1Cor 1:3 Grace, Mercy, and Peace 10/18/2020
#1. Mercy (1Cor 15:50, Col 1:18, 1Cor 1:2)
#2. Grace (1Cor 1:2-3,30-2:2)
#3. Peace (1Cor 1:3, Rom 5:1, Gal 3:22, Phil 4:7, Col 3:15)
Please open your Bibles to the First Epistle to the Corinthians, 1Cor 1:1 (2X). In the sermons I preached in the last two weeks I tried to focus on the mercy of God through Jesus Christ. I would like to continue this trend, and that is why I chose to begin a new series today on the First Epistle of Paul to the church at Corinth. We have a God who is great in mercy. This is one of His chief characteristics, for God says that He delights in mercy (Mic 7:18). Also, when we consider the introductory greetings of the Lord in the Epistles we always remember the words, Grace, Mercy and Peace. And so, the title of this sermon is, “Grace, Mercy and Peace” (2X). Let us now read the greeting of the Lord to the Church in 1Cor 1:1-9,
1Cor 1:1-9to be) an apostle of Jesus Christ through
the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are
sanctified in Christ Jesus, called (to be) saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of
Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from
the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my
God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus
Christ; That in every thing ye are
enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was
confirmed in you: So that ye come
behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the
end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were
called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
First of all, these are the words of God, given to mankind through the pen of the Apostle Paul. God gave it to mankind in Greek. The Greek text is the infallible word of God. The KJ Bible is not infallible, for it is the work of man. For example, in verses 1 and 2 the KJ translators introduced the words “to be”, which conveys a different doctrine than the true Gospel of the Bible. The Gospel declares that those who are saved are called saints, whereas the Roman Catholic doctrine says that you may become a saint after you have died. That is a lie. And Paul did not become an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ by his own free will, or through manipulating the church of those days, or by his intellectual abilities, or by his abilities to evangelize the world, or by any other qualifications he might have. Paul became an Apostle, together with the other twelve Apostles, through the will of God. And God did not make up His mind at the time He discovered that Saul of Tarsus lived in the nation of Israel. Before the beginning of time God made up His mind that He was going to make Saul of Tarsus the thirteenth Apostle. And now this Apostle delivered this message to the church at Corinth. We read in the beginning of verse 2, “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth”. What is the meaning of these words, “the church of God”? When we look at the externally visible church in the world we should realize that not everyone who belongs to the church is a saved individual. There are definitely unsaved people in the church. For example, in 1Cor 3:18 God says to the whole church, “Let no man deceive himself”, and in 1Cor 5:1 God says, “There is fornication among you”, and in 1Cor 10:21 God says, “Ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils”. God would not say such things if everyone in the church is saved. And so, we should consider that the externally visible church has a nucleus of saved people, and it is this nucleus of saved people whom God is now addressing with the words, “Church of God”. Is God now addressing all people in the church at Corinth, or is He only addressing it to those who have become saved? Looking at the context of verse 2 we can say that God is definitely taking aim at the saints in the church at Corinth. But God also addresses these words to everyone else in the congregation, because they too have come under the hearing of the Word of God, and they too have been set apart as servants of God, because they too belong to the church of God. The church is the outward manifestation of the Kingdom of God, whereas the saints are the invisible nucleus of truly saved people in the church. Moreover, the message of the First Epistle to the Corinthians is not only addressed to the entire congregation at Corinth, but it is also addressed to us here in Bellflower. We read in verse 2, “with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours”. Christ is their Lord as well as our Lord. Can you see that? God declares unto us the Gospel. Paul preached the Gospel to the Corinthians, and they received him, and believed him. What is the Gospel? The Gospel is the Good News of salvation through the cross of Christ. It is the Good News that God sent a Savior. It is the Good News of God’s great power and His love for creatures like us. It is the Good News that there is an escape from the penalty for sin for Christ paid on our behalf the penalty for sin. Then God speaks to all the congregation at Corinth about:
#1. Mercy (1Cor 15:50, Col 1:18, 1Cor 1:2)
Where do we read about mercy? We read in verse 3, “Grace be unto you, and peace”. In almost all the letters of the Apostle Paul to the churches he greets them with “Grace be unto you, and peace”. Where is the mercy? Let us review the definitions of mercy and grace according to what we find in Webster’s Dictionary. Mercy is when God is withholding what we do deserve. We do deserve to be cast into Hell for our sins. When God is withholding Hell from us, that is mercy. Grace is when God is giving us what we do not deserve. When God is giving us eternal life in heaven, that is grace. Both grace and mercy are given by God freely, No payment of anything is required. Therefore grace is unmerited favor, and mercy is unmerited pardon. Grace is the undeserved favor of God, and mercy is the undeserved pardon of God. And if we keep these definitions in mind we will understand the Gospel of the Bible.
The Gospel declares that all mankind comes into the world as an enemy of God, and begins his life in trespasses and sins. Therefore all mankind is on a slippery slope on the way to Hell. And so, when God saves us He first gives us mercy, which means that He first pardon’s our sins. It means that we do not have to go to Hell, and that is already a great blessing indeed. It means that God takes us out of the pit of misery and out of the pit of debt of minus infinity, and places us on neutral ground. What is neutral ground? Neutral ground is when all our sins are erased, and the penalty for all our sins is also erased. That takes us from minus infinity to zero, like the animals. For the animals have no sin, but they also do not inherit the kingdom of God, for God said in 1Cor 15:50, “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God”. But that does not yet entitle us to go to heaven, for to enter into heaven we must have the righteousness of God; we must be perfectly righteous like God is righteous. Now God gives us grace, which means that He gives us the righteousness of Christ, and He elevates us from poor humans at ground zero to the status of sons of God. It means that He takes us from zero to plus infinity; He takes us higher than the angels, to where God is. That is where the adopted sons of God are, for God will honor us as the Bride of Christ. Therefore, when God saves us He gives us a double inheritance. The double inheritance is Mercy and Grace. We have read in the Bible that in every family the firstborn son receives a double inheritance. The Lord Jesus Christ was a firstborn son in the family of Joseph and Mary. But in the family of God He is called the Firstborn Son, because in Col 1:18 He is named the Firstborn from the dead. And because Christ is called the Firstborn, we who are in Christ are also called the firstborn. Therefore, since we are called firstborn, God gave us a double inheritance, Mercy and Grace. We could not have asked for more, for as sons of God we inherit also all that God has. But now, where do we see “mercy” in the introductory statements of 1Cor 1? Read verse 2 carefully. There we read that this Epistle was written “To them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints”. These saints have already received mercy, and so to pray that they may receive mercy is a redundancy. But we continue to need grace, for it is the grace of God that upholds us until the last day.
Please drop down in this first chapter of 1Cor to verse 19, 1Cor 1:19. There we find that we all were wise in our own conceits. We all were fooling ourselves. God says in 1Cor 1:19, “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” Those among men who consider themselves wise, and who consider themselves prudent, are fools in the eyes of God. “God has made foolish the wisdom of this world”. God says in verse 21,
1Co 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
A wise God made the world as it is today. It is a world that by their own wisdom knew not God. It is a world that is wise in their own conceits. We all at one time were part of that world. We all came into this world as enemies of God, knowing better than God, being wiser than God, but knowing not God at all. This is how we came into this world. We refused to read or believe what God wrote in the Bible, because we rejected it out of hand. And is that not also what we are experiencing today? Try to tell someone on the street that God in flaming fire is going to take vengeance on them that know not God and that God will make an end of this world. They will ridicule you or they will send the men in white coats to you to take you to an insane asylum. Please drop down to 1Cor 2:14 (2X). God, in His wisdom, designed it so that all men come into this world as enemies of God, and haters of the God of the Bible. Only after we have become “Born Again” are we willing to believe what God has said in the Bible. Before the moment of our salvation we too considered preaching to be foolishness. But preaching the Gospel was pleasing to God. And so, God arranged it that through the foolishness of preaching people became saved. And when they were saved, they were no longer enemies of God, but became children of God and believers of His Word. All those who still remain in their natural state, remain in their darkened mind, rejecting the things God proclaimed in His Word. We read in 1Cor 2:14 (2X),
1Co 2:14 But the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned.
This is a very important verse. This verse tells us that we, who
came into the world as natural men, could not receive the things of the Spirit
of God. It was impossible for us to receive, or believe, the things of the
Spirit of God, because these spiritual things were foolishness to us. How can
you believe something of which you know for sure that it is nonsense? And then
God says in the second half of 1Cor 2:14, “neither
can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned”, and that word
translated “discerned” is actually “judged”. It means that the
natural man has already passed judgment on the things that the Bible declares.
Therefore the natural man cannot know those spiritual things, because he has already
decided what he wants to believe, regardless what the Bible says. For example,
will the natural man believe that he cannot do anything that is acceptable to
God? No! The natural man refuses to believe that he is an abomination to
God. The natural man refuses to believe that he is on the way to Hell.
The natural man refuses to believe that the only way to salvation is
through Jesus Christ. The natural man refuses to believe that salvation
is not of works but only by the grace of God. The natural man refuses to
believe that this world will come to an end. The natural man refuses to
believe that there is a resurrection of all the bodies of all people who ever
lived and then they will be judged according to their works. And since man sins
voluntarily, God is justified to cast such persons into Hell. Please turn
in your Bibles to the Epistle to the Romans, Rom 8:28 (2X). But then
there were those who did hold fast the Word that the Apostle Paul preached unto
them. And today there are those who are touched by God the Holy Spirit when
they hear the preaching of the Gospel. And that is the mercy of God.
Ro 8:28 And we know that all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose.
Who are
those that love God? Only those who are “the called” will love God. No one else
will. Please turn again to 1Cor chapter 1, 1Cor 1:9 (2X). Who
are those who were called? We read in 1Cor 1:9
1Co 1:9 God is
faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ
our Lord.
This is Good News. But to whom does this verse refer? This verse
refers to the same group of people mentioned in verse 4. There God says,
“I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace
of God which is given you by
Jesus Christ”. This refers to the saints in the church at Corinth. They
are the only ones at the church at Corinth who have been given the grace of God
unto salvation. God does not bestow His saving grace on those who remain
unsaved. There is no common grace given to all man-kind. That is a concept that
was formed in the church, but it is not found in the Bible. This Good News is
only for those who have been saved, or who are going to be saved, who will
receive the grace of God as a free gift. But let us see what else God will do
for them. Look at verses 5-8. They are the only ones who will
repent of their sins. They are the only ones who will believe the whole
Bible. They are the only ones who are enriched by God in all utterance
and in all knowledge. These are the only ones who are eagerly waiting
for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. These are the only ones whom
God will confirm unto the end that they may be blameless in the Day of the Lord
Jesus Christ. In other words, these are the only ones on whom God
bestows His love. Why does the Apostle Paul give thanks to God for this elite
group of people? Why does he not thank them for making such a wise decision to
follow Jesus, and for bringing up the faith to believe on Jesus? It is because
their faith was given to them by the grace of God. That is what verse 4
says. What is grace? Grace is the unmerited favor of God unto salvation. It
means you cannot do anything to merit such a favor from God. It is a FREE GIFT.
It means that God decides whom to give it to. But knowing the wisdom of God
helps us understand WHEN God decided to give His grace to whom He will. God
decided that before the foundation of the world, because God’s wisdom is
already infinite, and God cannot become wiser with time. IF God would
have decided it at some point in time then God would have depended on earthly
circumstances to make His decision, and this would mean that God became wiser
as time went on. But that is impossible. God is infinitely wise, and His wisdom
cannot improve as time goes on. Therefore God must have made His decisions
before time began, and God did not base His decisions on what human beings
would do when God looked down the corridors of time. If God’s grace would be
given based on something that we will do, then grace would not be a gift, but
it would be earned or deserved for something we do. But then it would no longer
be a FREE GIFT. Therefore God chose His elect from before the foundation of the
world, and God chose to bestow His love on them. Please turn now to 1Cor
1:24 (2X). And so we see that the principle of election appears very early
in this chapter. God does not love those who are in the church
but who never become saved. God calls them unrighteous. God does not
love those who are outside the church and who never become saved. God calls
them unrighteous. God says in 1Cor 6:9, “Know ye not that the unrighteous
shall not inherit the Kingdom of God?” But God calls His elect, and God gives
them faith.
1Co 1:24-29 But unto them which are called, both
Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because
the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger
than men. For ye see your calling,
brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many
noble, are called: But God
hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath
chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and
things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are
not, to bring to nought things that are: That
no flesh should glory in his presence.
The actions God takes in saving people are all designed to bring glory to God alone. That is why not many wise men after the flesh, and not many mighty, and not many noble are called unto salvation. That is why God has chosen foolish things in the world, and God has chosen weak things in the world, and God has chosen base things in the world, and God has chosen things that are despised by the world. God has done this because He must receive all the honor and all the glory. His triumph over Sin and Satan may not be ascribed in part to human wisdom, or human power, or human righteousness. God will not share His glory with another. This is why God exercises His mercy on His elect only. Let us now look at the other side of God’s sovereignty.
#2. Grace (1Cor 1:2-3,30-2:2)
We read in 1Cor 1:2, “To them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus”. Then we read in 1Cor 1:30 (2X)
1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1Co 1:31 That,
according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
This passage again is addressing only the saints. Only the saints are in Christ (Eph 1:4). It is a fundamental principle of the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ that we are in Christ Jesus. We have been chosen from before the foundation of the world to be in Christ (Eph 1:4), which means that He is our representative in the Spirit. We were in Christ when He was crucified, we were in Christ when He died we were in Christ when He was buried, and we were in Christ when He rose from the grave. And thus, when Christ endured the equivalent of an eternity in Hell we were in Christ, going through the Hell experience with Him. Therefore God will never send us to Hell because we have been there already, in Christ, and we were there when Christ emerged from this Hell experience when He cried out victoriously, “It is finished”! Therefore God says that we are in Christ Jesus, who is made unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption. Here is the principle of grace and here is the principle of substitution. We must be wise in the sight of God. Christ substitutes His wisdom in our place. It does not mean that we become instantly wiser. We could remain just as dumb as before our salvation, but in the sight of God Christ places His wisdom upon us so that God sees us as having the wisdom of Christ. Likewise we must be righteous in God’s sight. Christ covers us with His righteousness so that we are righteous in God’s sight. We must be sanctified in God’s sight. The words sanctified and holy are the same word. Christ places His holiness upon us so that we are as holy as Christ in the sight of God. We must be redeemed before God. Our sins must have been washed away. Christ took the guilt of our sins and paid for those sins the penalty equivalent to that which had to be paid if we would have to pay it. That penalty is an eternity in Hell. Christ paid the equivalent of that penalty, and paid for it in full. And thus, when God looks at us He sees no sin, because Christ paid for every sin that we ever would commit. And so, when we see the principle of substitution applied to every fiber of our being, we stand amazed at the wisdom of God for arranging it this way from before the foundation of the world. Therefore, we agree with the Apostle, “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord”. When we think of the principle of substitution we stand totally amazed at the wisdom of God. This is what the atonement of Christ stands for. This is what we understand His substitution stands for. And so, when we think of the cross of Christ we think of the following 2 verses in the second chapter. There the apostle Paul says in 1Cor 2:1,
1Co 2:1 ¶ And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not
with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of
God.
1Co 2:2 For I
determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him
crucified.
All he wanted to talk about was Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ was the highlight in God’s plan for the history of this world. It is the hinge on which the door swings from the OT to the NT period of time. On that day the Ceremonial Law was abolished, and the bloody signs of the covenant were replaced by the non-bloody signs, such as water baptism, and the Lord’s supper, and a new era of Sunday Sabbaths. But when we read that all the elect of God were placed in Christ from before the foundation of the world, then it is utterly amazing that there are people who believe that Christ suffered and died for the sins of everyone in the whole world. This is called ”Universal atonement”, and it is utter nonsense. What nonsense is this when we demand that Christ must have suffered for millions of people who lived and died before the Lord Jesus was born and who lived in a Christless universe? They could not be saved, because they died as natural men, and 1Cor 2:14 says that the natural man is an unsaved human being who cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God. Certainly, Christ did not suffer and die for Judas Iscariot, the son of Hell, of whom the Lord Jesus said that it were better for that man if he had not been born. No! Christ suffered and died only for His elect, who were placed in Christ. This is the only way we can harmonize all the Scriptures. This is the only way we can make sense out of God’s use of the word “Grace”. He died for our sins. He did not die for the sins of every human being in the world. That would not harmonize with “our sins”. He died only:
Please turn again to 1Cor 1:2. And there we read,
1Co 1:2 Unto the
church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus,
called saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of
Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
Those that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, those that are saved, are called saints. Saints, according to the Bible are those who have been saved. Let us see how God blesses His children, who are called saints. We read in 1Cor 1:3,
1Co 1:3 Grace be
unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus
Christ.
More grace is heaped unto the saints even after they have been saved. They receive grace in every corner of their life. God’s irresistible grace is guiding them every step of the way. God’s irresistible grace accompanies them in their Bible studies, in their prayers, in their workplace, in their car when they are driving home after an exhausting day at work, in their interpersonal relationships at home, and in so many other instances where the grace of God is needed to help us get through life in a God glorifying way. We receive grace in sickness and in health, when we are awake, and when we sleep. We even receive grace in restless leg syndrome. We receive grace to mold our thought processes so that we will have peace with God. As you know, the peace that the Bible writes about is not a peace between men, or a peace between nations. The peace that the Bible writes about is a peace with God. Before our salvation we were at war with God. After our salvation we are at peace with God through the faith that the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross purchased our peace with God. During our wilderness wanderings through this sin cursed world we may begin to doubt our peace with God. Then God gives us more grace to assure us that our peace with God is not based on our performance, and it is not based on our ability to live a sinless life. But God, through Christ on the cross, arranged our peace with God. We cannot undo what God has done in our hearts. And so, we can thank God for His faithfulness in supporting us through this life with His grace. We read in 1Cor 1:4, “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ”. We thank God for giving us peace in our church. This is not automatic. There are many churches that are in turmoil. We find in 1Cor 1:10,
1Co 1:10 ¶ Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be
no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the
same mind and in the same judgment.
God will give us what we need in this church. To achieve peace in the church does not mean that we all must be duplicates of one another. But it does mean that we all speak the same thing, and that we do not create divisions in the church. Please turn again to chapter 15, to 1Cor 15:57 (2X),
1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us
the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
In all these things where God blesses us with His grace, His
unmerited favor, not only at the time of our salvation, but also in all the
struggles we have in this life, God promises us that we shall have victory. How
can it be otherwise? We, who are the Body of Christ, and whom the Lord Jesus
bought at the cross, and for whom He intercedes presently, and all the time,
how shall He not give us all things? For this we must give God thanks, all day,
and every day. All this is the great wonder of our salvation, and the great
wonder of our sanctification, through God’s irresistible grace in our life. God
does not do this for everybody in the world. God does this only for His
children, His elect. And God gives us
also:
#3. Peace (1Cor 1:3, Rom 5:1, Gal 3:22, Phil 4:7, Col 3:15)
W read in 1Co 1:3, Grace be unto you, and
peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
When we try to understand this peace we must
make a distinction between the peace with God and the peace of God. Please
turn to the Epistle to the Romans, Rom 5:1 (2X). Both the peace with
God and the peace of God are gifts from God that are given to every saint as a
result of our salvation. Before our salvation we were at war with God, but
after we were saved we are at peace with God.
Rom 5:1 Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
This
verse tells us that we have peace with God because we have been justified by
faith. This was not our faith by which we have been justified, but it was
Christ’s faith that has been given to us, for we read in Gal 3:22, “But
the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of
Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.” It is the faith of
Jesus Christ which is given to the saints. This again is one of those
magnificent gifts of God which is difficult to understand, but which is true.
But the peace of God is of a different nature
altogether. Please turn to the Epistle to the Philippians, Phil 4:7
(2X). This is a dear letter from Paul to the church at Philippi where he
addresses them full of love as if they were his very own children. That was the
same city of Philippi where Paul and Silas were shamefully treated, and
wounded, and thrown in prison. We read in Phil 4:7,
Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
“The peace of God which passeth all
understanding” shall be our possession. We may have been very ill treated at
our place of employment, but the peace of God which passeth all understanding
shall keep us calm. We may be going through a divorce, which is very grievous
and painful, but the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep us
away from self-pity and insanity. We may be going through the death process of
a spouse with whom we have been married for 57 years, but the peace of God
which passeth all understanding shall keep us safe from collapsing under the
spiritual load. And so, whether the church is in decline, or the country is
going to the dogs, we rest assured that God certainly knows what He is doing, and
Christ is with us all the way. Please turn in your Bibles to the Epistle
to the Colossians, Col 3:15 (2X). Colossians is just a few pages further
than Philippians. The peace of God is here also mentioned, and the meaning is
the same as in Philippians. We read in Col 3:15,
Col 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts,
to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
The
peace of God shall rule in our hearts, so that we are not bitter in this vale
of tears, but we are thankful for God’s providence and for His sovereign grace.
We are thankful for what He daily gives us, for we live unto His glory. Are we
content with the life He has reserved for us? If so, let us remember,
1Cor 1:8 Who shall
also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
How can it be otherwise? If God did such a marvelous work of grace
in us, how can there be any circumstance or power that will undo the work of
God? That is not possible. No one can undo the work of God, because there is
only one God, and there exists no power outside Him. He was from the beginning
the only One who is omnipotent, and this situation has not changed after He
began to call this creation out of nothing. And therefore, God will see to it
that we shall persevere until our last breath in this life. That is God’s
promise here in 1Cor 1:8. It does not mean that we shall live a sinless
life. But we shall persevere as His servants unto the end. We shall persevere
loving the Lord Jesus Christ unto the end. We shall persevere to pray to
the Father, and tell Him of our struggles and of our pains. We shall persevere
reading and studying the Bible and continue to grow spiritually unto the end.
That is what the unmerited favor of God does within us.
AMEN. Let us turn to the Lord in
prayer.