Doing Greater Works Than Christ — Tim Conway

Well, good morning. After the message last night, I hate to back us up to this life thinking about eternity and eternal life. Brother Charles, I was thinking last night, Whitefield recorded in his journals that account of the man who wrote to his niece about the death of his wife.

Did you ever read that? Whitefield was so impacted by a letter that he came across, it wasn't anything that he wrote or that was written to him. It was actually a letter from an uncle to a niece. And the uncle was describing the death of his wife to the niece.

And this woman on her deathbed gathered the family around. And like the pastor's story we heard last night, she went unconscious. But when she would come back to, she said, I have seen such things as would not be believed if described.

And that happened two or three times before she went off into eternity. This morning, I want us to give consideration to one of these diamonds that I'm afraid we have treated too much like a marble. It's altogether glorious.

Let's pray before we look at it. Help, O God, this weak endeavor. Lord, I pray, stir our hearts. Lord, fill us with wonder by Your Word. Help us to see Christ. Help us to hear His voice this morning. I pray that as the folks go forth from this conference, they'll truly have been encouraged by the fellowship here, the singing here, the praying here, the preaching here.

Lord, I pray that our lives would be better off for having been here these days. Father, thank You, thank You, thank You for Your salvation. Thank You for the glorious Gospel this weekend. And what a hope of glory.

We think about some of those who have passed on to the glory and what they see now, what they behold, how they would never want to return to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. That is the longing, that is the hope before us.

Perhaps before such a conference should convene once again, some will have gone to that glory land. Lord, I pray, may this time be helpful, useful. Empower it, Lord. I pray this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

Jesus’ Promise in the Upper Room

I want you to turn to John 16. Jesse had you turn there when we started the conference. I would have you turn there as we end the conference. John 16, right at the beginning. Verse 1. Now you have to think here.

We heard this. Chapters 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. The Upper Room Discourse. Our Lord is just before the cross. And notice what He says in verse 1. I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.

Now Jesus is about to face His darkest hour, but you have to love this. He has not forgotten His disciples. He loves them. Immersed as He is in His own sorrows, He does not fail to recognize that His disciples are also about to be deeply, deeply shaken to the depths of their being.

I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. Now think about that. Falling away. What does that mean? He is saying the things that He's saying to them to keep them from falling away.

I love that. Jesus does not say, you cannot and will not fall away because you're elect. That's not what He says there. He says if Jesus does not say what He's saying to them, if I don't say, gentlemen, if I don't speak to you these words that I'm speaking to you, you're not going to hold on.

That's what He's saying here. He's saying that if He does not say the things to them He's saying, that would be enough to send these guys over the edge. People don't make shipwreck of the faith when they otherwise would make shipwreck of the faith because they embrace what Jesus says to them.

That's what He's saying here. I love this reality. So here's the question. What does He say to them? He's looking at them. He looks into their faces. Peter, Thomas, the rest. He sees the look on their faces.

He tells them that He's going away. They're not exactly getting it, but they're hearing that He's going away. There's concern on their face. There's fear on their face. And what does He say to them to steady them?

Now He says different things. And you've heard during this conference, Brother Charles last night, one of the things he says to them, look, I'm going away to prepare a place for you. If I go to prepare a place for you, I am going to come again and I'm going to bring you to myself.

One of the other things he says is what we heard from Brother Jesse. He said, your sorrow is going to be turned to joy. Now these are some of the things that he says. But one of the things he says, I don't know that it's necessarily greater than those other things, it's just that we don't believe it.

I think we believe that Jesus is going to come again. Now as we heard last night, sometimes we don't think about it as we ought. Sometimes it doesn't strike us that we actually have eternal life. We need to dwell on these things, the eternal weight of glory.

But you know when you hear the truth, you're okay with that. When you hear that the disciples were going to have Jesus die, but then He was going to come forth from the dead and their sorrow would be turned to joy.

I don't think we look at that and we say, you know, I find that hard to believe. But there's something that he says in these words that's meant to keep them from falling away that I don't think we really believe.

It's so great. And I'm afraid that almost none of us takes it as seriously perhaps as we ought to take it. And it is found in John 14 .12. And see, here's the thing about this verse. This truly, truly...

He doesn't just use that indiscriminately. And it's found very selectively through these verses that by the way, He's giving them so that they won't fall away. He doesn't say truly, truly, I need to say to you, I'm going to go prepare a place for you.

He doesn't say truly, truly, your sorrow's going to turn to joy. Those are fantastic truths. And this one is not necessarily greater, but it is interesting to me that he says verily, verily, Amen, Amen.

Call your attention to this one. 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'm going to the Father. So here's the thing. Okay, I announce to you, I'm going to give everybody a piece of paper and a pen.

You've got five minutes to define Christianity. Listen, in a room this size with this many people, it would not surprise me that if I asked everybody to define Christianity in this room, not a single one of you would mention this verse.

But wouldn't we have to say that if John 14 .12 is true, we could hardly define Christianity in more glorious terms than to say this, Christianity is God saving a people who will do greater works than Christ did.

Brethren, that's a far cry from simply being saved from hell. But here's the thing, it is hard, it is difficult to define Christianity like that in those terms and do it with conviction if you don't really believe this verse is true.

Let's just let it sink in. 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. Let me tell you something about this verse.

There is no textual issue with this verse. No debate about its authenticity. There's no textual variant here. All our Bibles say it. And yet, what they say is almost inconceivable. So here's what we need to do.

Are you ready to be honest? And by honesty, I simply mean are we ready to admit what it sounds like this verse is saying? I just want us to be honest. What does it sound like it's saying? Here's a question, does honesty make anybody afraid?

Does it make you afraid to actually take this verse for what it sounds like it is saying to us? Or do you shut down? Does denial set in? And by the way, if we're going to be honest, with this verse, we really need to start by being honest with who is being promised this.

Did you catch those words? Whoever believes in Me. You've got to love that. Listen, believer, this promise is yours. Don't let anybody come along and try to take this away from you and say this promise is for the apostles.

Nope. We need to be honest with what it says. So don't let anybody take this from you. This is believer in Jesus Christ. Whoever believes in Me says the Christ. If that description fits you, this is your promise.

If it's your promise, embrace it. Hold on to it. And you can read this as well as I can. What is this saying? The believer, whoever believes in Christ, the believer's works will be like Christ and even greater.

I mean, perhaps, I think it makes us afraid because what does this mean? Maybe it ought to make us afraid for another reason. Maybe it ought to make us afraid if actually this promise is true, but when we measure our life by it, we're not certain if it's true.

Maybe that ought to make us more afraid. Maybe it ought not to make us so afraid how we actually define this or explain what it means, but maybe the thing to fear more greatly is what if this is true and I just haven't had the faith to embrace this the way that I ought?

And so my life isn't so reflective of this reality. Maybe that's something to be more afraid of. See, I've been wrestling. I've been wrestling. For almost a year, I've been wrestling. This verse, beloved people, how far dare we take this?

I don't know, you can call this a midlife crisis or whatever, but I'm at a point in my life where I'm sizing up my life. I'm sizing up how much time is left. And that verse has been staring me straight in the face for a year.

Well, ever since I've been saved, but especially for the last year. What does it mean? How far dare we take a promise like that? And I'm hearing the Lord's voice. Come out farther. Further out. Further out.

This limb will hold you. This promise will not give way under your feet. Further out. Further out. Look, we have to see this for what it is. What is it? Go back to v. 16. V. 16. I say these things. These things.

I'm speaking these things to you to keep you from falling away. John 14 .12 is one of those truths. Think with me, brethren. It's one of those truths to keep a Christian from falling away, from slowing down, from running out of gas, from throwing in the towel, from turning back, from beginning to drift.

Listen, if you're going to give a promise to people to keep them stable, to keep them from falling away, there needs to be some kind of substance in it or it doesn't give the feet of the tempted and tried anything to stand on.

I mean, would you all agree this can't be a secret way of really saying that we won't do the works that Christ did. And we won't do greater things than He did. Would you all agree with that? I mean, if you do that to it, it's got no substance.

It's not a secret way of saying the opposite of what it appears to be saying to every one of us. Are you all afraid? Or not? Do you care? Brethren, I'll say this, cheap talk does not work when your words are meant to prevent people from falling out of the race and sliding into hell and that's what falling away means.

I say these words to you to keep you from falling away. I was recently talking to a brother in another country about this text and about the fact that I had the intention of preaching on it at this conference.

And he made the comment to me, oh, I know that verse. He said, when you quoted John 14 .12, he said, I knew exactly what you were talking about. And he said, I hate it that men spend so much time explaining what John 14 .12 does not mean to the point that they make it meaningless.

So let me just ask you again, 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. What is that saying?

The works that I do and greater works than these. Meaninglessness won't keep anybody from falling away. Brethren, this is a keep people from falling away text. I thought about entitling the message that.

A keep people from falling away text. Truly, truly, verily, verily. He wants to bring our attention front and center. He's saying to them, truly, truly, listen to Me. Listen, men. Listen. Listen. As you are filled with sorrow at My telling you that I'm going away, listen.

I tell you not to fear and fret. The things that are going to happen to Me are going to turn for your good. They'll result in everyone who believes in Me doing the same works and greater works. The double truly.

Truly, truly. That's not a way that Jesus says I'm playing with your heads. I'm giving you a promise that sounds far more spectacular than it really is. We all have to admit here, we know what this verse says and we know what it sounds like it's saying.

Greater Works and the Glory of Christ

Just turn over a few pages to John 5 .20. Jesus says the works that I do. He says you will also do. And greater works than these you will do. Greater works. In John 5 .20, we have a parallel expression.

Exactly the same in the Greek. Exactly. Greater works. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all that He Himself is doing and greater works than these will He show Him so that you may marvel. Now here's my observation.

Jesus is saying to His disciples here that My Father shows Me everything that He's doing. My Father is going to do even greater works through Me that you guys may marvel. By the time you get to chapter 14, He says the works I do, you guys are going to do greater.

I guess my point is this, our Lord's concept of greater works goes hand in hand with marvelous. To marvel. So if He's talking to us about doing greater works, is it going to be something secretive? Non-experiential?

Something unobservable? Or is it going to be something that should cause us to marvel? Just the adjective greater. Our Lord's idea is that there's something that causes us to marvel. Okay, enough introduction.

Let's go back to John 14 .12. The works that I do. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will also... and I like that word, also. He will also do the works that I do. Now remember, this promise is to believers, not just apostles.

Believers, not just pastors or evangelists, prophets. If this promise is ours, let's take it. Let's take it. Let's run with it. You're saying, okay, we want to do that, but we're nervous. What this is saying is we can do what He did.

The works that I do, you will do. Do we know what He did? Now just think, do we know what He did? As I've been thinking about the things that He did, one of the thoughts that came into my head was, do you remember when He told Judas to go out?

And the other disciples looked at it and they thought, oh, He's going to go give something to the poor. Now why would they have thought that? Why would they have thought that Judas was going to go give something to the poor?

Why? Because he had the bag. And the other guys just assumed that that's what was going to take place because that's what Jesus did. And that's what the bag was for. He gave to the poor. He helped the needy.

Can you do that? Snapshots of Him. Do you remember when He laid His hand on the leper? I see a couple of Moravians jumping the wall. They went into the leper colony. Did they touch lepers? See, Jesus did that.

We can do that. Do you see Him in chapter 13? He girds Himself. And you know when He's done washing their feet, He says, I want you to do likewise. Can we do that? Does He call us to do that? Does He call us to do the things that He does?

I see Jesus. Let the little children come unto Me. He touched them and He blessed them. We have mothers. You huddle the children together. Can we do that? Can we do these things? Watch Him as He goes through His life.

Doesn't John say in 1 John, we should walk the way He walked? Watch what the Lord does. You know what He doesn't do? He doesn't sit at home in front of the television and waste His life away. He doesn't spend endless hours on His phone trivially Facebooking people.

Do you watch Him? He had no place to lay His head and He was crisscrossing. And He would speak truth. Isn't that what He told Pilate? I've come to bear witness of the truth. Can we do that? Did He tell His disciples?

You go and you teach them all things whatsoever I have commanded you. Can we do that? I mean, these are the things that He did. We can do these things. Do you know this is an anomaly? You say, what do you mean?

You know, sometimes we forget that no one does good. Have you ever read that in Scripture? Do you know what an anomaly the Christian is? By much fruit, you're going to prove to be His disciple. Listen, if you have one person in the sea of mankind who does one good thing, that is an aberration.

But what we find is a people that Christ has brought to Himself His own possession to make them zealous of good works. We have died to the law that we might be joined to another. Who? Him who rose from the dead that we might bear fruit for God.

Jesus is saying He went about doing good. And whoever believes in Him, we are a people who are going to go about much fruit, zealous of good works, bearing fruit for God. Do you realize the capacity you have in this ocean of dead humanity?

Because I'm going to my Father. I mean, if there's something that ought to free us from staying in bed, from staying in front of the television, from staying in front of the computer monitor, oh, you can do some good there probably.

Supernatural Works Through the Church

Here's the thing. Let's never say this can't include the supernatural. Why? Because it can when it does. There have been people throughout history... I mean, look, Jesus is not saying that everyone who believes in Him is going to do everything miraculous that He ever did.

He doesn't say that. What He says is this, what I do, you will also do. Might that be miraculous? It might be miraculous. With some, it has been miraculous. And even when it has been, we need not worry about stealing His glory.

I mean, you remember Peter and John? They're there at the beautiful gate at the temple. I mean, we all say even when we lay a hand on a leper or a hand on children, we can say to everybody by His name, by faith in His name.

Don't look at us like this has to do with our power and glory. This is what Christ has done in us. This is what He's done for us. This is what He's doing through us. See, we don't steal His glory in this.

Because you just think of the places in Scripture. They're in Mark 16. Jesus working with them. Or to Theophilus. The things that Jesus both began to do and to teach are back in Luke, but Acts is what He further goes on.

It's through the church. He's the one doing this. But here's the thing. Supernatural. You just think about the supernatural. I mean, do you think that Peter... Imagine Peter. There he is. Imagine you're him.

Common fisherman. Not some scholar looking for secret meanings. Not some cessationist eager to sustain your theological system. Just an ordinary guy like most of us. And Jesus is speaking to you. And He's got your attention.

And you're looking in His face. Can you imagine? You hear Him. The works I do. Now these guys knew what He did. They walked with Him. The works I have done. And you guys, more than anybody, know the works that I've done.

The world can't contain everything. It wouldn't be able to contain all the books. You guys know it. What I've done, you guys are going to do too. And Peter is looking at Him. Now you flash forward several months.

And Peter and John are coming up to the beautiful gate. And he holds out his hand and that guy jumps up and you go into the temple and he's leaping and he's praising God. Could it have occurred to him?

Jesus told us that the things that He did we're going to do too. Or do you think He looked over at John? Nah, there's nothing in it. Nothing even resembles what Jesus did and what just happened here. I don't know if they were flashing back, but He told us.

Peter's walking down the street and His shadow crosses Him. These people are being healed and My shadow crosses them. Is it supernatural? At times it is and it has been. And if I was Peter, I would have certainly thought that there was a connection with those things happening and the works that Christ did and the promise that He left them.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And just before I move on, I would just say this, I think we should probably be far more concerned about a life full of the sort of works that Christ did not do than getting all bent out of shape at the possibility of the miraculous.

I've always thought Tozer has it right. If you want to look for the miraculous, look at the Christian front lines. That's typically where you find the supernatural. It's been that way in the early days.

It's typically that way out there on the front lines. If you talk to the missionaries, you will hear stories. The works that He did, we will do. We are a people. He's redeemed us. He's purified us. We step out into the darkness of this world, this place that Satan has in its grips, and we are a people to just spread good works and be zealous about it.

Much fruit. Okay, what about these greater works? Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do. I'm almost afraid to say it, right? You can say, I can live with what you've said so far.

What are you going to do with this? Greater works than these will He do. Because I'm going to the Father. And probably one obvious thing that really needs to be stressed is this, greater works than these.

What's the these? The works that I do, you also will do, and greater works than these. Than the works I do. You will do greater works. The first thing to stress, this says what it sounds like it's saying.

I mean, when you hear something like that, perhaps right at the beginning we should just sit in silence and be filled with wonder and awe and worship. Because even if we have a difficulty sorting out exactly what it means, the Lord is obviously saying something that is just amazing.

It's a mighty promise as someone has said. So here's something to point out. And I want to stress this again. The believer doing something greater than what Christ did, it can feel wrong. It can feel wrong to say that.

The idea that anything about us would be greater feels wrong. But hear me, this does not say that the believer will do even greater things than Christ because the believer is greater than Christ. That's not what it says.

And what you need to notice is the next verse. By the way, your ESVs, and I didn't look at all the different translations in this, but your ESVs do not put the conjunction at the beginning of v. 13. In the Greek language, there is an and.

First word, v. 13. It is attached. You see, these two go together. What Jesus is doing is He's giving a promise that ought to fuel our prayer life. Do you see the connection? And whatever you ask in My name.

Now notice this. An and. He's connecting our asking to this reality that the works that He does we will also do and greater works. And He says this, and whatever you ask in My name. This is what's on His mind.

This is the theme. This is the context. This I will do. Brethren, what we have to recognize is that what is happening through us, these greater works, this is a demonstration of Christ flexing His arm.

And notice what it says. That the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. Here's what I would say. If you, in fact, care at all for the glory of God, you need not shy away from this promise.

Just the opposite. You can see it. You should desire this. If you desire the glory of God, then you should be desiring to do greater things than Christ did because of this very truth. What truth? The Father may be glorified.

Do you recognize that? The Father is glorified in the Son when the people of God do greater works than Christ did. So don't shy away from this. Stretch for this. Long for this. Embrace this. Want this.

Because this has everything to do with the glory of God. A church that is not striving and exerting itself by faith to do the things, the works that are greater than the works that Christ did, are sidestepping this reality of glorifying God in this capacity.

Greater. Now just let that word, greater, works. Greater. What does that sound like? Does greater make you think less spectacular? Less supernatural? Less miraculous? I'm just asking the question. Is that what it makes you think?

Less great? That's not what greater makes us think. But listen, let's go right to the heart of the matter. Because I am going to the Father, let's deal with that. 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.

The Spirit’s Coming as the Believer’s Advantage

You see what's happening? The very thing that the disciples dread will happen. He's going away. And if we were there, we would have to agree. Jesus Christ, we're in the midst of the God-Man. Emmanuel, God with us, He's come.

If anybody's ever loved this, He has. If anybody's ever guided us, if in anybody's presence we ever felt safe, and now He's telling us He's going away, we can't figure this out. We thought He was going to come and set up His kingdom.

We thought His throne would be put there in Jerusalem. What is happening? And Jesus is saying, listen, I am going away. And the very thing that's causing them, like He says in v. 16, I'm saying these things to you that you don't fall away.

And you remember what was happening on the road to Emmaus. We had hoped He was the One, but He can't be the One. And you see, He realizes people in the face of what is going to happen, seeming defeat, people are walking away.

The very thing that they dread, He says to them, this may seem bad, but this is for your advantage. And that's exactly what He says in John 16 .7. Look at it. This seems like loss. I mean, think Jesus being taken away from us.

His bodily presence. This can't be good. But He says, I tell you the truth. 16 .7, it is to your advantage that I go away. Go away? Away? Where are you going? He says in v. 14 .12, because I'm going to the Father.

And He says if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you. What we have to recognize is this, because of what Christ has suffered, we are an advantaged people.

Believers have been catapulted into this age of advantage. That's where we are. When it comes to our doing works and our doing greater works, we have entered upon a new era. This is the era of the Spirit.

Catapulted into a new order. Did Jesus not say this? We have to hear this. He said to those guys, you wait in Jerusalem. Don't move from there. The promise of the Father is going to be given to you. Stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.

That wasn't just a truth for them. The Spirit came at Pentecost and has been with the church ever since. This is an age. This is a new eschatological age. This is a dawn of the age of the Spirit of God.

That's what we have here. The final, most advanced stage in God's economy of salvation. And God has unleashed a power that has never before been let loose upon the earth. It's a power that manifests itself in the lives of believers.

Believers! And here's the thing. Here's what I'm convinced you have to do. If you want to define what greatness means here, greater works, I think you have to do two things. I mean, this just makes sense to me.

One, what does Jesus specifically say is going to happen when the Spirit of God is let loose on the church? Two, what does the book of Acts reveal to us? Because what is the book of Acts? The book of Acts is the narrative of the life of the church endued with this power from on high.

So if we ask both those questions, perhaps we can come somewhat close. But you know what? It terrifies people. I've recognized this. When I first became a Christian, going to the Bible and looking at the book of Acts, and, Lord, where is that?

I can remember Craig and myself there in his living room floor. And we'd have the book of Acts open and we'd have Whitefield's biography open. And we'd be looking at each other wild-eyed, yes, where is this?

Where is this? I heard Paul Washer say one time as a young Christian he wanted to tear the book of Acts out of his Bible. And that resonated so perfectly with me. I knew exactly what he meant. It's almost like you read those pages and you want that reality.

Where is that reality? And people get terrified. I remember my first pastor up in Michigan. He said, well, it's just a transitional book. That's all it is. You can't take it as more than that. Okay, let's think about these two things.

The Gospel’s Expansion Beyond Christ’s Earthly Ministry

What I want you to do is remember this great reality. Jesus, He says, I came to seek and save the lost. And in another place, He says, Savior of the world. When I hear that, do you know what I hear? I hear like Abram, father of many, being renamed Abraham, the father of a multitude, and you look at him and how many children did he have when that took place?

That's kind of how I hear that. Isn't it amazing? Have any of the rest of you been startled by this reality, especially as a young believer, where you're reading about Jesus and how many times Jesus said, don't you tell anybody about that?

To the leopard, don't you go tell anybody about it. You just go to the demons. They were saying who He was. None of that. He tells His disciples, I'm going to go to Jerusalem. He tells them what is going to happen.

He tells them He's going to rise a third day. And He says, tell it to nobody. Do you remember what He said to the Syrophoenician woman? He said, I haven't been sent to you. When He sent out His disciples, He said, you just go to the villages of Israel.

Don't go to the Samaritans. Don't go to the Gentiles. It was all extremely limited. Very limited. I would ask you this, when we compare the scope of the success of the Gospel as it came forth from the mouth of our Lord to the success of the Gospel that has come forth from the believers ever since the Spirit of God was let loose, I can imagine Peter.

I can imagine those words ringing through his mind. And you know one of the things that Jesus said would happen when the Spirit came? He said that the Spirit would convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment.

There would be conviction. What I see is our Lord going through the land and He's healing many. Yes, the leprosy gave way before Him. Yes, blind eyes gave way before Him. That is all true. But look at them.

Listen to them in John 6. They're going away one after another to the point where He gets to His own disciples. Are you guys going to go away too? The very crowds that He healed, multitudes of them, what did they do?

In the end, behold the man. Crucify Him. Crucify Him. But Peter begins to preach and do you realize what happened? It says they were cut to the heart. 3 ,000 of them. Way beyond what happened in our Lord's ministry.

3 ,000 cut to the heart. What do we do? He says repent and be baptized. Do you think He might have looked at the other disciples and said this is greater? The Spirit... we see it over there. I think the Spirit should be capitalized over there.