What “aroma” comes from me?

2Co 2:14  Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

2Co 2:15  For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

2Co 2:16  To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?

2Co 2:17  For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

Americans spent $18 billion in deodorants and antiperspirants in 2013. No one wants to give off an unpleasant aroma!

In this passage Paul is writing about the good response the Corinthians made to the “heavy” first letter he wrote to them about their lack of faith. For one thing, they had not dealt quickly with fornication in the congregation at Corinth; they had tolerated it, like some do with a bad body odour. “Faith without works is dead,” James 2: 26 – not a pleasant smell!

To illustrate to the Corinthians and to us the great effect of the joy that results from always acting by faith, Paul reminds them of an event that they were familiar with. When a country celebrated the end of a war against a destructive enemy, there would be a great parade where the victorious soldiers were honoured with great joy, much like our ticker-tape parades. Part of the parade would include enemy opposition leaders who were chained and being led to death at the end of the parade. All the time during the parade, incense was burned along the route.  To the victors the incense odour represented life and its blessings. To the captive leaders the incense odour represented suffering and death. What a remarkable picture!

Paul then encourages the Corinthian church and all Christian soldiers by teaching us that when we live by faith in obeying God in all we do, then we are a fragrant aroma of “life leading to life” – to Christ, to fellow-believers and hopefully also to the unbelievers that we hope to influence. We give off this fragrance both by example and personal teaching. When we set aside God’s will and do our own will we become an “aroma of death leading to death” to all those about us. Let us commit to always being a good soldiers of Christ, living by faith, seeking my King’s will. No matter how difficult, you and I can do it because God and Jesus have a perfect record of standing by us in all our challenges.

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place”. 2 Cor 2:14.