John 14:12-14; 15:7, "In Jesus' Name, Amen"
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A lot of us do things without really understanding how they work. All of us know how to operate a light switch in our house. How many of you can tell me how the electricity is generated and how the lightbulb turns that electricity into light? How many of you operate a computer? How many of you can tell me how the hardware and software interface to make your googling find exactly the thing you’re thinking of? How many of you operate a car? Can you tell me how the power is generated and transferred to the wheels so the car goes where you want it to go? There are principles and dynamics at work in each of these, and if you wanted to, you could study and learn them all.
In the same way, and much more vital than all of those, all believers in God pray, and almost all Christians pray in Jesus’ name. But how many of us understand what principle and what dynamics are at work? Jesus thought it was important enough that He spent some time teaching His disciples the principle of praying in His name and the dynamics that make it work, so to speak. Today we’ll learn from Jesus.
We have learned from Jesus that when we pray, we should keep our words few, and He gave us a pattern for prayer, that begins with, “Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name,” and a couple of weeks ago we said praying “hallowed be Your name” means seeking God’s glory and we can apply that in lots of ways. Today, we learn that another prayer that seeks God’s glory is praying in Jesus’ name. When we pray in Jesus’ name, we seek the glory of God the Father by asking Jesus in His role as King of the universe to work through us to expand the kingdom of God through gospel ministry. Or more simply put, Jesus works powerfully through us when we pray in His name.
Learn the Principle
Learn the Principle
If you’re paying attention when you read our passage, Jesus says something truly astonishing.
John 14:12 (ESV)
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
John 14:13–14 (ESV)
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Here’s the principle Jesus teaches: Jesus works powerfully through us when we pray in His name. Jesus says when this principle is at work, we will actually do the works He did and greater works. That’s astonishing.
What does it mean that Jesus’ disciples will do greater works than Jesus? Is that even possible?
Jesus preached good news to the poor. We can comprehend doing that. He healed the sick, some of us are called to do that, if not through miracles, through the wisdom and skill of the study of God’s creation. But come on, He also cleansed lepers by speaking a word and He raised the dead. What could we possibly do that’s a greater work than these things?
When we have a question that puzzles us in the Bible, we use the context to help us understand it. The context of these verses is the unity of God the Father and God the Son in the work of the gospel.
John 14:10 (ESV)
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
The principle worked for Jesus too. God the Father worked powerfully through Jesus. Specifically, the words Jesus proclaimed were the works of the Father. Jesus was doing gospel work. He proclaimed the good news that God reigns and He has opened His kingdom to anyone who would repent of their sin and trust in Jesus as the door. All the other works Jesus performed, the miracles, the healing, the casting out demons, were integral to the gospel message and they directed attention back to the word of God.
So, the work Jesus is passing on to His disciples is the gospel work He began. That means that any works of service, mercy, healing, and miracles they would do were supportive of the message they preached. The greater works Jesus is talking about is the greater spread of the gospel by the apostles.
Jesus accomplished great work while He was on earth. But He was one person in one geographic location ministering primarily to one people group. Jesus is telling His disciples that when He leaves them to dwell with the Father, He would begin a new phase of His work with a new principle at work. He tells them in verse 15-17 that He will send the Holy Spirit to dwell in them. From then on, the Holy Spirit would empower believers to accomplish and expand the work Jesus had begun.
We saw this begin in the book of Acts, in which Luke makes clear that acts of the apostles were really the acts of the risen and reigning Jesus Christ at work in and through them. The early Christians were filled with the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel in all languages, to heal the sick, cast out demons, and to begin the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth as they made disciples of Jesus who love God and love others. They saw the lives of individuals, families, and communities transformed by new life in Jesus Christ. And the church has continued this work for the last 2,000 years. Who wants to be part of this ongoing work? Praying in Jesus’ name is the key to operating by the same principle at work in the early church.
Like the master teacher He is, Jesus explains how the principle works so we can apply it. He says the principle works because of three dynamics.
Learn the Dynamics
Learn the Dynamics
Dynamic #1: Union with Christ
“Whoever believes in Me”
Our faith unites us with Jesus Christ. To believe in Jesus means to entrust yourself to Him, body and soul, as Savior and Master. We give up our independent life of self and find life only in Jesus. As the Apostle Paul put it,
Galatians 2:20 (ESV)
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
or as Jesus puts it in John 15:4-5
John 15:4–5 (ESV)
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
What a helpful image. We live only because we are rooted in Jesus. If we become disconnected from Jesus, we wither and die. But if we remain in Him, we bear much fruit! You can have a fruitful life when Christ is your life. Apart from Jesus Christ, you can do nothing. But united to Jesus Christ by faith, He will work through you.
God has big plans for our lives. He can make us fruitful and powerful ambassadors for His kingdom. But not when we live in our own power and wisdom. We can set career goals. We can win awards and make names for ourselves. We can do good things. But we will not bear fruit that lasts for eternity. We will not do the works of Jesus and greater works unless Christ is living His life in us.
In what ways are you nurturing the life of Christ in you? In what ways are you growing in your union with Him? Jesus rose early every morning before all His work began to spend time with the Father. He nurtured His union with God the Father in prayer and listening to the Father speak to Him. And it is that relationship that brings us to the second dynamic.
Dynamic #2: Jesus has All Authority
“…because I am going to the Father.”
Jesus works powerfully through us when we pray in His name because Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
Jesus is in total union with the Father to the degree that He was obedient to die on the cross for the sins of the world. And as vindication, God raised Him from the dead and exalted Him to the heavenly throne in His ascension. Jesus is alive and is presently at work in the events of our world to accomplish the plans and purposes of God to overthrow the kingdoms of this world and establish God’s kingdom forever.
The believer cannot see Jesus with our physical eyes, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can see in our mind’s eye, as the writer to the Hebrews puts it,
Hebrews 2:9 (ESV)
But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
Or in Jesus’ own words in John 14, look a little below our passage to verses 19 and 20.
John 14:19–20 (ESV)
Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
We will see Jesus in our own life. He goes on to say
John 14:21 (ESV)
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
When we submit to Jesus’ authority by keeping His commandments we see everything more clearly. We grow in our understanding of our union with Christ, who is in full control of everything. We grow to trust His words are infallible and trustworthy. We grow to appreciate His ability to work all things according to God’s plans. We grow to rest in His care for us and His guidance. Because Jesus has gone to the Father, He has been reunited with Him on the throne of the universe and is fulfilling all God’s plans.
So, He knows best, and He has the power and authority to make it happen. He knows what’s best for your life. He knows what’s best for your relationships and your family and your work and your ministry. He knows what’s best for our world and how to use you to make that happen. He is working out God’s plans. When we surrender to His plans, then we begin to ask for the right things from Him.
Dynamic #3: Pray in Jesus’ Name
“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
Finally we’re talking about the final dynamic that is like the ignition that gets the whole principle working in our lives, praying in Jesus’ name. If we are going to participate in the works of Jesus to expand the kingdom of God with the gospel, we must pray in Jesus’ name. Let’s make sure we know what that means.
Most Christians end their prayer with the words, “In Jesus’ name, amen.” “In Jesus’ name, let this be so.” It can become a mindless formula if we’re not careful.
To ask something to be done in someone’s name is to claim their authority and desire to do what we’re asking to be done. Jesus is saying that we can lay claim to His authority to ask Him to do powerful works through us that will bring glory to God the Father. Anything in line with that, Jesus will do it. So, you can see how this is another way to pray, “hallowed be Your name” to our heavenly Father.
Just when the disciples might have been thinking, “Okay, we will have supernatural power because we are connected to Jesus, who’s in charge now,” Jesus let’s them know it’s less about what they’ll be doing and really all about what He’ll be doing. We ask, He acts.
So, now we understand two things all at once. First, that Jesus is not telling us that praying, “in Jesus’ name, amen,” means we’ll get anything we want. Second, praying in Jesus’ name is asking Jesus to work through us to bring glory to God through spreading the gospel of His kingdom. Anything we ask Jesus to do in line with this plan, He will do. And this is a much more powerful principle than electricity or engines or even the internet. This is the principle that will empower you to live a life of eternal fruitfulness for the glory of God and the good of the world.
Questions for Discussion
What are some powerful principles that you might not understand, but you’re glad they work? gravity, thanksgiving produces joy, compounded interest, etc.
How would you summarize the principle Jesus teaches in John 14:12-14?
Does anything surprise or astonish you about the passage this week?
What is your concept of what it means to pray in Jesus’ name?
What do we learn about God in this passage?
What do we learn about Jesus?
What practices are helping you grow in union with Christ right now?
What do we learn about prayer in this passage?
How will you respond to this passage this week?
Who is someone you can share this passage with this week?