2 Corinthians 8:9
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.
Study Note
Study Note
'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.' Used by Paul to motivate the Corinthians' contribution to the Jerusalem collection, the verse grounds generosity in the Incarnation itself — Christ's self-impoverishment is the archetype of sacrificial giving. Philippians 2:5-8's kenosis hymn and John 1:14's 'the Word became flesh' develop the same motif of divine condescension, suggesting that the Incarnation had profound economic and ethical implications from the beginning of apostolic reflection. Luther saw this exchange structure ('he became poor that we might be rich') as the pattern of salvation itself.
Other Translations
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 become rich.
for ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that because of you he became poor--being rich, that ye by that poverty may become rich.
For you see the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, how though he had wealth, he became poor on your account, so that through his need you might have wealth.
Cross References
Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for …
For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness …
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: …
He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, …
Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? …
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life …
Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish …
And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son …
The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.