Does Paul's use of υπερ necessitate Penal Substitution?
There are
various considerations which weigh against the interpretation of υπερ as αντι (“instead of”)
in [2 Cor 5:14-15] . . . [one such example] is the Pauline addition of the
aorist passive participle εγερθεντι at the end of verse 15. Using the ινα clause to express purpose rather than result,
Paul notes that Christ died for all so that they might no longer live for
themselves but for him who died and was raised for them (αλλα τω υπερ αυτων αποθανοντι και εγερθεντι). According to J. Bernard, the substitutional
rendering of υπερ is “excluded
by the fact that in the phrase υπερ αυτων αποθανοντι και εγερθεντι, υπερ αυτων is governed by both participles” . . . [I]f the participle is not related to the
phrase τω υπερ αυτων, then “the flow of the sentence is broken,
leaving us with a translation ‘he died for them and rose’ (for his own
benefit). This breaks up the logic of Paul’s argument.” Since it is more
natural to see both participles as being associated with τω υπερ αυτων so that Paul’s argument remains intact, the idea of substitution must
be absent. (Daniel G. Powers, Salvation
through Participation: An Examination of the Notion of the Believers’ Corporate
Unity with Christ in Early Christian Soteriology [Leuven: Peeters, 2001],
62, 63).