We can do no greater

During his first visit to Bangladesh, Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider conducted a divine service in Dhaka on 10 November 2023 and used Psalm 92: 5 as Bible text: “O Lord, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep.”

“Together we can praise and worship our heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ today, and that is exactly the meaning of our Bible text today,” Chief Apostle Schneider explained “That is why we gather together in every divine service. Every service gives us the opportunity to remind ourselves how great the works of God are.”

Jesus is victorious

The Chief Apostle went on to list the works of God that He has accomplished through His Son Jesus Christ.

• Jesus did His Father’s will: “Nobody could stop Him: they hurt Him, they killed Him. But He remained faithful, He fulfilled His Father’s will perfectly and managed to remain without sin until the end.”
• His love was perfect: “He not only loved those around Him, He also went to the weak, the marginalised, the poor, and the sinners. Even in His final hours of suffering, He never stopped loving.”
• He had deep thoughts: “He did not give the people what they wanted. They wanted Him to do miracles, they expected Him to drive out the Romans and restore the kingdom of Israel—but He brought them redemption.”

“That is why we worship and praise God in every divine service,” the Chief Apostle explained. But not because God needs it. “We do this for ourselves, not for Him.” The Chief Apostle pointed out: “The works and the victory of Jesus Christ are the most important things in our life.”

What God does for salvation

Next, the Chief Apostle focussed on God’s offer of salvation.

• He does much more than just help us in our everyday lives. Many people expect God to heal them. They hope God will solve their problems. “But the idea, the plan of God, is a much bigger one. He wants us to be completely freed from the evil one.”
• He transforms completely: “He takes us poor and imperfect sinners and transforms us into the perfect image of Jesus Christ. He makes it possible for us sinners to become like Jesus Christ, who was simply perfect. This is something no human being can do.”
• His actions are beyond anything humanly imaginable. “God’s actions are beyond our understanding, but we have the guarantee that He is at work.”

And although these great works come from God, we often only think about what we as human beings do for God. “Let us change our way of looking at things,” the Chief Apostle continued. “Let us think about what we receive from God, what we will become through the transformation.”

God wants to save all human beings

The redemption of God includes

• the salvation of all human beings: “All human beings are included in His plan of salvation. No one is excluded. He wants to lead them all into His kingdom.
• fellowship with God and with one another: “He not only wants us to be saved, but He also wants us to become one people. He wants us to live in perfect fellowship with Him, but also with one another. Jesus wants us to become one, just as He and His Father are one.”
• an action of God that defies human understanding: “The members of the Church will not be perfect by the time Christ returns. But don’t focus on people’s weaknesses. Remember that it is God’s work, and He can use the weaknesses of human beings to do great things.”

The Chief Apostle reminded the congregation once again that it is God who directs His church, not human beings. That is why God’s will is done, not ours: “Let us trust in Jesus Christ and follow Him until the end. Then we will all praise His name in His kingdom and sing ‘How great Thou art’ for all eternity.”