At the heart of Christmas lies the gospel itself – the divine exchange where God exchanges our sin for His righteousness. As Paul declares, “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 through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). This substitutionary work of Christ, begun in the manger, forms the pattern for our belief, worship, and Christian living.
Lex Credendi: The Truth We Believe
The “great exchange” reveals the very heart of the gospel. In Christ’s incarnation, we witness not just the Son of God taking on flesh, but the sinless One who would become sin for us. As Paul proclaims, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). The cradle points inevitably to the cross, where salvation would be fully realized.
The prophet Isaiah anticipated this redemptive exchange: “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering… by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5). In the manger, we see the first acts of this salvation drama – the eternal Son taking on humanity to die in our place. As Martin Luther observed, “This is the mystery of the riches of divine grace for sinners – whereby in a wonderful exchange our sins are no longer ours but Christ’s, and Christ’s righteousness is not Christ’s but ours.”
This exchange goes beyond mere example or moral influence – it is the substitutionary atonement at the heart of our salvation. The baby in the manger is Emmanuel, “God with us,” comes to be our perfect representative and substitute.
Lex Orandi: The Truth We Worship
Christina Rossetti’s hymn “In the Bleak Midwinter” captures our response to this gospel exchange:
“What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wise man
I would do my part;
Yet what can I give Him —
I give Him my heart.”
Our worship flows from recognizing that Christ has given us everything in the gospel – forgiveness of sins, adoption as children, and eternal life. We bring nothing but our sin and need; He gives everything in return. Consider the words of Charles Wesley’s “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”:
“Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth”
Lex Vivendi: The Truth We Live
This pattern of gospel exchange transforms how we live. Because we have received mercy, we extend mercy. Because we have been forgiven much, we forgive. We give graciously to others because Christ’s poverty has made us rich in grace.
This pattern of holy exchange was found in the life of St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra. The historical Nicholas, far from being merely a gift-giver, embodied Christ’s self-giving love by using his inherited wealth to rescue the poor, most famously providing dowries for three impoverished sisters who would otherwise have been sold into slavery. St. Nicholas understood this gospel pattern. His legendary generosity flowed not from mere philanthropy but from having received the riches of Christ. He gave freely because he had received freely in the gospel.
Living the Gospel Exchange Today
The gospel exchange calls us to live differently:
– Recognizing our complete poverty apart from Christ
– Receiving His righteousness through faith alone
– Extending to others the grace we’ve received
– Living in the freedom of forgiveness and acceptance
This Advent season invites us into deeper gospel living:
– To believe more firmly in Christ’s perfect substitution for us
– To worship more fully as those redeemed by His blood
– To live more generously as recipients of grace
The cradle and cross together reveal God’s pattern of redemption. The infant hands that grasped Mary’s finger would one day be pierced for our transgressions. The head wrapped in swaddling clothes would wear a crown of thorns. The one laid in a wooden manger would hang on a wooden cross. This is the great exchange – our sin for His righteousness, our death for His life, our poverty for His riches.
As we continue our Advent journey, may we embrace this gospel exchange not just as theological truth or liturgical poetry but as the transforming reality of our Christian living. In this great exchange, we find the meaning of Christmas and the heart of our salvation.
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Josh Cehulik 