How do we know the promises of God apply to the church?

The promises of God are unequivocally directed towards His church, as seen in 2 Thessalonians 1:2, which mentions grace and peace from God through Christ. This points to the essential truth that the benefits of God's promises are not universal to everyone, but rather are reserved for those who are in a covenant relationship with Christ. The New Testament epistles reinforce this by consistently addressing those who have faith in Christ; thus, only those who truly believe and are joined to Him can claim these promises. This is a critical aspect of sovereign grace theology, emphasizing that outside of Christ, there is no access to God's blessings or promises.