2 Corinthians 5:19

To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not reckoning unto them their trespasses, and having committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

GOD IN CHRIST

God was in Christ ... The English Revised Version (1885), the RSV and others revised the punctuation of this verse, omitting the comma after Christ, doing so for the sole purpose of avoiding the dogmatic affirmation that "God was in Christ"; but, even as the verse is allowed to stand without the comma, the meaning shines through in spite of all efforts to soften it. If God was not in Christ, it would have been impossible for him through Christ to have reconciled the world unto himself! It was precisely this perfect identity with Christ that gave meaning and efficacy to all that Christ did.

It is the presence of God in Christ which gives to the sacrifice of the cross its infinite value; the doctrine of redemption depends on that of the hypostatic union, a doctrine with which these verses are impregnated.[30]

The many translators and commentators who leave out the comma make up a rather noisy chorus to the effect that the old rendition is not correct; but noise is not argument; and, as Wesley said, "Either translation is grammatically and theologically admissible";[31] and this writer prefers the KJV rendition for its stress upon the divinity of Christ. Furthermore, some of those who prefer the RSV, etc., do so not upon textual grounds, but upon prior theological positions. Thus Clines said, "The phrase sounds Johannine rather than Pauline, so the latter translation is preferred."[32] The fundamental error in such a view is the failure to see that Paul and John are one in their views of salvation in Christ. Young scholars, especially, ought not to be intimidated by the nonsense that would try to cover up the agreement between John and Paul. And, as for the impression prevailing in some, to the effect that recent scholars know anything about translating scripture that was unknown to older translators (with the one exception of new manuscript evidence and certain archeological discoveries), this may be confidently denied. This verse as it stands in the KJV was so translated by many of the greatest scholars who ever lived, including: Origen, Erasmus, Luther, Calvin, Bachmann, Allo, Chrysostom, Meyer, Alford, Olhausen, Hodge, Denney, Plummer, Strachan, Filson, and the RSV margin. "God was in Christ."

Not reckoning unto them their trespasses ... The heavenly strategy by which God could, in righteousness, leave off reckoning unto sinners their sins is simply that of the "spiritual body" of Jesus Christ. People who renounce self, obey the gospel, and are added to the body of Christ, are no longer (legally) themselves, but CHRIST. They are then reckoned to be "in Christ," truly identified with Christ, participants in his death, sharers of Christ's righteousness, and thus wholly justified, not in their original personal identity, but "in Christ and as Christ." Extensive studies of the whole problem of justification are given in the Commentary on Romans. See my Commentary on Romans, chapter 3, etc.

Unto us the word of reconciliation ... This is parallel to the last clause of the preceding verse; and this double reference led quite naturally to Paul's exposition of his status as God's ambassador, in the next verse.

[30] Philip E. Hughes, op. cit., p. 208.

[31] John Wesley, op. cit., in loco.

[32] David J. A. Clines, op. cit., p. 427.