Turn with me in your Bible, if
you would. Second Corinthians chapter eight. Second Corinthians. Chapter eight. This is Paul's second letter
to the Church of Corinth. The Lord chose. To put in his
precious word. He's still addressing the same
issues from 1 Corinthians, when he wrote the first time. Paul
had visited the Corinthians two times up to this point, and he
writes in this letter that he's going to
be coming to visit them again. Some of the people that he were
writing to had, he obviously had received letters, they were
corresponding is what was happening. And so some of them had the attitude
that, come say it to my face. They didn't really like Paul's
addresses. They didn't like, they liked
what they were doing. They had a come say it to my face attitude. And Paul deals with that attitude. And you know how he deals with
that attitude? Declaring the gospel. Declaring the gospel
so clear. And we heard the first hour.
It is the love of God that constraineth us. What better what it what
other motivation do we have? Except for the love of Christ.
It's amazing God Spirit uses his gospel. To correct his people
when we see Christ's selflessness. That's when we desire to be selfless
towards our brethren. When we see his giving, that's
what makes us want to give unto him. When we see his service
unto his father and us, that's what makes us want to serve.
That's what compels us, isn't it? What he done, his finished
work, all of his doing. He does all of this by revealing
his gospel. Now here in our text in 2 Corinthians
chapter 8, there is no clearer place in all of scripture that
gives us the theme and the spirit of the gospel. The spirit of
humility, the spirit of poverty, the spirit of meekness, the spirit
of tenderness. These are the themes of the gospel,
the selflessness of Christ. This is the theme of the gospel.
It's of our dear savior, isn't it? It's the spirit he gives
his people too, isn't it? Our God's gospel, he reveals
nothingness, the nothingness outside of everything, outside
of anything not being in Christ. If it's not in Christ, it's nothingness.
And he also reveals the completeness of anything that is in Christ.
Gospel reveals the nothingness of everything outside of Christ
and reveals the fullness and the completeness of everything
in Christ. I wanna read one verse, chapter
eight, look at verse nine. For ye know the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes
he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be made rich. That ye through his poverty might
be made rich. I've titled this, He became poor. Now the word became denotes that
he was not poor prior to him becoming. Then it also tells
us prior to him becoming poor, he was rich. But what was he
rich with? What was he rich with? John one
says, all things were made by him. And without him, there is
not anything made that was made. He is the creator. of all things,
all things are for his glory and they consist according to
his will. I wanna show you that, turn with
me to Romans chapter 11. Look in verse 33 of Romans 11. Oh, the depth of the riches,
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are
his judgments and his ways past finding out for who has known
the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor or who has
first given to him and it shall be recompensed again unto him
again for of him and through him. and to him are all things
to whom be glory, to whom be glory forever, amen. For of him
and through him and to him, that's everything, isn't it? Everything
is of him. Everything is through him. Everything
is to him. He was not just rich in possessing
all things. Yes, he created and owns everything,
All creatures, all objects belong to him. But he's also rich in
infinite wisdom and knowledge. He's also rich in power and authority. How rich was he? Well, he tells
us here, for of him and through him and to him are all things.
Of him denotes that all things originated by him. Through Him indicates all things
live and exist through Him, His will, His power, and His choice.
Acts 17 says it's in Him that we live, we move, and we have
our being. It's all of and in Him. And to Him shows what its purpose
is. It's for His glory. It's for
His glory. All things are ordered according
to the goodwill and pleasure of the Lord. How rich was the
Lord? He had everything. Everything. He had fellowship with the father.
Worshipped by the angels and glory. The scripture says in
Hebrews one they worshipped him. How great was his riches? They
were past finding out his glory was unparalleled yet. God chose
to become poor. He chose to become poor. He chose
to become a man. Who did he become poor for, is
the first question I have for us. Because he just told us that
you, through his poverty. You could turn back to our text,
2 Corinthians 8. Verse nine again, for ye know
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet
for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might
be made rich. There's a your and a ye there.
I need to know who he became poor for. If there is a you there,
who is the you he's speaking of? Look back, if you would, at the
very beginning of the first Corinthians, first book of Corinthians, it'll
tell you exactly who the you is. First Corinthians chapter
one. Because remember, he's writing
to the same congregation a second time in 2 Corinthians. So this
is who he's writing to right here. 1 Corinthians 1, look at
verse 2. Under the church of God, which is at Corinth, to
them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints with
all that in every place, call upon the name of the Lord. Call
upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, both theirs and ours. First of all, it's those who
are sanctified. That's who the you is in this
passage that we're looking at. That's the you, those that are
sanctified. Those that are made holy, those that are set apart.
He doesn't say those that are going to be sanctified. It doesn't
say those who are going to be made righteous. It says those
who are sanctified. Who made them that way? Who made
his people holy? Who made these individuals holy? God did. God did. How did he do it? By becoming
poor. By becoming poor. The ones who has now been called
to be saints. So first of all, they were sanctified,
then they were called. Do we see that? So salvation
proceeds being called. Salvation is, the called is just
the evidence that we've been, not our evidence, but it's just
nobody, everyone's going to be called if they've been purchased
by the Lord, if they've been bought by His blood, if they've
been sanctified, the Lord will call them in time. But salvation,
sanctification, it precedes, it precedes the calling. Do we
see that? Therefore, those who are holy,
those who are called by the Lord's doing, they call upon his name
in all places, whoever they are, whoever they are. That's the
evidence. They call upon his name. We cry out unto him. He's all. Lord, I can't make
myself holy. Nothing I can do or anything
that I think is holy. Everything I am is utterly evil.
I'm desperately wicked and my heart's wicked above all things
and desperately wicked, the scripture says. Lord, you're gonna have
to give me a new heart. You're gonna have to create in me a clean heart, a
holy heart. That's what he does by grace.
That's what he did when he became poor for his people. He did that
so that you and I would be made the righteousness of God in him.
This is who he did it for, this is who he became poor for, is
his people. These are they which are the
elect of God before time, according to Ephesians 1. Romans 8 calls them, the called
according to his purpose. I like that, don't you? The called,
his people are the called according to his purpose. First Peter says
that they are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a peculiar people. Christ called them his sheep
in John chapter 10. John the Revelator refers to
them as the bride of the Lamb. This is who he became poor for,
his elect, his elect. Now look again, back in our text,
2 Corinthians 8 verse 9 again. For ye know the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes
he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. We know now who he was made poor
for, but why? Why was it necessary? Why did
he choose to become poor? Why did he choose to become a
man? Why must he who is infinitely
rich beyond measure become poor for his people? Why? He just
told us that we, through his poverty, might be made rich. That's why. That we, the Lord's
people, through his poverty, might be made rich. Now what
does he mean when he says poor? The loss of material things,
if we were to try to enter into, if I was to say I am now poor,
compared to what I was yesterday, I am now poor, what does that
mean? I lost my house. I lost my money. Does it mean
I lost my health? What does it mean to become poor?
We can only base our reality on our perspective of experience. And many of us, we've never really
went without, maybe some of us have went without a meal. I don't
want to be presumptuous, but to my knowledge, the Lord's always
given us at least a can of beans in the cabinet. You know what
I mean? The Lord provides for his people. But what does it mean
to be poor? Well, what is our standard of
rich? What is our standard of poor?
When the Lord says he was made poor, we're talking about complete
nothingness. complete emptiness. Now he never
at one time laid down his deity. He never one time relinquished
his power. He never one time laid down his
authority of who he was. He was always God. He was infinite
in wisdom. He was infinite in knowledge.
The God man, the Lord Jesus Christ is God. But as far as material
things, as far as communion with his father, as far as what he
had in glory, he put all of that aside. Even the fellowship with
his father in that song we just sung, the father turned his face
away. That's true. That's true. It pleased the Lord
to Bruce him, but the father. Christ was alone on the cross
of Calvary, enduring the wrath of God for his people. Christ
did it all by himself. The father was pouring out his
wrath and it was not, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me? He was all alone. He was made
poor. He was made poor that we through
his poverty might be made rich. This word poor means a beggar.
A beggar. Christ, Jesus became a beggar. Did he not beg unto his father
in John 17? Father, the hour has come. Glorify
thy son. This is not him demanding. This
is him begging, is it not? Father, the hour has come. Glorify
thy son. Ask and you shall receive. He's asking. He's begging his
father. Glorify thy son that thy son also may glorify thee
as thou hast given him power over all flesh. See, he still
had all power. He still had all power. That
he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
He was in complete submission to his father's will at all time.
He was a beggar. Was he not begging in the garden?
He said, Father, let this cup pass from me. Was he not agonizing
with God there? His agony became his sweat, and
the sweat became his blood, and he shed that blood for his people. It was agony in the garden. He
was begging his father, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless,
not my will, thy will be done. It wasn't necessary for him to
go around begging bread. He told us, if I was hungry,
I wouldn't tell you. That's not what I'm talking about. He was
begging the father for his will to be done. It's our example,
isn't it? It's our example. You know what
he begged on the cross of Calvary? Father, forgive them, forgive
them for they know not what they do. Think about that. He was
asking his father for that. It's not a poorness of health
that he speaks of here, but yet he must die. The Lord Jesus Christ
must be put to death for his people in order for them to be
redeemed, but it wasn't health and it wasn't wealth. Was he
not born in the lowliest of fashions, in a manger, a feeding trough?
feeding trough. There was no room in the inn.
Man didn't have any room for him in his birth. He didn't come
to trumpets sounding and in a big palace born where everybody said,
there he is, there's the Christ, our King. No, he was born in
a place called Bethlehem. He was a nobody as far as everybody
was concerned. He was, oh, he's everything to
us, isn't he? He's born poor. in a feeding
trough, wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid in a manger, laid
in a manger. Why? So we, through his poverty,
might be made rich. Don't confuse that word might.
It's not might. It's the same word as we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. It's not a possibility. That's not what that word means.
To guarantee. It was the only way that we could
be made the righteousness of God in him. It's the only way
that we, through his poverty, are made rich. It's the only
way. He had to become poor. He had
to become poor. He said, the foxes have hold,
the birds of the air have nest, and the son of man hath no place
to lay his head. Did he complain about that one time? No. Why?
Because he was doing it for his people. He was in, if I say he
was on a mission, I think that's the right word. It was purposed.
I mean, it wasn't a, an attempt, I guess missions can be failed,
so I don't know if that is the right word, but you understand
what I'm saying. He had a singular purpose. It was to glorify his
father and to glorify his bride, to redeem her. That was his purpose. He's not speaking of the lack
of physical possessions, he's speaking of the agony of the
soul that he endured on the cross. It must be understood that he
chose, he chose to redeem his people and thereby he chose to
die. He knew full well what the wrath
of God was. Do you know why? He was God.
He is God. He knew exactly what he was agreeing
to when he said, I will redeem her. He knew the poorness that
must happen in order for you and I to be set free from the
bonds of sin and death. He knew that. He knew that and
he said, I will do that. I will do that to honor you father,
to redeem her father. That's, that's the covenant of
grace. The father elected them, the son redeemed them and the
spirit regenerates them in time. This is the only way that their
sin could be put away. We are born totally depraved, totally
dead, incapable of doing anything that pleases God. We are born
sinners, not because of our deeds, not because of our deeds, but
because of what we are. Romans chapter five, verse 12
tells us, whereas one man's sin entered into the world, and death
by sin. And so death passed upon all
men, for all have sinned. David said, I was born in sin,
I was shaped into iniquity. The only way for that sin to
be put away is for Christ to be made poor. For Christ to be
made poor. Our heart is wicked beyond measure. And the only way that our heart
condition can be fixed is if he gives us a new one. And the
only way he can give us a new one is if Christ is made poor. From birth we come forth speaking
lies. Most in religion would agree
with what I've mostly said about us being sinners, but what the
lie is is not that we're sinners in religion. The lie is that
we can do something to fix it. We can't become poor enough to
fix it. Do we see that? This is not a
poorness of physicality. This is a poorness of spiritual
matters, spiritual things. He became poor unto death. Even the death of the cross.
The lie is that we can fix it. We can't fix it. They that are
in the flesh cannot please God. What must happen then? God must
work. God must save. And you know how
he does it? He does it by the work of Christ alone. That we through his poverty might
be made rich. Christ must be made poor. And
then you know what he does? He reveals that He traded places
with us. All the riches that we begin
talking about in the beginning, He's traded places with us. He's
given all of it to us in Christ Jesus. Think about that. All
the riches that God possesses, what does He possess? Everything.
What did he do with that? He gave it to his people. He
gave it to his people. It's still his, but we have it
in Christ Jesus. Do we see that? We're heirs of
God, the scripture said. Join heirs with Jesus Christ.
Everything he owns, his people owns in him. You know what? There's nothing that he possesses.
that makes us take our eyes off of him for one second. He is
the prize. He is the great possession, isn't
he? He is the pearl of great price
to his people. He is the hidden treasure. Galatians 4 says, when the fullness
of time was come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born
under the law to redeem them that were under the law. That's
how poor he became. He was born of a woman. Can we
imagine God being born of a woman? We can't enter into that because
we can't comprehend God in the flesh. There's no way. Faith
just believes him. It doesn't understand, right? Hebrews 2 tells us, for verily
he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him
the seed of Abraham. Why did he do that? Why did he
become God? Did he do it to try? Try to redeem? Did he do it to hope that he
could accomplish something? Or did he actually do something?
No, he did it. He accomplished everything that he purposed to
accomplish. That's why the world was created. He did it to redeem those given
him. He was born poor. He was born,
if I could say it this way, he was born with a death sentence.
He knew that's the purpose of him being born was the cross
of Calvary. That's why he became a man was
to die. He was born with the sentence of death upon him because
of the covenant of grace, born to die. Can you imagine being
born on death row? That's exactly what we're talking about here.
He did that for his people. He did that for his people, never
losing sight of the cross of Calvary, never losing sight of
his purpose, never losing sight of the father, always honoring
the father in everything that he did. He was born to put away
the sin of his people. And the only way that that could
happen is if he died. The scripture says, and when he by himself
purged our sin, whenever he died and hung his head on Calvary's
cross and said, it is finished. And the veil was written twain
from top to bottom. We have now been made the righteousness
of God in him. We through his poverty have been
made rich. We through his poverty. Can you imagine everything around
him? He knew everyone by name. He
knew every speck of dirt. He created that. Think about
that. Every blade of grass and he's walking, walking along the
sea, created the sea, walking beside of it, the rocks, the
sky, everything around him. He created all of that. Scripture
says he was in the world and the world was made by him. The
world knew him not. The world knew him not. You talk
about poverty. That's what the Lord did for
his people. He was despised. He was rejected of men. He was
acquainted with grief. He was smitten, afflicted of
God and smitten. He was smitten of God. He was
bearing our sin, wasn't he? Bearing our iniquity. He was
bearing our shame, our guilt, that we through his poverty might
be made rich. He condescended to take on the
likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, he condemned sin in
that flesh. Imagine, he's being crucified, according
to Acts 2.38, Peter says, him being delivered, Christ being
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, you have taken and with wicked hands you have crucified
and slain. He's literally redeeming those who are crucifying Him. Think about that. They've laid
hands on Him, they've spit on Him, they've mocked Him, and
He's dying to redeem some of them. That's what Peter, on the
day of Pentecost, some of them were there, they were the ones
crucifying Christ. You've taken and with wicked
hands you have crucified and slain. And what did they, and
you and I are guilty of the same, aren't we? Our sin, that song
said, our sin's what held Him there. Because of the Lord's
purpose, our sin had to be dealt with. had to be put away. And
what did those men say when they heard that about taking the Lord?
They said, what shall we do? What are we gonna do? We're in
trouble. We're in trouble. No, the good
news is, is he, through his poverty, has made us rich. He put away
that sin. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's what he told him. That's what Peter told him. Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. I look in our text in closing. 2nd Corinthians 5. That's not our text, I'm sorry,
but look back. We were here. Earlier, look back
in 1st Corinthians Chapter 5. For a moment there, I thought
I got my notes messed up, but I think I just wrote the word text down
wrong, so I think we're okay. 2 Corinthians 5, 21, for he hath
made him to be sin for us. You want to, if the Lord would
enable us to enter into this thought just for a moment. The
sinless, eternal, holy God, was made sin for his people. We can't imagine how disgusting
that is. There's no way. We wallow in
sin. We wallow in it. We love sin.
The flesh speaking. The flesh does. It takes after
sin and everything that it does. It's like I tell my children
the best way I can give an example is a dog doesn't bark to become
a dog. It's a dog because it's born
that way. Well, you and I are born sin
and we love, we love sin. That is not what is the Lord. He's holy. He's totally different
than that. He hates sin. He hates the sinner. He doesn't
love the sinner. He doesn't. Men say, well, he
hates this. He hates the sin and love. No, no, no, no. We
must be made the righteousness of God and him. He must not see
that we're the sinner anymore. He must see Christ or he is not
satisfied with us. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. He changed them into being the
righteousness of God. Do we see that? he hath made
him to be sin for us. Don't miss that. He hath made
him to be sin for us. That's his people. That's his
people who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. No word can describe his poorness
on the cross. There is no way that I could,
Speak till I'm blue in the face. Unless the Lord gives us just
the faith to believe it and the heart to rejoice in it, we still
can't fathom the poorness of our Savior on the cross and what
that poverty really was. The Father making His soul an
offering for sin. Can we understand what that means?
No. No, but we know whatever that means is exactly what was
required for you and I to be redeemed. for the Lord's people
to be redeemed. Making his soul an offering for
sin. However, whatever that means
in depth, that's what must take place. That poverty must take
place that we might be made rich. And what is that richness? Is
it wealth in this life? Is it health in this? No, it
has nothing to do with this life, does it? Christ Jesus is the
riches, isn't he? That's the riches that he gave
us. His self, his son. Listen to Christ on the cross.
I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax. It is melted in the midst of
my bowels. My strength is dried up like a pot shirt and my tongue
cleaveth to my jaws. Thou hast brought me unto the
dust of death. Never a man, never a man was
made so poor as our Lord on the cross of Calvary. Complete separation
from his father, enduring all the wrath and judgment that was
due us. See, he took our poorness. He
took what we are, our depravity, and He owned it as His own sin
that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him, that we might
be made rich. The Creator became the creature to make us the righteousness
of God in Him, and He was successful. This is not something that's
going to happen. This is not something that is dependent upon
us in any way. This is settled in heaven. This
is done. This is over. This is accomplished. This is
finished. There is now, therefore, right
now, no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. How
do we get in Christ Jesus? He did that. When did he do that?
Before time ever began. There's now no condemnation. Now are ye accepted in the beloved. Now are we the righteousness
of God in Christ. Now are we heirs of God and joint
heirs with Jesus Christ. All that he possesses, his people
possess in him. All that he is, we are in him. I'm gonna say that again. All
that he is, that's exactly what his people are in him. Now back to the text in 2 Corinthians
8. I wanna read it one more time.
2 Corinthians 8 verse 9, for ye
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Everything that I've
described, everything that I've described up till this point,
that is us knowing the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
what it's all done by. Him becoming poor, what other
explanation are we going to give? Are we going to say that it was
because we had something to offer him? What did he gain from it? He gained all the glory, didn't
he? He gets all the glory. He gets all the glory and salvation.
He didn't gain, he gained a bunch of sinners. That's what he gained
and made them the righteousness of God in him. He finished the
work given to him by his father so that he would get all the
glory. And we know that it's of grace.
We know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he
was rich, yet for your sakes, he became poor. And here's the
reason why, that ye, through his poverty, might be made, might
be rich, might be rich. As poor as he became, that's
how rich we are in him. As poor as he became on the cross
of Calvary, in Christ Jesus, we have everything. We have everything. He traded places with his people.
That is the hope of the gospel, isn't it? I don't understand
why he would do it. Well, yeah, I would do because
he to glorify the father and, uh, to get all the glory. We
know exactly why he didn't do it. He didn't do it because of
what we are. He done it. Well, you understand
what I'm saying? He had to do it because of what
we are being sinners. But He didn't do it because of
anything good about us. He didn't do it because there
was something desirous in us. He did it to make us the righteousness
of God in him to make us perfect. That's exactly what he did. We
threw his poverty.