Is Jesus’ Church A Greater Work Than The Cross?

Good Morning Friends,

Ok I am engaged but the power is not mine. I have a sense of purpose to do something great and a desire to do faithful work but still live in the flesh. I realize the continuing work of Christ is never done by a single person; it takes a focus on the continuing work of the Body of Believers. The work is to continue for we all desperately need to be transformed. But I wonder, Is Jesus’ Church A Greater Work Than The Cross?

Scripture: The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul. Then both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'” When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the word of the Lord; and as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers. Thus the word of the Lord spread throughout the region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their region. So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 13:44-52 (NRSV)

If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 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; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

John 14:7-14 (NRSV)

For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.

Romans 5:10 (NRSV)

Message: I would have to say that Jesus must have had more faith in all of us than I do. It is frightening to think that Jesus would leave the work of evangelism and the church to the likes of us. When one looks logically at the behavior of humans, we are a pretty evil lot. There is a lot of work to be done. Here we must face the test of love. Here the greater works that Jesus spoke of are to be accomplished by all of us working together in love to do that which we cannot accomplish alone. Jesus offers it as a promise to those who believe. Jesus frees us to live abundantly. That is where the Holy Spirit comes into the picture. And I guess one could say that in time it is greater because it is no longer limited to a human body and is not limited by even the lifespan of a person. Jesus’ work on the cross is the center point of all history, however the work Jesus has bequeathed to us goes on and is a challenge to accomplish, but when seen in the scope of history is a remarkable work of resurrection. Friends, believing in Jesus’ faith in us is what gives us strength and rebirth generation after generation. Sometimes it works out and we are filled with joy and the Holy Spirit, and the work of ministry multiplies through our collective impact. At other times, we must shake the dust off our feet and move on, perhaps to return when the time comes. Now what may be confusing is that there are two types of faith at play here. There is the faith that believing in Jesus is effective and works to mend broken lives. This is a faith of value that produces real and striking results. But Christ, I think, seeks a much deeper faith that recognizes that He bears all the consequences and is not like God but is God. Perhaps the two faiths connect in a common joy whenever we tell others of the hope that is in all the faulty people who believe and share a focus on and rejoicing in the good news of the resurrection. Friends, if Jesus has enough faith in us to carry on His work perhaps, we should have more faith in each other. Certainly, as individuals we are limited by our mortality and human nature, but the Holy Spirit gives us the encouragement to carry on the work of Jesus. There remains a cooperative relationship between us and Christ in heaven. All we must do is call out the name of Jesus.

And So, we cannot separate the work of Jesus for it is beyond time and space. And I am not even sure we can help complete the work in us and certainly not without the power of the Holy Spirit. You see, asking what is more important is like asking whether Lebron James’ left leg or left arm is more important to his basketball skill. The answer is both and so too with the work of faith in our life. Severing parts of the Gospel is much like severing the body parts of the Church Universal. Experiencing God together in love is where transformation happens. And we need to be transformed. All of us reformed and continue to be reformed into the image of Christ.

 Pray Jesus’ Spirit is active in us, and through us to help complete the task of the salvation of the whole world. Pray the miracles of Jesus help us to believe. Pray that the work we do in Jesus’ name collectively helps us to believe. Pray we are more confident in Jesus’ incredible promise of our greatness but still humble. Pray the Spirit of Truth empowers us to lead others to a faith so that all the great work we do points to Jesus. Pray we realize that our collective work does not have to be miraculous to be great. Pray we realize that without grace it is impossible to perform any good work. Pray we pass the test of love.

Blessings,

John Lawson