Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 1
The speaker insists that “Christ was made sin for us” should be read as “sin offering” (hamartia in the Greek OT used 94 times); what does that claim assume about how Paul read Scripture, and what would it change (or not change) about how you read 2 Corinthians 5:21?
Another way to ask: The speaker says “Christ was made sin for us” really means “sin offering.” What does that assume about how Paul used the Old Testament, and how would it change (or not change) how you read 2 Corinthians 5:21?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The speaker’s claim assumes Paul was reading and thinking in the categories of the Greek Old Testament, where “hamartia” can mean “sin offering,” so 2 Corinthians 5:21 is about Christ becoming an offering for sin rather than Christ becoming morally sinful or a legal container of guilt. It would shift how you read the verse away from a strict “imputation/penal” framework, while still keeping a real substitution and cleansing from sin.
- He says the Greek word in 2 Corinthians 5:21 is “hamartia,” and that the Greek OT uses it “94 times,” translating it as “sin offering.”
- He argues, “I believe that Paul… read the Greek [Old Testament]… I believe that what he’s saying is Christ is made our sin offering.”
- He grounds it in human need: “we are sinful… We need our sins washed away.”
- He ties the result to cleansing and new creation: “Jesus’ blood cleanses our sin… to make us a new creation.”
- Later he still affirms substitution in some form: “Christ… suffered for sins the just for the unjust… that he might bring us to God.”