Knowing the Grace of Jesus in Christmas (Part 3 of 4)

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 through his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

This is the connection between Bethlehem and Calvary; the manger and the cross. As God, he is immortal. He could not die. His incarnation was necessary for in God's design of the redemption, someone must be sacrificed for the expiation of sin.

The purpose of his poverty is laid here: "so that by his poverty, we might become rich", implying of course that before the great sacrifice, before we have inherited all the spiritual blessings in Christ (Eph. 1:3), we were in a state of poverty. We were poor in the sense that we are subject to pain and suffering as a result of the sin that entered through one man and spread to all mankind. It is a misery so great that would last for all eternity-- if the Lord had not shown his mercy. But he did showed his mercy by sending his Son to deal with this root problem of all our miseries namely "sin".

The rich and glorious King came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." (Eph. 1:7). And because the root problem of sin has been dealt with, we are now rich. Every spiritual blessing is ours. We are already given much benefit today, and more will be given in eternity: "so that by his poverty, we might become rich."

Knowing the Grace of Jesus in Christmas (Part 2 of 4)

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 through his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

"He became poor", not by ceasing to be God or taking off any of his divine attributes, but by adding another nature to his divinity. He became flesh (incarnation). And when he came in to the world, he did not choose a palace as a birthplace, rather he chose to be born in an inn where there was no room for him. He was placed not in the finest crib but in a manger.

Becoming poor meant veiling his glory with human flesh. Yes, that glory so bright that not even angels could look upon directly with their bare eyes must now be hidden in frail humanity.

The Mighty One was born a real baby. The one who was sustaining the world was at the same time dependent on his parents. He cries when he is hungry or when his diaper is wet as if he was saying: "Mother, Mother help me"-- yet if he will not restrain his power he would survive anyway. For he doesn't need the help of human hands in order to survive because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else (Acts 17:25).

Becoming poor meant though he owns all the living creatures in the oceans, he would have to eat a small if that is all his carpenter foster father Joseph could afford.

Becoming poor also meant submitting himself to human vulnerability to pain and suffering; to the abuses of sinful man, to be insulted, to be spit upon, to be accused of wrongdoing when he knew no sin-- a suffering ending ultimately at the cross.

Knowing the Grace of Jesus in Christmas (Part 1 of 4)

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 through his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

Iglesia ni Cristo ministers teach that Jesus was non-existent before he was conceived by Mary. He was just an idea in the mind of the Father. But this verse poses a major problem to that view. You see, Jesus was born in a poor family yet this verse says that isn't Jesus' original state. He was rich before he became poor. If he did not exist before he was born into Joseph and Mary's family, in what sense was he rich before he was poor?

This verse will only make sense in a framework which views Jesus as pre-existing before he became man (John 1:1; 8:58)  And in that pre-incarnate state, he was equal in glory with the Father (Phil. 2:6; John 17:5). He was not just a pre-existing spectator to the Father's activities; he himself was very active in creation and in governing the affairs of nature and history (John 1:1-3; Hebrews 1:10; Col. 1:16-17). All privileges in the heavens and on the earth were his; in this sense he was rich.

We Have Seen His Glory (John 1:14)

It has been about six decades since the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. The only surviving apostle, a very old man now, picks up his pen or is at least with a secretary. Its time to write his very own Gospel, the 4th Gospel. Surely it brought back some sweet memories to this man who frequently referred to himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved".

He begins with an 18-verse prologue. With it, he tells his readers in very clear terms that Jesus has been existing from the very beginning; and that he was with God and he himself is God. He further tells his audience that this Jesus is Creator of all things we enjoy here on earth and that he is the author of life.

At verse 14, he writes about how this God became flesh and made his dwelling among men. But even when he was in this form of a servant, his glory cannot be hidden. John declares: "We have seen his glory".

By the time John wrote this, his Christology was already in its fullness. He fully understands who Jesus Christ is. Yet it was not always that way. John and the rest of the apostles were very slow in grasping the full deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When Andrew and Peter were newly acquainted with Jesus, they asked him,
"Where are you staying?" (John 1:38)
Jesus replied "Come and see".

He showed them the place where he was staying and they were with him the whole day. But three years after, they knew that Jesus doesn't even need a place built by human hands.He dwells at the Father's side since the beginning. Solomon says to God in the dedication of the temple: "Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house I built?" (1 Kings 8:27)

Nathanael's first response to Jesus was discrimination: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Yet he was surprised when he learned that Jesus saw him under the fig tree when he thought he was all alone. He therefore declared Jesus to be the Son of God. But he has not seen anything yet. Jesus told his that he will see the heavens opened and the angels of god ascending and descending on the Son of Man (John 1:51). The affairs between heaven and earth are so centered on this man that the angels of God ascend and descend on him.

At one point, the disciples asked "Who is this man that even winds and waves obey him". After ascension, one of his apostles wrote that in Jesus, all things hold together (Col. 1:17). He is the sustainer of the universe. The earth rotates on its axis because of Jesus Christ. The planets revolve around their orbits because of Jesus Christ. There is evaporation, condensation and precipitation because of Jesus Christ. Our hearts are beating and blood flows within our veins because of Jesus. We inhale and exhale unconsciously because of Jesus.

Thomas thought that when he died, it was game over (pardon me for using Nintendo language here). Later he understood that death cannot hold Jesus Christ. He laid down his life only to take it up again (John 10:17)

He turned ordinary water into the finest wine. He made the lame walk, he restored sight to the blind, he cleansed lepers, he raised the dead back to life. He fed thousands of people with fives loaves and two fish.

Peter, James, and John saw with their very eyes how he transfigured. His face shone like the sun and his clothes as white as the light. Then they heard a voice from heaven declare: "This is my Son whom I love, with whom i am well pleased; listen to him." (Matthew 17)

The old man John looked back and he remembered all these things and much more he did not even bother to record them all (John 20:30). But the things recorded in Scripture are sufficient for us to see his glory too that we might believe in the Son of God and by believing, we may have life in his name (John 20:31)