The mystery of the double spiritual exchange in Christ

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 Corinthians 5:21 KJV)

The first part of the verse above is one of the most mysterious in the scriptures. The Apostle Paul says the Father made Christ to be sin for us. If he had said Christ bore our sins or paid the price for our sins, it would be more perfectly aligned with our thinking and what the rest of scripture also teaches. But no, that is not what it says. The Spirit, through Paul, says Christ was made sin. We will probably not fully understand all the mysteries hidden in this statement.

Christ’s work has a double mysterious exchange. Many of us might have heard of the substitution before which is a theological term used to describe the fact that Christ took our place as sinners to die and pay the penalty for us. God, by His mysterious workings, bundled the entire sin of all of humanity that has ever lived and will ever live on earth and put it on Christ, essentially holding Christ accountable and responsible for all of that spiritual junk. What a weight of sin and divine judgment He suffered!

However, that is only one side of the double exchange. When you received Christ, the Father also bundled all the righteousness of Christ, which is God’s very righteousness and put it on you! That is why you were suddenly the most righteous person that has ever lived on the earth as soon as you received Christ, because you received the gift of righteousness! Oh, the mystery of His work on the cross!