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 NIV
This is a challenging passage. What does it mean that Christ, who knew no sin, became sin for us? This article will briefly explore this passage and will offer an answer to this question.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
The Context
I believe that to truly understand this passage, we need to understand the surrounding context. Otherwise, we can easily make this verse say something other than what Paul intended. In verses 11-15 of this chapter, Paul expressed his motivation for sharing the gospel of Christ. He said that “Christ’s love compels him.” Why? Because he was convinced that Christ had died for all people. And those who now have new life in Christ should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them.
Paul continued, saying that he had once regarded people, including Jesus, from a worldly point of…
