Christ Became Poor, That We Might Become Rich

Call me a glutton for punishment. Here's the message I preached on Sunday. I've been reading a lot on preaching lately (Christ-Centered Preaching by Chapell, Preaching and Preachers by Lloyd-Jones, and now Between Two Worlds by Stott), and I'm very eager to preach well, so be encouraged to leave a comment/criticism.

But first, be sure to read and reflect on Justin's previous post on Congregational Rule since I bumped it so quickly.

Christ Became Poor, That We Might Become Rich

God says in Psalm 50, “Every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine” (Ps. 50:10-12).

How can we give anything of worth to a God who owns everything? We cannot. There is nothing God needs that we can give him. Everything already belongs to him. We are not giving money because he needs it. We are not building a facility because God needs it. But in his wisdom he has decided that these types of things would be means to fulfill his purpose.

Money and buildings are only tools for the mission. We are building in order to have a new base of operations… to have a place where we can gather together as the Body of Christ and be equipped to be ambassadors of Christ. The building is not the end in itself. It is not the goal. The mission is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. The goal is that God might be glorified through all that we do, from the beginning to the end and even after. And I think he has been glorified so far in this campaign.

It is my prayer that God would be glorified in our giving… in how we give in this campaign, and in how we give in our day to day lives… in how we handle our money.

There is a close correlation between a person’s commitment to money and his commitment to God. If a man has a strong commitment to money, he will not have a strong commitment to God. If he has a great love for God, then he will not have a great love for money. Jesus says, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matt. 6:24).

So, as we look at our text today, keep that theme in mind… You cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve God and money.

Please turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 8:1-9.

Paul wrote this second letter to the Corinthians urging them to remain united with him and their other leaders. Evidently, his leadership had been challenged, and he wanted to assure the believers of his love for them and assert his authority among them. We also know that Paul had made a “painful visit” to the Corinthian church and didn’t want to do that again. He wanted them to correct their errors, but he wanted them to know he loved them. It looks like the Corinthians had corrected some of their errors, for Paul speaks of their obedience and excellence in everything.

Also, as he was writing this letter, Paul had been going around to various churches collecting money for the poor saints in Jerusalem. This “collection” is mentioned in other places in the New Testament (Romans 15:25-28, 1 Corinthians 16:1-4).

In our passage Paul challenges the Corinthian believers to excel in the grace of giving. Just as they had excelled in everything, becoming obedient and correcting their errors, Paul wanted them to prove the genuineness of their love by giving to the poor saints in Jerusalem.

This morning, it is God’s desire that we also excel in the grace of giving. Whether it is to the poor, to the church, to missionaries, or to the building campaign, it is God’s will for us that we excel in the grace of giving.

In Malachi, God says to Israel, You are “robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house” (Malachi 3:9-10).

After talking with the rich young ruler, Jesus tells his disciples, “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:29).

In Luke 3:11, John the Baptist tells the crowds “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”

In 1 Timothy 6:18-19, Paul says that those who are rich “are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”

We should excel in the grace of giving.

Follow along as I read 2 Corinthians 8:1-9.

“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, inn knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also. I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. 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 by his poverty might become rich.” –2 Corinthians 8:1-9

The grace of God given to the Macedonian churches (8:1-5)

First, let’s see and feel what Paul wants the Corinthian believers to see and feel, namely, the grace of God that was given to the churches of Macedonia. Paul wants to motivate the Corinthians by giving them this great example of the grace of God.

Paul calls their situation and response a “grace of God.” In their situation, it would have been easy to say, “We’re really going through a lot here. In fact, we’re very poor, so we can’t give at this time.” That’s how the natural person responds. That’s how we all tend to respond without God’s grace. We tend to look toward our own situation, our own problems and our own needs, rather than to the needs of others.

But the Macedonian believers had received a grace from God… a grace that enabled them to give joyfully in the midst of affliction and poverty. The word there, “affliction,” shows that they were under heavy pressure… like they were being squeezed from every side. They were persecuted and there felt like no escape. On top of that, and maybe because of that, they were also extremely poor. But look at their response because of God’s grace.

“Their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.” That may not seem to make much sense to you. How could extreme poverty result in an overflow of generosity? How could people who had nothing give anything at all? The answer is in the first part of that sentence, because of their abundance of joy.

Despite the fact that they were under intense pressure and persecution… despite the fact that they were extremely poor, the Macedonian churches had abundant joy. They were content with what they had, because they placed their ultimate joy in Christ. They were in need of nothing, because Jesus Christ filled their every need. What about us? Is our ultimate joy in Christ alone? Does Jesus Christ fill our every need?

The Macedonian believers had abundant joy. And that joy plus their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity. They gave even above their means… beyond their ability. They begged for the chance to take part in giving money to their poor brothers and sisters, even though they themselves were poor.

Not only this, Paul also says that the Macedonian believers first gave themselves to the Lord, and then by the will of God to their leaders. They devoted themselves to the work of the Lord. Their lives, their time, their money… it was all at God’s disposal. They wanted what God wanted and they were willing to give everything to him. When we first give ourselves to the Lord, everything we have becomes his.

This example of the Macedonian churches shows us a few things. First, our joy in Christ should be such that it plus whatever we have overflows in great generosity to others. Christ is our joy. Christ is our treasure. We are in need of nothing, so we can give generously.

Second, for those of you who are poor, you should not be ashamed of your gift. Just like the Macedonians, if you give out of great joy and out of what you have, you gift make a great impact, not only financially, but also spiritually. Remember the widow who put in two coins? Jesus said that she had given more than the rich because she gave out of her poverty all she had to live on.

Third, we should know the reason why we hold on to our money is because we haven’t given ourselves first to the Lord. You cannot serve God and money. The lack of generous giving is not the root problem. It is only a symptom of a deeper issue… that we haven’t given ourselves first to the Lord.

Paul’s challenge to the Corinthian church (8:6-8)

Paul uses the example of the Macedonian churches to motivate the Corinthians to give generously. Then he gets to the point. He charges them to excel in the grace of giving.

He says that he had urged Titus to finish what he had started, completing the act of grace among them in Corinth. Again, Paul uses the word grace to describe the act of giving… “that he should complete among you this act of grace.”

Giving is an act which shows that the grace of God is present in our lives. It’s not 100% proof that a person is a Christian. There are people who give a lot of money, but that is not a guarantee that they are true believers. But a truly changed person, a regenerate believer in Christ, will display this type of gracious giving.

Paul wanted these believers to excel in the gracious act of giving. Evidently, they had excelled in some degree in their faith, speech, knowledge, and earnestness. And Paul again assures them of his love for them. It seems like the Corinthian believers had begun to give, but they were somewhat slow in completing this act. The momentum was slowing down. They had lost the excitement about giving to the poor in Jerusalem.

It’s interesting how Paul puts this challenge. I use the word challenge because he himself says, “I say this not as a command.” So, Paul here is encouraging… challenging the believers to excel in the grace of giving. It is not a command, but it is a sort of test… “to prove that your love is genuine.” The Macedonians had proven their love for Paul and for their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. They had proven their love for God in that they gave themselves to him and gave generously to the cause.

Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and money.” If the Corinthians responded in selfishness and greed, it would prove that their love was not genuine. If they responded in joyful giving, it would prove that they had a true love for God and his people. I don’t know, but it seems like that wouldn’t go over too well with congregations today. “If you give, I’ll know your love is real. If you don’t, I’ll know you’re just faking it.” Some might say, “Well if you have that attitude about it, I just won’t give anything.”

But Paul was pointing to that correlation between one’s commitment to money and his commitment to God. Those who have a tight hold on money… who serve money, are not Christians. How difficult it will be for rich people to enter God’s kingdom (Mk. 10:23). But those who, like the Macedonian believers, have their ultimate joy in Christ will display the grace of generous giving and will have eternal life.

Let us as a church excel in the gracious act of giving. I have seen this grace evident in you already. More than once, many times I have seen members ready to give generously for a good cause for the sake of the Kingdom. Don’t let this eagerness fade away. Always be ready and eager to share with others and to give to causes that give God glory. It will prove our love for God and one another. And it will be a sign for all to see that God’s grace is evident among us.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (8:9)

So, we should see and feel and be motivated by the example the Macedonian believers set for us. We should strongly desire to excel in the gracious act of giving and so prove the genuineness of our love. And finally we should remember the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The grace of Jesus is the greatest motivator there is when it comes to obedience. We can give out of guilt. We can give out of a sense of duty. But the most wonderful obedience… true obedience comes from joy in what Christ has done for his people.

Paul says “that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” In Philippians 2:3-11, Paul tells believers to have the same humility as Christ. He says:

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

God the Son has been with the Father and the Spirit throughout all eternity. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were created through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1-3, 14).

The Son left his heavenly home and became a part of his creation. He took on human flesh. He was rich, yet he became poor. All things were created through him, yet he became a simple carpenter. He lived perfectly, yet he took the punishment that we deserved. He deserved praise and worship, yet for the sake of his people, he was bruised and beaten, and nailed to a cross. “He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

Jesus Christ came to be a servant and to give his life as a ransom for his people (Matthew 20:28). A transaction took place on the cross. Jesus never sinned, but on the cross he bore the punishment for our sin. And we who trust in him are made rich by his sacrifice. He took our poverty and by faith we receive the riches of his grace. He was rich, but he became poor for his people, so that we would become rich.

How can we not give, when we have been given so much? If we have truly trusted Christ and have received the riches of his grace, won’t our joy overflow in acts of generosity? If we have everything we need in Jesus Christ, how can we not graciously give to others? Let this grace of the Lord motivate us and give us joy, that we might excel in the grace of giving, and in so doing display the grace of God working in us.

Is the grace of God evident in your life? Do you give out of an overflow of your joy and love for Christ, or do you give because that’s what you’re supposed to do? Do you eagerly look for chances to give so that others might be happy in Christ? Or do you dread it when you come to church a people talk about money? Do you have a tight grip on your money, or do you have a great passion for Jesus Christ? You cannot serve both God and money.

We have all fallen short in this area. None of us have given as much as we should. None of us have given cheerfully as we should. We have all held back from what God wants us to give. We have all held more tightly to our money than we should. For this, we deserve punishment and wrath. Everything in the world is God’s, yet we have acted like it’s ours and hoarded it for ourselves. Let this hit you. Let this truth weigh on you. For our greed and selfishness and covetousness and stinginess, we deserve punishment. We deserve the wrath of God.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:4-9).

Turn to Jesus Christ. Repent and trust in him. Trust him for salvation and for everything you need. Take your joy in him. You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. Therefore, in light of what Christ has done, let us rejoice. And in the abundant overflow of our joy, let us excel in the grace of giving.