Christ took on our sins so we could be put right with God - 2 Corinthians 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
- 2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV
More About This Verse
Meaning
God is perfect and without sin; he hates sin and cannot be in relationship with anyone or anything that is sinful. This is where Jesus comes in. Jesus existed in relationship with God long before we were ever created. But God loves us and wants to be in relationship with us so much that he created a way for us to be blameless and free of sin: God sacrificed Jesus to choose relationship with us. Jesus—a being who did nothing wrong—didn’t just die for our sins: he became our sins, taking on all of God’s wrath and punishment that we deserved.
God sent Jesus (who was without sin) to become a man on earth, to die on the cross and take on our sins so we can be righteous before God. To be righteous means to be correct or faultless. Do you know what this means? This is the best deal we will ever see! Basically, we make mistakes but someone else takes our punishment. Our past is erased! We get to enjoy all the benefits of Jesus’ sacrifice by gaining a close relationship with God. That is amazing!
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We get the most out of each verse when we understand them in context. So, feel free to dig a little deeper into the meaning of this verse with these resources:
The Message version says this verse this way:
“How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21, MSG).