Foundation Text

2 Corinthians 5:18-21

Greek Key Terms

Context: Second Corinthians 5:18-21 presents Paul's most comprehensive statement on Christ's substitutionary atonement and believers' reconciliation to God. After explaining the new creation in Christ (v. 17), Paul grounds this transformation in God's reconciling work. The passage emphasizes divine initiative ("All this is from God," v. 18) and comprehensive scope ("God was in Christ reconciling the world," v. 19). The key theological move occurs in verse 19: God was "not counting their trespasses (paraptōmata) against them"—the debt was cancelled through Christ. Verse 21 explains the mechanism: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God"—the great exchange where Christ bore our trespass and we receive His righteousness. This is the trespass-offering's ultimate fulfillment—comprehensive restitution through substitutionary sin-bearing.

Connections

Christological Connection: Second Corinthians 5:18-21's declaration that God "made him to be sin who knew no sin" consummates the trespass-offering's substitutionary function. Where Leviticus 5-6 prescribed guilt-offerings for specific trespasses requiring restitution plus 20%, Christ becomes the comprehensive guilt-offering satisfying all debt. The phrase "not counting their trespasses against them" (v. 19) fulfills the asham's purpose—removing the account of debt through sacrifice. Colossians 2:14 parallels this: God "canceled the record of debt (cheirographon)... nailing it to the cross"—what Paul describes legally (not counting) Colossians describes visually (nailing). The Levitical asham required the offender to make restitution before offering sacrifice; Christ makes both restitution (satisfying divine justice: "God put forward [Christ] as propitiation," Romans 3:25) and sacrifice (offering Himself: "he entered once for all into the holy places... by means of his own blood," Hebrews 9:12). The great exchange—"made him to be sin... that we might become the righteousness of God" (v. 21)—transcends the trespass-offering's limited scope. Where the asham removed specific guilt, Christ's work imparts positive righteousness. Isaiah 53:10's prophecy of the Servant's soul as guilt-offering (ʾāšām) finds fulfillment: Christ bore comprehensive trespass to provide comprehensive righteousness. Paul's phrase "for our sake" (hyper hēmōn) emphasizes substitution—He in our place, we in His place. The trajectory extends from Leviticus's itemized restitutions through Isaiah 53's prophesied Servant-asham to Christ's accomplished substitution providing both forgiveness (debt cancelled) and righteousness (credit transferred)—"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace" (Ephesians 1:7).

Connection Method(s): Typology (Direct Institutional, Backward-Looking) — The great exchange where Christ was "made sin" so believers might "become the righteousness of God" consummates the trespass-offering's substitutionary function, with God "not counting their trespasses" fulfilling the asham's purpose of removing the account of debt.

Trajectory Table: 163 - Trespass-Offering (Restitution and Restoration)

Linked Mentions 1
Trajectory Tables 1
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