What exactly did Jesus mean when He said we would do
the same works that He did and even greater? Most people
immediately gravitate to the miracles preformed in the life of
Jesus and covet or desire for those same manifestations in their
own lives. However, if we study the life of Christ we find that
there were some “first” works that He walked in that few, if any,
care to emulate. For example:
"Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up
prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears
to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was
heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son,
yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered"
(Hebrews 5:7–8).
He learned “godly fear” and He learned “obedience by
the things which He suffered.” Most Christians think little or
not at all about the process of attaining Christ-like character.
What we want is the icing on the cake—the miracles, signs,
and wonders without the foundation of character laid in our
lives.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ
Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it
robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no
reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming
in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as
a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the
point of death, even the death of the cross (Phillippians
2:5–8).
Jesus “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of
a bondservant” (Phil. 2:7). Again, that is a “work” Jesus did
that few even conceive of doing, never mind embracing and
walking in it. On top of that, He humbled Himself and became
obedient to the point of death (see Phil. 2:8). Most Christians are self-centered and proud, with a form of godliness but
denying the power thereof by refusing to allow the Holy Spirit
to purge us from our dead works and the lust of our carnal
nature.
This is just a small example of some of the foundational
works Jesus did before He began His public ministry with
miracles, signs, and wonders following.
Another key factor of walking in the supernatural is found
in Luke:
"And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted
up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass,
while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and
carried up into heaven" (Luke 24:50–51).
While the Church has been in the process of growing up
into Him, the Lord has winked at our ignorance and overlooked
it at times:
"Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but
now commands all men everywhere to repent" (Acts
17:30).
"And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come
with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you
the testimony of God. For I determined not to know
anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in
much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were
not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith
should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of
God" (1 Corinthians 2:1–5).
In the beginning when Paul came to Corinth, the only way
he could effectively communicate to them and see their needs
fulfilled was to reach beyond their ignorance of God and their
lack of spiritual development by demonstrating the power of
God.
The power of God and the anointing with the nine
manifestation gifts of the Holy Spirit listed in First Corinthians
12 have always been at the basic entry level of the believers’
spiritual journey. The Lord’s original plan was for these signs
to follow every believer, not just a select few who have
somehow attained a stratospheric pinnacle of enlightenment.
And these signs shall follow them that believe; "In My
name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with
new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they
drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall
lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover" (Mark
16:17–18 KJV).
The Lord intended spiritual manifestations to be the
normal Christian experience—a starting place for us in our
journey in the Lord, never a stopping place or a camping place
until we have completed and fulfilled our destiny here on earth.
As someone once said, the Lord has called us to be pioneers,
not settlers! These experiences should become more frequent
and more powerful as we grow in faith and Christ-likeness and
should bear greater fruit for the Kingdom as we progress.