Works (Vol 4) - Sibbes - XIX - 'The church's riches' commenced

Required reading
The Works Volume 4 by Richard Sibbes (Available from Amazon or free here) - Commence 'The church's riches' by reading the addresses, and up to the paragraph beginning 'Doct. 3. For your sakes'

My summary
Today we begin a new tract entitled 'The church's riches' which is an exposition of 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.'

Firstly we read two recommendations for the work.

Then Sibbes give us his first doctrine from the text: Christ was rich.  He was rich because 'he was the second person in Trinity, the son of God, the heir of heaven and earth, rich every way.'

Next we read Sibbes' second doctrine: Christ became poor.  He became poor because he took our:
(i) nature;
(ii) nature after it was fallen;
(iii) condition - the form of a servant;
(iv) miseries;
(v) sins.

What grabbed me
I found helpful this description of the poverty of Christ '' He was made sin for us.' We cannot have a greater argument of Christ's poverty than to be made sin for us. Sin is the poorest thing in the world, and the cause of all beggary and poverty and misery. He was made under the law, and so became a curse for us ; he was made sin, a sacrifice for our sin. In particular, he was born of a poor virgin, and instead of a better place, he was laid in an inn, and in the basest place in the inn, in the manger. As soon as he was born, his birth was revealed to poor shepherds, not to emperors and kings ; not to Caesar at Rome. Then presently after his birth he was banished together with his mother into Egypt, Mat. ii. 19. When he came home again, he was fain to be beholding to a poor woman for a cup of water when he was thirsty, John iv. 7, seq. Again, when he was to pay tribute, he had not wherewith to pay it, but was fain, as it were, to be beholding to a fish for it, Mat. xvii. 27. And though he made heaven and earth, yet he had no habitation of his own. ' The foxes had holes, and the birds of the air had nests, but the Son of man had not where to lay his head,' Mat. viii. 20. When he was to ride in pomp to Jerusalem, he had not a beast of his son ; he was fain to send for and ride upon another man's ass. All his life was a state of poverty.'

In his incarnation, Christ truly became poor.

Next week's reading
Continue 'The church's riches' by reading up to the paragraph beginning 'The next thing is the ground or spring from whence all this comes: it is from grace.'

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.