2 Corinthians 5:21
“For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Where this sits
The closing line of a passage about the ministry of reconciliation, in which Paul describes himself as an ambassador begging people to be reconciled to God.
Reflection
The sentence is arranged as an exchange, and both halves are extreme.
Him who knew no sin — the qualification is absolute, and it is offered without argument. He made to be sin. Not made a sinner, and not made to bear sin, though both would be easier to state. Paul uses the noun, and the effect is deliberately shocking.
On our behalf is the hinge. The Greek preposition means in place of, on the part of — the language of substitution, of one party standing where another was due to stand.
And the second half mirrors it exactly. That in him we might become the righteousness of God. Again a noun rather than an adjective. Not become righteous, which would describe an improvement in character. Become the righteousness — the same grammatical extremity applied in the opposite direction.
So the verse is built as a straight trade, stated in the strongest terms available, with nothing in the middle to soften it.
And it closes a passage about ambassadors. Paul has just described himself as one, with God making his appeal through him, begging people to be reconciled. Which means this sentence is not a doctrinal footnote. It is the content of the appeal — the thing an ambassador is authorised to say, offered to anyone who will hear it.
- Theme:
- Salvation
- Book:
- 2 Corinthians