Monday 11 August 2014

Devotion: Riches in Christ ( 2 Cor 8 : 9)

This passage is not primarily speaking about the sufferings of Jesus Christ. It’s a passage where Apostle Paul is encouraging the Corinthian believers to excel in giving like the Macedonian believers. They were collecting money for the persecuted believers at Jerusalem. We can see the conclusion of Paul in v13,14. Paul says the purpose of giving is to bring equality in the church. While exhorting to give selflessly he refers to the ultimate example of giving – Jesus Christ.

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of giving. The one who was richer than everyone became the poorest of all to make us rich. This is the maximum extent of giving. He had to give to this extent to bring reconciliation between man and God. It’s not equality with God but reconciliation.

Jesus's Poverty

Though he was rich, for your sake he became poor so that you through his poverty might become rich.  What are the circumstances in which a rich person would become poor? His business has collapsed, or if he has gained money illegally and he is caught, or some loss in the market. We have not heard of any rich person becoming poor voluntarily.
What do we understand about the richness of Jesus Christ? God of all, everything was created by him, for him, and through him. But how do we understand the poverty of Jesus Christ? Does this mean his financial status? He dint have a home to take birth. He was born as a son of a poor carpenter. He had to work to earn a living? Is this the poverty of Jesus? No. It means much more. Even if he was to take birth on this earth as a king still it would be considered as poor. It is clearly depicted in Phil 2:6,7,8.
God of everything -> Man
Son -> Slave
Dwelling in heaven -> Dwelling on earth without a home.
Sits over everything controlling everything -> Suffering at the hands of the creation.
He's humbled himself, his humility was his poverty.
The author of life and one who gives life to everyone – is suffering to sustain his life on the cross.

We are living in a world where everyone tries to be better than their current position. But in Jesus, we see clearly against the principles of this world. Did not consider equality with God but came down from his position.

Our Riches in Christ

What are our riches in Christ? Our richness does not mean our financial status. It does not mean that we became millionaires. Let’s read a verse that clearly conveys our riches.
Col 1:21,22 – Reconciled, Made us holy, Made us free from all accusation.
Our richness means our access to God which was made possible through Jesus Christ.  We are now reconciled before God. What is reconciliation? We are made right with God, we are no longer alienated from God. We have fellowship with the king of the universe.
We are holy in his sight without blemish and free from accusation – We are free from accusation. How can it be? A person who was a thief is no longer called a thief today. A person who is an enemy to God is no more enemy to him.
Col 1:13 – From the domain of darkness to the kingdom of a beloved son. Then the ultimate richness – our entrance into the kingdom of God eternally. A kingdom where there is everlasting joy, peace, and rest.

Conclusion


 To bring equality ie the reconciliation between man and God, Christ became poor. It also talks about how we have benefited by this giving. How we became rich through the poverty of Christ. As we partake from this bread and wine let us meditate on the ultimate example of giving – the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. May this table exhort us to excel in our giving.  

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