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Greater Works Than Christ?

ByPastor Wynn

A Ministry of “Greater” works

I recently had the privilege of teaching a group of missionaries on the subject of “Using Media in Your Deputation and Ministry.”  The below thoughts are from the introduction to those sessions.

It is an exciting age to be living in.  Jesus told His disciples that, not only could believers do what He did, but “greater works than these shall he do” (John 14:12).

What an incredible statement He made!  To paraphrase, He said, “Not only will you do what I do, but you will do greater works than those I have done.”  Have you ever let those words sink in?  Have you ever thought about what the Lord was truly saying?  How is it possible to “greater” works than the Lord?  No one could ever do anything that is greater than what God can do!   So, what did He mean?

Of course, it is impossible to do anything greater than Christ can do.  So, what did He mean.  The word “greater” is translated from the word μείζων (pronounced, mei-zone) and means to be greater in the sense of “more.”  Thus, it refers not to the size, but to the scope of the works.

Jesus’ statement was literally fulfilled in the book of Acts.  He Himself rarely ventured beyond the borders of Palestine.  Yet, concerning the early believers, Acts chapter 8 states, “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word” (Acts 8:4).  Paul and his missionary team traveled the farthest regions of the known world.  They carried the message of the gospel to those who had never seen or heard of Jesus.  By the close of the Apostolic age, Paul was able to declare that the gospel had been “preached to every creature which is under heaven” (Colossians 1:23).

With the advent of modern technology, how much more should we be able to do.  In our generation, the capability of media has enabled the believer to minister in ways that far outreach those early believers.  Yet, it often appears that we are doing less than those of the biblical record.  According to Paul’s statement in Colossians 1:23, the known world was evangelized at the close of the New Testament.  It is estimated that, at the time of Paul, the world’s population was between 150 million and 250 million.  Yet, each of the known people groups had at least heard. Yet, it seems so difficult to get the job done today.  With the world’s population rapidly approaching the 7 billion mark, could it be that believers feel the task is overwhelming With the advent of modern technology, global evangelization became possible for our day.  The world is smaller than it has ever been.  Anyone can travel around the entire globe with a few days.  Voices and pictures can travel the globe within a few seconds.

Modern media methods have opened venues that would never have been though possible before.  Could Paul have imagined a time when he could stand and speak in Jerusalem, and someone hear and see him in Rome?  If Paul were permitted to visit Earth today, he would probably have some scathing words about the slothfulness of the modern-day church.  He would probably be amazed that the church, with so many tools to use, has done so little since his day.

Sadly, concerning the uses of media technology, too many churches fall into one of two categories.  The first one is the “Contemporary” church.   These churches demonstrate little discernment, and use media technology to engage in worldly practices for the sake of “winning people.”  While reaching and winning people is certainly a noble and biblical motive, the question is “winning them to what?”  A.W. Tozer, in Golden Calf Christianity, wrote the following:

“It is scarcely possible in most places to get anyone to attend a meeting where the only attraction is God!  So we have the strange anomaly of orthodoxy in creed and heterodoxy in practice.  The striped-candy technique has been so fully integrated into our present religious thinking that it is simply taken for granted.  Its victims never dream that it is not a part of the teachings of Christ and His apostles. Any objection to the carryings on of our present golden-calf Christianity is met with the triumphant reply: “But we are winning them!”  And winning them to what?  To true discipleship?  To cross-carrying?  To self-denial?  To separation from the world?  To crucifixion of the flesh?  To holy living?  To nobility of character?  To a despising of the world’s treasures?  To hard self-discipline?  To love for God?  To total committal to Christ? Of course, the answer to all this questions in NO!  We are paying a frightful price for our religious boredom.  And that at the expense of the world’s mortal peril!”

The contemporary church uses media technology, but not in a way that honors the Lord or His Word.  It is a tool of entertaining the “worshippers” and enlisting the “seekers.”

On the other extreme is the “traditional” church.  It is amazing to me that the pastors of some of these churches oppose anything that is “new” or “computer.”  Their church still has no viable web presence.  Social media is condemned in the pulpit and in church practice.  Facebook and Twitter are declared to be evil and dangerous.  There are even some who preach against have any Internet access, “because it is wicked.”

While I fully agree that any media can be misused (as in the case of the contemporary church), and can be a dangerous tool, I do not agree they should be avoided.  For example, in my workshop I have a power saw.  That saw can be very dangerous and do much harm, when it is misused.  However, when used properly, it can be a great tool for a construction project.  Likewise, modern technology and methods can be dangerous, and even deadly, when misused.  Yet, when used biblically, they can be a great tool for reaching and winning people.

I will also agree that there a many good people who have become victims of technology.  They are so engrossed in their “tools,” they fail to carry out the work of the Great Commission.  Hours can be wasted on the Internet and Social Networks, and that is the sin of failing to redeem the time.  However, this does not mean that we should abandon it all. Rather, we must learn discipline and discernment.

If we would truly do “greater works,” then we must effectively embrace the tools the Lord has given us in our age.  We must use them biblically, and seek to expand our reach around the world.

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37 Comments

  1. Pastor Wynn,
    This is a great article. I was intrigued more about John 14:12 than anything else. I just taught on this verse in our Life of Christ class in our Bible Seminary. I never gave it much thought in relation to Acts 8. Thanks for helping me learning something new today!
    On the other hand, it is tremendous what AW Tozer said about “Golden Calf Christianity”.

  2. Brother Henderson,
    Thank you for your comment. Concerning Tozer, I wonder what he would think of the state of the church today. He died in 1963.

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