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John Piper: We Can Do Nothing

John Piper: We Can Do Nothing

Suppose you are totally paralyzed and can do nothing for yourself but talk. And suppose a strong and reliable friend promised to live with you and do whatever you needed done. How could you glorify this friend if a stranger came to see you? Would you try getting out of bed and carrying him?

Of course the answer is you wouldn’t be able to do this in your paralyzed state. You are totally dependent on your able-bodied friend.

As the following 3-minute video points out, Scripture teaches us that in a similar way, we as believers in Christ have to rely on him like a paralyzed person would rely on a strong friend. John 15:5 says “Apart from me, you can do nothing.” God promises to do for us and through us what we can’t do ourselves.

The following verses (John 15:6-8) explain the way we glorify God is to bear fruit even in our paralyzed state.

Our paralyzed state is the precise reason why we prayer. “Prayer is the open admission that without Christ, we can do nothing.”