Our theme is a confessional statement. The statement as a whole as well as each of its terms makes sense only as a confession. We must consider this for a moment at the very outset. In doing so, our thoughts tend in two directions. The realization that we are dealing with a confessional statement implies above all that the assertion of our theme is possible only within the Church. The little word us points unmistakably to this fact: The grace of God gives us Christ for justification
