Trading Places
What makes grace so precious?
Grace is Invaluable
The sacrifice of the Macedonians for others is one thing; the sacrifice of Christ for others is quite another.
God’s lavishness in the gift of grace and the depths of Christ’s sacrifice requires that Christians be liberal in their giving to others.
The riches of salvation are not something that only await us in glory but are spiritual blessings that we can experience right now (see 1 Cor 1:4–5; 3:22).
Christ’s sacrifice becomes the real motive for giving, not trying to copy or to outdo some sibling community.
When Paul speaks of the grace of God, or as here the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, what he means is not an attitude or a gracious disposition but God’s love expressed in concrete saving action on behalf of mankind.
The word “grace,” as in vers. 4, 6, 7, here means “gracious beneficence.”
It is not economic poverty that Paul has in mind here (the extent of the incarnate Jesus’ poverty can be exaggerated), but rather the cost to our Lord in playing his part in the whole drama of redemption.
Paul here contrasts the supreme sacrifice of Christ with man’s incomparably infinitesimal acts of charity
Give yourself. God wants us, not our money. When we have surrendered ourselves to the Lord, our giving will fall into line (8:5).
This tremendous thought parallels 9:15. This church thought they already were rich (cf. 1 Cor. 4:8). Now the true definition of wealth is clearly spiritual and service-oriented, not self-seeking or intellectual, materialistic, or acumen
Grace is Irreversible
Paul’s readers are urged to participate generously in the ‘gracious work’ of the collection (v. 7), because they well know of the archetypal example presented by the ‘gracious act’ of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, here expressed in the language of self-impoverishment.
“Though he was rich” means that Christ did not exploit his status for his own advantage. Instead, he relinquished that status to serve others (Phil 2:6).
Becoming poor refers to his “emptying himself” (Phil 2:6; see also Rom 15:3; Heb 12:2) and suggests that this is something he did voluntarily.
It is salvation itself, and the blessings of the new age involved in it, that constitute the riches which Christ by his poverty enables believers to enjoy.
He was rich and he became poor are not to be understood in terms of financial wealth. Rich refers to Christ’s divine existence prior to the incarnation. Became poor refers to the incarnation, that is, to his birth as a human being. In some languages this may be better translated “he abandoned his wealth.”
Became poor. The aorist implies the concentration of his self-sacrifice in a single act. By his poverty. The word “his” in the Greek implies the greatness of Christ.
The One who was rich, who had everything, became poor, making Himself nothing (Phil. 2:7). He assumed mankind’s debt of sin and paid for it with His life (Phil. 2:8).
Became poor. Gr. ptōcheuō, “to be [extremely] poor,” “to be a beggar.”
In and through Christ men are able to discern the true value of things, and receive the privilege of becoming “rich” in Christ Jesus. In Him they inherit all things
Remember Christ’s example. He gave everything to enrich our lives. The riches we have in Him are the true riches, not material wealth (8:9).
1. He came to die in our place for our sins (cf. Mark 10:45).
2. He came to give us an example to follow (cf. 1 John 3:16).
This verse is parenthetical, introduced to give the highest example of love and self-sacrifice for others; there is nowhere in St. Paul a more definite statement of his belief in the pre-existence of Christ before His Incarnation (cf. John 17:5)