The
Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ Gregg Bing
What is grace? The typical definitions given include: "a gift we don't deserve," "unmerited favor," "God doing for us what we can't do for ourselves," etc. These are all true statements and valid definitions, but sometimes it helps us to look at examples from the Scriptures of what the word "grace" really means. One of the greatest examples we have is found in 2 Corinthians 8:9.
"For
you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for
your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become
rich."
The
"grace" of our Lord Jesus Christ centers on the fact that, "He
became poor" for our sakes. What does this verse mean when it speaks of
"His poverty?"He Became Poor
Our first thought might be of Jesus' physical poverty as He lived here on earth. He was born in a small town in Judea called Bethlehem (Micah 5:2, Luke 2:4). His birth place was a lowly stable, where He was laid in a manger (a feeding trough for animals) (Luke 2:7). He was born to poor parents, Mary and Joseph, a man who was a simple carpenter (Mark 6:3). Their poverty was evident in the type of offering they brought when Jesus was presented to the temple at eight days old (Luke 2:24, Lev. 12:8). He was raised in Nazareth in Galilee, a small town with a poor reputation (John 1:46). He lived His life in material poverty, as it says in Matthew 8:20, "the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." He had to borrow garments, ships, a boy's lunch, a donkey, an upper room, even a tomb to be buried in.Yet, this material poverty was only a part of the "poverty" the Lord Jesus Christ experienced for our sakes. The fact that Jesus lived a life of material poverty is not what made it possible for us to "become rich."He Became Flesh
When we speak of Jesus' conception and birth, we use the term "incarnation." This is not the term used for a normal conception and birth. Normally, a person's conception and birth constitutes their initial existence. By "incarnation" we mean that an existing person takes on a body of flesh. We read of the Lord Jesus Christ that,
"Inasmuch
then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise
shared in the same, ..." (Heb. 2:14)
John described it
this way, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and
truth." The "Word" refers to the Lord Jesus Christ, who has
always existed "with God" and has always existed as "God"
(John 1:1-2). This eternal person, God the Son, "became flesh and dwelt
among us." This, in itself, is another aspect of the poverty He
experienced. This humiliation or humbling of our Lord is described in
Philippians 2:5-8.
"Let
this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of
God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no
reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of
men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient
to the point of death, even the death of the cross."
Though He existed
in heaven in the form of God, the Lord Jesus Christ did not consider it
"robbery," that is something to be seized or held onto, to be
"equal with God." Just think of the riches and the glory of this
position He had in heaven with His Father. The Psalmist describes it in this
way, "In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are
pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11). The Lord Jesus Christ was willing to
"make Himself of no reputation." This expression literally means that
He "emptied Himself," not of His deity or of the attributes of deity,
but of the glorious form and position He had with the Father in heaven.The Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself "the form of a bondservant," "coming in the likeness of men." He came in "the likeness of sinful flesh" (Rom. 8:3), yet "without (separate from) sin" (Heb. 4:15). He was "born of a virgin" (Isa. 7:14), thus He was not "in Adam" (1 Cor. 15:22) and He had no sin nature. He lived a perfect, sinless life on this earth. The Scriptures tell us: He "committed no sin" (1 Pet. 2:22); He "knew no sin" (2 Cor. 5:21).
Consider this aspect of Christ's poverty. The eternal God, God the Son, "became flesh." C.S. Lewis, the famous English author, compared it to "us becoming a slug." Such a step down from the glory and riches of heaven to become a Man and live on this earth is simply beyond our comprehension.
Yet, even this was not the full extent of Jesus' poverty. We could never become rich just because the Lord Jesus Christ "became flesh" and lived on earth as a Man.
Why then? Why did the Lord Jesus "become flesh?" As we read further in Philippians 2:8, we find that He "became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." Jesus "became flesh" so that He could die; not just an ordinary death, but "the death of the cross." What does this expression mean, "even the death of the cross?"
We will seek to answer this question next month as we look at the third aspect of Jesus' poverty.
We saw last month that "grace" is often best defined by looking at an example from the Scriptures. The best example is that of our Lord Jesus Christ, as stated in 2 Corinthians 8:9.
"For
you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for
your sakes He became poor; that you through His poverty might become
rich."
The grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ centers on this fact, that "He became poor" for our
sakes. What does this mean? In one sense, Jesus' poverty speaks of His physical
poverty as He lived here on this earth, but it goes beyond this. We see also
that "He became flesh." The God of glory emptied Himself of the
glorious form and position He had with His Father in heaven to become a Man and
to live on this sin-cursed earth. (Phil. 2:5-8).Yet, this was not the full extent of Jesus' poverty. We could never become rich just because the Lord Jesus Christ "became flesh" and lived a life of material poverty here on this earth. Why did the Lord Jesus "become flesh?" The writer to the Hebrews tells us:
"But
we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of
death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste
death for everyone." (Heb. 2:9)
The Lord Jesus
Christ became a Man so that He, "by the grace of God, might taste death
for everyone." Philippians 2:8tells us that He "became obedient to
the point of death, even the death of the cross." Jesus "became
flesh" so that He could die; not just an ordinary death, but "the
death of the cross." What does this expression mean, "even, the death
of the cross?"Jesus' death on the cross was painful for Him in several different ways. The physical sufferings Jesus went through were terrible. He was slapped, beaten, crowned with thorns, scourged (whipped), and then crucified. Crucifixion was one of the cruelest forms of capital punishment ever devised by men. It was a slow, agonizing death (Jesus Himself was on the cross for six hours), the physical effects of which are described in vivid detail in Psalm 22:14-17. The public shame, the humiliation of Jesus' death, was horribly degrading (Heb. 12:2).
Crucifixion was a punishment reserved for the vilest of criminals: thieves, murderers, leaders of political insurrection; men such as Barabbas. Our Lord was spit upon, mocked, marched through the crowded streets as a common criminal, stripped of His clothing, and then taunted by the crowds who stared at Him there on the cross.
The personal sorrow Jesus experienced must have been excruciating for Him as well. He was "rejected" by His own creation, His own people (John 1:11)—those whom He dearly loved (Eph. 5:2). Even the twelve apostles, who were closer to Jesus than His earthly family, "forsook Him and fled" when He was arrested in Gethsemane (Matt. 26:56).
Yet, all of these sufferings were nothing in comparison to the period of silence that Jesus endured on the cross of Calvary. We read in Matthew 27:45-46:
"Now
from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli,
lama sabachthani? that is, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
For three hours,
from noon until 3:00 P.M., there was darkness over all the land. I believe that
it was during this three hours that Jesus "bore our sins in His own body
on the tree" (1 Pet. 2:24). This was the third and most difficult aspect
of the poverty of our Lord Jesus Christ, thatHe Became Sin
"For
He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might
become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Cor. 5:21)
During those three
hours, as Jesus bore our sins, He also bore the full wrath and judgment of God,
all "for us" (Rom. 8:3). This is why we hear Jesus' cry out, "My
God, My God, Why have You forsaken Me?" The word "forsaken"
means "completely and utterly forsaken." The Son of God, who, up to
this point, had close, continual fellowship with His Father, endured three
hours of painful silence, being separated from God the Father, and His cry was,
"Why?" The answer to this anguished cry is found in the prophecy of Psalm 22.
"My
God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And
from the words of My groaning? O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not
hear; And in the night season, and am not silent. But You are holy, Enthroned
in the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You
delivered them. They cried to You, and were delivered; They trusted in You, and
were not ashamed. But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised
by the people." (Psalm 22:1-6)
The reason the
Father had to completely forsake His Son is found in verses 3 and 6 of this
Psalm. Verse 3 says, "You (God) are holy," and verse 6 declares,
"But I (Christ) am a worm and no man."Here is the ultimate step of Christ's poverty. During those three hours on the cross, Jesus was destitute, empty, completely alone. He had nothing. He had no one. He was rejected by His own, deserted by His closest friends, and completely and utterly forsaken by His Father. All that the Lord Jesus had on that cross was our sins! He went through all this "for our sakes."
Why would Jesus do this for us? Love!
"As
Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice
to God for a sweet-smelling aroma." (Eph. 5:2)
He loved us
unconditionally, while we were still sinners (Rom. 5:8), and gave Himself
"for us" an offering and sacrifice to God; an offering which was, to
God, "a sweet smelling aroma." Jesus willingly went through these
terrible sufferings for us, "that He might bring us to God" (1 Pet.
3:18).Having endured these three hours of darkness, Jesus then cried out, in a loud voice (Matt. 26:50), "It is finished!" (John 19:30). Our debt to God was "paid in full" there on that cross. The payment weowed to God, "the wages of sin," was death (Rom. 6:23). When Jesus died for our sins, God was satisfied with His payment. He was pleased with the offering of His Son. God's holy and righteous requirements were fully met, thus God's gift of eternal life (Rom. 6:23b) was now available to all who would simply believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior (John 3:16).
Did you deserve this? Did I? Did anyone? No! This is grace! The "grace" of our Lord Jesus Christ is that "He became poor, that you, through His poverty, might become rich;" that you might become "the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). Yes, grace is "a gift we don't deserve," but now we see the terrible sufferings Jesus Christ went through to provide that gift for us. Yes, grace is "unmerited favor," but now we see the extent of the favor that God bestowed upon us. Yes, grace is "God doing for us what we couldn't do for ourselves," but now we see why He alone could do this work.
Do you, personally, "know" the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ? Have you trusted in Him and the finished work He accomplished for you on the cross of Calvary? Have you received His wonderful gift of eternal life? If you have not, you can do so, today, this very moment. You don't have to join a church, go through any ordinances, go down front and shake a preacher's hand. You don't have to "do" anything, except "believe in the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 16:31); believe that He "died for your sins ... and that He was buried ... and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3-4). If you simply trust in Him to save you from your sins, He will, the very moment you believe. This is grace!
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Believing
Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
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