Most Evangelicals are familiar with 2 Cor 5:21. The verse says that Christ was made sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. The most common way of understanding this verse is that when a person believes in Jesus, all his sins are placed on Christ, and Christ’s righteousness is given to him. The believer is perfectly righteous because he has received Christ’s righteousness.
A few years ago, a PhD student emailed me asking if I would read his dissertation. He wrote on 2 Cor 5:21 and defended the common interpretation. This forced me to look at the context a little more closely. I don’t want to deal with the usual interpretation, but would like to present another way of seeing this verse. It might challenge some readers to view it differently.
The usual understanding of 2 Cor 5:21 is evangelistic. It sees the verse as describing what happens at the moment of faith. However, as I looked at the context, it was clear that Paul was talking to believers about how they should live. In other words, the context is about sanctification, not initial eternal salvation. The usual interpretation seems out of place in such a context.
The theme of Christian living is clear both before and after 2 Cor 5:21. In 5:9-10, Paul says he aims to please the Lord in his current ministry because he will appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ. He discusses the death of Christ, but not in light of what it means for eternal salvation. Paul says Christ’s death teaches us how to live (5:14-15). This life is possible because in Christ, a new creation exists (5:17).
The discussion of Christ’s death in vv 14-15 seems significant to me. If the death of Christ in vv 14-15 is used to explain Christian living, why do we automatically assume it describes what happens positionally at the moment of faith?
After 5:21, Paul continues talking about living righteously. He encourages the believers at Corinth to respond to his teaching and example. Then he describes how he and those with him strive to walk (6:1-10).
Does the word righteousness in 5:21 refer to the perfect righteousness of Christ that the believer receives at the moment of faith? The word occurs six other times in 2 Corinthians (3:9; 6:7, 14; 9:9, 10; 11:15). Each of these verses speaks of righteous Christian living.
I wonder whether we should reconsider the theme of 2 Cor 5:21. Could it also be about Christian living? In Rom 6:10-12, Paul says that Christ died to the power of sin and that the believer has died to that power and should consider that to be his reality. As a result, the believer does not have to serve sin. He can live righteously.
Could 2 Cor 5:21 be referring to the same thing? On the cross, Christ took on the sin of the world. He broke the power of sin for the one who believes in Him. Those who believe can now become the righteousness of God in Him. The Greek word for become has a variety of uses and is very flexible. It can have the nuance of producing something.
In light of how the word righteousness is used in 2 Cor and the context of 2 Cor 5, a strong case can be made that 5:21 deals with why believers can live righteously. I think the argument is stronger for this view than for the traditional way of understanding Paul’s statement. I don’t know whether my argument will convince anybody, but I hope at least some will consider this alternative.
