经文研读
2 Corinthians 5:21 — The Great Exchange
God made the sinless Christ to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
经文
- 21.神 使 那 無 罪 （ 無 罪 ： 原 文 是 不 知 罪 ） 的 ， 替 我 們 成 為 罪 ， 好 叫 我 們 在 他 裡 面 成 為 神 的 義 。 Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
这段经文的意思
The verse states two parallel actions bound by the conjunction "that" (ἵνα): God made Christ "to be sin," and the intended result is that believers "become the righteousness of God in him." The structure is a deliberate exchange — what belonged to us is given to Christ, and what belonged to Christ is given to us. Paul frames this not as a transaction between equals but as God's own initiative within the reconciliation described in 5:18–20.
The first half, "him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf," identifies Christ by what he did not have ("knew no sin") and then declares that God "made" him to be sin. The phrase "on our behalf" (ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν) marks a substitution: Christ takes the position sin occupies so that we are freed from it. The language is forensic — a matter of status before God — not a claim that Christ became a sinner in behavior.
The second half, "that we might become the righteousness of God in him," is the flip side of the same exchange. "The righteousness of God" is righteousness that comes from God and that God himself provides; it is received "in him," meaning its basis is union with Christ rather than human effort. The closing phrase keeps the two sides tied together: the exchange only holds because believers are positioned in Christ.
背景
Within chapter 5, the verse is the climax of the reconciliation section (5:18–21). Verse 18 names God as the source of reconciliation through Christ and assigns believers the "ministry of reconciliation." Verse 19 explains that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting trespasses against them. Verse 20 issues the apostolic appeal: "be ye reconciled to God." Verse 21 then grounds that appeal theologically, showing the divine act that makes reconciliation possible.
The wider chapter ranges over resurrection hope (5:1–10), the fear of the Lord and ministry motives (5:11–13), and the constraining love of Christ who died for all (5:14–17). Verse 17's declaration that "if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature" sets up verse 21's declaration that those "in him" become the righteousness of God. The exchange language is thus embedded in a passage that frames the Christian life as a new creation sustained by the Spirit (5:5).
常见问题
Did Christ actually become a sinner on the cross?
The verse says God "made" Christ "to be sin," not that Christ became a sinner in conduct. The language is about status before God: Christ took the position sin occupied as a substitution for us ("on our behalf"). The clause "him who knew no sin" explicitly guards against reading this as Christ personally committing sin.
What does "the righteousness of God" mean here?
In this context, it is righteousness that originates with God and that he himself supplies to believers. The verse adds "in him," locating the basis of this righteousness in union with Christ rather than in human moral effort. It is the receiving side of the exchange described in the first half of the verse.
How is verse 21 connected to the verses that come before it?
Verses 18-20 announce that God reconciled the world through Christ, entrusted believers with the ministry of reconciliation, and urge hearers to be reconciled to God. Verse 21 supplies the theological foundation for that appeal: the basis of reconciliation is the exchange in which Christ was made sin so that believers might become the righteousness of God.