The Divine Exchange - Part 2

I am still on the theme of the divine exchange, still pondering the revelations of Derek Prince's book "The Divine Exchange". Last time we gazed in amazement as we were reminded that Jesus bore our sinfulness and exchanged it for His righteousness and died our death that we would live His life. What an awesome Saviour we have.

This week I am pondering the next aspect of the divine exchange. This is found in 2 Corinthians 8:9 -

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

Jesus became poor that we in return might become rich.

So when did Jesus become poor?

You may look at Jesus's life and think He was poor; as He wanders the land with no place to lay His head. But, if you take a close look at His life you will see He never lacked anything. Everything He needed was always provided for Him. He never lacked anything; money, food, energy, wisdom, grace, love - nothing. Even when He sent the disciples out on their own they lacked nothing.

Luke 22:35

And He said to them "When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?" So they said "Nothing".

Jesus wasn't poor in His life. He had everything He needed and everything He gave to others was from His riches. He had an abundance of everything for everyone who would ask of Him. He was rich in all things that out of the overflow of His riches He would minister, heal, love, help, deliver, and save all those that came and asked of Him. He never refused to help anyone. He never said He couldn't help someone because He didn't have what they needed. He met every need of every person who asked something of Him.

We read in the Word that Jesus and His disciples regularly gave to the poor.

John 12:5

Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?

John 13:29

For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him "Buy those things we need for the feast", or that he should give something to the poor.

If Jesus was poor, He would not have been able to give to the poor. You cannot give what you don't have. We can only give from the overflow of what we have. He may not have walked around carrying lots of cash but time and time again when there was a need He provided for it. On some occasions His methods of providing for that need was unconventional to say the least.

Matthew 17:27

Neverless, lest we offend them go to the sea, cast in a hook and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money, take that and give it to them for Me and you.

Whatever He needed was provided for Him, even creation partnered with Him to provide what He needed. Jesus always lived in opposition of doing things the normal way. His whole ministry would turn the normal way of thinking about things completely upside down and inside out. He wants us to think out the box and expect the unexpected. He wants us to believe for the extra-ordinary.

We see in Matthew 14:51-21 another unconventional account of how Jesus met the needs of over 5,000 people.

That evening the disciples came to Him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them.” “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” they answered. “Bring them here,” He said. Then He told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, He gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children!

If Jesus was poor, would He really be able to feed all these people. He wouldn't have the means to feed this crowd if He was poor. He needed to draw from an abundant supply to pull this off.

The dictionary definition of poor is:

lacking sufficient money to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in a society.

deficient or lacking in.

If He lacked in any aspect of His life He would not have been able to live as He did and impact the lives of all those around Him so radically.

When we read the Word we see that Jesus's whole life depicts that of abundance. He always had all that He needed to do the will of God in His life. As well as having enough for Himself He was constantly meeting the needs of others. His supply was never exhausted. He constantly gave of His time, His provision, His wisdom, His healing, His money, His food. When there was a need He met the need. When He was asked to help, He helped. He gave freely from the abundance and overflow of His riches. So, I think we can safely say Jesus was not poor in His life.

So when did He become poor for us?

He became poor for us on the cross at Calvary! Jesus took all our poverty to the cross so that we no longer would have to live in lack.

Deuteronomy 28:48 shows us clearly what absolute poverty looks like.

Therefore, you shall serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness and in need of everything and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you.

These four words depict absolute poverty;

hunger, thirst, nakedness and in need of everything

We see at the cross that Jesus endured all these things and became absolute poverty for us.

Jesus had been passed from pillar to post since the days of His arrest until the crucifixion. He would not have eaten for some time. He experienced HUNGER.

In John 19:28 we hear from the words of Jesus that as He hung on the cross He asked for something to drink. He experienced THIRST.

In John 19:23 we read that the soldiers had Jesus's garments that Had been stripped off of Him before He was nailed to the cross, and they cast lots to see who would get to keep them. Therefore, Jesus was completely naked on the cross, thus experiencing NAKEDNESS.

As Jesus hung on the cross He had no possessions left. Everything had been stripped from Him. When He died He was buried in a borrowed tomb (Luke 23:50-53). He was IN NEED OF EVERYTHING.

Each of these elements provide a complete picture of absolute poverty according to Deuteronomy 28:48. Thus we can say with great certainty that Jesus exactly and completely endured absolute poverty for you and for me.

Just like the other elements of the divine exchange Jesus endured our punishment that we might receive His reward. So when Jesus endured our poverty it was that we might receive His riches.

2 Corinthians 9:8

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

God, by His grace has made available everything we need to fullfil His perfect will and plan and purpose for our lives. Not because we have earned it, or done gone works for it, but because Jesus suffered and paid the penalty for us to receive it by faith as a gift from God.

We, like Jesus, can live from a place of abundance, blessing those around us from the overflow of His riches in our lives. I don't believe for one minute that His riches are limited to finances. I believe that His abundance and riches are in ALL things including your time, your talents, your skills, your wisdom, your spiritual maturity and the list goes on. We have each been given His riches as a gift, so that not only would all our needs be provided for but also the needs of those around us would be provided for too. But this only works completely and efficiently when each one of us, His kids, realise that we are to share with others the abudance that God has poured out on us. The Word says in Luke 3:11

"He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."

Our abundance may be someone else's lack. By giving away the overflow of His riches we bless others and provide the needs of others. Acts 20:35 says:

...It is more blessed to give than to receive.

His abundance of provision is not only that our needs would be met but that we would also bless those around us too. That we would share our blessings with others. In the early Church we see the believers solution for providing for the needs of all -

Acts 2:44-45

Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

God has called us into His worldwide family. A family of brothes and sisters. His hearts desire is that we all would look out for each other, sharing our riches with those who have lack and vice versa. We will not all be rich in every area of our lives, we will need others to provide for us in areas where we lack. As we come together in greater unity and love every single believer's need will be met.

Over the last week I've been studying John 17:20-23, which is Jesus's prayer for us, His children. Over and over Jesus prays that we would be one as Jesus and the Father are one. Unity of all believers seems to be the theme of His prayer.

I’m praying not only for them

But also for those who will believe in Me

Because of them and their witness about Me.

The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—

Just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You,

So they might be one heart and mind with Us.

Then the world might believe that You, in fact, sent Me.

The same glory You gave Me, I gave them,

So they’ll be as unified and together as We are—

I in them and You in Me.

Then they’ll be mature in this oneness,

And give the godless world evidence

That You’ve sent Me and loved them

In the same way You’ve loved Me.

These are the words our Lord Jesus prayed for us just before He was betrayed and arrested. It is evident from His words that unity is His greatest desire for us His kids; to be one as He and the Father are One. Can you just take a pause here and think for a minute about what this means for us. Jesus wants us to be one; each believer to be one with each other. Moving and having our being as one. Just like Jesus and the Father. United in purpose, united in love, united in vision, united in belief, united in providing for each other, united in supporting one another.

Jesus and the Father are One. They do nothing of themselves but everything they do together. They never work independently, but always work together in unity. Jesus told us that He never did anything of Himself, but only what He saw the Father do - John 5:19.

So what does this mean for us, His kids? Unity is key if we are to truly live as God intended with everyone having their needs met and living from His abudance rather than our poverty.

If we believe Jesus took our poverty and exchanged it for His abundance then we will live with an overflow from which to give to others, whether that is giving money, time, skills, wisdom, food, clothing or shelter.

Jesus prayed that we would be one and that in our oneness we would show the world that Jesus was real and was sent by God Almighty. If we are truly united then we will be built up in love for one another. As we love one another and meet the needs of others we bear witness to the world of the love of Jesus that flows through us. That as God loved Jesus so He loves us.

The love that we have for others will testify to the love of God that is in each of us. How we treat people; how we care for them and love them will witness to the world of something greater at work in our lives. By our love and care of each other people in the world will notice that we are different, that we love with action and purpose.

John 13:35

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

It is our love for one another that will show the world who we belong to. If we truly understand what Jesus has done for us on the cross then we will live believing that we have access to His abundance and our needs will be met. If we truly live united, brother and sister together, then none of us should lack anything. Each sister and brother will provide from their own abundance to help others in their lack. This may be to lend a helping hand, do a random act of kindness, pray, love, teach, or encourage, as well as giving of our time, talents, money, food, shelter, clothes. The list can go on and on. No matter how rich or poor we are in this world, we are all rich in the kingdom of God and all have something to give to others from the abundance of Jesus's riches, freely given to each one of us.

So just as Jesus endured our poverty to give us His riches, then live from the abundance of His riches today and not from your own poverty.

According to what was done for you on the cross, you lack nothing today.