12 through 17, you know, we're
breaking in the thought of the apostle, but we must because
the thought process here is very long. So look at that verse,
verse 12, and to the end of the chapter. Furthermore, when I
came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened
unto me of the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I
found not Titus my brother, but taking my leave of them, I went
thence into Macedonia. Now, thanks be unto God, which
always causes us to triumph in Christ and makes manifest the
savor of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto
God a sweet saver of Christ in them that are saved and in them
that perish. To the one we are the savior
or the saver of death unto death and to the other the saver of
life unto life. And who is sufficient for these
things? For we are not as many which
corrupt the word of God, but as of sincerity, but as of God,
in the sight of God speak we in Christ. Now, it will take us a bit that
we might get our contextual bearing in regard to the passage that
we have plucked out of a flowing thought of the Apostle. But it
is evident that these words do not stand alone and independent
of the other text around it. But time would not allow us to
begin at the beginning and read all the way up to here. But it
is always more beneficial to seek and determine the relationship
of our verses under the overall or the larger context of the
scripture, the flow of the thought of the apostle in writing these
things, the current situation that existed to which he wrote
and in which case he wrote, and his relationship to them as an
apostle and a minister of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. For you know, in his writing,
Paul always emphasizes himself from that standpoint. An apostle
of the Lord Jesus Christ. By the will of God, and by the
call of Christ. And this he did, Paul, not to
receive the praises of men, or that he might elevate himself
above others, but because of those who were constantly seeking
to undermine both his ministry and his authority, and they sought
that they might restrict the liberty which was in the Lord
Jesus Christ, And they tried to pervert the gospel by mingling
together Judaism and Christianity into one lump. And so the fact
that Paul dwelled at such length upon this subject may prove two
things unto us from the scripture. Number one, as Calvin noted,
that confidence in him was not yet fully established in every
place and in every church. And number two, also, because
his apostleship and ministry was on every hand challenged
by some, especially the Jews and the Judaeans. And this latter
was certainly true everywhere that Paul seemed to go to preach
the gospel. Working our way then, onto our
present text of the morning, as usual, Paul begins the epistle,
opening it with greeting, usually some form of eulogy or praise
unto God Almighty and wishing the blessings of God upon the
saints. Then here are some of the things
that Paul discusses here, partly to explain to them his delay
in coming unto them at Corinth. In chapter 1, verse 8 through
10, the threat of death from almost every quarter, Paul reminded
them that he constantly lived under the threat and the shadow
of death when his party was in great danger by the enemies of
the gospel. And if you'll notice some of
the expression that he uses there, for example, chapter 1 and verse
8, we were oppressed out of measure, some exceeding heavy burden,
some kind of burden beyond human ability to bear, what it was,
we're not told, in this particular place, just that it was so intense
as to be beyond the ability of one to bear up under it without
the help and the grace of God. With this result, also, in verse
8, inasmuch that we actually despaired even of life, that
it might be the end of the life of the apostle. Then, if you
will, notice verse 9, chapter 1, where he said we had the sentence
of death in ourselves, which we may well understand, upon
thinking the possibility that they actually would be martyred
for the sake of the gospel, and that they counted themselves
as good as dead. Then look at verse 10 of chapter
1, Only God delivered them. He raised them up even as it
were out of a death. He not only delivered them from
what's so great a death, but also delivering them. How Paul
suffered for Christ for the sake of the elect. We ought to ever
be appreciative of that and bear it in mind. Then he wants to
explain to them his delay in coming to them that it was not
fickleness on his part. It was not a matter that he had
not been good unto his word. But in 1 Corinthians 4 and verse
19, I will come to you shortly if the Lord wills. 2 Corinthians
1 verse 15, I was minded to come unto you before that you might
have a second benefit, and the margin has it as grace, literally,
that you might have a blessing and a benefit. And then in verse
16, my plan was to pass by your way and have you then send me
on into Macedonia, and you to be helper to send me into Judea. And in 2 Corinthians chapter
1 and verse 23, Had he come then, it would have been with a rod
of chastisement. And he did not mean to make them
sorrowful and thus bring sorrowful sorrow upon himself. And in chapter
2 and verse 1, he would not come to them in heaviness, and he
would not come acting the part of a Lord over their faith and
over their consciousness. Now there's another matter here
in chapter 2 and it's in verse 5 through verse 11 and that is
Paul writes unto them for the restoration of that incestuous
man discussed in chapter 5 of the first epistle. He exhorts
them now to restore, to receive and to love him, for evidently
the man had been granted repentance by God and was worthy of being
forgiven and received into fellowship again. Paul said, do this, lest
Satan should get an advantage of us, for we are not ignorant
of his devices or of his scheme. But now settling in at verse
12, to the end of the chapter. And there are two points that
are made here. And if you'll excuse me, I'm
using the thoughts of John Gill in setting them forth. Point
one, if we notice here, he further refused the charge of any insincerity
in his believing and in his preaching the gospel of the Lord. You have
that in verse 17, the last verse of the chapter, that he preached
Christ with the greatest sincerity and the greatest fidelity and
not for any other motive or purpose. And then point two, he gives
a further reason for his delay in coming to see them in Corinth. That when he came to Troas on
his way under Corinth, hoping to find Titus there. hoping that
he would make a meeting with Titus. What for? To get from
him a first-hand report of the situation and the condition of
the Corinthian church. And yet, while he was in Troas,
hoping to meet Titus, God opened for him a door to preach the
word of God there. God gave him an occasion to preach
the gospel and that so great salvation which is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Some, no doubt, believed and
were converted. Some whose heart the Lord opened
like he did Lydia in Acts chapter 16. He opened their heart to
believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, verse 13, though
a door was opened, an opportunity to preach the gospel and be fruitful
in that place, yet Paul had no peace. or calm in himself. His spirit was yet restless in
spite of the fact. He was not comfortable nor satisfied,
and the reason there is given, finding not Titus, his brother,
in that place. This tells the Corinthian that
though he had not come unto them in person, yet he yearned to
hear of their condition and of their state and yearned to know
an account of that by Titus. Verse 14 now, he drops the matter
of searching and hoping to meet up with Titus. That is, he temporarily
drops or sets aside that subject and the effect of finding him,
but he returns to it again down in chapter 7 and verses 5 through
16 when he met with Titus. But in verse 14, the apostle
of the Gentile begins to praise God for the multitude of triumphs
of the gospel through their ministry and for their victories, gotten
by the aid of God and the grace of God in many places. Notice carefully, Paul speaks
of us. He does not speak singularly
of himself, but of us. He causes us to triumph. He causes us to triumph in Christ. from I to we, he moves here in
this particular place, because as Gil said, he is speaking of
a triumph particular unto ministers of the gospel, and particularly
to his day and situation. That in spite of the wiles of
the devil, in spite of the persecution that came from the Jew, in spite
of false teachers, that were in every place where he preached
the gospel, in spite of the ignorance of the natural man, even in spite
of the physical frailty of Paul's body, and the unimposing appearance
of him as a man, still God caused them to triumph in Christ. So that in every place where
they went and they preached the gospel, God subdued some, having
given them a heart to know Him, that is, God, through His Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And the gospel being the power
of God unto salvation, because in it says Paul, is revealed
a saving righteousness, Romans chapter 1 and verse 16 and 17. Now, there is a very interesting
as well as a picturesque phrase here in this text of the scripture
and it might yield unto us a very profitable word study if we should
turn aside to see it. And that is when Paul says in
verse 14, which always causes us to triumph in Christ. Now you'll see this word triumph
translated also always leading us in triumph in Christ. Who always leads us in his triumph
in Christ. It seems that the word triumph
here, I didn't find it but twice in the New Testament, this exact
word that we have here. And the other place is in Colossians
chapter two and verse 15, where Paul writes of the victory in
Christ's death over all of his spiritual foes. Now, some say
that this was a reference to a practice that once was in vogue
in those days or time. That was when a king or a great
general, having gone forth to war and defeated his enemies
and taken prisoners and spoil from him, then would lead a triumphal
procession of them back into the city, putting them on display. So we read in Colossians 2 and
verse 15, number 1, spoiling Literally, having spoiled or
disarming principalities and powers, he made a public display
of them. He made an example of them. Number two, triumphing over or
literally having triumphed over them in it, or in himself. The Lord triumphed over his enemies
in the cross and in his resurrection. And here in 2 Corinthians chapter
2 and verse 14, Paul is not so much likening himself to one
overcome, and having been taken captive, but he's speaking of
himself as a minister of Christ and others with him who are caused
to triumph as gospel ministers. And the victories in preaching
the gospel in various places unto different people. And see
the word, if you might, always, always causing us to triumph
in Christ, always leading us in triumph. Now, we clearly know
that Paul was often persecuted for preaching Christ and the
gospel and preaching grace and not law. Paul was run out of
town several occasions, taken out under the cover of darkness. He was beaten and even left for
dead. He was cast in prison. He was
shipwrecked. You know those things that he
tells us later in the epistle. How then, in spite of all of
that, of all that he endured, of all that came upon him, how
then does Paul say that God always caused us to triumph in Christ? And in the end of verse 14, as
you look, he uses the words, in every place. He encountered
persecution in every place, and yet he emphasizes that there
were gospel victories as well. causing them to triumph in Christ. We ask ourselves, how? How was
that? What does he refer to as these
glorious victories and triumphs in the Lord Jesus Christ? Gil
lists these, and again, I plagiarized him, triumphs over men and devils,
over the world, over persecutors, over reproaches, over wicked
men, refuting false teachers, preserving the purity of the
gospel, and the highest triumph was the turning of many souls
from darkness unto light by the preaching of the gospel. taking
them from the power of Satan to the power of God. And of course,
we remember that Paul ascribes all of this to his being in Christ. And these triumphs are in and
by Christ. Christ was working in and through
him and other ministry. Now, we want to be careful here. Paul was not a universalist. That is, Paul never expected
to convert all men, every city, or the whole world. Nor did he
ever see any one single city totally and wholly converted. But he told Timothy, 2 Timothy
chapter 2, verse 9 and verse 10, that he endured all that
he suffered, that all those things that he endured for serving and
for preaching Christ, he said, it is for the elect's sake that
they also may obtain that great salvation which is in Christ
Jesus with eternal joy. All that I endure is toward the
sake of the elect. He wrote in Titus chapter 1 and
verse 1, calling himself a servant of God and apostle of Jesus Christ
according to the faith of God's elect. In accordance with the
faith of God's elect. In Acts chapter 18, 9 and 10,
in the tumult in the city of Corinth, the Lord came to Paul
in a vision. And the Lord told Paul in that
vision or dream to preach the word, saying, quote, I have much
people in this city, unquote. and not people already converted,
but people there that he had chosen and ordained that would
be affected by the gospel. And one more example if we might. That's in Acts 13 and verse 44
through verse 48. When the Jews strongly resisted
Paul in preaching the gospel, then we read in verse 48 there,
that as many Gentiles as were ordained to eternal life believed. As many of them as were ordained
to eternal life, they believed. Now, the point is this. In every
place where Paul preached the gospel, the Lord called and converted
some, causing the preachers to triumph in Christ over all of
the obstacles that were there against them. Now, let's notice
something else which Paul writes. in the end of verse 14. And then
in verse 15 and 16, not just making us to triumph in Christ,
but making manifest the savor of His knowledge by or through
us in every place. Now here is another opportunity
for a short word study, as well as the opening up of this metaphor. The word, of course, is the word
savor. Not the word savior, but the
word savor. And it is four times in verse
14 through verse 16 of our text this morning. And it is a word
that comes from the root that means to Make a scent. It means
to scent. That is, an odor. To give off
a smell. And it can be referenced either
to a sweet odor or to a foul odor or smell. And of course,
Paul means, in verse 14, of the Word of God, of the knowledge
of Christ, and salvation, and the preaching of Christ in the
gospel. The word here in the good sense
refers to an aroma or a fragrance, a perfume, a sweet smell. It is the word used in John chapter
12 and verse 3. You remember when a woman named
Mary came and anointed the Lord with costly ointment as she came
and did that, John 12 and verse 3. And we read there that the
house, the room, the place was filled with the aroma of the
ointment. The odor of the ointment wafted
out through the room and it was very evident. In fact, the house
was filled with the odor of the ointment. A good fragrance there
was smelled by those that were present. And here's the point.
It was inhaled even by those who took exception and offense
that the ointment was not put to better use than being rubbed
upon our Lord. And then again, we meet the word
in that great, great passage from Paul in Ephesians chapter
5 and verse 2, where Paul writes of Christ this, giving himself
as an offering and a sacrifice unto God, listen, for a sweet-smelling
savor, or aroma, or fragrant. It is the word that Paul uses
in a metaphorical way in Philippians 4 and verse 18 of the offering
given unto him by the saints, that it was like a sweet odor,
a sweet smell or fragrance. But such language and symbolism
of this savor or odor or fragrance actually has its roots in the
Old Testament system of worship. Such passages, for example, as
Genesis 8, verse 20 and 21, after the flood, Noah built an altar
and he offered clean beasts upon that altar. And we read in Genesis
8 and verse 21, and the Lord smelled a sweet savor, or aroma,
or fragrance, or scent. Now in that scorching flesh and
hide upon those altars. God smelled a sweet aroma, a
sweet fragrance. Therefore, Ephesians 5 and verse
2. In Exodus 29, 18, when Aaron
offered a ram upon the altar, we read, it is a sweet savor,
an offering made by fire unto the Lord. Now, in itself, actually,
the burning flesh was not such a delightful scent. But again,
in Leviticus 1.9 and 1.13, Numbers 15 and verse 3, these are described
as a sweet odor or fragrance unto God or unto the Lord. And remember, if you will, that
cloud of incense that was in the tabernacle on the day that
Aaron went in to make a yearly atonement for the sins of the
people. Leviticus chapter 16, that incense
beaten small, crushed that it might release the fragrance there
in that tabernacle as Aaron came in with the blood of the sacrifice
and put it there upon the mercy seat. Other references would
be Song of Solomon chapter 1 verse 3 and Ezekiel chapter 20 and
verse 41. But back to our text. When Paul
writes in 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 14, that God is making
or is manifesting through us, the savor or the fragrance of
the knowledge of Him in every place. That is, every place where
we preach the gospel, it is likely an illusion that the Jews were
familiar with to the Old Testament practice of something being called
pleasing aroma unto God. And some thought when the Roman
triumphs were made, then flowers and perfume was scattered before
them as they went on their way. So that Paul is saying here,
When Christ is declared, when the gospel is preached of his
death, burial, and resurrection, it is like the dispensing of
a sweet fragrance into the air. When he preached Christ crucified,
buried, and risen, then it was a pleasant odor. a pleasant odor
unto the Lord God. God smelled a sweet odor when
the truth of his Son is declared, as it also is to them that are
enabled to believe by the grace of God using the metaphor of
a sweet savor. Then let's make the connection
between what was the effect of the death of Christ on the cross
before God Almighty. If I might refer to Ephesians
5 and verse 2 again. His death on the cross was an
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor, that
it smells sweet in the nostrils of God. And the preaching of
Christ, that when Paul and others preached Christ, it was as if
they were scattering sweet incense there, so sweet was the knowledge
of him." The knowledge of Christ refers that the knowledge that
is referred to is Christ in the gospel. wherein men are made
wise unto salvation. Though it be counted foolishness
by many, many who hear the gospel do not smell the sweet savor,
but count it as foolishness. Yet to those, and if I may paraphrase,
who have noses to smell, it is indeed a sweet aroma when we
hear of our Christ and his loving death for us upon the cross. Then coming to verse 15 of the
verse that we read this morning, where Paul not only keeps to
the metaphor of the aroma, but he actually expands upon it,
saying in verse 15, for we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ. And let us tread carefully here
with what he has written in considering the ones that Paul is speaking
of when he uses the word we, particularly in this text. We are unto the Lord a sweet
odor. So then, who are the we? Does he mean we Christian? Could
he mean we Jews? Or could he mean we apostles
and ministers of Christ? Which, if any, does the context
favor as we look at it in its context? Now, while the work
of Christ's grace makes each elect to be so in the sight of
God, for we read in Revelation 5 verse 8, of a vial full of
odors, which are the prayers of the saints." Bottled up in
a vial, and these are a sweet odor, and they are the prayers
of the saints. But it seems clear that in the
context, 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 15 favors the view, we,
are Paul and the Apostle, other apostles, and other ministers
of Christ and of the gospel. Now be sure to catch the connection
here that being a sweet saver unto God was the sweet saver
of Christ. That's what was sweet unto God. But then let's perk up our ears
a bit here and hear what Paul said in the end of verse 15. That there being a sweet savor
unto God in Christ was so both to them being saved and to the
ones perishing. Now we might well expect the
first, that Christ in the gospel is a sweet saver unto them that
are being saved. But we might be surprised at
Paul saying that they were a sweet saver also in the case even of
those that are perishing. Paul is not saying that Christ
and the gospel is regarded as a sweet savor by those blind
souls that are perishing. But he is saying that in preaching
the gospel of Christ, they, the apostles and ministers, were
a sweet savor unto God in Christ. In other words, regardless of
the result, when the gospel is proclaimed, whether few or many
believe, whether all or only some believe, even if at times
and places none believe, yet the message of Christ preached
is a sweet savour in the nostrils of God. Of course, when Paul
speaks of this, he applies it only to the unadulterated Word
of God, the true Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, as by what
he writes in verse 16. Such, as Paul charges in verse
17, corrupt the Word of God. The margin has it, deal deceitfully
with the word. For Paul preached Christ in sincerity,
speaking the truth in Christ, doing that in the sight of God,
not trying to deceive men, not trying to be a deceiver. But
then, let's look more at verse 16, which expands upon verse
15, that includes both the saved and the perishing. To the one
that is the perishing, we are a saver of death unto death. To the other, the saver of life
unto life. Calvin wrote, Both savers are
acceptable to God, whether it converts or hardens, whether
to an elect or a reprobate, for the same gospel preached by the
same minister at the same time in the same place can be a savor
of life to one and a savor of death to another. Both are a
sweet savor or odor unto God. We may remind people that when
they hear the gospel, when they hear the gospel and reject it,
that it increases their guilt before the Lord God. Now, I want
to point out two places, two passages in Scripture where this
is illustrated, where Paul said, savor of life to some, savor
of death unto the other. The first one is Christ as the
chief cornerstone, Matthew 21, verse 42 through 44, 1 Peter
chapter 2, verse 6 through 8, and Psalm 118, verse 22 the stone the builders
rejected is Become the head of the corner now this stone which
is Christ is precious unto some and is their foundation while
to others that same stone that is precious to some is a rock
and of stumbling and a rock of offense. And though this stone
was set aside by the builders, Acts 4, verse 11, yet by God
it is made the head of the corner. And he that falls on this stone,
the stone which is Christ, shall be broken. But upon whom the
stone falls, it will grind to powder, it will crush, it will
destroy. And that's Christ, and that's
Christ's words, and it's in Matthew chapter 21. The same stone. to
some precious, to some a tripping stone or a stumbling stone as
it was with Christ among so many of the Jew. Then I'd like to
consider for a minute that great passage from Paul in 1st Corinthians
chapter 1 and verse 18 through 24. In this passage Paul speaks
of two very different views, two very opposing views of the
preaching of the cross or of Christ crucified. In verse 18,
to the ones perishing the cross is foolishness,
while to them which are saved it is the power of God. Now there's a great distinction.
Again you have it in verse 23 and verse 24 of 1 Corinthians
chapter 1, Christ crucified was a stumbling block to the Jew
and foolishness unto the Gentile. While to those that were called,
whether Jew or Gentile, Christ crucified the power of God and
the wisdom of God. To those that believe, to those
that are being saved, to those that are called, Christ is the
wisdom and the power of God. but to those blind, ignorant,
deceived men and women. Foolishness it is unto them,
that they could be saved from their death by one dying upon
the cross. Now in closing, let's look at
the question in the end of verse 16, that very quickly, because
it may seem out of place. Why does he ask it, the Apostle
Paul? There may be a hint in the opening
word, for, in verse 17, if we make the connection. And there
being no chapter division, the subject carries over into what
is marked off in our Bibles as chapter 3. And it is a declaration
of Paul, verse 5 and verse 6, that God has made them able ministers
of the New Testament. That's chapter 3, verse 5, verse
6, 2 Corinthians. I am, he said, an able minister. Who is sufficient for these things? And the implied answer is, I
am, we are. Who is sufficient? Who is competent? Who is able? We are. For we are not as many which
corrupt the word of God, hawking the word of God, peddling the
word of God like trash on the street. Our sufficiency is not
of ourself, it is of God. I close by reminding us, too
many even today, are still impressed with numbers and with eloquence
and with manners and with appearance and education in their preachers. And for their fondness for these
things, for their attachment to these things, they get a corrupted
word of God instead of the truth in many cases. Now, the false
gospel may trick many and does trick many, but the true gospel
is a sweet savor to God and a sweet savor to them that believe. The true gospel will not convert
all. But yet it is a sweet aroma unto
God when it is preached to tell the story of Christ who went
to the cross bearing our sin in the shame, the misery, the
agony, the pain, and the suffering of the cross. When God looked
upon that, he saw or smelled a sweet savor unto himself in
the death of Christ, for he made a perpetuatory offering to God
capable of putting away the sin of the elect. And that was received
by God. It was offered to God. He offered
himself without spot unto God. And that, my brother and sister,
is a sweet odor, a sweet smell in the nostrils of God the Father. And when that gospel is preached,
it is a sweet aroma of Christ in that gospel.