LEARNING DAILY

John 14:12-14. "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

There are three parts of these verses to consider. “Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do.” To get a clear understanding of what Jesus was tell His disciples, the word “works” needs to be defined. The Greek meaning includes the actions or the conduct of a person. John 5:36 gives a reference to this. “But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.” Here Jesus was talking with the religious leaders, telling them what He was doing and teaching, were examples of His equality with God. The miracles, “the works”, demonstrated His power and authority were only done because His Father had given Him power to do them. What He had done was a greater witness showing who He was than the testimony of John the Baptist.

Now, Jesus is telling the disciples they would do the works, the actions He had done; they would do them because the life they would live would glorify God. In Matthew 5:16, Jesus spoke of this, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Disciples of Jesus Christ are to be the salt of the earth and let the light (Jesus Christ) in them shine. That means to live a life that is seen in this dark world; it does no good to hide. Believers let their light shine by doing “the works” God intends for them to do. Why live this way? It is so “the Father may be glorified in the Son.” Believers live their life, they study, pray, fast not to be seen by men and receive the adoration of others. It is to do what God intends them to do in order for Him to be glorified!

“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” There are some qualifiers for God answering prayer and using a Believer. In these verses “asking” and “asking in My name” are very important. I need to include “asking with right motives” (James 4:3) in this as well! God does not write a blank check; He is not a vending machine or genie (I read that in a commentary when studying Proverbs 28:9) that gives miraculous power to anyone. Jesus is telling the disciples and Believers today that doing “the works He did and even greater works” happen when one is working according to God’s will and in His authority.

The context of these verses deals with comfort, assurance, and encouragement to the disciples who were about to face the crucifixion; it would leave them alone and probably confused. He was giving them encouragement to carry on the His work and doing so by promising He would hear their prayers and answer them, according to His will! By praying “in His name” He told them they would have His authority to carry out His purposes and for His kingdom.

As Believers, this is a principle to guide us in aligning our will with the will of Jesus, to accomplish His goals. In doing so, we honor His name and glorify the Father in Heaven. When we do this, He provides what is needed to accomplish what He wants done and to equip Believers to be His servants.