I am a thinker and oftentimes like to think about those things that I have thought of previously, haha! I love knowledge and the study thereof and I love it even more when I believe God draws my attention to a specific area and then gives me revelation as to what it all means. I've heard many teach on the above scripture and have had conversations in regards to this scripture myself. These conversations have focused on the absence of sight when it comes to the manifestation of these things that were mentioned in John 14:12? Why aren't we seeing these greater works that Christ spoke of?
Many who have studied the life of Christ know what He did-He healed the sick; He restored sight to the blind; He made the deaf to hear, the lame to walk; set captives free and He raised the dead. If Christ did all this, we His followers are to do more and if so then how is this accomplished? I remember years ago hearing my then Pastor, who I regard highly as a true man of God, teach that all God does in the earth is through man. Many people do not know this nor understand this so it is hard for them to receive this. When tragedy happens they ask, "where is God? If He is almighty and powerful, then where was He when this............happened?"
God is a spiritual being and the earth and all its inhabitants are physical beings. When God came as Christ-even He had to do so in a physical form because He was coming to place that was physical and in order to fully execute what He intended He had to do so in the form of the people He was coming to save! God is a God of order, laws and principles; and this order, these laws and principles are what govern the life sustaining force of the earth because without order chaos reigns.
What does this mean for mankind? Because God's habitation is a spiritual one He provided each one of us earthly-physical-fixed beings with different gifts, abilities and talents. "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills." 1 Corinthians 12:7-11
Back to the earlier question-"why aren't we seeing or even doing these things that were mentioned in John 14:12?" But, we do see these things occurring in this day and age but we pass it off as something else. In this day and age many people are healed from sicknesses of the body, mind and even raised from the dead. Most of what I've just mentioned happens everyday across the world in hospitals, in therapists' office, etc. Man has been able to create artificial limbs for those who have lost theirs. Man has been able to transplant organs to prolong the lives of people who would otherwise perish. There exists corrective wear for those with poor eyesight and even surgeries that can now correct failing vision. Surgeries and artificial devices have also helped those who otherwise would not be able to hear! There are also therapies to help those whose minds have different wiring so that they can have a sense of normalcy in this world.
God never separated the secular from the spiritual that is what man did. Sure we are spiritual beings but we must understand that our spiritual body can only reside in the earth because of the physical body that sustains it. And....most of the miracles I have described are physical ones that support and in many cases sustain the physical bodies that enable us to live! I never quite understood why many people who believe in science think there is no God and those who believe in God doubt science. I learned many years ago that all truth is God's truth and it is He who decides how it is manifested. God never intended for science or anything for that matter to exist apart from Him, these were all practices enacted by man.
I majored in Psychology because I love the mind! I am a life-long student of trying to understand human behavior but I know that I can never fully understand this behavior if I were to take it out of the context of God. God made us to be inquisitive, to seek out answers to our questions. He made the earth in a way that would encourage this high level thinking being called man, to seek. In seeking, God hoped that all discoveries would lead to Him. But, I realize that many will not receive this due to a lack of understanding. Those who are Christians will believe that the works Christ spoke of must be manifested in the way that Jesus carried them out. While those who are not will just attribute these phenomenons to science. Don't get me wrong supernatural manifestations of God still occur but we must be careful to not expect God to always show up in the same manner.
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord."Isaiah 55:8
The danger with the above referenced mindsets is that-people are sick; they are hurt and damaged; they are imprisoned and dying while the very people who can save them are too busy arguing the manner in which they should be saved! The missing link could be you and you might be missing because you don't know what your talents and abilities are; you don' t know your purpose and you don't know where you fit; or it could be that you do not know God or that He created you for a particular purpose that will be left unsatisfied because you don't realize that "you" are the one needed to accomplish it.
"And His
gifts were [varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us] some to be
apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and
expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling
missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of His flock) and teachers. His intention was the perfecting and
the full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), [that they
should do] the work of ministering toward building up Christ’s body (the
church)." Ephesians 4:11 These are the positions that God has called every believer to but the manner (the space in which these positions are actually fulfilled) will be different for everyone.
Simply put, understand your gift (1 Corinthians 12:7-11) and the position to which you have been commissioned (Ephesians 4:11) and use it in the arena of life that you've been called to. All will not pastor a church or go to the mission fields of another country but you can pastor (shepherd) as a leader in your workplace and your mission field might be your own household! Seek revelation-seek understanding-seek God-know your calling-know your mission-then apply all you now know to life.
