[When a friend asked me for my interpretation of John 14:12ff, I realised that I would have to add a further three pages to the already vast Chapter 11 which deals with “The Occult ‘Mind-Sciences’ in the Church Today“(which is already at 198-pages) in the second edition rewrite of my 1994 book, “The Serpent & the Cross” (which now has 1,044 pages in total). My response below, just written today, shows the vital importance of interpreting Bible texts according to their context. When one fails to do so, that can spawn global movements based entirely on false teaching. Which is precisely what has happened with a text like John 14:12. In this 1,400-word piece (8-minutes read-time), this pet text used by phoney faith-healers in the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement is interpreted according to its immediate context in Scripture rather than the usual method of plucking it randomly out of its context to suit their personal subjective conceits].

People who support the phoney faith-healers, who are also false teachers and surely demonised — e.g., Smith Wigglesworth, Aimee Semple McPherson, William Branham, Kathryn Kuhlman, Morris Cerullo, Oral Roberts, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, and the many thousands of other shysters who copy them — will often triumphantly hurl certain Bible texts at you to try and prove they are performing miracles and healings ‘just like Jesus’, and that, in fact, any Christian can also do the same. One of their pet texts for that purpose is these words of Jesus: “Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing” (John 14:12a). This is a classic case of a Bible text being plucked out of its full context. As an isolated verse, it appears to mean that all believers can do any of the works of Jesus exactly like Jesus did. However, this verse is the climax of a whole chain of context from the previous verses. So, let us put that quote from a single verse in its proper context. Here is the whole passage up to and including that verse:

“‘Lord,’ said Thomas, ‘we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him’. Philip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us’. Jesus replied, ‘Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me—or at least believe on account of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing’” (John 14:8-12a).

In the passage above, I have placed in bold text the contextual words involving the word “believe”, of which the climax occurs in v.12a, “whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing”. In these verses 8-12a, if one places them all into a synchronised context, it is crystal clear that Jesus is addressing whoever of the Apostles that believes in Him, not whoever is a Christian believer throughout this age. To rip that verse from its immediate context is tantamount to a convenient lie to justify the phoney healings and other pretended miracles of the very many Pentecostal and Charismatic phoney faith-healers who have especially proliferated during the increasingly apostate last one hundred and twenty years or so in the visible church (essentially, since the fateful hypno-based phoney ‘revival’ at Azusa Street in 1908). But these phonies do not at all perform the kind of miracles which the first-century Apostles performed. Even coming into the Apostle Peter’s shadow could heal people of serious afflictions — not just one, or some, but “all of them”, as the verse actually states (Acts 5:15-16). There were no failures. For these were “sign” miracles designed to prove that the Messiah had come and that He is able to forgive sins (the ultimate healing). As I showed earlier in this chapter in a section about the “Signs of an Apostle”, now that those “sign” miracles have been recorded in Scripture for us, there is no need to create all the crass phoney healing circuses of today, which only bring the Ekklesia into disrepute (which, of course, is Satan’s purpose in all this. The text in John 14 then continues:

“He [i.e., whoever of the Apostles that believes in Me, as the context shows] will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me for anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:12b-14).

Greater works than the Lord Jesus Christ? How would that be possible? Bear in mind that He is specifically addressing the belief of the Apostles, not that of every believer, as a reading of the complete context clearly shows. Yet, the phoney faith-healers of today have the nerve to apply those words to themselves. How would it be at all possible for all believers of all time, or even the faith-healers of today, to do anything greater than Jesus’s astonishing works? Think about that carefully. The works of the Lord Jesus Christ include the creation of the universe (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16-7; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Hebrews 1:2), the raising of a man from the dead who foully stank of decay (John 11:38-44), Him walking on water (Matthew 14:22-33), and, in a Christophanic appearance as “Commander of the Lord’s army” in Israel, miraculously assisting Joshua in the conquest of Jericho (Joshua 5:13-16). No one could possibly outperform such works as those! Therefore, the use of the words “greater things” cannot have been referring to the character of the events in Jesus’ works but rather to the nature of the extent of them. Therefore, in that sense, in what way did the Apostles’ works exceed the greatness of those of Jesus? Surely, it was in terms of inaugurating the Ekklesia through evangelism — in reaching into vast numbers of spiritually dead, blind, deaf and dumb souls and bringing them to Him to be transformed through regeneration. As John J. Owen (1803-1869) perfectly puts it in his great commentary on John’s Gospel:

“The Reference here can scarcely be had to miracles in the ordinary acceptation of the term; for the disciples, although abundantly furnished with miraculous power, could not be said to have transcended the stupendous miracles wrought by Jesus Christ. There can hardly be a doubt, therefore, that reference is had here to that great and standing miracle of Christianity—its rapid propagation in the face of such powerful and active opposition from its enemies. On the day of Pentecost, three thousand souls were converted to a belief in Him, who a short time previous had died the death of a malefactor amidst the jeers and taunts of the angry populace. From the time of the dispensation of the Spirit on that remarkable day, the gospel spread with amazing rapidity and power, until the whole habitable world was reached by its blessed influences. This founding of the church through the agency of Christ’s apostles, may be designated… as the greatest of miracles. The success attending their ministry far transcended that of their Master, for the reason that the Holy Spirit sent conjointly by the Father and Son (John 14:26), rendered their labours successful”. [emphasis added] (John J. Owen, “A Commentary, Critical, Expository, And Practical, on The Gospel of John, for the Use of Ministers, Theological Students, Private Christians, Bible Classes, and Sabbath Schools”, (Leavitt & Allen, 1860), p.342).

So now you have hopefully understood the true context of Jesus saying, “whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing”, and “He will do even greater things than these”. The “whoever believes” refers exclusively to the original Apostles who had those words spoken to them alone, as a faithful reading of the context clearly shows. Only a false teacher, con-artist, or phoney healing bandwagon cult follower would disagree.

It is a very sobering thought that there will not merely be a few but many on the Day of Judgement who will ‘knock on heaven’s door’ and say to Jesus: “Lord, Lord, have we not…done many wonders in Your name?” But He will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:21-23).

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© Copyright, Alan Morrison, 2025
[The copyright on my works is merely to protect them from any wanton plagiarism which could result in undesirable changes (as has actually happened!). Readers are free to reproduce my work, so long as it is in the same format and with the exact same content and its origin is acknowledged]

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