On the basis of these things that have been said about this name, I also better understand why the apostle, writing to the Corinthians, said that Christ was first rich and then became poor, so that, by His poverty, we might be rich. He says: For you know the kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, (namely) that He became poor for our sake while He was rich, so that, by His poverty, you might be rich (2 Cor. 8:9).

Among other things, the apostle also wished to indicate that before Christ became man, He truly was the Almighty[1] but that, when He became man, in a certain sense He stopped being the Almighty,[2] namely, because He, as it were, renounced His lordship over things. Thus, in His human nature, He became poor both in reality and in the use of things. Indeed, this passage is similar to Philippians 2:6[–7]: Who, while He was in the form of God, emptied Himself, taking on the form of a servant. And so, the one passage no less than the other demonstrates the true deity of Christ.

On the other hand, as far as His human nature is concerned, Christ cannot be said at one time to have been rich and then to have become poor for our sake. For either the apostle is talking about the riches of this world or he is talking about heavenly and spiritual riches. The apostle’s passage cannot be understood with regard to the latter both because the discussion does not have to do with this type of riches but with the other and also because, as man, Christ clearly never lacked spiritual riches. Rather, He always abounded and, as Luke tells it, as He grew in age, so He also grew in grace and wisdom and, so, in all the gifts of the Holy Spirit so that we might receive from His fullness [Luke 2:52; John 1:16].

But if the apostle’s discourse is understood with regard to material things and this age, then I do not see that He was ever rich. He was, indeed, appointed heir of all things (Heb. 1:2), but before the resurrection He received only the right [to them] and not possession [of them]. And so, we read that He actually was always poor. He is born poor, raised poor, preaches poor, dies poor, so, it was altogether true that He had no place to lay His head (Matt. 8:20).

What then? Necessarily, we musts fix a time before His incarnation at which He simply was rich. Therefore, before His manifestation in flesh, He subsisted and at that time was truly rich, because He really was the Lord of everything and sufficient for everything for Himself and for whomsoever He willed.

And this, at last, is what it means to be Shaddai:[3] sufficient for everything, rich, and powerful. And we, on account of His poverty, have become rich (2 Cor. 1:9 [that is, 9:8]), because we have received spiritual gifts and heavenly blessings and a right to the kingdom of heaven. We have even been enriched out of the grace of His sufficiency,[4] which is why we lack nothing and are content with our lot.

This suffices with regard to the word Shaddai,[5] which is suitable only for God. Two names remain to be explained, and these appear very frequently in the New Testament: God and Lord.