NOTE: This article isn’t about whether the sign gifts are still in operation today, or if they ceased after the first century. That’s a separate discussion. My focus is on the context and meaning of a specific passage of Scripture that has been misinterpreted and erroneously applied. ~ SM
“Greater” Works Than These? 
By Steven Mark
The context in which Yeshua-Jesus was teaching in John 14:12 was referring to the “quantity” of the works His followers would do after His departure — not the “Quality” of the works. The rest of the verse explains why: “Because I go to My Father.”
In other words, when Yeshua returned to His rightful place in Heaven, He would send the Holy Spirit to indwell His followers, to lead and guide them, and to remind them of the truth He had taught them. The Gospel would no longer be limited to the Jewish people within the borders of Israel, but would now be preached throughout the entire world.
To reiterate, when Yeshua was speaking of “greater” works, He meant quantitatively — not Qualitatively.
And when the topic of “greater” works comes up, I don’t pounce on the person who said it and immediately present the context in which Yeshua was speaking. There’s a much simpler way to respond, and it prompts the person to think about what they’re saying, which is always a good thing. I simply ask them, “What greater works has anyone ever done that were ‘greater’ than the works and miracles Yeshua did?” (I’ve asked that question numerous times over the past 30 years and have yet to receive a reasonable answer.)
It’s also important to point out that people who claimed to know Yeshua did perform miracles in His name, but Yeshua told them He didn’t know them, to depart from Him, and called them workers of iniquity (i.e., those who “practice Lawlessness” and live contrary to His teachings.
(Matthew 7:21-29)
Regardless of which theological position you adhere to, one thing that all true followers of Jesus should agree on is that while the gifts of the spirit will eventually fade away, the Fruit of the Spirit will abide forever. And if authentically born again followers of Yeshua were producing the “Fruit of the Spirit” in their lives, the “gifts” would flow naturally and wouldn’t be a divisive issue in the Body.
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Goodness, Kindness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, and Self-control.
Those attributes lift up and build up one another without drawing unnecessary attention to ourselves.
Someone who manifests the fruit of the Spirit may also have spiritual gifts; but if the spiritual gifts aren’t accompanied by genuine fruit, we should stop and evaluate what’s being produced.
Most importantly, the gifts should always be used in humility before the Lord. (Something that is sorely lacking in the people I know who claim to speak in tongues, prophesy, have the gift of healing or any of the other gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians chapters 12 & 14.)
Theologically speaking, the Pentecostal and Charismatic
movements produce a lot of emotional heat, but very little light. And the gift that is most essential for the Church at large — the one that would produce unity instead of division — is the gift of DISCERNMENT.
Subjective feelings, experiences and personal anecdotes by definition are just that — subjective and experiential. And if personal experiences are contrary to, or go beyond the clear teachings of Scripture (which they often do), they should be rejected.
From a Messianic Jewish perspective, the “signs and wonders” during Shavuot/Pentecost in the first century had a dual purpose. It was a reversal of the curse at Babel; and the fulfillment of God’s promise to write His Law on circumcised hearts. (Ref. Deuteronomy 10:16, and 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4, 9:25-26, and 31:31-34; Ezekiel 11:19-20, and 36:24-27)
The parallels between the first Shavuot at Sinai, and the Shavuot of fulfillment in Jerusalem should not be missed. (Compare Exodus 20:18-21 and 32:28-29, to Acts 2:1-41*)
In a nutshell, God is glorified when we allow Him to produce the Fruit of His Spirit in the lives of His people. That’s a sign and a wonder that no one can deny or refute, and it produces unity — not discord and division.
Unfortunately, there’s a very disturbing movement that has grown exponentially in the past few years that has caused extreme discord and division in the Body of Messiah, and I would be remiss if I failed to mention it. There are influential pastors and teachers who would have us believe that the gifts of the Spirit can be procured by anyone who professes to be a follower of Jesus — as long as they’re willing to pay money to attend their ”School of Supernatural Ministry” in Redding, California; where their ”annointed” instructors claim to be able to teach spiritual techniques that can allegedly train people to prophesy; to heal people of infirmities and diseases, and a host of totally bazaar practices that have no precedent in Scripture whatsoever, and are in fact extremely deceptive and dangerous.
There is, however, a passage of Scripture that addresses something eerily similar to what I’m referring to, so I’ll let the Word speak for itself, and you can draw your own conclusions.
“But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went. Philip, for example, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah. Crowds listened intently to Philip because they were eager to hear his message and see the miraculous signs he did. Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims. And many who had been paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city.
A man named Simon had been a sorcerer there for many years, amazing the people of Samaria and claiming to be someone great. Everyone, from the least to the greatest, often spoke of him as “the Great One—the Power of God.” They listened closely to him because for a long time he had astounded them with his magic.
But now the people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized. Then Simon himself believed and was baptized. He began following Philip wherever he went, and he was amazed by the signs and great miracles Philip performed.
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there. As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on people, he offered them money to buy this power. “Let me have this power, too,” he exclaimed, “so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!”
But Peter replied, “May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought! You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God. Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin.”
“Pray to the Lord for me,” Simon exclaimed, “that these terrible things you’ve said won’t happen to me!”
(Acts 8:4-24)
Being a musician and an apologist, I’ll leave you with an analogy most people could relate to.
If you’ve been listening to one of your favorite songs for many years without realizing it wasn’t the original version — and then someone comes along and plays the original version by the person who wrote it, it might sound very different to you, because you’ve grown accustomed to the version your ears are used to hearing. You might not even like the original version because it lacks some of the embellishments you associate with the song.
That’s often how it is with Bible teachers who teach false doctrines. You’ve become accustomed to their interpretation of Scripture, which is often far removed from sound, Biblical theology. But you like that particular pastor and teacher, and when you hear someone else teaching sound theology that contradicts what you’ve been taught, it sounds strange to you. You might even become angry and defensive and reject sound doctrine simply because you’ve been taught something else, it’s what you’re used to, and that’s what you prefer.
But that’s a very dangerous position to take, and is clearly in opposition to what the Bible teaches concerning how we should respond to false teachings and the people who promote them.
We are admonished to avoid them and expose them. (Romans 16:17:18; Philippians 3:17-19; 2 Timothy 2:15-18; Titus 3:10-11, 2 Peter 2:1-3)
There is certainly a difference between how we’re to approach primary, essential doctrines; and secondary, peripheral doctrines. The former should always be protected and defended; the latter should be allowed more latitude, and oftentimes aren’t worth arguing or fighting over.
Concerning aberrant teachings, heterodox teachings, heretical teachings, and outright blasphemous teachings (which, tragically, are more prevalent than you might think), we should make every attempt to correct those teachers in the hope that they will see the error in their teaching and publicly renounce it. That’s the Biblical model we are to follow, regardless of how nice the teacher is or how much you may like them personally.
“Let God be true, and every man a liar.” (Romans 3:4)
© 2021 Steven Mark
DiscernIt 
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