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DID JESUS LITERALLY BECOME SIN AND A CURSE FOR US?

7/1/2015

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Question: Did Jesus literally become sin and a curse for us?
Let’s look at the two scriptures that this question derives from:  
  1. II Corinthians 5:21 – “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.” 
  2. Galatians 3:13 – “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”                     
 For a proper understanding of any scriptures about Christ, it is imperative to know the essential doctrines of the nature and attributes of GOD THE FATHER and of GOD THE SON.  This understanding will keep us from interpreting a scripture in a way that violates these essential doctrines.  Note: See previous blogs for a full discussion of these doctrines.
    1. 
THE NATURE & ATTRIBUTES OF GOD THE FATHER: 
         a. God is a Spirit
         b. 
God is infinite in His Being
         c.  God is eternal in His Being
         d.  God is Unchangeable in His Being
         e.  God is Infinite, Eternal, and Unchangeable in His Wisdom
         f.  
God is Infinite, Eternal, and Unchangeble in His Holiness.                                        Justice, and Goodness
        g.   God is Infinite, Eternal, and Unchangebe in His Truth
   2. 
THE NATURE & ATTRIBUTES OF GOD THE SON (JESUS):  
        a.  Jesus is God (2nd person of the Godhead)
        b.  In the incarnation (when Jesus assumed human form), Jesus                                was still God.  Scripture verses such as: Philippians: 2:1-11,                                    John 1:1-3 , Colossians 1:15-17, & Titus 2:13 boldly tell us that                                Jesus is God.  Therefore, we can concisely conclude that in the                              incarnation Christ:                                                                                                                1)  was 100% God & 100% man (the GodMan)                                                              2)  retained all of His divine attributes                                                                          3)  did not resign or in any way give up His deity in the                                                  incarnation
                                                                                                                                            4)  was truly God – meaning everything that can be predicted of                               God the Father can be predicted of Christ the Son.                                              5)  throughout the entire course of His life in the flesh here upon                             earth retained fully and completely the divine nature, the                                    complex of attributes essential to His being the second Person
of                       the eternal Trinity.  
   
Note: Additional benefits of knowing the essential doctrines of the                               Christian faith are as follows:                                                                                          1. The essentials teach us about the attributes & character of the                             Lord.  The more we know about Him, the more we will love                                   Him.  How can we truly love God, if we don’t know anything                                   about Him
               
2. The essentials form a protective shield around us. This shield:                              a. Keeps us within the pale of orthodoxy                                                                      b. Keeps us from heretical teaching                                                                              c. Keeps us from spinning our wheels outside of the                                                    essential doctrines                                                                                         In the case when we are not certain what a particular scripture means, the
  essentials helps us rule out what a scripture does not mean. 
Now – let us
  look at the question at hand.  Did Jesus literally become a sin and a curse for
  us?
 In 
answer to this question we will establish the following:
     
1.  Jesus could never be literally sin but is unequivocally our sin bearer.  
    
2.  Jesus could never literally be a curse but in some sense bore the effects
          of God’s judgment (curse) against sin that was due us
   
Now let us get into details:                                                                                               A. One of Jesus’ divine attributes is that He is Infinite, Eternal, and
        Unchangeable in His Holiness.  If Jesus literally became sin, He would
        cease being Holy and thus cease being God.                                                          
B. Let us break down how the word sin is used in the Bible
      
1. II Corinthians 5:21 states “He made the One who did not know sin to                  be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in
           Him”.  In this verse the word “sin” is used as an abstract  noun.  An                    abstract noun is a type of noun that refers to something with which a
           a person cannot physically interact.  If a noun is abstract, it describes
           something you cannot see, hear, touch, taste, or smell.  Since sin is an
           an abstract noun, commentators have said that the expression “to be                sin” must be a metonym.                                                     
                                         2. A metonym is a change of one noun for another related noun                              and is often used in scripture. For example:                                                               a) Proverbs 10:20, “The tongue of the righteous is choice silver.”                               In this verse, tongue is used in place of words or speech.                                   b) Matthew 6:21, “for where your treasure is, there will your                                     heart be also.”  In this verse, heart is used in place of                                             thoughts and affections.                                                                                              c)  Mark 16:15 (KJV), “Preach the gospel to every creature.”  In                                   this verse, creature is used in place of man.Important:  In the                              verse we are looking at, sin is used in place of sin bearer.                               3. Another example of a metonym used in Scripture, is Matthew                             26.52 where Jesus comments that “those who take up the sword                         shall perish by the sword”.  It is clear that Jesus is not making a                           dogmatic assertion concerning how an individual who “takes up                         the sword” shall specifically die, but simply stating a general                               truth.  Thus, the phrase “perish by the sword” is one example of a                       metonym.                                                                                                             
      4.
 E.W. Bullinger, 1898 in his “Figures of Speech used in the Bible”                             states the following:                                                                                                           Sin is put for the offering of sin                                                                                       a.  Gen. IV.7. – “Sin (i.e., a sin offering) lieth at the door.” See Ex.                                30:10; Lev4:3 & 6:25;                                                                                                       b.  Ex. 34:14. – “It is sin”: (i.e., an offering which atones for sin.                             c.  Hos 4:8 –“They eat up the sin. (i.e., the sin-offering) of my                                      people.”                                                                                                                           d.  II Cor. V. 21.-“He hath made him to be sin (i.e., a sin-offering)                                for us.”  See Isa. 53:10; Eph. 5:2                                                                                   e.  
In Luke 16:29, the text says: “They have Moses and the                                          prophets, let them hear them.” In reality, they did not                                            have “Moses” or the “prophets,” but they did have their                                          writings. The name Moses is a metonymy that stood for his                                 writings, since he was the cause of the writings.                                                         5. T.J. Crawford, in his excellent work “The Doctrine of Holy                                       Scripture Respecting the Atonement”, offers important insight                             into the metonymical expression in II Corinthians 5:21.   He                                   states that our common translation, “to be a sin offering”, is to                           be preferred over rendering the phrase “to be sin”.  There can be                         no doubt that the expression is metonymical, since it is                                             impossible that Christ, or any person, could be literally made                               “SIN.”                                                                                                                                     The abstract word “sin” must be held here for some concrete                               word, and there is no concrete word that we can think of as                                 denoted by it, except either “a sinner,” or “one who bears or                                 suffers for sin.”  Now, that Christ “was made a sinner for us” is                             inconsistent, not only with the testimony which the Scriptures                             elsewhere bear to His immaculate holiness, but with the                                       express statement in the adjoining clause, that “He knew no                                 sin.”                                                                                                                                        Accordingly, we are shut up to the other interpretation, that                                Christ was “made sin for us” in the sense of being divinely                                    appointed to bear the burden or to suffer the penal                                                consequences of our transgressions.  We see that by taking into                          account the language and context, the meaning of the                                            expression “made to be sin for us” is that Christ suffered the                                legal consequences — the penalty — for our sin.  Although Jesus                          identified with sinners, it is unjustifiable to read the passage to                          imply that He took on our sin nature.                                                                          6. The author Philip Hughes concurs with this in his commentary on                        Second Corinthians where he writes: “He was wounded for our                            transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the                                              chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes                            we are healed, . . . and Jehovah hath laid on Him the iniquity of                            us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6) — that is the meaning of Christ’s having                              been made sin for us.                                                                                                        Not for one moment does He cease to be righteous, else the                                radical exchange envisaged by the Apostle here . . . would be no                          more than a fiction or a hallucination.  And, this understanding is                        the consistent  testimony of Scripture: Christ was “made to be                              sin”    in the sense that He bore the penalty of our sins.  Thus                                when the Lord, through Isaiah, speaks of the Messiah saying, “. . .                        the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will                            bear their iniquities . . .” (Isaiah 53:11), the meaning is clear. This
         prophetic passage affirms that Christ would suffer the penalty of
         consequence of the sins of others.  
Earlier in this Messianic section,
         there are other clear indications that the suffering Servant of the Lord
        would suffer on behalf of sinners, be subject to the penal consequences           of their sins and, in that way, “bear” their sins (Isaiah 53:5,8). 
        This is the consistent testimony of the Scriptures; Christ took the                       place of sinners and, in their stead, bore the punishment their                             sins required (e.g., Romans 4:25; I Corinthians 15:3; Galatians 1:4;     I                 Peter 2:24).
   
7. Galatians 3:13 states that “Christ redeemed us from the curse of                         the Law, having become a curse for us — for it is written,  "Cursed                     is everyone who hangs on a tree . . .”. After the careful look we took                   at Paul’s declaration in II Corinthians 5:21 (“. . . made to be sin for us . . .”)         the parallel with this passage is evident.  Christ “became a curse” for us           in the sense that He bore the effects of God’s judgment (curse) against             sin that was due us.  
        
It is clear from the testimony of Scripture that Christ, in and of                           Himself, was not accursed by God.  We must not forget                                           John 10:17 when the Lord says, “For this reason the Father loves                         Me, because I lay down My life . . .” Although He suffered the                               penalty and “curse” due our sin, Jesus Himself was always the                               “beloved Son.”  Never was Christ more the Son in whom the                                 Father was well pleased than when He was willing to accept the                          utmost consequence for the sins of men.                                                                    This verse of scripture contains a strong metonymical                                            expression, signifying that Christ was “made the bearer of a                                  curse for us,” or that He was subjected to the endurance of that                          condemnation by which God expresses His righteous                                              displeasure against sin, when uttering these words, as quoted in                        the context, “Cursed is every one who continueth not in all                                    things which are not written in the book of law to do them.”                                                                                In conclusion:                                                                             1.  Jesus could never be literally sin but is unequivocally our sin                                bearer.
           
            
2.  Jesus could never literally be a curse but in some sense bore the                         effects of God’s judgment (curse) against sin that was due us.
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