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You can turn with me in your 
Bibles to 2 Corinthians 8. 2 Corinthians 8. Our focus will be on verse nine. 
This morning, we looked at the prophet Isaiah and a prophetic 
announcement concerning the coming King, the Lord Jesus Christ, 
the Messiah sent by God to redeem his people from their sins. That 
was prophetic announcement tonight. We'll look a bit more at the 
theology of the incarnation. The apostle sets that forth in 
verse nine. Now I should tell you that the 
context is the apostle exhorting the Corinthians to being benevolent, 
to being liberal, not in terms of their political bent, but 
in terms of their pockets, in terms of their wallets, in terms 
of their checkbook. There were suffering churches 
that stood in need, and so the Apostle encourages the Corinthian 
church to be liberal in their giving to those in need. He uses 
two specific examples. He shows the liberality of the 
churches in Macedonia in verses 1 to 5, and the liberality of 
our Lord Jesus Christ in verse 9. So that's the context. The 
apostle is encouraging cheerful giving on the part of God's church. But as I said, we're going to 
hone in specifically on the theology of the Incarnation. in verse 
9, but I'll read the chapter and then we'll pray. So beginning 
in chapter 8 at verse 1. 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 urge 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, in 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 must also complete 
the doing of it, that as there was a readiness to desire it, 
so there also may be a completion out 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 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 in the sight of the Lord, 
but also in the sight 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. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father in heaven, we pray for the ministry and the aid now 
of the Holy Spirit as we consider the incarnation of our blessed 
Lord Jesus Christ. What a great and wondrous event, 
what a glorious event, when heaven came down, as it were, to bless 
earth. And we ask God in heaven that 
you would guide our thoughts now which would cause us to think 
clearly concerning not only Christology, but the doctrine of the Trinity, 
and help us to see that this is in fact the true and the living 
God, one glorious God, who exists eternally as Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit. And again, forgive us for all 
sin and everything that darkens our understanding, and we pray 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well in this particular 
example, or passage rather, Christ is being used as an example. 
Now that's not always the way we treat the Lord Jesus. It is 
the case that he came to make atonement, to make sacrifice 
for sin. But the biblical authors do at 
times point to him in an exemplary fashion. In other words, Corinthians 
give. give liberally, give heartily, 
like the churches in Macedonia, and give liberally and give heartily, 
like our Lord Jesus Christ. His life was one of giving. His 
life was one of a deposit. His life was one of provision 
and blessing others. And so the Apostle captures that 
very clearly in verse 9. He says, 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. So I want to look first at the 
riches of Christ and then secondly at the poverty of Christ. What 
does the apostle mean by using this terminology or by using 
this language? So let's jump first into the 
riches of Christ, but before we unpack that, notice how the 
apostle appeals to the Corinthian church. If I were to ask you, 
with reference to the churches in the New Testament, what was 
Corinth like? Corinth was pretty messed up 
in a whole host of ways. If you've read through 1 Corinthians, 
for instance, you know they had issues. They had a case where 
a man had his father's wife, and instead of the church disciplining 
him or dealing with him, they were arrogant about it. You have 
that instance where the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 
6 has to admonish the Corinthians to flee from sexual immorality, 
to admonish them not to join themselves with harlots. And 
then you get into that section where they're dealing with Christian 
liberty and meat offered up to idols and those sorts of things. 
And then in to 1 Corinthians chapter 11, you've got issues 
concerning headship and authority in the context of the local church. 
And then of course, 1 Corinthians 11 as well, the apostle has to 
correct their misconduct at the Lord's supper. So the Corinthians 
were not the perfect church. I've always been intrigued by 
people who say, we need to get back to the early church. Which 
early church do you mean? Do you mean Corinth? Because 
if you do, you may not like how that all fleshes itself out. 
But with reference to the Corinthians, though they had these practical 
issues, though they had these practical problems, they had 
good theology. They understood Christology and 
the apostle Paul appeals to that. Notice how he begins his statement 
in verse nine. He says, for you know the grace 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was not foreign information 
to them. This was not stuff that they 
had no connection with. What the apostle sets forth in 
verse nine concerning the incarnation of our Lord, vis-a-vis his riches 
and his poverty, such that the people he came to benefit would 
be rich, They knew, they understood, they had an appreciation and 
an appropriation of Christian doctrine. Charles Hodge says, 
the fact referred to, including the highest mystery of the gospel, 
specifically the incarnation of the Son of God, or the manifestation 
of God in the flesh, and the love therein manifested, is assumed 
to be known and acknowledged by all who called themselves 
Christians. So they couldn't have said, well, 
you know, Paul, this is theology that we're not really calculated 
to receive. We're not bright bulbs and therefore 
we can't really understand. No, Paul appeals to something 
that they knew. So as we look at the New Testament 
documents, as we consider the early church, they were doctrinally 
sound. They understood the Trinity. 
They understood Christology. They understood the hypostatic 
union. They understood the incarnation of our Lord. This underscores 
for us the importance of the public means of grace. As I mentioned 
to you before, at the time of the writing of 2 Corinthians, 
there wasn't a New Testament bound alongside of an Old Testament. It wasn't as if the Corinthians 
all had Bibles in their laps the way that Chilliwackians do. 
The Corinthians depended on an earnest ministry in their local 
church to instruct them concerning theology proper, to instruct 
them concerning the one true and living God. And in that one 
divine and infinite being, There are three subsistences or persons, 
the Father, the Son or Word, and the Holy Spirit. They would 
have been instructed in these things in the context of the 
church. This anti-doctrinal mindset that 
is still rampant to this day in our churches is absolutely 
contrary to the spirit and ethic of the New Testament. The early 
churches were doctrinal. The early churches were instructed. 
The early churches valued the public means of grace, because 
while they didn't have sermon audio, while they didn't have 
banner of true trust, while they didn't have Presbyterian and 
Reform, while they couldn't order books off Amazon.ca or .com, 
they had their church. And when they went to their church, 
their pastors preached the word. Their pastors taught them the 
truth and their pastors put that food out there and the sheep 
ate it. And the sheep were able to follow 
and the sheep received it. So the importance of the public 
means of grace. As well, for those of us living 
in this 21st century, when there is a great availability of resources, 
there's really no excuse for us to not know the things that 
Paul says in verse 9. He says, 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. I'd like to think that you already 
have a good understanding of the passage and where we're going 
to go in the exposition. But I suspect there are Christians 
out there, I suspect there are churches out there, and I suspect 
there are pastors out there that don't know this. that don't have 
this equipment, that don't have this competency, that don't have 
this ability for the apostle to appeal to them and say, for 
you know what I'm about to tell you and how it relates in the 
manner of giving liberally to the churches that are in need. 
As well, we ought to see and value a ministry that provides 
this kind of teaching, this kind of instruction, this kind of 
doctrinal truth. It is not the case that we are 
trying to find elders or pastors who are simply, you know, pep 
squad leaders. I don't even know if you guys 
know what a pep squad is. It was the Friday night football 
games in high school where you had the pep squad who fired everybody 
up so that they would root for the home team. That's not what 
pastors are supposed to be. They're not supposed to be CEOs. 
They're not supposed to be managers. They're not supposed to be guys 
that are, you know, savvy in everything other than preaching 
the Word of God. The Apostle says clearly in 2 
Timothy 4, 2, preach the Word, be ready in season and out of 
season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and teaching. 
He doesn't say, oh, I want you to just be the gregarious guy 
that has coffee with everybody, or be the Fortune 500 guy that's 
able to manage small group. That's not the point. The point 
of the Christian ministry is to proclaim the word in such 
a way that there are appeals like this, for you know the grace 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. This shouldn't be new information. 
This shouldn't shake your world. This shouldn't rock you. This 
shouldn't be something that you go, wow, I never knew that. Rather, 
you should see how it applies in terms of the specific contextual 
emphasis of the apostle in this instance. And then as well, before 
we move on, The importance of right doctrine for right practice. If we don't think God's thoughts 
after Him, we're not going to live in a manner that He calls 
us unto. I'd like to say as a Reformed 
Baptist Church, with a good robust confession of faith and doctrinal 
instruction and biblical exposition, it's still hard to live in a 
manner that's consistent with the gospel of our salvation, 
right? It's not easy to be holy. It's 
not easy to be godly. It's not easy to be righteous. 
And we have the mental faculties provided to us in order to comply. Imagine having no doctrine. Imagine 
having no orthodoxy. How could there be orthopraxy 
or right practice when there's not right thinking about who 
God is? So we need to think biblically 
in order to live in a manner that is consistent with that 
biblical thought. Now note the content of what 
he appeals to. So again, the riches of Christ. 
He says, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that 
though he was rich, that though he was rich, he is speaking concerning 
the preexistent state of our Lord Jesus. Preexistent according 
to his humanity. Christ as the second person of 
the Trinity has always been. From everlasting to everlasting, 
thou art God. That applies to the divine essence, 
it applies to the three subsistences that each have that divine essence. So the riches of Christ that 
Paul is appealing to here is the reality that Jesus is, in 
fact, the Son of God. That Jesus is, in fact, God the 
Son. That Jesus is, in fact, the second 
person of the Trinity. So he's going to move from that 
to the incarnation to establish riches and poverty, and it's 
through that poverty that you yourselves have become rich. 
So what's the practical implication for the Corinthians? Imitate 
Jesus. Take your riches, give it to 
those who are impoverished, so that they, like you, can be blessed 
and increased in terms of their riches. So the Apostle says, 
or the Apostle uses what's called a participle here. He says, you 
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich, 
and the participle points to what Jesus is essentially, second 
person of the Trinity. He was and always will be rich 
as he is God. Notice the contrast. He was rich, 
he became poor. He was rich, he became poor. He never became rich. Now there 
is a sense, in terms of the mediatorial glory, in terms of the God-man, 
his exaltation to the right hand of the Father, where he reigns 
over the messianic kingdom, there is that exaltation, but Paul 
isn't pointing to that. He's not pointing to Matthew 
28. He's pointing to the reality of the Trinity. He is pointing 
to the reality of the second person of the Trinity, that though 
he was rich. One man says, he says, being 
and not having been. Lest it seem that Christ lost 
his spiritual riches when he assumed poverty. For he assumed 
this poverty in such a way that he did not lose those inestimable 
riches. That's the thing we need to take 
away from our study here. The incarnation did not diminish 
the divinity of Jesus Christ. The incarnation did not suspend 
the divinity of Jesus Christ. The incarnation left the second 
person of the Trinity intact vis-a-vis his divinity, but he 
assumed our humanity. He took on our humanity. There 
was that union of the natures in the one person. Now turn to 
John chapter 1. I know we've been there recently, 
but this is a parallel passage. John chapter 1 shows a similar 
flow. He was one thing and he became 
another thing. You know the grace of our Lord 
Jesus that though he was rich, he was in the state of being 
rich. It wasn't that he had been rich, 
but he was in the state of having been rich and he does not lose 
those riches. Rather, again, he assumes this 
poverty and the poverty is in the incarnation. Notice the identification 
of the Word. Verse 1, in the beginning was 
the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. That Word 
is further described or told us in verse 14, the Word became 
flesh. And as we looked at recently, 
I think you've seen that Jesus is in fact the Word. The Word 
is, according to verse 1, co-eternal, distinct from, and consubstantial 
with the Father. That means He's one in being 
or one in substance with the Father. The Word is the one through 
whom all things are made. Notice in verse 3, all things 
were made through Him, the Word. And without Him, nothing was 
made that was made. So John puts Jesus on the side 
of Creator. He doesn't put Him on the side 
of creation. He puts Him on the side of Creator. There's Creator, 
there's creature. Jesus is Creator. And then notice 
that this Word, according to verse 10, was in the world. The Word that was in the beginning, 
the Word that was with God, the Word that was God, according 
to verse 1, comes into this world according to verse 10. This is 
an amazing thing. This is glorious. This is wondrous. This is absolutely fantastic. Typically, man tries to reach 
God. In the Christian gospel, God 
comes to man. God seeks and saves that which 
is lost. It's not us going after him, 
it's him coming after us in a mission of redemptive mercy and benefit. So you've got the Word who is 
co-equal with the Father, distinct from the Father, or co-eternal 
and co-equal with the Father, comes into the world in verse 
10, and He does so the way that verse 14 describes. The Word 
became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, 
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace 
and truth. Now notice the parallel. He was in the beginning with 
God. He was God. He became flesh in 
the incarnation. He assumed our humanity with 
all of the essential properties and the common infirmities thereof, 
and yet without sin. So that's the same sort of statement 
that the apostle Paul is making in 2 Corinthians 8-9. He says, 
you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he 
was rich, Though he is in the state of being rich, he goes 
on to say, yet for your sakes he did what? He became. He became something that he was 
not in order to save us from our sin. And so when we go back 
to verse 9 in 2 Corinthians chapter 8, the riches are seen specifically 
in two aspects. First, the divine nature. The Lord Jesus Christ, as I've 
said, is the second person of the Trinity and therefore very 
God of very God. The riches do not point to what 
He is by virtue of His exaltation to the right hand of the Father 
after His work of redemption. but it points to the divine nature, 
His very being. The references to His pre-existence 
and the poverty is seen in the incarnation and in the state 
of humiliation. You know the grace of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, The divine nature is 
underscored. John Gill says, in the perfections 
of his divine nature, having the fullness of the Godhead in 
him, all that the Father has and so equal to him, such as 
eternity, immutability, infinity, and immensity, omnipresence, 
omniscience, omnipotence, in some Everything true of God is 
true of the Son of God. Again, in this divine and infinite 
being, there are three subsistences, each having the whole divine 
essence, yet the essence not divided. It's not that it's shared, 
33 and a third percent, 33 and a third percent, 33 and a third 
percent. That's not the doctrine of the 
Trinity. So back to this particular statement, 
that though He was rich, the divine nature, but as well divine 
works. Jesus is responsible for creation. Think about this appeal. He says 
to the Corinthians, you've got fellow churchmen that are suffering. 
You've got fellow churchmen that are hurting. You've got fellow 
churches that are suffering under bad economic policy, whatever 
place they happen to live in. They don't have enough food. 
They don't have enough water. They don't have enough good gifts. Be like 
those churches in Macedonia. They didn't have a lot, but what 
they had, they gave. Be like the Lord Jesus Christ 
that was rich, rich according to the divine nature, but rich 
in terms of works. He's the creator of all things. 
Colossians 1.17 tells us he's responsible for the government 
of all things. Just like we saw in Isaiah 9.6, 
the government shall be upon his shoulders. Christ is sovereign 
at the right hand of God most high. So it's not only the divine 
nature, but it's the divine works, creation, providence, and redemption. So the apostle appeals to the 
Corinthians by saying, you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
that though he was rich. Now let's look secondly at the 
poverty of Christ. Yet for your sakes, he became 
poor that you through his poverty might become rich. Again, the 
same trajectory. that you have in the prologue, 
he was with God, he was God, but he becomes flesh. He was rich, but for your sakes, 
he became poor. The language is a referent. to 
the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our confession speaks 
concerning this truth. We call it in theology, the hypostatic 
union. I know you've heard this several 
times over the last year. Hopefully you'll hear it several 
times over the next several years, because it's absolutely crucial. 
So that the apostle could say to us, for you know the grace 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, Yet for your 
sakes He became poor. And we wouldn't scratch our heads 
and wonder, what's He talking about? What's He suggesting? 
What's He saying? So you have in the prologue and 
you have here what we refer to as the hypostatic union. Our 
confession describes it this way. The Son of God, the second 
person in the Holy Trinity, being very and eternal God, the brightness 
of the Father's glory, of one substance and equal with Him 
who made the world, who upholds and governs all things He has 
made, did, when the fullness of time was come, take upon him 
man's nature, with all the essential properties and common infirmities 
thereof, yet without sin, being conceived by the Holy Spirit 
in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit coming down upon 
her, and the power of the Most High overshadowing her. And so 
was made of a woman of the tribe of Judah, of the seed of Abraham 
and David, according to the Scriptures, so that two whole, perfect, and 
distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person, 
without conversion, composition, or confusion. Which person is 
very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between 
God and man." That's Paul's point. You know the grace of our Lord 
Jesus, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes, he became 
poor. Augustine makes this observation 
in his treatise on the Trinity. He says, the divinity is not 
changed into the creature, so as to cease to be divinity, nor 
the creature into divinity, so as to cease to be creature. In 
other words, the two natures remain, as the Confession states, 
distinct, united together, inseparably, in the one person, the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Now, in terms of just the beauty 
of it, we'll move from Augustine to Watson. Watson says that man 
should be made in God's image was a wonder. And it is, right? That we're made in God's image 
is a wonder. You talk about the sin of abortion. 
You talk about the sin of euthanasia. What is that? It's an assault 
upon the image of God. You talk about the drive-by shooting. 
You talk about the fentanyl overdoses. You talk about the wholesale, 
the lack of concern for human life is ultimately an assault 
upon the image of God. So back to Watson, that man should 
be made in God's image was a wonder. But that God should be made in 
man's image is a greater wonder. That the Ancient of Days should 
be born. That he who thunders in the heavens 
should cry in the cradle. That he who rules the stars should 
suck the breast. that a virgin should conceive, 
that Christ should be made of a woman, and of that woman which 
himself made, that the branch should bear the vine, that the 
mother should be younger than the child she bear, and the child 
in the womb bigger than the mother, that the human nature should 
not be God, yet one with God. That is, again, glorious stuff 
that should cause our hearts to leap. Now in terms of this, 
what the Apostle says very clearly is that Jesus is eternally God. That Jesus is eternally rich. that in the Incarnation, He does 
this, He impoverishes Himself for us men and for our salvation. You know the grace of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes, 
He became poor. Yet for your sakes, He became 
poor. Again, the appeal in terms of 
the context should have been having, or should have had the 
Corinthians writing massive checks. Should have had the Corinthians 
pulling out their wallets and throwing money into the plate. 
I mean, this is such a grand appeal in terms of a very common 
practice in the context of the church of the Lord Jesus. Look 
at Jesus Christ and His riches and His poverty and the fact 
that it was for you. And as a result of that, you 
need to give, Paul says, to the churches that are in need. Again, 
this is not Christianity that is unique to the 1689 Confession 
of Faith. In that statement that I read, 
which comes from chapter 8, paragraph 2, it reaches back to Nicaea, 
it reaches back to Chalcedon, it reaches back to the various 
creeds and confessions in the Church when theology meant something, 
when persons actually cared to know the grace of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. when they actually wondered about 
the incarnation and the hypostatic union and the doctrine of the 
Trinity and Christology. Brethren, just to have an interest 
in that today is a good thing, but better to actually read good 
books and hear good sermons instructing you concerning these particular 
truths. Because when it's all boiled 
down in its final analysis, do you know what separates us from 
the heathen? It's what we believe. It's whom 
we believe. It is the object of our faith 
that is absolutely paramount. And if we do not know that object, 
if we do not know that Christ, if we do not understand the doctrine 
concerning Him, our faith is going to be misplaced. Especially 
when it comes to challenge, when somebody challenges you. When 
a Jehovah's Witness knocks on your door, and he tells you, 
he ridicules the doctrine of the Trinity, or he suggests that 
Jesus is a creature, or that Jesus is a little g-god, what 
do you do? Do you just stand there and go, 
uh, well, I think you're wrong. You need to be able to respond 
to that. The apostle, Jude rather, tells us specifically that he 
writes to us, he wanted to write concerning their common salvation, 
but I found it necessary to write to you, to exhort you, to contend 
earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to 
the saints. Brethren, especially now, and I'm sure every preacher 
in every generation has been able to say that, but especially 
now, we need to know our stuff. The Christian faith is under 
attack. The Christian faith is under 
assault. Brethren, Bill C-4 basically 
tells you it's wrong for a hetero to try to convert a transsexual, 
but it's perfectly acceptable for a transsexual to try to convert 
a hetero. And when it comes to the Bible, 
it's just myth, it's just fabrication, it's just old and antiquated, 
and it's something that should be cancelled. Brethren, these 
things hit close to home. Abortion, euthanasia. How in 
the world can the Church of Christ fight these battles without knowing 
Scripture? Without the Apostle being able 
to appeal to a particular local church saying, for you know the 
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. They shouldn't have all had to 
scratch their heads and say, what's he talking about? What do you 
mean Christ is rich? What do you mean Christ became 
poor? This is crucial stuff and this is the Catholic faith. And 
by Catholic, I don't mean Roman Catholic. Catholic means universal. This is what the church through 
its ages has always confessed. This is the Athanasian Creed 
after summarizing the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. It 
says, this is the Catholic faith, which except a man believe faithfully, 
he cannot be saved. He cannot be saved. Now you might 
think that's a bit of a stretch. We're not saved based on our 
doctrinal integrity. No, we're not. It's belief in 
our Lord Jesus Christ. But again, it's belief in our 
Lord Jesus Christ. And it's a Christ not according 
to our own making. It's not a Christ according to 
our own figment. It's not a Christ that we like, 
but it's the Christ of Holy Scripture. Jesus says very clearly and unequivocally 
in John's gospel in chapter eight, if you do not believe that I 
am, you will die in your sins. And there, I believe, he goes 
back to the bush of Exodus 3.14. When he says, I am, he is equating 
himself with the Father. He is putting himself on par 
with Yahweh. And he says, if you do not believe 
that I am, then you will die in your sins. It is crucial that 
we understand this doctrine. So you know the grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ that though He was rich, divine nature, divine 
works, yet for your sakes He became poor. That refers in the 
first place again to the incarnation. The incarnation, when He assumed 
our humanity, when he took on our humanity with all the essential 
properties and common infirmities thereof, and yet without sin. 
You see it in Matthew's gospel, chapters 1 and 2. You see it 
in Luke's gospel, chapters 1 to 3. Basically, you see the nativity 
scene there. You see the referent in John 
18 when the Lord Jesus says to Pontius Pilate, for this cause 
I was born. You see it in the epistles that 
Jesus came from the Lion or tribe, the tribe of Judah and the Lion 
specifically of David. He was true humanity. He took 
on our man, he took on our humanity. Now, in the humanity of Christ, 
or rather taking on the humanity of Christ, did not destroy or 
diminish his deity. It did not destroy or diminish 
his deity. Now, it didn't blaze and it wasn't 
as obvious in terms of full glory when he's, you know, toddling 
around the kitchen table, but nevertheless, he was never devoid 
of his divinity. John Gill says, not that by becoming 
man, he ceased to be God or lost his divine perfections, though 
these were much hid and covered from the view of man. The King 
James Bible in Philippians chapter two translates a word there as 
he emptied himself. I think the new King James gets 
it better. Now, that's not a dig on the King James. I gave my 
thoughts on the King James. I think it's a wonderful translation. 
I think it's a wonderful Bible. If I was king for a day, I would 
make every Christian read it at least once through. I'd make 
every non-Christian read it at least once through. This is why 
I'll never be king for a day. But with reference to that translation, 
it tells us in Philippians 2 that he emptied himself. He emptied 
himself, and theologians in the history of the church have taken 
that to mean that he divested himself of his divinity. He separated 
his divinity. There's no divinity in our Lord 
Jesus. That's not the point in Philippians 
2. In Philippians 2, the point is 
the hypostatic union. According to man, he's a bondservant, 
but he has the form of God. There's divinity, there's humanity 
in the one person. And so with reference to the 
incarnation, he never ceased being God. That can't happen. God can't stop being God. God 
can't divest himself of Godhood. God can't do something that denies 
God. It's just an impossibility. Now 
we sang either tonight, no, we sang it this morning. Christ 
by highest heaven adored, Christ the everlasting Lord. Late in 
time behold Him come, offspring of the Virgin's womb. Veiled 
in flesh the Godhead see. Hail the incarnate Deity, pleased 
as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel. So the riches, 
divine nature, divine works. The poverty, incarnation. But 
not only incarnation, you have the lowly life. This was prophesied 
by Isaiah in chapter 53. He says, He is despised and rejected 
by man, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we 
hid, as it were, our face from him. He was despised and we did 
not esteem him. That's the poverty of Jesus. Here is the second person of 
the Trinity. He comes to his own and his own 
receive him not. Well, it was prophesied that 
that would take place. It was prophesied that that would 
be the condition or the case, but it was experienced by our 
Lord Jesus in Matthew's gospel, other places as well, but in 
Matthew 8 20. He says, foxes have holes and 
birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere 
to lay his head. You know the grace of our Lord 
Jesus, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became 
poor through the incarnation and through his lowly life. But 
then thirdly, that poverty comes to fruition in the sufferings 
and death of the Lord of glory. So Paul says, yet for your sakes 
he became poor. So the mission of the Redeemer, 
in terms of incarnation, in terms of lowly life, in terms of suffering 
and death, is for the sake of those whom the Father had given 
Him. just as He chose us in Him before 
the foundation of the world. The Father chose a lot of miserable, 
wretched, disgusting sinners and gave them to His Son. The 
Son bans, or rather covenants, to be their surety. He takes 
on our humanity. He lives in our stead. He dies 
in our stead. And then He's raised again the 
third day. And this is where in His poverty is seen. And in 
terms of the sufferings and the death, the Apostle Peter, for 
instance, couldn't conceive of this. The Apostle Peter just 
couldn't get this. Remember in Matthew 16, the first 
time when Jesus announces that he must go to Jerusalem and there 
he must be tried and there he must be killed. What does Peter 
say? No way, Lord, forbid it. That's not gonna happen to you. 
And of course, Jesus rebukes him and says, get behind me, 
Satan. A few verses earlier, he says, 
blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood did not reveal 
this confession that you are the Son of God, you are the Christ, 
the Son of the living God. So Jesus commends him when he 
makes that great statement and declaration, but then Jesus condemns 
him by saying, get behind me, Satan. You're not thinking God's 
thoughts after him. I must go to Jerusalem. I must 
be tried. I must die in order to save my 
people from their sins. The Apostle Paul turned back 
to 1 Corinthians. This is why I made the distinction 
between exemplary preaching and indicative preaching. What we 
find in Christ, first and foremost, is not example. Brethren, Christianity 
is not simply behavior modification. Christianity isn't simply imitation. Be like Jesus, do like Jesus, 
and everything will go well. That's a liberal take on the 
reading of the scriptures. That's a bad take on the reading 
of the scriptures. Christianity is a redemptive 
religion. Christianity is about God saving 
His people from their sins through blood atonement. Christianity 
is about redemption, not simply imitation. But as I've notified 
you, there are times when the apostles point to Jesus as an 
example. But look at 1 Corinthians 1, 
verse 18. Where is the wise, where is the scribe, where is the disputer 
of this age? Has not God made foolish the 
wisdom of this world? For since in the wisdom of God 
the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God 
through the foolishness of the message preached to save those 
who believe." Now notice, the sufferings and death of our Lord 
Jesus Christ was an affront to the Jews of his day. It was a 
scandal. It was a stumbling block. As 
far as they were concerned, Messiah would come and subjugate the 
Roman Empire, and every Jew would have a chicken in their pot, 
every Jew would have a car in their driveway, every Jew would 
have a good job, every Jew would be fat and happy, and everything 
would be great. They missed the whole point of 
the prophetic word. They missed Isaiah 53. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted 
with grief. The chastisement for our peace 
was laid upon him. All we like sheep have gone astray. They missed the redemption through 
his blood. Now notice in verse 22, for Jews 
request a sign and great seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ 
crucified. To the Jews, a stumbling block, 
and to the Greeks, foolishness. You see that? For the Jew, it 
was a stumbling block. For the Jew, it was a scandal. 
Remember, we saw that in the passion narrative in Matthew's 
Gospel. What are they saying at the foot of the cross? Are 
they saying, let's hail Him, let's adore Him, let's stand 
in awe of the suffering servant of Yahweh who's come to save 
us from our sin? They mocked Him. They said, He 
said He's the Son of God. If He's the Son of God, let God 
help Him. If He is able to save others, 
why can't He save Himself? Come down from the cross. You 
see, the poverty of Christ is seen in the Incarnation. The 
poverty of Christ is seen in the fact that even though the 
foxes had their holes and the birds had their nests, the Son 
of Man had nowhere to lay His head. But that poverty is seen 
in His suffering. That poverty is seen in His crucifixion. and that poverty for the believer 
who has appreciated Christology is seen as a glorious example 
of redemptive love and benefit. Notice how Paul continues in 
verse 24. But to those who are called, 
both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom 
of God, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and 
the weakness of God is stronger than men. So back to 2 Corinthians 
chapter 8 and verse 9. The apostle tells us that Christ 
was rich. For your sakes, Christ became 
poor. Philip Hughes says, from highest 
heaven, he descended to Calvary and the grave. None was richer 
than he, none became poorer than he. So that is his riches, that 
is his poverty. Now notice the redemptive benefit. That you, through his poverty, 
might become rich. He says that at the first part, 
for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though 
he was rich, yet for your sakes." And then again, that you, through 
His poverty, might become rich. It points to the blessed reality 
that there are benefactors who have been chosen by God from 
before the foundation of the world to receive that redemptive 
benefit. And that Christ, in the mission 
that He assumed from the Father, that He took on willingly to 
take on our humanity, to live a life of obedience, to die a 
death of sacrifice and atonement and substitution, and to be raised 
again the third day, it was such that we would become rich, that 
we would become blessed. In the Nicene Creed, it says, 
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, 
begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, light 
of light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of 
one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. 
And then it says, Who for us men and for our salvation. There's redemptive benefit for 
the people of God in the mission of the Messiah. It is glorious, 
it is awesome, and it is a blessed display of what we find in this 
passage. That though he was rich, yet 
for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty 
might become rich. Now brethren, we are not health, 
wealth, prosperity morons. The riches in view are spiritual 
riches. Ephesians 1, the apostle says, 
blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who 
has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places 
in Christ. So the benefit that we accrue 
through the poverty of Jesus doesn't necessarily mean two 
cars, a boat, and a summer home. That's not the riches that are 
in view. It's the spiritual riches, the doctrine of justification 
by faith alone. the reality that when God regenerates 
us by the power of the Holy Spirit, when He opens our heart, or better, 
removes the old stony heart, puts in a new fleshly heart, 
and gives us the graces of faith and repentance to close with 
Christ, we are forgiven of our sins, and we receive a righteousness 
from God. It's imputed to us, and it's 
received by faith alone. So we have the doctrine of justification. That's a riches, or part of the 
riches that has been conveyed to us. And then there's sanctification. There's growing in the grace 
and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus. So in justification, we 
have the benefit of what Christ did for us. In sanctification, 
we have the benefit of what the Spirit does In us, it is a most 
blessed reality. Philippians 2, 12 and 13 underscores 
this. And then, of course, there is 
glorification. The reality that one day, when 
we breathe our last breath, when we get hit by a truck, or when 
the world ends, we pass into the presence of God Most High. You see why Paul refers to this 
as riches. We are rich men and women. We 
may not have two cars, we may not have boats, we may not have 
houses on the lake. Now that's not necessarily evil. The Bible doesn't condemn hard 
work. Do you see a man who excels in his work? He shall stand before 
kings. Do not overwork to be rich, the 
wise man says. But if God blesses you and there 
are temporal provisions and all of those things, you don't have 
to sell all that and give it to the poor and go to the airport 
and bang a tambourine. That's not biblical. That is 
not godly. That is not righteous. But the 
emphasis in 2 Corinthians 8, in terms of our riches accrued 
by the poverty of Jesus, it's justification, sanctification, 
glorification. We might add in there, adoption. 
We're adopted as sons unto God through the finished work of 
our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. So in conclusion, we notice, 
at least contextually, the Macedonians gave out of their poverty, according 
to verses 1 to 5. Christ, though he was rich, yet 
for your sakes became poor, that you through his poverty might 
become rich. So the Apostle appeals to the 
Corinthians to be large-hearted, liberal, and giving to churches 
in need, and he speaks concerning the Macedonians and concerning 
our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, we find, or we should appreciate, 
the glory of Jesus. The glory of Jesus in His person. 
Typically in theology, we consider the person and the work of our 
Lord Jesus. And His person, we've seen, we've 
understood. I hope that there's two natures 
in the one person. We call that, in theology, the 
hypostatic union. but as well the work of Christ, 
His life of obedience. Why does Jesus obey everything 
that the Father tells Him? Because we don't, because we 
fail, because we reject, because we transgress, because we're 
lawless, because God tells us good things, and we do just the 
opposite. So Christ's life of obedience 
is crucial for the people of God. The Lord demands obedience 
over sacrifice. And so the life of the Lord Jesus 
is absolutely crucial. But as well so is his death. 
When we consider the work of redemption, we see the death 
of Christ as absolutely crucial. We need cleansing. We need purity, 
we need forgiveness, we need washing. And we get that through 
the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then of course his resurrection 
seals the deal. The apostle in Romans 4.25 says 
that Jesus was delivered up because of our offenses and he was raised 
for our justification. In terms of the possession of 
riches, listen to John Gill. He says that they through his 
poverty might be rich. Not in temporals, but in spirituals. And by his obedience, suffering, 
and death, in his low estate, he has paid all their debts, 
wrought out a robe of righteousness, rich and adorned with jewels, 
with which he clothes them, and through his blood and sacrifice 
has made them kings and priests unto God. And then one final 
observation, and then we close in prayer. Turn over to Luke 
2. Luke chapter 2, I think one of the best ways to marvel at 
the wonder of the incarnation is to imitate that man, Simeon. To imitate that man, Simeon. If you look at Luke's gospel 
in chapter 2 at verse 25, And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem 
whose name was Simeon. And this man was just and devout, 
waiting for the consolation of Israel. He's waiting for the 
Messiah. He understood the prophet Isaiah. He understood the prophet Jeremiah. He understood the prophet Micah. 
He understood the prophetic literature. that God Most High was sending 
the Messiah to save His people from their sins. So this man 
is just and devout, he's waiting for the consolation of Israel, 
and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed 
to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before 
he had seen the Lord's Christ. Imagine that. You're not going 
to die until your eyes lay hold of Jesus. I mean, he lived in 
a in an interesting time in redemptive history, and he certainly received 
redemptive benefit that was most blessed. Now notice in verse 
27, he came by the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents 
brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom 
of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and 
said, He took a baby out of a mother's arms and he starts to basically 
dance, not dance like the jig, but he's just reveling. He is 
rejoicing, he is delighting. Mary obviously saw in him a trustworthy 
fellow that was able to take the babe from her. So he takes 
him up in his arms, he blesses God and he says, Lord, now you 
are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word, 
for my eyes have seen your salvation." So as he lays eyes upon that 
little baby, he is able to rehearse back to God, these eyes now have 
seen your salvation. That's the incarnation, brethren. 
The incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ is the salvation of our 
God Most High. Notice, which you have prepared 
before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to 
the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel. So this brother 
saw what we haven't by by reason of our life setting and all that 
sort of thing. But he has conveyed to us something 
of the wonder of the incarnation. To see Christ is to see God's 
salvation. To see Christ is to see the one 
prepared beforehand by God to be not only savior for Israel, 
but to be a light as well unto the Gentiles. This is why I said 
he understood the prophet Isaiah. Because in 42 and 49, the prophet 
says as much, that Jesus will not only save the lost tribes 
of Jacob, but he will be a light unto the Gentiles. Brethren, 
let us never lose this Simeon-like wonder at the incarnation of 
our Lord. Let us not treat it like old 
hat. Let us not forget that though he was rich, yet for our sakes, 
he became poor, that we through his poverty might become rich. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for this brief statement that is so packed 
full of good theology. God, help us to understand these 
things, and may it be the case that they would promote in us 
and evoke from us worship to our great and glorious God, that 
we would worship the Father through the Son in the power of the Holy 
Spirit, and that we would glorify your great and awesome name. 
What a wonderful manifestation of the love of God in the sending 
of the Son. And in the Son, who was rich, 
and yet for our sakes He became poor. That in the incarnation, 
and in His life of lowliness, and in His sufferings, and in 
His death, He brings us to a place of great spiritual riches. Help 
us, Father, to ponder these things, to be encouraged by them, and 
help us to glorify You. And we pray through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. We'll close with a brief 
time of meditation.