John 14:11-15

 

John 14:11 (KJB)

Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.

 

The intimacy between the Father and the Son reveals that neither ever work independently of each other. In the previous verse, Jesus had told them that it is the Father who was doing the works and that was why Jesus showed Philip the Father by means of the works He was doing through the Lord Jesus Christ. If they could not believe what Jesus was telling them about the relationship between Him and the Father, maybe because they didn‘t understand, so Jesus makes it a little easier for them to accept it by stating that they should believe Him on the evidence of the works which they had seen many times. They should be able to understand that a miracle such as raising the dead could not be performed by a mere human without God doing it through them. So the works should show them that Jesus was much more than a mere human because along with the works, He taught them the source of those works and the relationship to God the Father and the fact of His own deity.

 

John 14:12 (KJB)

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.

 

Greater - Even more or of greater degree

 

This is a very important and misunderstood verse especially by those of the Signs and Wonders movement. The works which Jesus did was raising the dead, healing the sick, cast out devils were some of the works which the Apostles did up until the completion of the Bible. (Mark 16:19-20 KJV) So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. {20} And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. Mark 16:19-20, teaches us that the Lord had confirmed or gave approbation to the ministry of the apostles which they did with signs and wonders. The signs and wonders which the Apostles did all had spiritual meaning behind them and were not done just as a show for those watching. These signs would eventually transform into spiritual lessons. Let us just look at these three.

 

Raising the Dead - (Eph 2:5 KJV) Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) Raising the dead translated into raising the spiritually dead through the Gospel. When a person becomes saved, they go from becoming spiritually dead to spiritually alive.

 

Healing the Sick - (1 Pet 2:24 KJV) Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. Healing the sick translated into those becoming saved who were sick with sin as we read in this verse. Anything associated with the cross is of a spiritual nature. Now this does not mean that God no longer physically heals, but He heals according to His will. We can read about an evil person who becomes healed without anyone praying for him and then we read about a Christian who became sick and the whole church was praying and yet the Lord took him in death. Physical healing is only according to the will of God.

 

Casting out Devils - (John 14:17 KJV) 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. Then casting out devils is just a synonym for a person becoming saved and then the Holy Spirit indwells them. There is no way that the Holy Spirit can ever share residence with an evil spirit. In other words, when a person becomes saved, the Holy Spirit indwells them which means the kingdom of Satan whereby they used to live has no residence in them anymore.

 

Then Jesus goes on to say that the works that the Christians will do will be greater and then He gives the reason. He will be going back to The Father and then He will send the Holy Spirit to indwell the believer. Already on the day of Pentecost we can see His words being fulfilled as Peter preaches one sermon and three thousand are saved. The greater works is that the gospel will now begin to go out to the entire world and it wasn’t until our day where the Gospel is now in every country via the Internet. (Mat 24:14 KJV) And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. The Gospel will no longer be limited to the nation of Israel but will now be worldwide in scope. (Acts 1:8 KJV) But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

 

John 14:13 (KJB)

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

 

In the previous verse we read that greater works will the Christian do because Jesus goes back to the Father. In this verse, He is telling us that we are to ask for whatever is needed to accomplish the goal of bringing forth the Gospel. When Jesus states “in my name,” He is not talking about asking for whatever we want and then we will get it by simply tacking on His name to the end of the request. Jesus is making this statement to the believers. Those who are in Christ are in His name. The Holy Spirit indwells those believers and He interprets our prayers. (Rom 8:26 KJV) Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. This also means that those requests must be in accord with the will of God for any given situation. (James 4:3 KJV) Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Notice the last part of the verse which speaks about the Father being glorified in the Son. This is important because we do not pray to make ourselves look good or to get things because we want things. When we have a ministry and we may need something to fulfill that ministry, then we are praying according to the will of God so the ministry may go forth, people become saved, and then the Father is glorified in the Son when He grants them salvation.

 

John 14:14 (KJB)

If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

 

This verse is in the same classification as the previous verse. Whenever someone asks the Lord and they are saved, the Holy Spirit will interpret that prayer and bring it before the Father. In verse 12, I had mentioned that a whole church could be praying for a sick individual to become well and yet God takes that Christian home instead of physically healing them. Basically, those prayers were not in the will of God for this person. Remember how Jesus prayed? (Luke 22:42 KJV) Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. We can ask the Lord anything as He tells us we can but we must pray according to His will and if He deems it necessary for our ministry or life, then he will grant it. If not, the answer will be no. I really cringe when I hear people claim that God did not answer their prayers. In the summer of 1981, I attended my first Bible Conference (pictures on my website) and one of the speakers was Dr. Harold Sala and he gave the four answers to prayer that we can expect from God.

 

1) Direct

2) Disguised

3) Delayed

4) Denied

 

Look at number four. This is where many get fouled up by claiming that God did not answer their prayers. Hey brethren, NO, is an answer, whether we like it or not. When you were younger and you asked your parents for something and they denied your request, did you or did you not receive and answer? You sure did and just because you did not like that answer does not mean that you did not receive one. It is the same with Christians, NO, is an answer whether we like it or not.

 

John 14:15 (KJB)

If ye love me, keep my commandments.

 

One of the natural outgrowths of love is that we want to be obedient to the Lord’s commands. Now He is not speaking about keeping the law of Moses but He is speaking about the commandments that He gave, those we keep not be saved but because we are saved. (James 2:8 KJV) If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: James spoke of it as the Royal Law and that is to love they neighbor as thyself. This simply means two basic things. 1) Treat them as you would like to be treated, and; 2) Do for them what you would do for yourself. In other words, I do not like being mistreated or prejudged and therefore I would not want to do that to others. With the advent of the computer and E-mail, sometimes we fail to realize that there is a real live human being behind each computer and if we get nasty with them, it is not a joke and maybe you could be adding more hurt to their life. Then secondly we want to do things as good for others as we want done for ourselves, in other words, if you have a barbecue and there are two pieces of steak on the grill, give your friend the bigger one without hesitation. The basic principle is others first. (Phil 2:4 KJV) Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. When we become saved and we love the Lord, then we want to keep His commandments which are based in true love and that is not just words but true Christian love is in deeds which confirms the words we speak.

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