John 14:10

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"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works."

John 14:10 (NKJV)

"Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work."

John 14:10 (NIV)

"Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works."

John 14:10 (KJV)

"Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me."

John 14:10 (NLT)

"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."

John 14:10 (ESV)

"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you I do not say on My own initiative or authority, but the Father, abiding continually in Me, does His works [His attesting miracles and acts of power]."

John 14:10 (AMP)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

"Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren't mere words. I don't just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act."

John 14:10 (MSG)

Scripture quotations from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.

New Covenant Meaning

Jesus Revealed How the Indwelling Works

In John 14:10, Jesus pulls back the curtain on the secret of His ministry. The works were not coming from Jesus operating independently as the Son of God. They were coming from the Father dwelling in Him and doing His works through Him. Jesus was the vessel. The Father was the source. The works of healing, raising the dead, and commanding nature were the Father's works accomplished through a Son who was perfectly yielded to His indwelling. This is the model for the New Covenant believer: Christ in you (Colossians 1:27) doing His works through you.

The Pattern Extends to Believers in John 14:12

Jesus immediately extends this principle in verse 12: "He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to the Father." The logic is: the Father in Jesus did the works (v. 10), and because Jesus goes to the Father and sends the Spirit, those who believe in Him will have the same indwelling reality and will do the same works. The Father worked through Jesus. The Spirit of Christ works through believers. The mechanism is the same.

The phrase "the Father who dwells in Me does the works" contains the word meno: abides, dwells, remains. The same word Jesus will use in John 15 for the vine and branches: abide in Me. The Father's abiding in Jesus produced the works. The believer's abiding in Christ is the condition for the works to continue through them. John 14:10 and John 15:5 interpret each other: the Father abiding in Jesus produced fruit; Christ abiding in the believer produces fruit. Same mechanism, applied to the New Covenant community.

Application for Your Life

You Are a Vessel for the Works of God

John 14:10 reframes the entire concept of Christian ministry and service. You are not trying to accomplish things for God through your own ability and then asking Him to bless your effort. You are a vessel through whom the indwelling Christ does His works. This means the starting point is not "what can I do for God?" It is "what is Christ doing in and through me?" The answer to that question leads to a kind of fruitfulness that exceeds what you could produce on your own, just as the works Jesus did exceeded what a merely human teacher could accomplish.

Yield to the One Who Dwells in You

The practical application of John 14:10 is the same as what Jesus modeled: yield. Jesus did not speak on His own authority (v. 10). He was fully yielded to what the Father within Him was saying and doing. The New Covenant life is a life of increasing yielding to the Christ who dwells within. This is not passivity. It is the most active thing possible: cooperating with the infinite power of the indwelling Spirit rather than working alongside it from the outside.

Prayer Based on This Verse

Father, I thank You for the revelation of John 14:10. You dwelt in Jesus and did Your works through Him. That same reality is available to me through the New Covenant. Christ lives in me. The Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in me. I yield to that indwelling today. I am not working for You from the outside. You are working through me from the inside. Let Your works be accomplished through me today: the works of healing, freedom, love, and the proclamation of truth. Not my ability. Your indwelling. In Jesus' name. Amen.