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For meditation this evening, 
prior to participating in the Lord's Supper, we're going to 
read 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and then focus our attention specifically 
on verse 9. We consider the riches of Jesus 
Christ. I do want to begin reading in 
chapter 8 at verse 1 to set the text in its larger context. 2 Corinthians chapter 8. Moreover, brethren, we make known 
to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, 
that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and 
their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. 
For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond 
their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much 
urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of 
the ministering to the saints. And not only as we had hoped, 
but they first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us by 
the will of God. So we urged Titus that as he 
had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. But 
as you abound in everything, in faith, in speech and knowledge, 
in all diligence and in your love for us, see that you abound 
in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but 
I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of 
others. For you know the grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes 
he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich. And in this I give advice. It 
is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and 
were desiring to do a year ago, But now you also must complete 
the doing of it, that as there was a readiness to desire it, 
so there also may be a completion of what you have. For if there 
is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one 
has, and not according to what he does not have. For I do not 
mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but by an equality, 
that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their 
abundance also may supply your lack, that there may be equality. As it is written, he who gathered 
much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no 
lack. But thanks be to God who puts 
the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus, for 
he not only accepted the exhortation, But being more diligent, he went 
to you of his own accord. And we have sent with him the 
brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches. And not only that, but who also 
was who was also chosen by the churches to travel with us with 
this gift, which is administered by us to the glory of the Lord 
himself and to show your ready mind, avoiding this, that anyone 
should blame us in this lavish gift, which is administered by 
us. providing honorable things, not 
only on the side of the Lord, but also on the side of men. 
And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have often proved 
diligent in many things, but now much more diligent because 
of the great confidence which we have in you. If anyone inquires 
about Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker concerning 
you. Or if our brethren are inquired about, they are messengers of 
the churches, the glory of Christ. Therefore, show to them and before 
the churches the proof of your love and of our boasting on your 
behalf. Amen. Let us pray. Our father, 
we give you thanks for this section of scripture, we pray specifically, 
Lord, that you would guide our our thoughts and our meditation 
as we consider our Lord Jesus Christ, how we thank you. that 
though he was rich, yet he became poor for our sakes, that we through 
his poverty might know the eternal riches that God has poured out 
upon us. We just thank you, Lord. And 
we know it's connected to his life and his death and his resurrection. 
It's connected to the to the gospel. These are the blessings 
that flow from this wonderful transaction. We just ask now 
that you would bless our time together and may you indeed be 
worshipped and glorified. May you bless the preached word 
as it goes forth here and throughout the earth. We pray that a great 
multitude would turn on to you and be saved. And we ask through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, it's important for 
us to understand the larger context here. The context specifically 
is one of giving material things to alleviate the suffering of 
the poor. While Paul was out preaching on his missionary journeys, 
he was collecting money. At one specific time, there was 
a famine in Judea. And so Paul would go to the various 
churches, Gentile churches, and he would collect money from that. 
And in Acts 21, it's recorded that when he comes back to Jerusalem, 
he's able to bring a monetary gift to seek to alleviate the 
suffering of the people of God in that particular place. Not 
only were the Corinthians to give, but they were to persevere 
and to do it cheerfully. Notice that Paul holds forth 
the example of the Macedonians in verses one to five. Look at 
what he says. Specifically, I believe Philippi 
is in view here. Verse two, it says that in a 
great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their 
deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. What an indictment. Here was 
a church that was impoverished. Here was a church that did not 
have a lot, and yet from their little resources, they abounded 
in liberality. And this was a time of joy for 
them. It was an abundance of joy. So, 
he sets forth the Macedonians, specifically the Philippians, 
as an example to giving. And then he sets forth Jesus 
Christ as a pattern or as an example. And what he says here 
in verse 9 truly does encapsulate The gospel for, you know, the 
grace of our Lord Jesus that through or though he was rich, 
yet for your sake, he became poor, that you through his poverty 
might become rich. I mean, that is a pact and a 
powerful statement. It is rich. Christologically, 
it highlights the redemptive activity of our Lord in his incarnation, 
in humbling himself. in making us partakers of all 
of the blessings that He has secured on our behalf. And notice 
that it's smack dab right in the middle of a contact where 
Paul is urging Corinthians to dig deep, to produce some money, 
to produce some monetary and physical temporal aid to send 
to the churches in need. John Murray said this. He said 
the simple logic is that the most transcendent mysteries of 
our holy faith are the fountain springs of the most common and 
practical of Christian duties. I mean, things that are glorious 
and amazing are the very fountain springs of the most common and 
practical of Christian duties. He says the streams of Christian 
liberality are fed from the ocean of the mysteries of God. So this 
is the context, this is what the Apostle is enjoining upon 
the Corinthians, that they seek to alleviate the suffering of 
Christian brothers and sisters, and he uses two arguments at 
least. First, the one from Macedonia, 
and then secondly, our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, having said it in 
its context, we're going to focus in on verse nine and consider 
the three parts. First, we'll notice something 
of the riches of Christ. Secondly, the poverty of Christ. And then thirdly, the blessings 
of Christ that we are made to participate in. Notice first, 
as he speaks of the riches of Christ, for you know, the grace 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, There is 
a significant change in the grammar of the verse. He was rich. He was always rich. He did not 
become rich. This is something he intrinsically 
possesses as the second person of the triune God. It's that 
he became poor. He took on poverty. That was 
something He added onto His state or condition. We see a similar 
thing in the opening verses in John 1, in the prologue. In the 
beginning was, always, eternally, always was the Word. And the 
Word was with God, and the Word was God. And then dropping down 
to verse 14, what does it say? And the Word became flesh. He was always the Word, eternal 
and existent God, and in time He became flesh. Well, the same 
thing is envisioned here. You know the grace of our Lord 
Jesus, that though He was rich, Christ possessed in His incarnation 
a pre-incarnate glory. You remember when he prayed in 
the high priestly prayer in John 17, as he's about to go to the 
cross, he says, And now, O Father, glorify me together with yourself, 
with the glory which I had with you before the world was. He was always rich. When he came into this world, 
he became poor. This is what he is trying to 
highlight to these Corinthians and to us as well. Consider the 
high and exalted state of our Lord Jesus. And when you look 
at what he engaged in on our behalf, it ought to blow your 
mind. It ought to make you stand amazed. 
It ought to make you respond with worship. Jesus always enjoyed 
communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. what theologians 
call the inter-trinitarian communion. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit 
have always existed from everlasting to everlasting. That was the 
company upon earth in whom which Jesus trafficked, always with 
the Father, always with the Spirit. We see that He is adored and 
worshipped by the holy angels. You remember that scene in Isaiah 
chapter 6? Isaiah recounts his time, or 
his call to the prophetic ministry. He dates it. He says in the year 
that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord high and lifted up. I saw the train of His robe fill 
the temple. I heard the angels cry out, holy, 
holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is filled with 
His glory. Now, we're not supposed, brethren, 
that these cherubim or seraphim just say, holy, holy, holy, and 
then they go off and work in their garage. No, it's antiphonal, 
constant praise. They attend the throne of the 
exalted Lord of hosts, and they sing constantly, holy, holy, 
holy. They praise Him. They adore Him. They honor Him. They glorify 
Him. When we compare Scripture with 
Scripture, in John 12, verse 41, John says, These things Isaiah 
said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him. It's talking about 
Jesus Christ. It is Jesus enthroned in Isaiah 
6. It is Jesus who is Yahweh of 
hosts. Jesus was rich. He is the creator of all things. 
We considered this briefly this morning. It is by the word of 
God that he made the heavens and the earth. The scripture 
tells us, well, as we continue on in redemptive history, we 
see that the word is Christ himself. Creation is attributed to Jesus 
in John chapter one, one to three. Creation is attributed to Jesus 
in Colossians chapter one, 15 to 20. Creation is attributed 
to Jesus in Hebrews chapter one, one to three. See, you see, he 
wants rich. I mean, just think about it for 
a moment. You would be amazed if somebody who was rich and 
who had a lot of stuff said, you know, I'm going to put this 
on the back shelf for now and I'm going to come to your aid. 
You'd go, wow, that's amazing. You're going to help me? I mean, 
you have such prerogatives. You should be worshipped. You 
should be praised. You should be glorified. You 
should be in a castle somewhere. You should be attended by servants. People should be bowing to you. 
Why would you ever think to come and to serve me? That's what 
the apostle wants us to see. That's what the apostle wants 
us to appreciate. You know the grace of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, what is being stressed 
here is that he is eternal and constant. He is God most high. He is the second person of the 
Trinity. Now, notice, secondly, he says 
that though he was rich, yet for your sakes, he became poor. He humbled himself. I love the 
Westminster Shorter Catechism, it asks, where in did Christ's 
humiliation consist? This is something to keep in 
your mind, the states of Christ, his pre-incarnate state. What 
was he doing before he came into this world? And then his state 
of humiliation that describes his life in this lower world. And then the other state is his 
state of exaltation. Learn those three states. Learn 
the three offices. He's prophet, priest and king. 
Learn these blessed truths concerning the Redeemer. Again, Paul takes 
these transcendent mysteries and he uses them as the very 
basis for Christian ethics. It's beautiful. The Catechism 
says, Christ's humiliation consisted in his being born. And we say, 
wow, that seems a bit odd. The transcendent God of heaven 
and earth who made this world is born. I mean, for us, it's a blessing, 
it's a benefit, it's a beautiful thing. But this one was being 
praised by angels. This one's being adored. This 
one created the world. He created the very womb that 
he enters into. Catechism goes on to say being 
born and that in a low condition made under the law, undergoing 
the miseries of this life, the wrath of God and the cursed death 
of the cross in being buried and continuing under the power 
of death for a time. Though he was rich, he became 
poor. He did not become poor by emptying 
himself of deity. That is simply not taught in 
the Bible. It's not like he opened up his 
chest cavity, put the deity on the shelf, went about his activities, 
and then after his resurrection, returned to being God. He always 
was God. He never forfeited that. He forfeited 
some of the prerogatives and the blessings associated with 
that, but he never ceased being God. Remember, we referred to 
that incident this morning when Elizabeth and Mary come together 
and she's amazed. How is it that the mother of 
my Lord should come and visit me? I mean, how else can you 
explain the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus? He's able 
to heal people. He's able to raise the dead. 
He's able to restore the site. He's able to do amazing things. 
He's able to walk on top of the water. He's able to hush the 
sea and the wind. He is God. He didn't empty himself 
by ceasing to be God. That's not it. He did not divest 
himself of any of the essential characteristics of deity. In 
fact, Paul in Colossians 2 verse 9 says, for in him dwells all 
the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Isn't that a beautiful statement? 
You look at Jesus and all the fullness of the Godhead is dwelling 
in him bodily. In the upper room, when they 
said, show us the Father, he can say, if you have seen me, 
you have seen the Father. John Murray hits the nail on 
the head with reference to him becoming poor. It says, or he 
says, when he became man, he did not cease to be rich in his 
divine being, relations and possession. He did not become poor by ceasing 
to be what he was, but he became poor by becoming what he was 
not. Just read that again. Got to 
get this in your head. He did not become poor by ceasing 
to be what he was. He didn't stop being God. He became poor by becoming what 
he was not, man. That's where the poverty shines 
through. He goes on to say he became poor 
by addition, not by subtraction. He added manhood to His immutable 
and eternal Godhood. That's wherein the poverty is 
seen. We see it in the virgin birth. 
We see it in His lowly condition. We read it there in Isaiah 53. Jesus was a man of sorrows and 
acquainted with grief. In Luke 9, it says that Jesus 
determined. He set His face like a flint. 
He was steadfast to go to Jerusalem. As he begins his journey there, 
a man wants to follow him. And Jesus says, the foxes have 
holes and the birds of the air have their nests, but the Son 
of Man has nowhere to lay his head. I mean, this was a lowly 
state, a lowly condition. But that humility, that state 
of humiliation and that poverty comes to fruition most fully 
in the cross. In Philippians chapter 2 at verse 
5, the apostle says, let this mind be in you, which was also 
in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God. There it is. 
He didn't set aside Godhood. He didn't set aside deity. He is in the very form of God. He says he did not consider it 
robbery to be equal with God. What that means is that he did 
not seize the prerogatives. In other words, as he's praised 
in heaven by the holy angels, he doesn't traverse the streets 
of Judea saying, look, you need to bow down to me. I am God. 
You need to, you need to serve me. He didn't seize it. He didn't 
exploit it. He didn't act upon the fact that 
he was indeed God among men. He goes on in verse seven to 
say, but made himself of no reputation, a much better translation than 
he emptied himself. That idea of he emptied himself 
has been called the kenosis theory, that he emptied himself of deity. And that's simply not accurate. 
The New King James highlights it better. He made himself of 
no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in 
the likeness of man. Again, for us, this is great. But consider, the eternal God 
does this. Read Psalm 113 sometime. It says 
that it is a humbling act for the transcendent God to look 
upon our Earth. See, sometimes I fear that we 
forget how holy God is. How wondrous and majestic he 
is. That his eye is too pure to approve 
of any evil. That he knows everything all 
the time. That it's not a discursive knowledge where he has to go 
to school and learn things. It's all intuitive. He always 
knows everything. There's nothing that happens 
outside the decree of God. I mean, that red light that stops 
you on your way to church tonight is in the decree or under the 
decree of God. Everything. And for that God to leave that 
heaven with the praise of those angels and to come in the likeness 
of sinful flesh demonstrates his poverty. He was rich, yet 
for your sakes He became poor. He didn't do this because there 
was something in it. Well, there was the glory of 
the Father, the satisfaction of His soul, but He does it for 
sinners. Paul goes on to say, in being 
found in appearance as a man, verse 8, He humbled Himself and 
became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. Paul 
adds that. Why? Because the cross was the 
worst form of dying in this context. The cross was for the most accursed 
one. The cross was for the worst sort 
of criminal. And he's highlighting the poverty 
of the Lord Jesus in this particular passage. So we go back to 2 Corinthians 
chapter 8. I hope that you appreciate the 
flow of the passage. Verse 9, you know the grace of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes 
he became poor. And then thirdly, notice that 
you through his poverty might become rich. We have benefited 
off of the poverty of the Lord Jesus based on his being made 
in that lowly condition, being made under the law, being born 
of a virgin. living a life as a man of sorrows 
and acquainted with grief, always fulfilling the law of God, ultimately 
hearing the crowd say, away with him, away with him crucified. 
I mean, just imagine that. You go from the place or the 
position where holy angels stand in your presence, or they fly 
in your presence, and they cover their faces because they cannot 
look on your burning glory, and all they do day and night is 
confess your holiness. You come into the world that 
you made. You come in among the creatures that you designed. 
You come in among the covenant community that you set apart. 
And instead of them confessing, holy, holy, holy, it's Pontius 
Pilate that says three times, I find no guilt in this man. 
The pagan, the heathen, the hellbound sinner is able to recognize what 
those angels in Isaiah 6 clearly saw. Christ, Pilate says, I find 
no fault in this man. I find no fault in this man. I find no fault in this man. It is his own that instead of 
praising holy, holy, holy, they say away with him, away with 
him, crucify him. That's the poverty that Paul 
is talking about. It's through that poverty that 
we are made rich. It's through that poverty that 
we are blessed beyond comprehension. I have 10 things listed. Oh man, 
we're going to be here until 10 o'clock tonight. No you're 
not. 10 things. And there are several 
others. Paul says in Ephesians 1, blessed be the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with what? With 
every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. He then amplifies, just as He 
chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. That's the celebrated 
work of the Father, choosing, predestinating. Dropping down, 
He praises the work of the Son. In Him, we are accepted. We're 
accepted in the Beloved. We have redemption through His 
blood. And then He celebrates the work 
of the Spirit in terms of sealing us and being the guarantee of 
our final inheritance. I mean, those just amplify certain 
aspects of the triune work of God in the salvation of sinners. But let's just consider several 
things that Jesus has secured when he says to these Corinthians 
that you through his poverty might become rich. I think it's 
good for us as Christ's people, especially when we're going to 
participate in the supper, to reflect upon the riches secured 
for us by our blessed Redeemer. The first thing we can say is 
that he brings forgiveness. Isn't that a rich thing? A rich, 
not a rich, one of the riches that you thoroughly appreciate. 
Just imagine if you were a man or a woman who had all kinds 
of stuff in a big safe. You like to just go into that 
safe and look. Maybe you had a card collection, maybe you 
had some precious stones, you had some gold, you had some silver. 
You like to go in there and just sort of hang out. You like to 
reflect on what riches you have. Which I don't suggest that you 
do this with reference to these temporal things. There is a spiritual 
parallel here. We can go into our bank vault. 
We can go into this particular room and we can see right there 
forgiveness of sins. That's one we ought to pay attention 
to. That's one a guilty sinner needs to reflect on often. What 
does Paul say in Pisidian Antioch in Acts 13? He associates the 
forgiveness of sins with this Jesus. This is an incredible 
statement that Paul is preaching in a Jewish synagogue. People 
that would associate forgiveness solely with Yahweh. Yahweh says, 
I am he who blocks out your transgressions for my name's sake. It is God 
who takes our iniquities. It is God who cast them into 
the depths of the sea. It is Yahweh who removes our 
sins as far as the east is from the west. So he removes our iniquities. And Paul, in a synagogue of the 
Jews in Pisidian Antioch, brings his sermon to a conclusion by 
saying this in verse 38 of Acts 13. Therefore, he says, let it 
be known to you, brethren, that through this man is preached 
to you the forgiveness of sins. And by him, everyone who believes 
is justified from all things from which you could not be justified 
by the law of Moses. I suggest, as you reflect on 
these spiritual riches that you have in Christ, you frequently 
visit the forgiveness of sins. When you eat this bread and you 
drink this wine, consider the cleansing power of the blood 
of Jesus. It's not what the apostle says 
in Hebrews 9.22. Without the shedding of blood, 
there is no remission. What's the implication? That 
he draws out in great detail, from Hebrews 5 to 10, that through 
the blood shedding of Christ, there is remission, there is 
forgiveness. Remember what the psalmist said 
in Psalm 130. He says, O Lord, if thou shouldst mark iniquities, 
O Lord, who could stand? You ever think about sin that 
way? God, if you should mark iniquities, who could stand? 
What is he quick to add? But with thee there is forgiveness, 
that thou mayest be feared. He starts the psalm off by saying 
out of deep distress, he's agonizing, he's hurting, not because of 
a physical malady or physical problem, but because of the deep 
distress of sin. He considers the fact that God 
is merciful and just and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. 
So as you consider these blessings of Christ, these spiritual riches 
consider often the forgiveness of sins. Secondly, Jesus is our 
righteousness. You see, we need to be forgiven 
of sin, but we need a righteousness as well. That's what justification 
is all about. Justification is an act of God's 
free grace, wherein He pardons all our sins and accepts us as 
righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of Christ 
imputed to us and received by faith alone. You say, well, where 
does the Bible teach that? Well, we see it in the book of 
Romans, chapter 5. In Adam all died. In Adam, all 
shall be made alive. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, he 
says the same thing. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, he highlights 
the blessed reality, the spiritual inventory. Again, another passage 
where he develops this whole idea of the riches that we have 
in Jesus. 1 Corinthians 1.30, but of him 
you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God. 
I believe that's what's further defining here. It says, but of 
him you are in Christ Jesus who became for us wisdom from God. 
That is going to describe what this wisdom of God is. That is 
righteousness and sanctification and redemption. That as it is 
written, he who glories, let him glory in the Lord. We have 
a righteousness that avails with God. We will be able to stand 
in his presence because of what Jesus accomplished. Second Corinthians 
5, 21, 4. God made him Christ who knew 
no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness 
of God in him. You want a great illustration 
of this imputation of righteousness. Turn to Zechariah three and your 
studies later. Look at how Zechariah sets before 
us Joshua, the high priest who's standing before Yahweh in all 
of his filth and in all of his sin. And God gives the order 
to remove those filthy garments. And he gives the order to put 
on those clean garments to fit him, to stand before him. That is justification. That is 
pardon. That is the imputation of righteousness. Those are riches that Jesus secured 
for us through his poverty. So he brings forgiveness. He 
is our righteousness. Thirdly, he is our sanctification 
and redemption. We saw that first Corinthians 
one thirty. In other words, Jesus is the 
Alpha and Omega of our salvation. He not only brings us in, He 
keeps us in and He preserves us till the very end. It's not 
as if you start with Christ and then you finish on your own. 
We've seen that condemned in the book of Galatians. We start 
with Christ, we're kept by Christ, we're preserved by Christ, we're 
ultimately presented on that day by Christ. It's all about 
Jesus Christ, that is a rich. Is it a rich? What's the word 
that is a rich thing? I'm losing it here. One of the 
riches that we possess, sanctification, redemption. Jesus answers to 
everything a sinner needs. Fourthly, Jesus sends the spirit. What does he say in the upper 
room? I will not leave you as orphans. It says, my father will 
send another comforter. It's interesting, in Greek there's 
two different words for the word other. There's one that's different 
completely. It's where we get the word heterodox. 
It's another of a different kind. You don't want to be heterodox 
in your Christianity. You want to be orthodox. Heterodox 
is another of a different kind. The word that Jesus uses is another 
of the same kind. The Father will send another 
comforter, one just like me, and he will be with you so that 
you will not be orphans in this world. The exalted Christ, according 
to Peter in Acts chapter two, is the one who sends the Spirit 
on the day of Pentecost. He brings forgiveness. He is 
our righteousness. He is our sanctification and 
redemption. And he sends the Spirit. Brethren, we need to 
understand that it's not just the Pentecostals and the Charismatics 
who need the Spirit. Reformed people need the Spirit. 
Calvinists need the Spirit. We must have the Spirit as we 
gather for worship. We must pray for His presence 
among us. We must take Paul's words seriously 
in Ephesians 5. Do not be drunk with wine in 
which is dissipation, but be filled with who? The Spirit. Let's make the Pentecostals jealous. And how much of the spirit we 
have, right? Why should they think they get 
all the spirit? John Calvin was primarily a theologian, 
not primarily, but one of the main emphases in Calvin's institutes 
was the spirit. We've come a long way. We don't 
pray for the spirit, that we don't cry out for the spirit, 
that we don't ask God to fill us with the spirit just indicates 
how unbiblical we are and how unreformed we are. This isn't a Pentecostal or charismatic 
emphasis. This was emphasized long before 
they came upon the scene. We need the spirit, Jesus has 
the spirit, let us call upon him to fill us with the spirit. 
Fifthly, we've already covered this briefly. He is the author 
and finisher of our faith. Beautiful. He doesn't just start 
us, but he keeps us, preserves us. He finishes us, not in a 
bad sense. What's Paul say in Philippians 
chapter one, verse six, I am confident that he who began a 
good work in you will keep you until the day of Christ. What 
does he say in second Timothy one? I know whom I have believing. And I am persuaded, I am convinced 
that he is able to keep that which I have committed onto him 
to that great day. Blessed be God, that he is the 
author and the finisher of our faith. Sixthly, you want to know 
the spiritual riches? One of the spiritual riches are 
that we possess in Jesus. He is a friend for sinners. Again, I think this has been 
overworked and it's an unfortunate thing, but somehow Jesus has 
been reduced only to friends. He's our big buddy. He does whatever 
we want. God is our big buddy. He does 
whatever we want. So reformed people, you know, 
go the other way. He's not like that. But he is 
a friend for sinners. He is a friend for sinners. I 
may not always be your friend. I'm sorry. I wish I could be 
that always for you. But Jesus is always there. He's 
always a friend for sinners. That's a great encouragement. 
A great thing to consider. You know, not to get too psychological 
and all that, but there are lonely times in Christianity. Look at 
the prophet Micah sometime in Micah chapter 7. I mean, basically 
he saw the breakdown of society. Governmental officials were messed 
up. The family was disintegrated. 
I think if we could read Micah 7, he's just saying, where's 
there somebody for me to hang out with? That's a reality in the Christian 
life. Well, Jesus is a friend for sinners. Seventhly, another 
one of the riches that we possess in Christ is that He is our sympathetic 
high priest. I think you're familiar with 
that passage in Hebrews chapter four. Hebrews chapter four, where 
John Murray says, this is omnipotent compassion. Hebrews 414, seeing 
then that we have a great high priest was passed through the 
heavens. Jesus, the son of God, let us 
hold fast our confession, for we do not have a high priest 
who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points 
tempted as we are yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly 
to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace 
to help in time of need. He is a sympathetic high priest. He is able to sympathize with 
us. I mean, again, think about this 
God being praised by angels, able to sympathize with you. Hopefully that puts a smile on 
your otherwise frowny face. I mean, that even makes me smile. 
I'm not the guy that walks around with a smile all the time. Eighthly, 
according to the book of Hebrews, He is our surety of a better 
covenant. He is the surety. He effectively 
carries it out. God laid upon him the covenantal 
obligations to fulfill, and he did so perfectly. He is, according to the book 
of Hebrews, ninthly, our eternal intercessor. What's it saying? He always lives 
to do what? To make intercession for his 
people. That's amazing. That's part of 
his job description. Jesus, what are you going to 
be doing until you come back? I'm going to be there to make 
intercession for you. Instead of the triune God in 
this whole aspect, we pray to the Father. Jesus intercedes 
for us, and God sends the Spirit to promote in us the prayers 
that he hears. Sometimes we don't even know 
how to pray, and the Spirit, through groanings and sighings, 
petitions our great God. And then tenthly, one of the 
riches of Christ that we possess is in first John two verses one 
and two. 1 John 2 verses 1 and 2, My little 
children, these things I write to you so that you may not sin. 
And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus 
Christ, the righteous. And he himself is the propitiation 
for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the whole 
world. He is our advocate with the Father. He is that advocate because He 
has made propitiation. He has turned away the wrath 
of God, not by deflection, but by receiving it in Himself. He 
has exhausted God's wrath on behalf of his people, and he 
is there at the right hand of the Father, and he is our advocate. This is the basis upon which 
we find such comfort and joy in 1 John 1, 9. If we confess 
our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and 
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We have an advocate. You ever 
hear people say that? Well, I'm going to call my lawyer. 
Something happens to them, they get the runaround at Walmart, 
you're going to hear from my lawyer. Somebody hits you in 
the back of the car, you're going to hear from my lawyer. I've 
never understood that. I don't have a lawyer. I wouldn't 
know who to call. Open up the Yellow Pages or Google 
lawyer.com. We have a lawyer. We have an 
advocate. We have Jesus Christ, the righteous, 
stationed at the right hand of God, most high, who knows us, 
who understands us. We don't surprise him when we 
come back and we say, I've sinned. Please forgive me. This advocate 
is there with the father securing forgiveness on our behalf rather 
than that is not given to us to promote license. It is given 
to us to promote dependence. To promote a constant appeal 
to this blessed one. Well, those are several of the 
riches that we possess in Christ. Hopefully the Corinthians would 
have said, where do we get it from? I mean, how do you hear 
that and come away hard hearted and stingy? How do you hear that 
and say, I'm going to keep everything I have? But also, how do you 
hear that and not bow in worship and praise and adoration and 
thanksgiving for every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places 
in Christ that has been given unto us? Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we thank you that though he was rich, he became poor for 
our sakes, that we through his poverty might become rich. And our God, we give you praise 
for all of these blessings. We give you glory. And I would 
ask God that you would help us in the coming weeks and months 
and years to just reflect upon these truths. May they warm our 
hearts. May they encourage us to run 
with endurance the race that is set before us. May they cause 
us to glorify and to honor and to worship you. God, we know 
and we are convinced that the Bible and good theology ought 
to promote heartfelt worship. And we just pray now that you 
would be glorified as we continue in our worship, as we remember 
in a special way the Lord's death on our behalf. And we ask through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.