You Will Do Even Greater Things Than These

Q

Jesus once said if you believe in him you will do what he did and even greater things than he did. I’ve see this verse taken to the extreme whereby people do things that are not necessary in line with the word, claiming that what they are doing doesn’t have to be in line with the word for Jesus said they will do even greater things. My question then is how are we going to know if people are not twisting what God wants us to do if we don’t have to align everything with the word of God?

A

Common sense tells us this is an incorrect interpretation of John 14:12 because it effectively removes all restraint on what people can do, and eliminates the Bible as a guide to proper spiritual behavior. Many false doctrines and non-Biblical practices have come into the Church because people were unwilling to accept the guidance and restraint of Scripture.

What Jesus meant is that His followers would have a greater impact on the world than He had, because He was returning to the Father which would put an end to His earthly ministry. They would carry on in His name, using the power of the Holy Spirit just as He had, building on what He had begun to produce even greater results than His.