Amen. Please take your seats.
And if you would, please take your Bibles.
Let's open them up this evening to the book of 2 Corinthians.
The book of 2 Corinthians. Our text this evening is just one verse.
It's chapter 8, verse 9 of the book of 2 Corinthians,
but it's packed full of truth and meaning for us to unpack this evening.
If you would, I always encourage our people to have a Bible open in front of you.
I know it's just one verse tonight, but I'd love for you to be able to see with your eyes
as you hear with your ears from the truth of God's Word tonight.
And if you have come here this evening and you don't have a Bible at all,
please take one of those around you home with you as our early Christmas gift to you.
It's heavy on our hearts that each one of you would have a copy of God's Word
and take that home with you.
2 Corinthians 8, verse 9 says this.
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.
Father, would you take the next few moments as we open up your Word together
and would you just change eternity even for one soul in this room tonight?
And God, we ask that you would move each one of us to awe and wonder
as we consider and think on Christ and who he is and what he's done
and the glory of Christmas.
Father, would you be honored and glorified in all that we do?
We ask in Christ's name. Amen.
Well, just a couple weeks ago, I was working at a coffee shop.
Sometimes I like to go and get a good cup of coffee
and think and type and write and study.
And I made the mistake of eavesdropping on a couple of women having a conversation.
Ordinarily, I promise you I try not to listen in,
but this was hard to avoid.
I had taken my headphones out.
I was packing up, getting ready to leave,
and the conversation was loud enough for everybody in the room to hear what was happening.
One lady was complaining to the other lady loudly
about a holiday office Christmas party that she had recently been to.
For one, I think strikes number one and two for her was that the party was dry,
and that was an issue for her.
But also, for another, they had played a white elephant gift exchange,
and as is usually the case with a white elephant gift exchange,
there's maybe one, maybe two really, really, really good gifts,
and everything else is garbage.
And everybody wants to fight and trade and exchange
and use their steels to get one of those one or two gifts,
and then everybody else leaves and goes home disappointed.
Well, this woman, in her mind at least,
had brought something really good and worth holding on to.
She had come there with her treasure,
but she was complaining that she had left with somebody else's trash.
And as I listened to them talk and listened to her complain,
I thought, you know what, this lady has no idea just how Christ-like she is right now.
And she may not realize it,
and apart from the complaining,
but she was a picture,
an image of the message of Christmas
and what Christ has come to do.
Jesus has come bringing his treasure
in exchange for our trash.
And the message that we hear tonight
from the book of 2 Corinthians and Paul,
it teaches us that at the very heart of this story of Christmas
is God's plan
to exchange the treasures of heaven,
to exchange our sin for Christ's righteousness.
He gets us,
and we get him.
It's the most unfair gift exchange in the history of gift exchanges.
We get his righteousness,
and he gets our sin.
We get his riches,
and he gets our poverty.
It's a terribly unfair exchange,
but this is what Christ came to do.
And so let's see it in our passage tonight,
and we'll see it in three parts this evening.
We'll see who he is,
who Jesus is,
what Jesus has come to do,
and why it matters for us this Christmas.
Who is he?
What has he done,
and why does it matter?
First, here at Christmas,
we need to remember who he is,
and it's almost too easy to miss this.
As we think about the baby in the manger,
this little child born to the Virgin Mary,
this helpless and weak infant.
By all appearances,
he's just an ordinary child.
We set up manger scenes at Christmas.
We see him laid there in a manger.
We see him surrounded by the animals.
It's easy to miss the glory of who this child is.
Well, Paul here in 2 Corinthians,
he gives us three truths about who Jesus is.
Three descriptions here in this one verse.
He says,
First, this child is the Lord.
For you know the grace of our Lord,
Jesus Christ.
Jesus is Lord.
Meaning, he is the one that owns everything.
Meaning, he has all authority and all power.
He is the king of heaven and earth.
This baby in the manger is God in the flesh.
He is Lord.
Our problem,
whether we realize this or not,
is that we want to be Lord.
We wrestle with Christ
and want to kick him off of the throne
and establish ourselves on the throne of our life.
We want to be in charge.
We want to call the shots.
We want to do what we want to do
and nobody can tell us otherwise.
We want to be Lord of our lives.
But Paul tells us here that this child,
Jesus, truly is Lord.
And as Lord,
he is owed all glory
and all honor
and all praise
and all respect
and all submission
and all obedience.
He is owed everything that you have.
There is a reason that when the wise men came to visit Mary and Joseph,
they see the child
and Matthew says they fall down
and they worshipped him.
Why?
It is because they knew that this was no ordinary child.
This child is the Lord.
Not only this.
Paul says,
this child is the Christ.
You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
You should know Christ is not Jesus' last name.
Christ is a title.
It means anointed one.
It means Messiah.
And by calling Jesus the Christ,
what he is doing is he is showing that Jesus is the one
that all of the Old Testament
has been leading up to
for years and years and years and years.
The entire Old Testament
is leaning forward in anticipation
of when will the Christ come.
Paul says this child, Jesus,
he is the one that was promised
in Genesis chapter 3
to Eve, the seed of the woman
who will crush the head of the serpent.
This child, Jesus,
is the promised son of Abraham
who will be a blessing to the nations.
This child, Jesus,
is the promised son of David
who will be king
and reign forevermore.
This child, Jesus,
is the head and the guarantor
of a new and perfect, better covenant
who will write the law of God on our hearts.
He will be our God
and we will be his people.
Every promise of God
is kept in Christ.
And as such,
this child, by right,
third description,
is rich
beyond our wildest imagination.
Paul says,
he was rich.
Now, that's a strange way
to describe a newborn baby,
isn't it?
If a baby is born
into a wealthy family,
you might say,
well, now he's rich
or he will be very rich.
Well, Paul says,
he was rich
before the moment
he was born.
This child in the manger
is rich in eternity
before the moment
when he comes
and takes on human flesh.
Why?
Because this child in the manger
is God eternal
in the flesh.
This child is the eternal
Son of God.
By right,
he is the heir
of all the glories of heaven.
And by right,
he has enjoyed
for all of eternity
all the privileges
and all the pleasures
of knowing God
in communion
and relationship
for all of eternity.
He by right
rules over all things.
He created all things.
All things exist for him.
He owns everything.
You think of the richest person
you know.
It's just but a fraction
of the richness
of Christ.
This is how Paul describes him.
The eternal
Son of God.
But yet,
second,
look at what he's done.
Paul says,
this King of glory,
this God,
this Messiah,
though he was rich,
yet,
for your sake,
he became
poor.
This is at the very heart
of the gospel message.
If you want to understand
the message of the gospel,
we need to understand
this,
that the eternal
Son of God,
though he was rich,
he set aside
his right,
he humbled himself,
and he became
man.
the eternal
word of God,
the one through whom
all things were made,
he stepped down
into his creation
in order to
redeem it.
He wrapped himself
up with human
limitations.
I mean,
think about it.
God eternal,
who has no beginning,
now has a birthday
in Jesus Christ.
God omnipresent,
who's everywhere,
in all places,
at all times,
is now located
in a manger
in Bethlehem.
God omnipotent,
who's all powerful,
who's stronger
than any imaginal thing,
is now wrapped up
in human weakness
as a child
who can cry
and feel pain
and who eventually
will grow
and will die.
God omniscient,
who knows all things,
will grow
in wisdom
and in stature.
He'll learn,
he'll develop
like you and I.
He was rich,
and yet,
he became
poor.
We've been walking
through the book
of Philippians
together on Sunday mornings.
In Philippians chapter 2,
it says it like this.
Paul says,
Though he was
in the form of God,
he did not count
equality with God
a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself
by 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.
Therefore,
God has highly
exalted him
and bestowed on him
the name
that is above
every name,
so that at the name
of Jesus
every knee should bow
in heaven
and on earth
and under the earth,
and every tongue
confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord
to the glory
of God
the Father.
Friends,
we should marvel
at this fact.
We should be in awe
at this.
that God
has become
a servant.
That he who is rich
has become poor.
This is what we see
in the manger.
We see God himself
wrapped up
in the weakness
of human flesh.
He stepped into
the mess
of this broken
and fallen creation
in order to redeem it.
He didn't have
to become weak.
He became weak
because we are weak.
He didn't have
to become poor.
He became poor
because we are poor.
He did not have
to step into our mess,
but he came
because he loves sinners
and he wants
to redeem
what's broken.
We sang one of our,
one of my favorite
Christmas hymns
just a minute ago.
I love the line
that we sang
from Hark the Herald Angels
sing,
Mild he lays
his glory by,
Born that man
no more may die.
Born to raise
the sons of earth.
Born to give them
second birth.
This is why
he's come.
When we see
this child
in the manger
and we see
the weakness
and we see
the lowliness
and we see
the humbleness
of it all,
we ought to marvel
because this is
God
setting aside
his riches
and glory
to come
for our
sake.
So third,
why does it matter
for us?
Why does it matter
for you?
Maybe you've heard
this before
and this is all
familiar information
for you.
Maybe you just
don't really understand
or see what difference
it makes for your life.
Just look again
to 2 Corinthians 8
verse 9
and see what Paul says.
He says,
he became poor
so that you
by his poverty
might become
rich.
Would it make
a difference for you
for your life
if I told you
you could be rich
tomorrow?
If I told you
that tomorrow morning
and you're stocking
you got 10 million dollars,
would that make
a difference for you?
How about
100 million?
A million,
million.
The highest number
you could possibly imagine.
If I told you
you could have
all the money
in the world,
would that make
a difference
for your life?
Friend,
Paul says,
Christ
who owns
all
who is truly
rich
came to offer
and to give
sinners
who are poor
true
riches.
What does it mean
to be truly rich,
church?
Those who know
God
are truly rich.
Those who have
had their sins
forgiven
are truly rich.
Those who no longer
carry this burden
of sin
and shame
and guilt
on their back,
that is what it means
to be truly rich.
Those who have
the joy
and peace
of knowing
the source
and the fountain
of everlasting life
and light,
that's what it means
to be truly rich.
Those who have
been united
to God
and united
to one another
and brothers
and sisters
in a church family,
that's what it means
to be truly rich.
Those who have
the guarantee
of the Holy Spirit
in us
and all the fruits
that He bears
in our life,
life,
joy,
peace,
patience,
kindness,
goodness,
gentleness,
faithfulness,
self-control,
that's what it means
to be truly rich.
I used to be
the poorest man
on earth.
I still don't have
much money.
But you are looking,
nobody in this room
is richer than me.
By the grace of God,
He who was rich
for my sake
became poor
so that I
by His poverty
might become rich.
He was born of man
that we might be born
of God.
He stooped low
that we might be raised up.
He became like us
that we might become
like Him.
He died
that we might live.
He became sin for us
so that in Him
we might become
the righteousness
of God.
He became poor
so that in Him
we might become
truly rich.
John Calvin
says it like this.
He says,
This is the wondrous exchange
made by His
boundless goodness.
Having become with us
the Son of Man,
He has made us
with Himself
sons of God.
By His own descent
to the earth,
He has prepared
our ascent
to heaven.
Having received
our mortality,
He has bestowed
on us His immortality.
Having undertaken
our weakness,
He has made us
strong in His strength.
Having submitted
to our poverty,
He has transferred
to us His riches.
Having taken upon
Himself the burden
of unrighteousness
with which we were
oppressed,
He has clothed us
with His righteousness.
Does this sound
like a fair exchange
to you?
It's not.
I'll give you
another quote.
R.G. Lee,
he says it like this.
He describes the glory
and the mystery
of the incarnation
as the deep descent
of Christ.
I love this quote.
Listen to this.
From the heights
of glory
to the depths
of shame.
From the wonders
of heaven
to the wickedness
of earth.
From exaltation
to humiliation.
From the throne
to the tree.
From dignity
to debasement.
From worship
to wrath.
From the halls
of heaven
to the nails
of earth.
From coronation
to the curse.
From the glory
place
to the gory
place.
In Bethlehem,
humility and glory
in their extremes
were joined,
born in a stable,
cradled in a cattle
trough,
wrapped in swaddling
clothes of poverty.
No room for Him
who made all rooms.
No place for Him
who made
and knows all places.
Oh,
the deep humiliation
of the Creator
to be born
of the creature.
But,
in His descent
was the dawn
of mercy.
Because we
cannot ascend
to Him,
He descends
to us.
this is what
we celebrate
at Christmas.
Christ
has come
down
to us
to bring
sinners like us
who cannot
climb our way
to God
to bring us
back up
to Him.
Are you rich
this Christmas?
friends,
friend,
do not leave
here
without knowing
for certain
that Christ
has exchanged
the glories
of His riches
for your poverty.
Do not leave
here this evening
without knowing
for certain
that tomorrow
morning when you
wake up on
Christmas morning
that you are
reconciled with
the Holy God
by faith in Christ.
This is totally
unfair,
but it's a gift
of God's grace.
Do 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.
This verse
inspired one of
my favorite
Christmas hymns.
We didn't sing it
tonight.
Our church has
sung it before.
It's not one of
the more popular
ones, okay?
I realize that.
It's called
Thou Who Was Rich
Beyond All Splendor.
It goes like this.
Thou Who Was Rich
Beyond All Splendor
All for love's sake
becameest poor.
Thrones for a manger
didst surrender.
Sapphire paved
courts for stable
floor.
Thou Who Was Rich
Beyond All Splendor
All for love's sake
becameest poor.
Thou Who Art God
Beyond All Praising
All for love's sake
becameest man.
Stooping so low,
but sinners raising
heavenward by
Thine eternal plan.
Thou Who Art God
Beyond All Praising
all for love's sake
becameest man.
Thou Who Art Love
Beyond All Telling
Savior and King
we worship Thee.
Emmanuel
within us dwelling.
Make us what Thou
wouldst have us be.
Thou Who Art Love
Beyond All Telling
Savior and King
we worship Thee.
Let's pray.
Father,
we worship Thee
this evening.
And we worship You,
Father,
for Your glorious
plan of salvation.
We worship You,
Christ,
for coming.
We worship You,
Christ,
for setting aside
Your glory in heaven
and coming down
in weakness
and in frailty.
Father,
You didn't have
to do this.
Christ,
You didn't have
to do this.
And yet,
out of love's sake
for sinners like me.
You came.
We praise You
for this,
Lord.
We pray that You
would be honored.
We pray our hearts
would be fixed on You
this Christmas.
We pray You would be
exalted.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.