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Greater Works Shall He Do
Did Jesus mess with your theology when He said, “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)?
How many wrestle with the idea of doing the same works as Jesus? Now we come to this verse of Scripture, in which He takes it up several notches. “Greater works, come on!” Yep, it’s a mind-blower.
Several have offered various explanations of what Jesus meant. So, let’s address some of them, and see if we can gain some clarity. Perhaps, start with this: Jesus is the One Who said it, so who are we to contradict Him. He always says what He means and means what He says. It would be prudent to take Him at His word, even if it doesn’t make sense to us. It does make sense to Him, and that matters the most. That’s not a back-handed way of saying we’re not meant to understand. On the contrary!
What does Greater Mean?
Some have contended greater means quantity. The idea is there are more to do His works, hence more will be accomplished. However, in the Greek (MEGAS, Strong’s number, 3173), this word refers to magnitude; not quantity. It’s not more; it’s bigger or grander.
Greater does Not Mean Collective Effort
Please note, Jesus said he (not gender specific) who believes; not they who believe. It’s singular in form, which means He is speaking of individuals. This passage has also been rendered in other translations as, “the one who believes.” Now it gets really interesting, doesn’t it?
How is it Possible to Greater Works?
One can appreciate the heart of those who wrestle with doing greater works than Jesus, since they want to make it about Him. And that’s the point: it is about Him! Making it about Him actually helps us understand the how. Since it’s about Jesus, let’s ask another question: what else did He say?
John 14:16-17 And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
All through the Bible, we’re told Holy Spirit will live in us. What else did Jesus say?
John 17:22-23 And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are One: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.
Here He says that He has given us His glory, and He is in us. Let’s add one more verse in conjunction with these to help clarify how it is possible to greater works.
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.
These passages of Scripture make it very clear it is Him doing the work through us; it’s not us separate from Him. Especially, when you consider we are crucified with Him. Secondly, we live by His faith; not ours. In the Greek, it is “of” versus “in”, which does refer His faith. Yes, we put our faith in Him, but in turn, His faith has been placed in us. In this, God gets all the glory. We won’t be running around saying, “Look what I did!” At least, that would not be a good idea.
A Word About Grace
1 Timothy 1:14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
Grace gives us the ability to do what we cannot do in of ourselves. Notice, verse 14 says the grace of our Lord is more than abundant with faith and love. His faith is without measure. Secondly, faith works by love (see Galatians 5:6). The more we walk in love, the more His works will manifest through us. Because we love Him, we submit to Him. Obedience is an act of confession. Confession means agreement with Him. In short, as we believe and obey Him, He works through us. We co-labor with Him, because He wants to things with us. God loves His children!
It might be difficult to wrap your mind around this idea of God living in us, but it underscores that if we make it about Him and less about us, we’ll see more of the greater works. In the end, we must allow Him to define greater works and what they look like.
