This morning for our scripture reading, we read both from Philippians chapter 2 and 2 Corinthians 8. First of all, Philippians chapter 2, the first 11 verses. Familiar words of the Apostle Paul dealing with the humiliation and exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then I'd like us to read together 2 Corinthians 8, the first 15 verses, verse 9. serving as the text this morning. Philippians chapter 2, beginning at verse 1 as we now give our attention to the Word of God. If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing. taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. And turning back to 2 Corinthians 8, the first 15 verses. And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's word. So we urge Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. But just as you excel in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness, and in your love for us, see that you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 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. And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give, but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard-pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time, your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn, their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written, He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Again, verse 9. 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. Beloved of our Lord Jesus Christ, in this coming week, as we all know, many gifts will be exchanged all around the world. Even within Christian families. No doubt, many if not all of us here, gifts will be given and received. For so many, though, for so many people, that's exactly what Christmas is all about and nothing more. Getting what I want. Indeed, giving gifts is customary. It's a tradition. It's not that this is wrong, not at all, but we all know, I trust, that this is not what Christ's birth is all about. Us giving gifts to each other. But why do we give gifts to each other? For some, they give because they want to. For others, they give in the hope of getting something in return, maybe even something better than what they gave in the first place. Still others give gifts simply because they feel they have to. Many Christians say that they give gifts to their loved ones this time of year because of the greatest gift in response to the greatest gift ever given to them, Jesus Christ. Yet, beloved, the gifts that we give and receive must never cover up. They must never take the place of the gift of Christ. As well, the Christian's generosity is not just to be a one-time-per-year activity. Giving is to characterize the life of the Christian and the church. Now, the context of the text before us is the Corinthian church being urged to continue a gift that was promised to the struggling Jerusalem church. a gift that they had already begun collecting about a year earlier than this time, but for whatever reason they had stopped. And now they are being softly urged to give in love. A command won't do. Paul says, I do not. I am not commanding you. A command won't do because if you give because you are commanded to do so, then that's not a true gift. Love is to characterize giving. The love of God lavished on the believer in Jesus Christ. And according to verse 8, the sincerity of your love is seen in your attitude toward giving. God's love is seen in His gift of the Christ child. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. And this love that gives is displayed in Christ's giving of Himself. He is the pattern of giving which the church and Christians are to follow. And therefore, in this coming week, as we celebrate, as we consider the birthday of our Savior, I preach to you today this Word of God, Christ's gift of Himself. We're not going to consider necessarily our giving with this text, but Christ's gift of Himself. In Paul's discussion of Christian generosity and giving, this text is somewhat, maybe you notice, it's somewhat of an interjection. In a sense, he gets off track for a moment, yet what he says in verse 9 is directly to the point of giving. He is reminding the church of something that is not new to them. He says, for you know. They have knowledge of all that he is about to say. Nothing is a surprise to them. They have been taught about the gift of Christ, the gospel, the good news, and what that means for them. But they needed to be reminded. Now, we said a moment ago that generosity and giving characterizes, it is part and parcel of being a Christian. Really, it's expected because Christ did this. And those who claim the name Christ, those who are Christians, Christ followers, are to display the same mind of Christ, as Paul says in Philippians 2. But this generosity and giving is also an expression of gratitude to God for Christ's gift of Himself. And again, Jesus Christ is the pattern to be followed. Well, first of all, in connection with Christ's gift of Himself, Paul makes it clear that it was undeserved. Undeserved, he says, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, Paul is setting up the Corinthian church for what he is about to say. He's going to set the record straight about what they have received, why they have received it, and from whom they have received it. And here He is reminding them and all believers what their proper relationship is to the giver and His gift. For you know the grace. It's a relationship of grace. In a simple sense, we say that grace is unmerited favor. Completely undeserved favor. One definition of grace says, The grace of God is that attribute of God which indicated His voluntary, unrestrained, in other words, no one made Him do it, no one could force His hand, but His voluntary, unrestrained, and unmerited favor toward guilty sinners. The result? Granting them justification and life instead of the penalty of death, which they deserved. Some of you know that acronym that we use with the word grace, G-R-A-C-E, which I was reminded about a couple of weeks ago. A good way to remember grace, God's riches at Christ's expense. See, the mercy and grace of God are so closely united. Sometimes the words are used interchangeably, but we can make a distinction. We do make a distinction. God's mercy is the child of God not getting what He deserves, which is the penalty of eternal death. That's what we deserve. That's all that we deserve. That's all that we have coming. God's mercy is the child of God not getting that. And God's grace is the child of God getting, being given, that which He does not deserve. Namely, eternal life. Absolutely not do we deserve that. Not at all. But that's the gift. Beloved, with the world's idea of gift giving, At Christmastime, the standard is whether you've been naughty or nice. Whether you've been good or bad determines if and what you'll get. And those who seem to fit Jesus in just a little bit view Him in the same way. This baby in Bethlehem was given because we deserve Him. We have a right to Him. We have a right to salvation. Wrong. We don't have that right. We don't have the right to be saved. He's very much undeserved. And what we need to understand again is that grace means the one receiving the grace again did not deserve it and had no part in securing it. He could not do anything to earn the graciousness of the one giving it. The one receiving grace begins in the lowest depth while grace is given from the highest height and that height is our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ. This is our Savior's title of honor and glory. Maybe sometimes we say that so flippantly. Our Lord Jesus Christ. As our Lord, He is the Supreme One whom we confess to be our rightful King and Owner. Our Master. The name Lord describes His relationship with those whom He has purchased and won. Heidelberg Catechism, question and answer 34, He says, why do you call Him Lord? Because He has redeemed us. Purchased us. Redeemed us, body and soul, from all our sins. Not with gold or silver, but with His precious blood. And has delivered us from all the power of the devil and has made us His own possession. That's why we can say so confidently that I am not my own, but belong, body and soul, in life and in death, unto my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. I belong to Him. He owns me. As Paul says in Ephesians 1.7, in Him we have redemption through His blood. And then the name Jesus, we know, is His personal name. And it means Savior, even as the angel said to Joseph, and she will bring forth a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. Why? For He will save His people from their sins. And then the name Christ is His official name, His official title. It means anointed. He is the anointed one of God, sent by God, anointed to be our chief prophet, our only high priest, and our eternal king, our all in all. Anointed to be our master and our Savior, the Lord of my life, my Savior. And beloved, this grace that we talk about is His grace. It could come from no one higher than our Lord Jesus Christ, and Paul calls Him our Lord Jesus Christ because He belongs to those who believe in Him because we first belong to Him. Because He's purchased us. And Jesus Christ has pledged His love and care and support and protection and salvation to His people. As we gaze into the manger, as we gaze into the earthly cradle for our heavenly King, we must see the gift that was completely undeserved. Man sinned. Man was responsible for his sin. He did not. We did not deserve that another would take our place. And as we gaze into that manger, we are to be humbled that the one who took our place began his life on earth, not as some earthly ruler, rich and powerful ruler to the eyes. Not even as a full-grown man, but as a baby in Bethlehem. We owe all to Him, yet He has given His all to those who would believe in Him. And that's because Christ's gift of Himself is also unselfish. Still speaking of His grace, Paul says that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor. Now what is Paul saying here? In a sense, he is saying if you want to understand Bethlehem, then you must go back to a time before Bethlehem. Paul says, He was, yet He became. John says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And then he says, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Boys and girls, Christ's life did not begin in the manger. It did not even begin in His mother's womb. All His humanity did, His human life. But He did not begin there. He is from eternity because He is God. And this explains His richness. As God, He possesses the riches of glory and splendor and honor. He has all power and authority over all things. He is all holy, all majestic, all powerful, all righteous, all knowing, and all everything that can be said of God. And His riches are incomprehensible. Do you want to understand Bethlehem? then as you look at the earthly cradle of that manger, then you must know, not just in your head, but you must know that the baby whose birth we celebrate is God. We must know that in our heart. He is God. Yet, He became poor. We read in Philippians 2, 6-8, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. Jesus Christ became poor. He was reduced to poverty in comparison to his richness. Now when we think of someone rich becoming poor, we think of a millionaire losing his millions. But that's not what we are to understand with Jesus. He didn't lose any of his deity. When Paul says that He made Himself nothing, also translated that He emptied Himself. That doesn't mean that, as it were, He poured out the contents of Himself and gave it all up. That it was no more. It doesn't mean that He stripped Himself of His godness, like His omniscience or omnipotence or His grace or truth or His independence. Jesus Christ in the human flesh remained fully God. He emptied Himself by taking on something that He was not before. Adding something that He was not before. Man, a human nature, subject to all the infirmities of man except for sin. Jesus Christ submitted Himself to the poverty of humanity. And His becoming poor is talking about His entire state of humiliation. This means that his poverty is seen in his birth, in his becoming man. It is seen in the manger. His poverty is seen in the fact that he, along with his parents, fled to Egypt. It is seen in his suffering on earth. It is seen in his trial, in his crown of thorns, in the cross. It's seen in the tomb. But his poverty is also seen in the things that we cannot see. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5.21 that God made him who had no sin to be sin for us. Our sin was laid upon his shoulders and he was seen as guilty in the sight of God in the place of those who were really guilty. His poverty is seen in our guilt. Beloved, as to his appearance on earth, he laid aside his glory and divine majesty in the sense that it was veiled by his flesh. veiled in flesh we sing the Godhead see he didn't he didn't remove his glory from himself it was veiled by his flesh and the result was that men refused to recognize him as God but instead despised rejected persecuted and at last crucified him as a man though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor. Jesus Christ willingly left His throne in glory and gave to His people the gift of Himself. He didn't have to do this. No one made Him do this. This unselfish act was a demonstration of His grace. He unselfishly became what He was not, a man. He unselfishly walked and talked with sinners. He unselfishly healed the sick, raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, cast out demons. He unselfishly walked up Calvary's hill. He unselfishly suffered the wrath and punishment of God His Father for the sin of His people, for those who did not deserve it, for my sins, for your sins, for the sins of all who believe in Him. He said, greater love has no one than this than to lay down one's life for his friends. Our Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself unselfishly to a world that in no way deserved Him. And finally, we need to understand that Christ's gift of Himself is unending. Paul, again, still speaking of grace, says, so that you through His poverty might become rich, which is also the reason why He became poor, that you and I might become rich. When Paul says you, he's talking to the church of Christ, to believers, each and every one. Jesus Christ's gift of Himself means that His people are adorned with His riches. The riches of justification. All of our sins forgiven. And His righteousness freely given to us. The riches of adoption. Being brought into a family that we didn't fit into. But He made us fit. The riches of sanctification. Cleansing day by day until one day we will be spotless in the glory of heaven. The riches of being preserved until that day. The riches of fellowship with God. Of one day having immortal bodies and being glorified and reigning with Christ. And even today these riches include joy and contentment and peace unspeakable for God's children. The riches of Christ means salvation and eternal life. Very simply, Christ's gift of Himself is unending. There will never be an end for the child of God. That's hard to comprehend. We are finite. We are bound to time where things come to an end each and every day for us in some way, shape, or form. But this, Christ's gift of Himself, will never end for you and me. Christ's brothers and sisters become rich through His poverty. Paul uses a word for poverty here that means having absolutely nothing and being in danger of real starvation at any moment. Jesus Christ from the highest height to the lowest depth. And the point is that's our danger apart from Jesus Christ. Without Him we are living on the edge of destruction with no place to look except up. And He became like us that whoever believes in Him will become like Him. Beloved, if Jesus had not unselfishly submitted to all of the humiliation of His incarnation and death, we would forever have remained poor, completely without all holiness, happiness, and glory. We cannot understand Jesus. We cannot understand His cradle or His cross unless by the grace of God we see them in His emptying of Himself that He might fill His people for eternity. He went, in a sense, from riches to rags that we might be brought from rags to riches. And the Christian's eternal hope is that Jesus has shared in our human poverty. He has suffered for our sinful poverty so that we might share in His divine riches. And as we gaze into the manger, As we gaze into the earthly cradle, we must see, to borrow a phrase from the world, we must see the gift that keeps on giving. But we must also understand that as we consider Christ's gift of Himself, that the cradle, the manger, is not the instrument that is to appeal to our hearts. This time of year is not to be a time of sentimentality for you and me. It's not the instrument of salvation, you see, but the cross. Christ's cradle is but a step to His cross. Boys and girls, if you do not see the cross of Jesus in the shadow of the manger, then you have missed the point altogether. The cross is the ultimate picture of Christ's undeserved, unselfish, and unending gift of Himself. Jesus said, for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many. Beloved, the charter or the mandate of the Christian life in relation to others is self-sacrifice and giving in the name of Jesus. Paul says in Philippians 2 verse 5 that those who confess Jesus Christ, he says to them, your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. True Christians led by the Holy Spirit partake of Jesus Christ and all of His benefits, all of His riches, and therefore must naturally follow His pattern for giving and for self-sacrifice. The Christian is to be unselfish, as Paul says again in verses 3 and 4 of Philippians 2. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. And the Christian's self-sacrifice and giving is also to be unending, also following the pattern of Christ. This is not to simply be a once-a-year activity. It's to be a lifestyle. Boys and girls, not that your parents ought to give you nicely wrapped gifts, toys, each and every day. Not that there should be one waiting for you at the breakfast table with a nice big bow on it every morning. That's not what we're talking about. But we are called to give of ourselves in service to the Lord Jesus Christ as an expression of thankfulness for His gift of Himself. Following the pattern of the Savior and the strength of the Spirit is evidence of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in the believer's life. Is this grace yours? Do you live in the joy of Christ's gift of Himself given to you, if you believe in Him by grace through faith and indeed the gift of the Christ child is yours, if you don't believe, you are giftless. And you leave His cradle, you leave the manger empty-handed, in poverty, still on the edge of destruction. And the call is clear. Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and the gift of Himself will be yours forever. Beloved, look into the cradle, but then gaze upon the cross, the empty cross. And may you confess with the angels Jesus' priceless treasure, source of purest pleasure, truest friend to me. And may the blessings of Christ's gift of Himself and may Christ's spirit of giving be yours both now and forevermore. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we pray that even today You would work in each one of us in such a way that we would understand more and more the preciousness, the greatness of Christ's gift of Himself to us. Indeed, Father, it is difficult for us to comprehend eternity. Almost all we can do is say the words. Yet, Father, by faith, you cause us to trust that indeed eternal life is for each one of us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Eternal life in your presence forever and ever. Father, may our lives indeed be characterized by giving. Giving in thankfulness because of your precious gift to us. Hear our prayer, O Lord, for Jesus' sake and in His name alone. Amen.