2 Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”
Summaries are so helpful. You read a movie summary before you decide to watch it, a book summary before you decide to read it. A good summary will give you just enough about the characters and the plot to whet your appetite for more.
Throughout the New Testament, we find gospel summaries – nuggets of redemptive gold that capture the heart of Christ’s atoning work for us. These are some of our favorite passages – the ones we go to when we want to share the gospel, when we want to be reminded of God’s love, when we need hope in dark times. This verse is one of those nuggets, particularly fitting for Christmas, which in three parts captures why Jesus came into the world and what He did upon coming into the world.
Why Jesus came into the world
His heart is full of grace. There is more grace in Him than there is sin in us. And because His grace superabounds in the face of all our sins, we are assured of our salvation – not just for a lifetime, but for countless lifetimes, for all eternity. And so, with grace overflowing in Him toward us, He came for our sake.
How Jesus came into the world (and what He did for us)
For our sake, Jesus traded His riches for rags. He who lived in unapproachable light and robed in the eternal glory of all His perfections – this One entered Mary’s womb. He was born without any fanfare into a region where the king sought to kill him. He ministered to those who should’ve known better than to reject all the signs that He was their long-awaited Messiah. He bowed His head in death, the ultimate act of self-impoverishment…all for our sake.
Through His poverty in becoming human and becoming our sin-bearer, we have become exceedingly rich. Not in monetary terms. But truly rich because God’s riches in salvation have no expiration date, cannot be defiled, and will never fade away. We are rich in heavenly treasure, rich in divine glory, and rich in adoption as sons that makes us co-heirs with Christ.
Christmas is the first of many emblems of Christ’s self-impoverishment. We can follow their trail straight to Calvary. And with each marker, we can rest assured, it was for our sake that Christ became poor. It was for our sake that the One who was rich gave up everything, including His very own life, that we might become enriched through Him.
Let that gift stir our hearts to worship and honor Him.
