These words in 2 Corinthians are amongst Paul’s most elegant. He who was rich became poor so that through his poverty those who are poor might become rich.

In two ways they wonderfully capture the meaning of Christmas:

1. They remind us to ‘know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.’
2. They encourage us to imitate ‘the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

FIRST, his reminder: You know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. The grace of God and the grace of Christ mean the same thing.

This is the kindness of God that seeks us out, that forgives our sins, that makes us his sons and daughters, that draws us into a personal, eternal relationship with him and that finally remakes us in the image of his Son.

This is the God who reveals himself in the Bible.

Judaism, Christianity and Islam are each monotheisms, but only in the Bible do we discover God’s true inner character – grace.

God’s Grace reaching out to the needy. God’s Grace saving poor Hebrew slaves from Egypt.

Grace in Jesus - healing lepers, eating with sinners, dying for sinners.

I know several people with the same name but they look different and they are different.

I thought I was the only Paul Barnett on the planet. But I once met another guy of that name. He was Mexican. Barnett is an Irish name. How does a Mexican get an Irish name? Maybe Barnett is Mexican? Maybe I am Mexican?

The same word ‘God’ is there for Jews, Christians and Muslims but the character that fills the name could not be more different.

One critical difference is grace. Only the Only True God – reaches out in grace. And God’s grace reveals himself as a trinity. The Father who sends; the Son who redeems; the Spirit who transforms.

We remember that grace in two historical events:
• the birth of Christ: Christmas
• the death and resurrection of Christ: Easter

The two are connected:
‘You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ… for our sake he became poor.’

He was poor in birth in Bethlehem. There was no air-conditioned single room with ensuite. He was not attended by skilled doctors. But young mother and baby in a not too clean animal enclosure. Romantic crib scenes distort the facts.

He was poor in life as the Messiah.
‘Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.

He was poor in death, crucified as a criminal. Worse, he was separated from his Father, bearing our sins.
‘Father, take this cup from me…’
‘My God my God why have you forsaken me?
Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.

But he became poor. He came from another realm, another mode of being. He entered the stream of history from the presence of God. There he was rich.
He came from there to here via the miracle of Virgin Birth. He came from the riches of heaven to poverty, as saviour. The miracle of the Incarnation of the Word of God. ‘The word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.’

The miracle of grace, the kindness of God, reaching out to us.

Paul wrote, ‘You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ…’
It is important to know about that grace. To know what manner of being God is who upholds the universe. In whom we continue to believe despite the darkness of much of life.

Do we believe in God as the ultimate reality of truth and grace? Amazing grace.

But it is equally important personally to know the grace of Christ.

Can I say with Paul, ‘The Son of God loved me and gave himself for me’?

Paul had come to recognise his need before God as a sinful man. How sweet it was that Jesus whom he persecuted loved him and died for him.

Sinners flocked to Jesus. Pharisees spurned him.

The Pharisee in us – righteous pride – blinds us to our need and his grace.

We readily see self-delusion in others. We see Saddam in a hole in the ground saying, ‘I am ready to negotiate.’ He doesn’t get it.

Another ruler of Babylon did get it. Nebuchadnezzar was also humbled, like a great tree cut down. He underwent a form of madness. His hair grew long like birds’ feather – a bit like Saddam’s. But he did not say to God, ‘I am ready to negotiate.’ He lifted up his eyes to heaven for mercy, and his reason returned.

Daniel 4 records Nebuchadnezzar’s words:

‘I praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven,
because everything he does is right and all his ways are just.
And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.’

But to this point Mr Hussein doesn’t get it.

But often we don’t get it either. Often others can see what we can’t – our need, our moral shortfall, our arrogance, our blind spots.

The grace of Christ – we need it. We need to recognise our need and tell God.
That’s why in our church we always confess our sins. To be reminded that we are sinners in need of grace.

So we are poor. We might have money in the bank.  We might own valuable real estate. We may have a good portfolio. But we are poor before God.

For us who are poor, our Lord Jesus who was rich became poor.

• poor in birth
• poor in life
• poor in death

to make us rich

• rich in forgiveness from God;
• rich in the righteousness with which he clothes us;
• rich in Spirit-inspired confidence that we are God’s much loved children.

Such was the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are reminded to know about that grace. And personally to know that grace.

SECOND,
Paul’s words encourage us to imitate ‘the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.’

A couple of weeks ago Peter taught us from the Gospel of Matthew that we owe God our king the equivalent of billions of dollars while we his servants are owed a paltry few dollars. We who are forgiven so much are called on the forgive the relatively little owed us.

‘Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.’ We pray in the Lord’s Prayer.

We demonstrate our forgiveness by forgiving. We demonstrate we have received grace by showing grace. That means seeing a need and meeting it, even though there is a cost to us.

Genuine grace always involves sacrifice. True grace is never cheap grace.

Corinth was rich city. The Christians had agreed to contribute to help poor Jews in Israel. But they had given up weekly putting their drachmas in their cookie jars. So Paul reminded them of the grace Jesus had shown to them and to be generous to these needy folk. [It was time of famine.]

Acting out of grace includes financial generosity. But more fundamentally it is a giving attitude.

I see someone standing alone. I give them friendship.

I see someone doing it tough. I give them support.

I see someone in financial need. I open my pocket.

Above all, I let people know that God loves them and Christ died for them.

Christmas reminds us of Christ’s grace coming to us. But we are to show grace all year. It all gets back to Christ’s grace. May we know about it. May we personally know it. But this means self-honesty, not Saddam’s ‘I am ready to negotiate.’

As the old hymn says,
‘Nothing in my hands I bring,
simply to thy cross I cling.

We say to God, ‘Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift – grace.’

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich for your sakes he became poor that you through his poverty might be rich.

Know that grace.
Imitate that grace.

Paul Barnett
Christmas 2003

This sermon was delivered at a Christmas Day service at Christ Church, Lavender Bay.