56 - John 14:12

’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.

Show us the Father, had Philip said. The reply of Jesus was, ’Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me. Have this faith; see in me the revelation of God; behold his works in all that I have done; recognise that the words I have spoken are his words; what I have been to you, that God is to you; my love is his love; let this be your faith in me, embracing not merely what a Jesus of Nazareth might bring to you, but embracing the fulness of the Godhead that is in me. Have this faith, and take it to the cross and to the tomb, and greet me with it when I rise from the dead; then shall you do the works that I have done. He that believeth on me’ (the force of the Greek preposition is rather unto; it conveys the idea of motion; faith in Christ is something that carries us unto Christ), - ’he whose faith is thus unto me shall do the works that I do, and greater.’ Faith appropriates; it makes its own that which it grapples; he that has faith in Christ has Christ, has God in Christ; according to his faith is Christ with him and in him. The vine brings forth fruit in its branches; the glory of the branches is the glory of the vine. Christ had no thought of carrying back to heaven the riches that he had brought into the world with him; he did not die that the Divine power and grace and sufficiency with which his life was freighted might be lost to the world; Calvary was no disastrous shipwreck; the grand idea was that the Divine fulness in him should through his death be only the more surely engrafted upon humanity. If there were a tree in nature, solitary of its kind, which died in an effort that scattered its seed far and wide over the earth, such a tree would serve us as a figure; when no more in the world, many other trees, its offspring, like unto it, should be seen here and there in the world. Have you faith in Christ? Then you have Christ. Christ is with you, and he is with you to be manifested. Christ is yours at a throne of grace. "I go unto my Father, and whatsoever ye shall ask in my name that will I do." Christ himself teaches you what to ask. The divine power that is offered you manifests itself first in combating and subduing all that is contrary to the Father’s will in your heart and mind and life. You will surely not think of casting out devils from men possessed, while there remains in you so much that is pleasing to the devil. Christ is yours in his fulness of propitiatory power - your righteousness; but there still perhaps lingers in you some unabandoned relic of your own false righteousness; your faith needs to grapple more fully and exclusively the merits of Christ’s sacrifice. There is still perhaps a clinging to some earthly provision, some earthly treasure, a reliance upon some earthly weapon with which you are to fight the difficulties of the future: this may not be; be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, which will never leave you nor forsake you. Christ will abide in your heart by faith. This is what faith means. But if he is to abide there, anger, selfishness, pride, covetousness, vanity, how can these abide there? You are to walk as he also walked; do you? Nothing else may properly be called the life of faith. Does the word of God dwell in you richly, in all wisdom? Are you led by the Spirit of God? Do you daily take up your cross to follow Jesus? Are you instant in prayer? The reason why I ask these questions is because faith in Christ is an appropriation of Christ, and I would take the measure of your faith by taking the measure of Christ in you.

Christ did many mighty works that compelled men, even his enemies, to say, This is the finger of God; works that carried conviction to their hearts, if they did not wring confession from their lips. Not that he did them every day, every hour; we read of just three whom he raised from the dead. But testimony was given to men, of a kind they could appreciate, that the power of God was with him. "As the Father hath sent me into the world, even so have I sent you into the world." An ambassador is sent with credentials such as are fitted to be understood by those to whom he is sent; Christ came with such; there was testimony from heaven that he was from heaven. And so Christ sends his servants into the world, furnished with credentials such as are fitted to carry conviction to the world. "These," it was said of the apostles, "are the servants of the Most High God, making known the way of salvation;" and this is what men should say of the messengers of Christ in our own days; for Christ is with his people always, even unto the end of the world, and heaven and earth may pass before one jot or tittle of his word. But where are those mighty works? and those mightier works? Is there no more unbelief to be overcome? Is the battle fought and won? Is heathenism at an end? Has Mohammedanism retired from the field? Have the various delusions that call themselves Christianity abandoned their hold of the hearts of men? Have the sceptics ceased to doubt and the scoffers to scoff? Alas! no; these forces are found in full array on the battle-field of the world; and the questions resolve themselves into this: Where is that mighty power of Christ that is promised to faith? Who shall answer this question? The responsibility of answering it is with the believer. What hinders you, O believer, from giving the world the evidence of Christ’s omnipotent presence with you? Is it the idea that Christ is now unwilling to do these mighty works? This idea is of course sufficient to hinder the exercise of that faith which has the promise of the power. But is this idea well founded? Is not the promise of the text intended to combat it?

One more question. Have you appropriated all that power of Christ that you acknowledge to be available?