For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
The context for the above is Paul commending the Macedonian churches for their overwhelming generosity. Even though those churches were suffering under a severe trial, Paul says, their joy because of their salvation in Christ led them to go far above and beyond in their giving. The Macedonian churches were so convinced of their security in Christ that they could not help but pour out blessings to others.
The reason for their generosity—and for their joy—was the example of Christ. It was the grace that they had experienced from Jesus Christ that served as the impetus for their new lives—lives of charity, service, and delight. And all this was in the face of extreme and growing opposition.
Paul consistently wrote about the supreme sacrifice of Christ as the catalyst for living life in this world. It is only by the grace of Christ that we have salvation, of course. It is only by the grace of Christ that we have true joy. It is only by the grace of Christ that we are enabled to make it through the chaos that we face in this world (noting here that this is nothing new in our present generation—our world has been a chaotic mess since the fall in Gen 3). It is only by the grace of Christ that we are prepared to bless others in the way that God has always intended his people to bless others. It is only in the truth that “Our Lord Jesus Christ . . . though he was rich . . . became poor” that we find our real wealth, our real hope, and our real purpose.
–Ricky