Book of Common Prayer

Prayer, sonship and the sovereignty of God

²⁶ In the same way, too, the spirit comes alongside and helps us in our weakness. We don’t know what to pray for as we ought to; but that same spirit pleads on our behalf, with groanings too deep for words. ²⁷ And the Searcher of Hearts knows what the spirit is thinking, because the spirit pleads for God’s people according to God’s will. ²⁸ We know, in fact, that God works all things together for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹ Those he foreknew, you see, he also marked out in advance to be shaped according to the model of the image of his son, so that he might be the firstborn of a large family. ³⁰ And those he marked out in advance, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Warnings against scribes and Pharisees

23 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples: ² “The scribes and Pharisees,” he said, “sit on the seat of Moses. ³ So you must do whatever they tell you, and keep it, but don’t do the things they do. You see, they talk but they don’t do. ⁴ They tie up heavy bundles which are difficult to carry, and they dump them on people’s shoulders—but they themselves aren’t prepared to lift a little finger to move them!

⁵ “Everything they do is for show, to be seen by people. Yes, they make their prayer-boxes large and their prayer-tassels long, ⁶ and they love the chief places at dinners, the main seats in the synagogues, ⁷ the greetings in the market-places, and having people call them ‘Rabbi.’

⁸ “You mustn’t be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have one teacher, and you are all one family. ⁹ And you shouldn’t call anyone ‘father’ on earth, because you have one father, in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor should you be called ‘teacher,’ because you have one teacher, the Messiah.

¹¹ “The greatest among you should be your servant. ¹² People who make themselves great will be humbled; and people who humble themselves will become great.”