Bible Strands
2 Corinthians 5:19
that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul writes to the Corinthian congregation, mid-passage (5:16–21), pivoting from a redefinition of how believers see the world to the commission they now carry. The verse sits between the declaration of reconciliation (v. 18) and the explicit apostolic charge (v. 20).
The words — Καταλλάσσων (katalassōn) is a compound of κατά (kata, "down, against") and ἀλλάσσω (allassō, "to change, exchange"); the literal sense is an active swapping of positions, not a passive cessation of hostility.
The thread — Isaiah 43:25 and 44:22 use the Hebrew מָחָה (māḥā, "to blot out, erase") for God's unilateral removal of transgression, the same unilateral act Paul names here. 1 John 2:1 adds the ongoing advocacy that makes the reconciliation durable.
Why it lands — The verse commits a message to "us," making every reader either the ambassador delivering it or the audience receiving it; there is no neutral position. The ask is specific: receive the reconciliation or carry it, and stop treating it as a private sentiment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 43:25 I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.
- Isaiah 44:22 I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.
- 1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
- 1 John 4:10 And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
- 1 Timothy 3:16 By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.
- Psalms 32:1 Of David. A Maskil. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
- Romans 4:6 And David speaks likewise of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
- Romans 3:24 and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
- Colossians 2:9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form.
- John 17:23 I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.