2 Corinthians 5:21
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Climaxing his message of reconciliation, Paul explains the basis on which sinners can be reconciled to God: the sinless Christ taking their place at the cross.
What Does 2 Corinthians 5:21 Mean?
This verse holds the heart of the gospel: the sinless Christ was made sin for us, so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Paul has been describing the ministry of reconciliation -- God reconciling the world to Himself through Christ. Now he states how it was accomplished. The One who knew no sin took our place, bearing what was ours, that we might receive what is His. It is an exchange so profound it has been called the great exchange.
Each phrase carries weight. Christ "knew no sin" -- He was wholly without fault, the only one qualified to bear the sin of others. God "made him to be sin for us" -- He took our condition upon Himself at the cross. The purpose follows: "that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Our righteousness is not our own achievement but a gift received in union with Christ -- "in him" is the key. What we could never produce, God provides through the Savior who stood in our place. This is the foundation of the appeal in the previous verse, "be ye reconciled to God." Reconciliation is possible because Christ has already done the costly work. The verse calls the reader to receive, with wonder and gratitude, a standing before God secured entirely by the One who became what we were so that we might become what He is.
In the Original Language
The word hamartia (ἁμαρτία) means sin, used twice, and dikaiosune (δικαιοσύνη) means righteousness, the standing before God received in Christ.
Cross References
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
- Isaiah 53:6
“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
- 1 Peter 2:24
“For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”
- Romans 5:19
Application
Receive with gratitude the righteousness Christ secured for you, resting not in your own record but in His finished work on your behalf.
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