I have often heard it said "Christ took our place" or "Christ took the punishment for our sin" or something of that nature.
What I see when I've read through many things in the Bible is that all of the punishments Christ took were temporary, as far as I know.
Perhaps the punishment for our sin that Christ took was separation from God? Is what Isaiah said why Jesus cried out "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" When Christ was on the tree (the cross) he bore our sins in his body per 1 Peter 2:24.
Isaiah 59
1Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
2But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.
I try to look through the Bible as much as possible just to find where things are plainly stated or described, but I haven't really seen how Christ took our punishment. So perhaps you all could shed some light on it?
In I Peter 2:24 and 25, Peter was quoting from the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, and there we find a pretty thorough description of how Christ took the punishment for our sin.
1Peter 2:24
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness:
by whose stripes ye were healed.
1Peter 2:25
For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
Compared to:
Isaiah 53:1
Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
Isaiah 53:2
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him,
there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Isaiah 53:3
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were
our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isaiah 53:4
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isaiah 53:5
But he
was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace
was upon him;
and with his stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:6
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:7
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Isaiah 53:8
He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
Isaiah 53:9
And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither
was any deceit in his mouth.
Isaiah 53:10
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put
him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see
his seed, he shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
Isaiah 53:11
He shall see of the travail of his soul,
and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Isaiah 53:12
Therefore will I divide him
a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
I'm not sure what you meant when you mentioned Christ's punishments being temporary, but it made me think of this:
Luke 24:25
Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
Luke 24:26
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
Luke 24:27
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
Christ's sufferings were temporary in the sense that he has long since entered into his glory as had been equally prophesied in the Old Testament. Although his sufferings were temporary in that sense, the results of his sufferings on our behalves ought to be eternal. Let's look back to Peter's words one more time while looking at what the results of Christ's sufferings on our behalves ought to be as opposed to focusing on his suffering themselves.
1Peter 2:24
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree,
that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
1Peter 2:25
For ye were as sheep going astray;
but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
If we are truly benefactors of Christ's sufferings, then we ought to be dead to sins while living unto righteousness; having returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. If the Lord truly is our Shepherd, then he will always lead us into paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Psalm 23:1
The LORD
is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psalm 23:2
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Psalm 23:3
He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
A life lived in this manner will result in eternal life in the kingdom to come.