The Grace of Christ at Christmas

As we turn our minds toward the upcoming Christmas holiday, the text we have before us was written by one of Jesus Christ’s special servants – a man named Paul. And Paul here is being prompted by the Holy Spirit to speak to a Christian church that was located in an ancient city named Corinth. And specifically, in this verse, Paul reminds these people about the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

It’s clear that Paul’s words here are a reminder for these early Christians, because he tells them here, “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is something they had already heard about. But if you haven’t been exposed to the Bible very much, then you probably won’t find the ideas spoken about here to be all that familiar. In fact, when Paul speaks about the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, you may have trouble defining what this word grace even means.

But this word, grace, is talking about some sort of special treatment, or some sort of gift, that is given to someone who has done nothing to deserve it. So kids, the gifts that you receive at Christmas – you receive those gifts not because you worked to earn them. They aren’t some sort of reward for good behavior. But your parents, grandparents, or whoever else – they’re showing you grace. They’re giving you gifts because they love you – not because they’re obligated to pay you something.

And in a similar way, this historical person of great status and authority – the Lord Jesus Christ – he has given a gift of grace, too – not because he’s obligated to give us anything. But because of his love for His people. And this great gift of grace is explained here in our text by three statements. 1. Christ was rich. 2. Christ became poor. And 3. By Christ’s poverty, we are made rich.

Christ Was Rich

So first, the text tells us that he, Christ, was rich. From our earthly perspective, we have a certain idea of what it means to be rich – it means to have a lot of money, or gold, or property – something like that. But this isn’t what the verse here is talking about. There’s something of even greater worth that Christ possessed. He was rich in that Christ was adorned in divine glory, empowered with divine authority, and gratified in divine fellowship. He inhabited the sacred palaces of heaven. He was daily adored by angels and archangels.

This is what Jesus is talking about in another part of the Bible – in John 17, verse 5 – when he says, “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” Before there was a baby at Bethlehem – even before God said, “Let there be light,” and spoke the universe into existence, the Divine Son, the Christ, was rich with the everlasting riches of heaven.

Christ Became Poor

But notice again our verse here: “Though he was rich, yet for your sake, he became poor.” Christ became poor. He became poor by leaving behind the glory of heaven. He became poor by stooping down to our level – below us, even – and entering into exceptionally humble circumstances. He, the immortal prince of divine glory – he took on mortal flesh, and a human mind and heart. And he came into this world, not in the developed form of mature manhood, but as a helpless baby. He was born in a time and place without running water and toilet paper. He was born to poor parents. He experienced hunger and thirst. He was subjected to temptations. He was exposed to the indignity of sickness, injuries, and vitamin deficiencies. This is what we celebrate at Christmas. He took on flesh and dwelt among us.

But even all this doesn’t describe the full extent of his poverty! He experienced even greater humiliation. He was betrayed by one of his closest friends, abandoned by all his disciples, rejected by His own family, and all his people. He was spit upon and mocked, torn apart with Roman whips, stripped of his clothes, crowned with thorns, nailed to a cross. The shining star of heaven was reduced to a corpse!

It’s unthinkable! How does it make sense? And yet the most startling thing about all this is that he did it for you!  “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that through he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor.”

By Christ’s Poverty, We Are Made Rich.

So what did Jesus accomplish, in becoming poor? This is the third and final statement to note here: “By Christ’s poverty, we are made rich.” As our text says, “… he became poor, so that you by his poverty, might become rich.”

It’s important to notice here – the Bible is making it clear that we are not already rich. When we are born into this world, we do not naturally, already have the blessings of God’s favor, and presence, and the promise of eternal life. We are poor. We are cut off from divine glory because we are stubbornly stuck in the ways of our twisted hearts. We are sinners – evildoers. And in our profanity and poverty, we do not deserve any good thing from God. If anything, we deserve punishment. Death. Hell.

But Jesus stooped down, and made himself poor, for us. He came to carry the guilt of our sins – to receive the death penalty in our place. And he did this in order to raise us up – to bring rescue from our sins, and resurrection from death – and even more than this – to bring richness to us, in the presence of God and his glory, forever. This is the greatest of all Christmas gifts.

What Are You Aiming for This Christmas?

I imagine that there are some of you here today who aren’t interested in this. You perhaps think of God as being a miserly old man, who has a long list of inconvenient rules. And so being in God’s presence sounds miserable. But that view you have of God is wrong. The God of the Bible is the source of all things pleasing and perfect. He’s the inventor of happiness, and the author of life. And God wants to give these things to his people – he wants to give us himself – not because we deserve it. But because of his grace – because of his own goodness. He has decided upon the right gift for us – the richest of gifts. He has fully paid the cost. He has brought it near to us. So be sure to receive his grace. Marvel in it. Give thanks for it! If there is one gift you set out to receive this Christmas, make sure this is the one. “For you know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for our sake, he became poor, so that you, by his poverty, might become rich.