Why is it that Jesus going to the Father would allow the Church, which is by definition those who believe in Jesus, to duplicate His works and do greater? Jesus went on to say, "When I go to the Father I will send you the Holy Spirit." Since Jesus laid aside all those attributes that made Him God when He came to earth, this according to Philippians 2:6-8, then we understand that it was the Holy Spirit who was performing the works of God through Jesus, and by sending the Holy Spirit to the Church, the Church would be able to work the works of Christ.
But wait just a minute, the Holy Spirit was actually promised twice. Which of these promises is supposed to produce the works of Christ? In John 4:14, Jesus promised the woman at the well, a well of water that would spring up inside her to everlasting life. Jesus called this water, living water (Jn.4:10). Then in John 7:39, Jesus identified the living water as being the Holy Spirit. So, in the receiving of everlasting life, which is done by belief in Jesus, a then believer by definition, is given a dispensation of the Holy Spirit that springs up inside them. Since this well of water is contained within the believer, it is hard to imagine that its purpose is for anything more than the benefit of the believer, themselves.
The second promise of the Holy Spirit was made in John 7:38, a completely different occasion, in a completely different set of circumstances, and the description of the water is totally different. This would indicate a different experience with the water. This promise is that the Living Water would flow out of the belly of believers as rivers. Again, since the Living Water is the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit was the driving force behind the miracles and healings, which were the works of God that Jesus performed, and Jesus said we would duplicate His works because He would go to the Father, sending us the Holy Spirit, then this dispensation of the Holy Spirit whereby the Living Water flows out of the believer must be the promise Jesus referred to. Plus, this gift of the Spirit is also received by belief in Jesus. Only the majority of the Church is embarassed by this manifestation of Living Water.
This is not rocket science. The truths we are speaking of are simple truths. It's just that the waters have been so mudied by those who wanted the gift of tongues to go away, that we must go back to the beginning, start with nothing more than the word of God, and consider it. We cannot build on the foundations of those who have gone before as the foundations are flawed in all but a few examples.
In Acts 1:8 after commanding the disciples to wait for the baptism with the Holy Spirit, He said, You shall receive power after that Holy Spirit has come upon you, and in Acts 2:4 the Holy Spirit did indeed come upon them and the power that was manifest was the gift of tongues. That the baptism with the Spirit is the same example as the rivers flowing out of the belly is abundantly clear for on the day of Pentecost, literally rivers of the Holy Spirit poured out of the mouths of those gathered to receive Him, and greater works than Jesus ever did was performed by them. This land of greater works is the Church's promised land. It is a land blessed beyond measure. Not just with the works of God, for as we perform the works of God, reaping the precious fruit of the earth, the Father God is delighted with us and gushes His blessings all over us. The early Church entered into that promised land and was blessed beyond measure. However, the disciples, the leaders of the Church, devoted themselves to praying in the Holy Spirit.
As time passed, Paul had to command the Corinthian Church not to hinder those who spoke in tongues (1Cor,14:39), obviously some were. He told the Thessalonians not to grieve the Holy Spirit, some were. Paul told Timothy to stir up the gift of God given by the laying on of hands (2Tim.1:6). The gift of the Father is the baptism with the Holy Spirit whereby the gift of tongues flows out of our mouths (Acts1:4), and this gift can be conferred by the laying on of hands. Timothy had obviously quit allowing the precious rivers of life to flow out of His belly. And why had Timothy quit speaking in tongues? Paul's next words might indicate the reason, "for God has not given us the Spirit of fear." Timothy had succombed to peer pressure brought to bear by some leaders of the Church who were trying to steer the Church away from the gift of tongues and the chaos caused by the great displays of God's power. These leaders wanted to govern the Church for themselves. They did not approve of the Holy Spirit's leadership. They sought a more controlled Church, with them in control. By the time of the canonization of the scripture and the unification of the Church under catholocism, those who spoke in tongues were only a fringe group. The leaders of the Church had abandoned the promised land for a desert experience, a more controlled environment.
In the book of Hebrews the Church is warned not to stop short after being delivered from the land of bondage. It is admonished to go forward, into the promised land. Evidently, by the time of the writing of this book a significant portion of the Church had already veered away from the baptism with the Spirit. They were teaching that the disciples had already fulfilled that command and all they needed to do now was just keep preaching the gospel. However, it is abundantly clear it was not Peter's preaching that convinced 3,000 souls they should accept Christ on the day of Pentecost, it was the power of God, which was a gift of tongues. Peter merely told them who Jesus was. But the Church, from this time forward, put their emphasis on the preaching of the gospel and abandoned the power to witness.
Paul said, "God did not call me to preach the gospel with the wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect" (1Cor.1:17), yet that is exactly what the Church has done for the last two thousand years. They have abandoned the power to witness (Acts1:8) and have taken up the power of salvation (Rom.1:16), and have nullified the cross of Christ by preaching the gospel with the wisdom of words. They have abandoned God's provision for saving the lost, which are demonstrations of power, confirming the supernatural event of the resurrection, and have interjected their own, which is preaching God's gospel with man's wisdom, which does not confirm that Jesus rose from the dead. Even though salvation is by faith, it is by faith in a supernatural event, that God died on the cross, taking the sins of humanity in His own body and conquering death is raised again to sit at the right hand of the Father and intercede on our behalf. Supernatural events confirm supernatural events. Preaching the gospel of Christ with the wisdom of words nullifies the cross of Christ.
Paul was not sent to preach the gospel with the wisdom of words and neither was any other member of Jesus' Church. Jesus spent 3&1/2 years teaching His disciples and then told them the Holy Spirit would remind them of all the things He had both done and taught when He came. In John 20:21 Jesus breathed on His disciples and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." So the disciples had all those years of teaching and the Holy Spirit to remind them, yet in Acts 1:4 Jesus said wait. Obviously all the teachings of Jesus did not sufficiently prepare the disciples for ministry. Something was still lacking. It was the power to witness of His resurrection.
The propblem with the gift of tongues is that it is the Holy Spirit in His crazy fluidic form. The speaking of tongues by a believer is a miracle in and of itself. No man learns this language, yet according to Acts 2:7-8, each language is spoken perfectly. Through this gift of the Father, every believer can work miracles and testify of Jesus' resurrection. If we yield to the gift of tongues we become like Jesus, who is very passionate about the things He died to provide for mankind. All this passion is unnerving to most self respecting Christians. The only way to control the Holy Spirit, is to control the gift of tongues, and that is so very easy to do, just don't open your mouth! However, to control the gift of tongues is to control the miracle. No wonder the Church has no power, they are very busy controlling the miracle working power!