Question 48
What is the church?
2 Thessalonians 2:13
But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
Prayer
Lord God, we pray for the many people around us who reject you or ignore you. We pray for those who do not love you and do not love your church. We pray you would come to them and help them. And we pray for ourselves that you would help us to tell others about Jesus Christ. Help us, as a church, to love one another, and to learn more of your truth and your Word. Help us together to love you, worship you, and serve you so that others may see your church and may be drawn to you, the one true and living God. Amen.
Derived and adapted from John Owen in “The Doctrine of the Saints’ Perseverance Explained and Confirmed” in The Works of John Owen, edited by Thomas Russell, Volume VI (London, 1826), xxix–xxx.
What is grace?
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