One of the many fantastic qualities of the Bible is that it interprets itself. Thus, God preserves His Word so it remains pure and powerful to save (Isaiah 55). For example, in the reading from Philippians 3, we hear Paul describe how the words of Jesus were fulfilled in his own life. Jesus said, “Blessed are those made poor by the Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). How does the Holy Spirit go about making the blessed ones poor? Does he break into your home and steal? Does he hack into your accounts and transfer your savings to his account?
Quite the contrary. Paul abandoned those things he had gained in favor of something infinitely more valuable and everlasting. Christianity does not impoverish us, but calls us out of the poverty of vanity and materialism into the wealth of God’s grace—the Holy Spirit taking what belongs to Jesus and declaring it to us (John 16:14)!