In the context of John 14:12, the prospect of possessing a double portion anointing or doing “greater works” is somewhat scary and considered impossible by many. However, a prayerful consideration of the Master’s words in this verse will immediately highlight an important difference between Elisha’s experience and the Lord’s revelation here. In 2nd Kings 2:9, Elisha’s request was “Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. “The focus here is “thy spirit”, referring to Elijah’s anointing. In contrast, the Lord’s focus in John 14:12 is not on having a greater portion of the His anointing (which may be virtually impossible to bestow on mortal flesh for many reasons), but rather on doing His works. We carry out the works of Jesus by gaining access to His anointing through His Name (Acts 3:16). Therefore, we don’t need a huge amount of our own anointing to do the greater works spoken of in John 14:12; we only need to call on Jesus by faith to gain access to His unlimited power, which is an anointing without measure (John 3:34). No wonder Jesus in Matthew 17:20 said:
“…If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
Therefore, you should throw away every form of fear, doubt and unbelief in response to Jesus’ call to do greater works than He did.

Our Lord Jesus Christ was quite conscious of the weight of His words in John 14:12, and for this reason, He started His statement with emphasis, saying “Verily, verily, I say unto you”. When Jesus declared that His disciples would do greater works than He did, He meant that their works would have greater reach and impact on the wider world than His. He was not merely referring to miracles, signs and wonders, but to all aspects of what God had planned to do by the power of the Holy Spirit. Part of the greater works involves taking the gospel beyond Jerusalem to all parts of the world. It also involves miracles, signs and wonders of salvation, healing, deliverance, raising the dead and destroying the works of darkness wherever we go. I therefore challenge you to recognise Jesus as the Miracle-Worker and see what He will do through you. The Lord does not expect you to do any of His works with your own power. In John 14:14 He said:
“If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”
So, whenever you are faced with impossible situations in your life and in the lives of others, all you need to do is to call on the Name of Jesus. From today, whatever you decree on earth will be granted in heaven in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.