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THE GREAT EXCHANGE
Understanding Second Corinthians 5.21

BY MARK HORNE

Version 1.2 (revised 06/02/2004)

Copyright © 2003

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

My argument is simple: What Paul means in writing the quotation above in context is the same as what he was telling the Ephesians when he wrote, “take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, … having put on the breastplate of righteousness” (Ephesians 6.13, 14). Of course, this makes my argument rather complex because I have to begin with an argument about what Paul meant in Ephesians.

FIGHTING IN GOD’S ARMOR

According to N. T. Wright regarding Ephesians 6.13:

…”Justice,” or “righteousness.” This isn’t just “virtue,” important though that is. It’s the fact that the one true God is the one true judge, and intends to put the whole world to rights. Indeed, the process already began when God vindicated Jesus, and vindicated (“justified”) us in him. The fundamental justice and goodness of God, and the status that Christians have of already being “in the right” before him, is like a breastplate, protecting us against frontal attack (Paul For Everyone: The Prison Letters [London: SPCK, 2002], p. 74).

This is quite traditional but that hardly means it is correct. Is the righteousness in Ephesians 6.13 simply a status we are given in Christ as Wright alleges? (I have no problem with Wright’s doctrine here. I simply don’t think that is all that is going on in this text).

Being clothed with salvation is a wonderful Biblical image. But in the Bible the garments often represent more than pardon or even a generically conceived right standing. When God clothed Aaron in “holy garments” “for glory and beauty” (Exodus 28.2) the point was not merely that Aaron had access to God’s presence but that he was commissioned to minister on behalf of God’s people and represent God to them.

After all, just as the priest wore a breastplate of judgment (Exodus 28.2) so God put on justice like a breastplate:

Now the Lord saw,
And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice.
And He saw that there was no man,
And was astonished that there was no one to intercede;
Then His own arm brought salvation to Him;
And His righteousness upheld Him.
And He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.
According to their deeds, so He will repay,
Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies;
To the coastlands He will make recompense (Isaiah 59.15b-18).

When the Lord sees that there is not “justice,” the same Hebrew word is used as the “breastpiece of judgment.” When the Lord puts on “righteousness like a breastplate” a different word is used. There are two different root words in play here, one meaning “justice” or “judgment” and the other meaning “justice” or “righteousness.” But they often seem to overlap and are used redundantly (i.e. Genesis 18.19; Second Samuel 8.15). Especially interesting is Psalm 27.6 where both describe legal acquittal and the resulting legal status:

And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your judgment as the noonday.

The word for judgment/justice that describes Aaron’s breastplate is also used in phrases where it is synonymous with the word for justice/righteousness. For example Jeremiah prays, “Correct me, O Lord, but with justice; Not with Thine anger, lest Thou bring me to nothing” (10.24), this is the same word used to describe the breastplate of the high priest. But Jeremiah’s request is surely identical to David’s when he prays “Judge me, O Lord my God, according to Thy righteousness; and do not let them rejoice over me” (35.24).

My point here is that being clothed with the breastplate of righteousness means more than simply saying that you are counted as righteous. It means you are commissioned to serve the God by serving the people of God as the representative of his righteousness. Apart from the evidence that Paul has in his mind the priesthood when he writes about the breastplate of righteousness, Isaiah 59.17 certainly shows that Paul’s idea is not that we are only reckoned righteous by God but that we are commissioned to display the righteousness of God and be used by him to spread his salvation throughout the world.

And He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.

Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

The point is not to be saved and reckoned righteous by God. The point is to spread salvation and act righteously like God.

GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS BRINGS ABOUT OUR SALVATION

As is apparent from some of the texts quoted above, God’s righteousness is an attribute or characteristic that guarantees our salvation. God puts on righteousness as a breastplate in order to save his people from their enemies. Jeremiah trusts that God’s justice means that God will not destroy him for his sins, but merely correct him. So we read in Psalm 98.1-3:

O sing to the LORD a new song,
For He has done wonderful things,
His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.
The LORD has made known His salvation;
He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations
He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

For more on this see the following essays I have written elsewhere:

To sum up what I argue for: God’s righteousness is his faithfulness to his covenant. While it is the characteristic that demands that sin be punished, it also demands that that he keep his promise to bring salvation. In many Biblical contexts, both in the Old Testament and the New, a good paraphrase for “the righteousness of God” would be “the covenant faithfulness of God.”

Thus, when God saves us, he is demonstrating his righteousness. He is being faithful to his promises.

AS THE FATHER HAS SENT ME SO I SENT YOU

If I am right about Ephesians 6, then Paul’s basic message is that of John 20.19-23:

When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and *said to them, “Peace be with you.” And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”

Jesus appointed his Apostles to be his ambassadors and speak in his name. Paul is speaking of a way in which all Christians do this. They should all put on God’s righteousness so that they can represent God’s presence to others.

THE GREAT EXCHANGE

Which brings us back to Second Corinthians 5.21. Here it is in context going back to verse 11:

Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences. We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, that you may have an answer for those who take pride in appearance, and not in heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Paul is arguing two things here. First he is defending his ministry and identity as an Apostle. He argues that his Apostolic ministry is a result of God’s saving work on his behalf. Salvation and vocation are closely related here. He should not be judged “according to the flesh” but rather recognized by God’s calling on him. The Apostles are not only reconciled to God, but also entrusted with a ministry of reconciliation. Related to this Paul is arguing that he is extending reconciliation on God’s behalf to others, including the Corinthians.

Traditionally, most people have assumed that verse 21 belongs to the second argument. Paul is simply stating his doctrine of salvation-that Jesus identified himself with sinners so that we could be identified as righteous. That is true doctrine. Because our sins were imputed to Christ his righteousness is imputed to us.

But it doesn’t fit real well with the context of verse 20, which is speaking of “we” Apostles who are “ambassadors for Christ” through whom God is entreating, and who beg the Corinthians “on behalf of Christ.” The Apostles’ calling is to represent God’s reconciling message. Thus, Jesus suffered as a sinner in order to give them the vocation of representing God’s righteousness, which spreads salvation. Because Jesus took our curse, Paul is saying, we have received his calling. As the Father sent Jesus so Jesus sends us.

If I am right, Paul is speaking particularly about Apostles here, because that is the issue. But Ephesians 6 indicates that this truth applies to all Christians. Because Jesus has taken the death we deserved, we are commissioned in Him to carry out his calling–to incarnate the righteousness of God.

The LORD has made known His salvation;
He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations
He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Copyright © 2003



1 Comment »

  1. You are Roman Catholic? Reading it I didn’t notice – it was very good! Where do you see any room for us helping God out? It’s all of HIM! Praise God!

    Comment by Daniel — May 22, 2010 @ 10:38 am

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