John 14:12–18

“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. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”

There’s a world of theology in one word here—because (ὅτι “hot-ee” in Greek).

The idea that believers can do works even greater than those Jesus did is exciting, albeit puzzling. How can that even be possible?

Because I go to My Father.

That’s what makes it possible. Wow, what a mystery. How does that work?

Part of the answer is in the second paragraph. The Father will give you another >Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth … He dwells with you and will be in you.

The Holy Spirit (the Spirit of truth) is the Helper that dwells with you and will be in you. That Holy Spirit empowers us to do greater works than these.

But how is it that this happens because Jesus goes to His Father?

As with all things holy, some details are beyond our comprehension. What we are told is that this is a causal sequence. Incarnation is a round-trip mission. Then the Holy Spirit is delivered, and will be in you.

And because of that we will be empowered to do greater works than these.

This passage is crystal clear on who gets the Holy Spirit. “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you … the Spirit of truth.”

This is not works-based salvation. The word translated as love here is “agapé”—sacrificial love. In other words, dedication to Christ’s agenda rather than our own. This is implied by a proper confession of faith.

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. — Romans 10:9 (ESV)

A confession of, “Jesus is Lord,” is a pledge of fealty. Christianity is a kingdom, and Jesus is its king. The way you join any kingdom is by pledging fealty to its king.

That fits, “If you love Me, keep My commandments,” to a tee.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Saturday DEEPs are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/community

The weekly study guides, which include the Monday–Friday devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.