08/26/2026
THE DIVINE EXCHANGE – DEREK PRINCE
The most complete account of what was accomplished at the cross was given through the prophet Isaiah, 700 years before it actually took place. In Isaiah 53:10–11 the prophet depicts a “righteous Servant” whose soul was to be offered to God as a sin offering. The writers of the New Testament are unanimous in identifying this unnamed “servant” as Jesus. The divine purpose accomplished by His sacrifice is summed up in Isaiah 53:6:
All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Here is the basic, universal problem of all humanity: we have turned, each of us, to our own way. There are various specific sins that many of us have never committed, such as murder, adultery, theft, and so on. But this one thing we all have in common: we have turned to our own way. In so doing, we have turned our backs on God. The Hebrew word that sums this up is avon, here translated “iniquity.” Perhaps the closest equivalent in contemporary English would be “rebellion”—not against man, but against God.
However, no one English word—whether it is “iniquity” or “rebellion”—conveys the full meaning of avon. In its biblical use, avon describes not merely iniquity but also the punishment, or the evil consequences, that iniquity brings in its train.
For instance, in Genesis 4:13, after God had pronounced judgment on Cain for the murder of his brother, Cain said: “My punishment is greater than I can bear.” The word here translated “punishment” is avon. It covered not merely Cain’s iniquity, but also the punishment it brought upon him. In Leviticus 16:22, concerning the scapegoat released on the Day of Atonement, the Lord said: “The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land.” In this symbolism, the goat bore not merely the iniquities of the Israelites, but also all the consequences of their iniquities.
In Lamentations 4 avon occurs twice with the same meaning. In verse 6 it is translated: “The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people.” Again, in verse 22: “The punishment of your iniquity . . . O daughter of Zion.” In each case, the single word avon is translated by a complete phrase “the punishment of iniquity.”
In other words, in its fullest sense avon means not simply “iniquity,” but also includes all the evil consequences that God’s judgment brings upon iniquity.
This applies to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Jesus Himself was not guilty of any sin. In Isaiah 53:9 the prophet says, “He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.” But in verse 6 he says, “The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity [avon] of us all.” Not merely was Jesus identified with our iniquity, He also endured all the evil consequences of that iniquity.
MY SUMMERY: WE ARE FORGIVEN OF OUR SIN AND ALL THE EFFECTS OF THAT SIN
Like the scapegoat that had prefigured Him, He carried them away, so that they might never return again upon us. Here is the true meaning and purpose of the cross. On it a divinely ordained exchange took place.
First, Jesus endured in our place all the evil consequences that were due by divine justice to our iniquity. Now, in exchange, God offers us all the good that was due to the sinless obedience of Jesus.
Stated more briefly, the evil due to us came upon Jesus, that, in return, the good due to Jesus might be offered to us.
