THE DEATH OF CHRIST ITS ACCOMPLISHMENTS It was a substitution for sin. There are many facets to the meaning of Christ’s death, but the central one—without which the others have no eternal meaning—is substitution. This simply means that Christ died in the place of sinners. The use of the Greek preposition [Gr]anti clearly teaches this because it means “in the place of.” It is used, for instance, with this meaning in a passage that has nothing to do with the death of Christ (Lk 11:11). But more significantly, it is used in a passage which gives our Lord’s own interpretation of the meaning of His death (Mt 20:28; Mk 10:45). His death, He said, was to be a payment in the place of many. However, another preposition, [Gr]huper, is also used in the New Testament, and it has two meanings: sometimes it means “for the benefit of” and sometimes “in the place of.” Of course the death of Christ was both in our place and for our benefit, and there is no reason why [Gr]huper when it is used in relation to His death does not include both ideas. See, for instance, 2 Corinthians 5:21 and 1 Peter 3:18.
A SURVEY OF BIBLE DOCTRINE
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Charles C. Ryrie
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