Read 2 Corinthians 8:1–9
You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was
rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his
poverty might become rich.
2 Corinthians 8:9
In what ways was Jesus rich? Certainly He was rich in His person,
for He is the eternal God. He was rich in His power, for He can
do anything. Yet, in spite of the fact that He had these riches—and
more—He became poor.
Jesus united Himself to humanity and took upon Himself a
human body. He left the throne to become a servant (Phil. 2:7). He
laid aside all His possessions so that He did not even have a place
to lay His head (Luke 9:58). His ultimate experience of poverty was
when He was made to be sin for us on the cross (2 Cor. 5:21). Hell
is eternal poverty, and on the cross Jesus Christ became the poorest
of the poor.
Why did He do it? So that we might become rich! This suggests
that we were poor before we met Jesus Christ, and we were—totally
bankrupt in fact. But now that we have trusted Him, we share in all
of His riches. Since this is true, how can we refuse to give to others?
Jesus became poor to make us rich! Can we not follow His example
(1 Peter 2:21)?
Something to Ponder
How could your becoming poorer (financially) help someone else
become richer (spiritually)?