Greater Works: New Birth and Spirit
- Michael E.B. Maher
- Jun 1
- 6 min read
John 5:19-21 “Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. (20) For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. (21) For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.”
And so we come to the third of the power gifts listed, which is the gift called the working of miracles. In order for us to have a clearer understanding of this particular gift we need to look at the ministry of the Lord Jesus. Many of the Old Testament prophets operated in the gift of the working of miracles, some examples of which were recorded for us in the Old Testament. And so when the Lord Jesus ministered on the earth He used their recorded miracles to perform similar miracles in His ministry, which is why Jesus said in the above quoted passage of scripture that He did in like manner that which the Father showed Him. There are a number of examples in scripture that we can look at to confirm this particular truth. For example Jesus walked on water, just as Elisha had caused an iron axe head to float on water (2 Kings 6:5-7). Another example would be Jesus feeding the multitudes with a few loaves and having some left over, just as Elisha had fed one hundred men with a small quantity of food and having some left over (2 Kings 4:42-44). Another example is Jesus raising the dead, just as Elijah had raised a young boy from the dead (1 Kings 17:17-23). Another example is Jesus turning water into wine, just as Moses had turned water into blood in one of the judgements he pronounced on Egypt (Exodus 7:19). And so these are just some examples to show us that Jesus looked at the miracles that His Father had performed through the prophets in the Old Testament, and in a similar manner He then performed those same miracles in His ministry.
Luke 11:20-22 “But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. (21) When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. (22) But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.”
We have seen thus far that in similar manner, Jesus performed all of the miracles recorded under the Old Covenant. Nevertheless there is one miracle that Jesus performed which is not recorded in the Old Testament, which is the miracle of casting out demons. So the question is asked, if the Old Testament prophets performed every miracle that Jesus did, why didn’t they cast out demons? The Lord Jesus answers that question for us in the above quoted passage of scripture. The context of this passage is that Jesus had just finished casting a mute demon out of someone, thus enabling the person to speak. In trying to explain the miracle that our Lord performed, some of His religious critics accused Him of casting out demons through the use of satanic power. Jesus responded to their accusation by explaining that Satan cannot cast out Satan, but that rather it is the power of God that casts Satan’s demons out of people. Jesus then went on in this passage to explain why He was able to cast out demons, by giving us the analogy of a strong man being overcome by one who is stronger than him, thus allowing the stronger man to divide the spoils of his weaker enemy. In this analogy the strong man is Satan and the stronger man is Jesus. Therefore we see that because Jesus has overcome Satan, He is able to plunder Satan’s kingdom, which would include casting Satan’s demons out of people. Under the New Covenant Jesus has given His saints the authority to cast out demons in His name (Mark 16:17). And so we see that because the Old Testament prophets never had access to the name of Jesus, they were unable to perform the miracle of casting out demons.
John 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”
Included in the works that our Lord Jesus did were both gifts of healings and the working of miracles. If you compare the works that our Lord did and the works that the Holy Spirit has done through the church, you will find that there have been no healings greater than that which our Lord performed and neither have there been any greater miracles than that which our Lord performed. There may have been equal, but none greater. The reason for that is because our Lord has taught us that a servant can be like his master but not greater (John 13:16). Nevertheless, in the above quoted passage of scripture our Lord Jesus has taught us that under the New Covenant that we would not only do the same works which He did, but that we would also do greater works. So what are the greater works that Jesus is referring to in this passage of scripture? The key to understanding what the greater works are, is in His linking that statement to the words, “because I go to My Father”. In other words these works could not be performed in the earth until Jesus had been raised from the dead and had ascended to the Father.
Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
And so we see that although Jesus performed similar miracles to the prophets of the Old Testament and He also performed the new miracle of casting out demons, there are nevertheless two miracles which Jesus could not perform while He was on the earth. The first miracle which we will discuss is the miracle of the new birth. Because Jesus had not yet died for our sins and been raised from the dead, He could not get anyone born-again, for as revealed in the above quoted passage of scripture the requirement that must be met to be born-again is to confess Jesus as Lord and believe that God has raised Him from the dead. No-one could do that while Jesus was on the earth. The miracle of the new birth is far greater than any healing or miracle performed by the Lord Jesus, because the miracle of the new birth is an eternal work. And so we see that getting someone born-again is one of the greater works that our Lord Jesus was referring to.
John 7:37-39 “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. (38) He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." (39) But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
The second miracle which we will discuss is the miracle of the saints being filled with the Holy Spirit. This is another miracle that our Lord Jesus could not perform while He walked the earth, for as revealed in the above quoted passage of scripture, it was only after our Lord was raised from the dead that Jesus received the promised Holy Spirit from the Father to pour out on His church. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is also an eternal work, for the Holy Spirit remains with us for all eternity, which makes it a greater miracle than those which Jesus could perform while He walked the earth. And so we see that in the church age that we are able to do the greater works that our Lord spoke about, because Jesus has gone to the Father. The church is able to get people born-again and filled with the Holy Spirit. Both of these works fall into the category of the gifts of the Spirit called the working of miracles, for a miracle occurs when one is born-again and a miracle occurs when one is filled with the Holy Spirit.
Michael E.B. Maher
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