Rich in Christ

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9, New Int’l Version

Have you ever received an e-mail that offered you a chance to be a millionaire?

The e-mail allegedly came from people who have access in secret Cayman or Swiss accounts. You are supposed to help them in wiring the money to another account. All they ask from you are personal data like credit card numbers. In return you would receive a sizable cut. One version claims to be from a Nigerian prince. The latest claims to be from Senator Loi Estrada. I have a friend who almost fell for it.

People who fall for this scam become victims of identity theft. Instead of becoming rich they end up poor.

There is a spiritual version of this scam. People thought they will be saved but they fall for the wrong system. “For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.” (Romans 10:2-3, NIV) Instead of becoming rich they end up poor.

But there is way of becoming rich, spiritually speaking. Our Lord Jesus left the riches of heaven to die for our sins. He became poor so that we can become rich. “For in our union with Christ [God the Father] has blessed us by giving us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world.” (Ephesians 1:3b, Good News Bible)

Lewis Sperry Chafer, in his 8-volume Systematic Theology, listed 33 works of God that we received at the moment of salvation. He called these “riches of grace.” These are “wrought of God… instantaneous… simultaneously given… and are ground on the merit of Christ… therefore eternal” (p. 235, Vol. III). The more we understand these blessings, the more understand how to live a victorious life. “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” (Ephesians 4:1, NIV) We need to truly understand our calling in Christ in order to live a life worthy of it.

In Christ, instead of becoming poor, we become rich.

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