9. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
This verse is a joarenthesis, the sentence begun in v. 8 be- ing continued in v. 10. Still the connection between this and the preceding verse is intimate and immediate. There are two things indicated and intended in this verse. That self- sacrifice is the proper test of love. And second, that the example of Christ, and the obligation under which we lie to him, should lead us to do good to others. The apostle evi- dently combines these two thoughts. 'I desire,' he says, 'to put your love to the test of self-sacrifice, for ye know that Christ's love was thus manifested ; ' and, ' You may well be expected to sacrifice yourselves for others, since Christ gave himself for you.' It is not only the example of Christ which is held up for our imitation; but gratitude to Christ for the infinite blessings we receive from him is presented as the mo- tive to liberality. For ye Jcnoio. The fact referred to includ- ing the highest mystery of the gospel, viz., the incarnation of the Son of God, or, the manifestation of God in the flesh, and the love therein manifested, is assumed to be known and acknowledged by all who called themselves Christians. Ye know, says Paul, as all Christians must know, the grace^ i. e. the unmerited, spontaneous love of our Lord Jesus Christ. A combination of the most endearing and exalted appella- tions. Our Lord., i. e. the supreme and absolute Lord whom we acknowledge to be our rightful sovereign and possessor, and Avho is ours.^ belongs to us, in so fir as the care, protec- tion, and support of his almighty power are by his love pledged to us. Jesus Christ. lie who is our Lord is our Saviour and the Christ, God's anointed, invested by Ilim with supreme dominion. What belongs of right to the Logos in virtue of his divinity, is constantly represented as given to the Theanthropos. See Heb. 1, 2. That though^ &c. This clause is explanatory of the former. ' Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus,' that is, ' Ye know that though he was rich, <fec.' The grace consisted in, or was manifested by his becoming poor for our sakes. Joeing rich., itkovaio^ wv, that is, either, as in our version. Though he was rich, in the possession of the glory which he liad witli the Father before the world was, John 1 7, 5 ; or, JJeing rich in the actual and constant posses- sion of all divine prerogatives. In the latter case, the idea is
II. CORIjSTTHIANS 8, 10. 201
that our blessed Lord while here on earth, although he had within liimself the fulness of the Godhead and the right and power of possession over aU things, yet was poor. He did ,not avail himself of his right and power to make himself rich, but voluntarily submitted to all the privations of poverty. The former interpretation is commonly and properly preferred. The reference in iTrrwx^vcre, he hecame poor^ is not to what our Lord did while he was on earth, but to what he did when he came into the world. The passage is parallel to Phil. 2, 6. "Being in the form of God, and equal to God, he emptied (eVeVojo-e) himself." That is, he so far laid aside the glory of his divine majesty, that he was to all appearance a man, and even a servant, so that men refused to recognise him as God, but despised, persecuted, and at last crucihed him, as a man. He who was rich in the plenitude of all divine attributes and prerogatives thus became poor, 8t v/xa?, on your account^ out of love to you. The end to be accomplished by this humilia- tion of the Son of God, was that, you through his poverty might he rich. Believers are made rich in the possession of that glory which Christ laid aside, or concealed. They are made partakers of the divine nature, 2 Pet. 1, 4. That is, of the divine holiness, exaltation and blessedness. This is divine not only because of its source as coming from God, but be- cause of its nature. So that our Lord says, " The glory which thou gavest me, I have given them," John 17, 22. Hence believers are said to be glorified with Christ and to reign with him. Rom. 8, 17. The price of this exaltation and everlasting blessedness of his people was his own poverty. It is by his poverty that we are made rich. Unless he had submitted to all the humiliation of his incarnation and death, we should for- ever have remained poor, destitute of all holiness, happiness and glory. It should be observed that moral duties, such as almsgiving, are in the Xew Testament enforced not so much on moral grounds as on grounds peculiarly Christian. No man can enter into the meaning of this verse or feel its power, without being thereby made willing to sacrifice himself for others. And the apostle teaches here, what St. John also teaches, 1 John 3, 17, that it is vain for any man to profess or to imagine that he loves Christ, if he does not love the breth- ren and is not liberal in relievinoj their wants.
10. And herein I give (my) advice : for this is ex-