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Tuesday 29 March 2016

Is it really possible for Christians to do greater works than Jesus?

Question: "Is it really possible for Christians to do greater works than Jesus?"

Answer: 
In John 14:12, Jesus makes an amazing claim: “I tell you the truth, anyone, who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” How? Jesus says it will be done through the power of the Holy Spirit. In John 14—15, Jesus speaks often of “another Counselor,” the “Spirit of truth” (John 14:16–17), which we know the disciples received at Pentecost (Acts 2:4). The Holy Spirit is the mechanism through which Jesus said His believers “will do even greater works.”

And how exactly does the Holy Spirit operate? Jesus continues: “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:13–14). This is a fantastic claim, one that ought to inspire and terrify. We Christians can enjoy the power of Christ’s goodness on earth. Yet Jesus is not saying that our works will be greater than His in terms of power or majesty. After all, by definition, humans cannot surpass God’s omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence.

Rather, most scholars agree that Jesus means we will do greater works because there are many of us. Therefore, Jesus is acknowledging the collective power His followers can display in God’s Kingdom on earth. Jesus preached and healed and raised the dead in Judea only. Now, millions of disciples exist worldwide, and through their belief in Christ and the agency of the Holy Spirit, many more miracles occur today than did in Jesus’ time. 

After His resurrection, Jesus tells His apostles to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey His commands (Matthew 28:19–20). He commissions them to go out because “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18), and He passes on that power and authority to His disciples through the Holy Spirit.

The Book of Acts provides early validation of the miraculous power Jesus promises (Acts 5:1–101513:11;19:12). Acts 17:6 describes those who proclaimed Christ as ones “who have turned the world upside down.” This turning of the world upside down is surely part of what Jesus was referring to when He promised that we would do “greater works” than He did. Many miracles were performed by His apostles and disciples, and many more would be, and are being, performed as the gospel of Jesus Christ spreads throughout the world. And the most wonderful miracle of all is that souls are being born again through the power of the Spirit.

"Does God still perform miracles?"

Question: "Does God still perform miracles?"

Answer: 
Many people desire miracles from God. They want God to perform miracles to “prove” Himself to them. “If only God would perform a miracle, sign, or wonder, then I would believe!” This idea, though, is contradicted by Scripture. When God performed amazing and powerful miracles for the Israelites, did that cause them to obey Him? No, the Israelites constantly disobeyed and rebelled against God even though they saw all the miracles. The same people who saw God part the Red Sea later doubted whether God was able to conquer the inhabitants of the Promised Land. This truth is explained in Luke 16:19-31. In the story, a man in hell asks Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to warn his brothers. Abraham informed the man, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead” (Luke 16:31).

Jesus performed countless miracles, yet the vast majority of people did not believe in Him. If God performed miracles today as He did in the past, the result would be the same. People would be amazed and would believe in God for a short time. That faith would be shallow and would disappear the moment something unexpected or frightening occurred. A faith based on miracles is not a mature faith. God performed the greatest “God miracle” of all time in coming to earth as the Man Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins (Romans 5:8) so that we could be saved (John 3:16). God does still perform miracles—many of them simply go unnoticed or are denied. However, we do not need more miracles. What we need is to believe in the miracle of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

The purpose of miracles was to authenticate the performer of the miracles. Acts 2:22 declares, “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.” The same is said of the apostles, “The things that mark an apostle—signs, wonders and miracles—were done among you with great perseverance” (2 Corinthians 12:12). Speaking of the gospel, Hebrews 2:4 proclaims, “God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.” We now have the truth of Jesus recorded in Scripture. We now have the writings of the apostles recorded in Scripture. Jesus and His apostles, as recorded in Scripture, are the cornerstone and foundation of our faith (Ephesians 2:20). In this sense, miracles are no longer necessary, as the message of Jesus and His apostles has already been attested to and accurately recorded in the Scriptures. Yes, God still performs miracles. At the same time, we should not necessarily expect miracles to occur today just as they did in Bible times.

Source:http://www.gotquestions.org/miracles-Bible.html