For ye know And this knowledge is the true source of love; the grace The most sincere, most free, and most abundant love; of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich (1st,) In the glories of the divine nature, for, (John 1:1,) the Word was God, and subsisted in the form of God, (Philippians 2:6,) in the most perfect and indissoluble union with his eternal Father, with whom he had glory before the world was, John 17:5; and by whom he was beloved, as the only-begotten Son, before the foundation of the world, 2 Corinthians 8:24. (2d,) In the possession of the whole creation of God, which, as it was made by him, (John 1:3,) so was made for him, (Colossians 1:16,) and he was the heir and owner of it all, Hebrews 1:2. (3d,) In dominion over all creatures; he that cometh from above, (said the Baptist, John 3:31,) is above all; Lord of all, Acts 10:36; over all, God blessed for ever, Romans 9:5. All things being upheld were also governed by him, Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3. (4th,) In receiving glory from them all; all creatures being made, upheld, and governed by him, manifested the wisdom, power, and goodness, the holiness, justice, and grace of him, their great and glorious Creator, Preserver, and Ruler. (5th,) In receiving adoration and praise from the intelligent part of the creation, Psalms 97:7; Hebrews 1:6.
For your sakes he became poor Namely, in his incarnation: not, observe, in ceasing to be what he was, the Wisdom, Word, and Son of God, and God, in union with his Father and the Holy Spirit; but in becoming what before he was not, namely, man; in assuming the human nature into an indissoluble and eternal union with the divine, John 1:14; Hebrews 2:14; Hebrews 2:16. In doing this he became poor, 1st, In putting off the form of God, and taking the form of a servant, appearing no longer as the Creator, but as a creature, veiling his perfections with our flesh, and concealing his glories from human eyes. 2d, In taking the form of a mean creature, not of an archangel or angel, (Hebrews 2:16,) but of a man; a creature formed out of the dust of the earth, and in consequence of sin returning to it; and becoming a servant to the meanest of them. I am among you, (said he;) among whom? Among princes? No; but among fishermen; as one that serveth. 3d, In taking the form even of a sinful creature, being made in the likeness of sinful flesh, Romans 8:3. For, though without sin, he appeared as a sinner, and was treated as such. And this likeness he assumed, 4th, Not in a state of wealth, and honour, and felicity, but in a state of extreme poverty, and infamy, and suffering. 5th, In this state our sins and sorrows were imputed to him, and laid upon him, and his honour, his liberty, and his life, were taken away, in ignominy and torture.
That ye through his poverty might be made rich It is implied here that we were poor, and could not otherwise be made rich, but may in this way. When man was first formed, he was rich in the possession of God, and of this whole visible creation. 1st, In the favour and friendship, the protection, care, and bounty of his Creator; in the knowledge, love, and enjoyment of him. All this was lost by the fall. Man became ignorant, sinful, guilty, and a child of wrath, Ephesians 2:3; deprived of the favour, exposed to the displeasure of his God, and subjected to the tyranny of his lusts and passions, and of the powers of darkness. 2d, When first made, man was the lord of this lower world; all things on this earth being put under his feet, and made subservient to his happiness. This is not the case now. The creature was made subject to vanity, and does not satisfy or make him happy while he has it, and is constantly liable to be torn from him, and in the end he is certainly stripped of all. 3d, Man has even lost himself; he is so poor as not to retain possession of his health, or strength, or body, or soul. He has contracted an immense debt, and is liable to be himself arrested and thrown into the prison of eternal destruction. His body is due to sickness, pain, and death; and his soul to the wrath of God, and is liable to be seized by Satan, the executioner of the divine wrath. Such is our natural poverty! Having forfeited all, we have nothing left, neither the Creator nor his creatures, nor even ourselves. But the Son of God came, that, having assumed our nature, taken our sins and sufferings, and paid our forfeit, we might yet be rich. 1st, In the favour of God, and all the blessed effects thereof, in time and in eternity. 2d, In being adopted into his family, born of his Spirit, and constituted his children and his heirs. 3d, In being restored to his image, and endued with the gifts and graces of his Spirit. 4th, In being admitted to an intimate union and fellowship with him. 5th, In having the use of God's creatures restored to us, blessed and sanctified, even all things needful for life as well as godliness. 6th, In being unspeakably happy with Jesus in paradise, in the intermediate state between death and judgment. 7th, In having our bodies restored, and conformed to Christ's glorious body, at his second coming. 8th, In being associated with all the company of heaven in the new world which the Lord will make, admitted to the vision and enjoyment of God, and the possession of all things, Revelation 21:7; riches, honour, and felicity, unsearchable in degree, and eternal in duration! And all this we have through his poverty, through his incarnation, life, death, his resurrection, ascension, and intercession; whereby, having expiated sin, and abolished death, he hath obtained all these unspeakable blessings for such as will accept of them in the way which he hath prescribed; which is, that we acknowledge our poverty in true repentance and humiliation of soul before God, and accept of these unsearchable riches in faith, gratitude, love, and new obedience.