," "heal the brokenhearted," and to "preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18,19). That was His primary mission. Because of His great heart, He had compassion on the multitudes. Jesus' word can sustain the individual in feast or famine, in health or infirmity, and abundance or in poverty. The "sword of the Spirit" is the Word of God (Eph 6:18). His Word is what is "sharper than any two edged sword," even "discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb 4:12). Jesus stated the case succinctly when pressed by His enemies. He spoke of what He DID, equating it with what He SAID. "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I DO nothing on My own initiative, but I SPEAK these things as the Father TAUGHT Me" (John 8:28). His entire was characterized by this focus. "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" (John 5:30). Christ's "works" and "greater works" are to be seen from this perspective.

Related to the REASON for Christ

The purpose for Christ's entrance into the word is stated repeatedly in Scripture. To my knowledge, it is never said to be the ministration of temporal relief--even though that does occur for the saints, and often even for sinners. He declared HIS DEATH was the "cause" for which He came into the world (John 12:27). He also said it was to "BEAR WITNESS TO THE TRUTH" (John 18:37). Other statements declare He "came into the world to SAVE SINNERS" (1 Tim 1:15), to "SAVE THE WORLD" (John 3:17), that believers "SHOULD NOT ABIDE IN DARKNESS" (John 12:46), and that "we might LIVE THROUGH HIM" (1 John 4:9). "Greater works" are more immediately associated with those stated objectives. This does not repudiate Christ's other works. Judge in yourselves, which was the "greater" work, the feeding of the 5,000, or the words He declared to them that sent them all away (John 6:40-67). Which work discovered their hearts? Which work forced them to choose or reject Christ?

-- TOMORROW: WHAT ARE THE GREATER WORKS? --