Bible Strands
2 Corinthians 5:21
God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul writes to the Corinthian congregation, explaining the mechanism behind the reconciliation appeal he just issued in v.20. He is mid-argument about the "ministry of reconciliation" (5:18) and the logic of how that ministry works.
The words — ὑπὲρ (huper), "on behalf of," marks substitution rather than mere association. The noun ἁμαρτίαν (hamartian, "sin") appears twice in the clause: once as what Christ did not know, once as what He was made.
The thread — 1 Peter 2:22 and 1 Peter 3:18 state the same two poles (sinless, righteous-for-unrighteous) from a confessional angle. Romans 5:19 frames it as a corporate transfer: one man's disobedience makes many sinners, one man's obedience makes many righteous.
Why it lands — The verse removes any possibility that the reader's standing before God is a product of their own moral performance. It asks the reader to receive a righteousness that is "God's" (theophoric), not self-generated, and to respond as the reconciled do: by accepting the appeal rather than negotiating terms.
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
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.
Cross-references
- 1 Peter 2:22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”
- 1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
- Romans 5:19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
- Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
- 1 Corinthians 1:30 It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
- 1 John 3:5 But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin.
- Philippians 3:9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.
- Isaiah 53:4 Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!
- Romans 10:3 Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.