Neville Goddard on John 14:12

Executive Summary

Neville Goddard interprets the promise of John 14:12—that believers will do the works of Jesus and even greater—as a call to adopt the same consciousness that Jesus held. The key is not to believe in an external Jesus, but to believe as Jesus believed: that you are God. This inner conviction is a spiritual truth that unfolds within the individual, who can then share their experience, helping others to realize the same potential within themselves.

Key Concepts

• The verse should be understood as, “He that believes as I believe the works that I do shall he do also.”
• The essential belief is that you are God, just as Jesus believed, “I and My Father are one.”
• Doing the works of God is the natural consequence of believing yourself to be God.
• This realization is an internal experience, a remembrance that unfolds within you, which you then share with others.

Detailed Explanation

Neville Goddard’s interpretation of John 14:12 hinges on a crucial shift in perspective. He argues that the common reading, “He that believeth on Me,” should be corrected to, “He that believes as I believe.” The power to do the works of God does not come from faith in an external person, but from adopting the same internal belief system that Jesus embodied.

Jesus was able to do the works of God because he believed himself to be God, finding it no robbery to be equal with God. Therefore, for anyone else to do these works, they must also assume this same consciousness. It is a matter of identity; you are what you believe yourself to be. When you live in the feeling of being God, performing the works associated with God becomes a natural expression of your being, not a strange or miraculous event.

This promise is also part of a larger pattern of spiritual awakening. The divine story unfolds within an individual, brought to remembrance by the Holy Spirit. After having this internal experience, one tells others. This testimony helps others see the role and, in time, they too will have the same experience, fulfilling the promise that they will do the same, and even greater, works.

Important Quotes

“He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also” [John 14:12] should be “He that believes as I believe the works that I do shall he do also”.

— Feeling Is The Secret

It is natural to do the works of the one you believe yourself to be.

— Feeling Is The Secret

“All that I have done, you will do, and ever greater things than these you shall do.” (John 14:12), because “I am going to send the Holy Spirit, and He will bring to your remembrance all that I have told you.”

— Family Portrait

Related Concepts

This teaching is directly connected to Neville's core concepts of I AM and Consciousness. The instruction to “believe you are God” is a call to assume the consciousness of God, the ultimate state of I AM. The source material also connects this to Feeling Is The Secret by advising the student to “live in the feeling” of this new self-concept, as the feeling is the mechanism for making the belief a reality.

Common Misunderstandings

The primary misunderstanding corrected by Neville is the idea of believing in Jesus as an external figure. He clarifies that the true path is to believe as Jesus did—to adopt his consciousness and his belief in his own divinity. The power is not in worshiping a person, but in embodying a state of consciousness.

Practical Applications

The practical application is to fundamentally change your self-concept. Instead of believing in a God or Jesus separate from yourself, you must believe that you are God. A student should practice living in the feeling of this assumption. By identifying with God, the ability to do the “works” becomes a natural outcome of this new identity, rather than something to strive for.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Neville reinterpret the phrase 'He that believeth on Me' from John 14:12?

He rephrases it to mean, 'He that believes as I believe.' The emphasis shifts from faith in a person to adopting that person's state of consciousness.

According to Neville, what is the specific belief one must hold to do the works of Jesus?

One must believe that they are God. Jesus did the works of God because he believed himself to be God, and to replicate those works, you must hold the same belief.

How does this promise of doing 'greater works' spread from person to person?

It happens through testimony. When the divine story unfolds within you, you tell others. This helps them to eventually have the same internal experience for themselves.