I hope you will follow along
in your Bible, or at least listen carefully as I speak to you this
morning from the book of 2 Corinthians 2. While you are turning, let
me say this. All who claim to believe this
book believe that the one who wrote this epistle, the Apostle
Paul, was no doubt a true man sent by God. Everyone will confess
that he was a true minister of Christ. Well, are there any in
our day? Are there any true men sent by
God? True ministers of Christ? There
are no more apostles. That's certain. Scriptures teaches
that clearly. There are no more apostles, but
Scripture says, God hath not left himself without a witness
in every generation and every day. Well, so many claim to be
men sent by God, even women. So many claim to be, and so many
seem to be. But as Christ said, and the apostles
repeated it, many false prophets are gone out into the world.
false apostles, Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11, Satan's ministers
have transformed themselves into false apostles, ministers of
righteousness. Well, the things which Paul says
here in 2 Corinthians 2 concerning himself and the other true apostles
here in 2 Corinthians 2, these things which he applies to himself
and the other true apostles are also true of every true minister
of the gospel. And you and I need to try these
fellows by this word, as John told us to do in 1 John 4. Try
the spirits, or that is, the preachers, to see if they are
from God. Well, these things which Paul
applies to himself and that is which God's word here applies
to the apostle and the other true ones, also applies to every
true preacher of the gospel. Listen carefully. Verse 14, I
read, Now thanks be unto God which always causeth us to triumph
in Christ. Thank God, he says, to paraphrase,
that he always causes us to triumph, or that is, makes us a success
in Christ. A success, Paul? A success? Why, you were beheaded for preaching
the truth. The apostles, all of them, were
beaten within an inch of their lives, stoned, hated, maligned. Eventually, all of them were
killed, all but John. That is, all of them were killed,
and the church dispersed, scattered everywhere. What do you mean,
always triumph in Christ? Well, in Christ, Paul said, in,
and this is common language of the Apostle throughout his epistles,
in Christ. That is, in God's eternal purpose,
which was He purposed in Christ before the foundation of the
world. That purpose to save a people in Christ, that is, by Christ. A people he chose, whom he gave
to Christ in that covenant before the world. And whom Christ came
down to this earth to save, to represent, to give his righteousness
and shed his blood for the remission of their sins. Those people who
were found in Christ on Calvary's tree, and thus punished for their
sins and made righteous in Christ, will one day be found in Christ,
that is, in that great day, that appearing of Christ will be found
in Christ, eternally safe and saved. His people, the sheep,
the elect, will be brought in will hear, will believe, and
love the truth, though it seems like the whole world hates it
and denies it. Yet God's people, true people,
in Christ will be brought to Christ. Thank God, Paul says,
in spite of what the whole world says and believes and what they
hate that is the truth. Thank God He always causes us
to triumph, a success in His purpose in Christ. And makes
manifest, I read verse 14, and maketh manifest the savor of
His knowledge, that is Christ's knowledge, by us, by us apostles
and true preachers in every place. Let me read it again. Thanks
be unto God who always causes us to triumph in Christ. and maketh manifest the savour
of his knowledge, Christ's knowledge, by us in every place." Thank
God! He makes clear the savour of
Christ's knowledge by us in every place. It is clear to God's called
people, to God's elect, to God's people. It is made clear eventually,
to them made clear, the savour of the knowledge of Christ. The
person and the work of Jesus Christ is made clear. It stands
out from all the rest when they hear that glorious message or
call of Christ and see the glory of Christ. The infinitely high
and amazing knowledge of the knowledge of the Most High God,
the glorious gospel of the blessed God, Scripture says, the amazing
mind, will, purpose, and sovereign work of the triune God in ordaining,
performing, and fulfilling all things according to that all-wise
will and purpose in Christ. is knowledge vastly superior
to the shallow concept which is called Christianity today. But it is clearly heard and clearly
revealed in every pulpit where a true preacher of that glorious
gospel stands to proclaim it. And every one of them are like
Stephen, whom the smartest, most intelligent men of their day
are not able to resist the wisdom and spirit by which they speak.
Yes, God makes manifest, very clear, the savor of his glorious
knowledge, the glorious gospel of the Son of God by them in
every place, that is, every place where God sends them. No, that
glorious knowledge is not heard in every place throughout the
land, but in few places. Nevertheless, whatever place
which God has chosen to put His name there and show forth His
Shekinah glory, the savor of the knowledge, the infinite knowledge
and wisdom of the Most High Son of God is very clear. It is clearly
heard, and the difference is clearly seen. by all those who
see and hear it. And he says in verse 15, we are
unto God. We are unto God a sweet savor
of Christ. A sweet savor of Christ. Unto God, he says, we are a sweet
smell of Christ. We smell good to Christ or to
God. A smell of Christ. Now this earth,
listen to me, this earth with its phony religion, religions,
with all of its pretended priests who bring forth their strange
incense. And for those of you who know
something about the Bible, you can hear what I'm saying is a
paraphrase of what went on In the Old Testament, bringing of
strange incense. This world, it is phony religions
and pretended priests with all their strange incense and all
the abominable practices that goes on in the name of God. All the lies on some Jesus, or
concerning some Jesus, who is supposed to be the Son of God,
but yet is a pathetic failure. Not the sovereign, all-powerful
Son of the Most High God. sitting on a throne reigning
and ruling, but one hanging over a banister hoping men will let
him have his way. All those lies about some Jesus
is a stench in the nostrils of the Most High God of Heaven.
All this stuff is a stench in the nostrils of the God of the
Bible. But those who truly set forth
His glory, His majesty, His sovereign power, His righteousness, His
effectual, eternally redeeming blood, all those are a sweet
smell to God Almighty. Now, in the saved and the lost,
there are two responses to this. Right now, as I speak. There are two responses to what
everything has been said thus far and everything that I'm reading. It has always been this way,
always will be. Wheat and tares, sheep and goats.
Believe, some believe, some don't. Well, he says here in verse 16,
to the one we're the saver of death unto death. To the dead,
that is, they wish true preachers were dead. And that's what they
did to the apostles. They killed them all. That's
what they did to the prophets. They killed them all. Why do
people think that mankind is different now, all of a sudden? That mankind just loves the God
of the Bible, loves the truth, and loves the preachers of the
truth. Why? They don't. Man hasn't changed. God hasn't
changed. Truth hasn't changed. Same God
of the New Testament as the Old. He said, I change not. Therefore,
you sons of Jacob are not consumed. To the dead, He says, we are
a saver of death unto death. To the dead, those who have no
eyes to see the glory, the essential glory of God, those who have
no ears to hear the voice of the Son of God, who do not like
the sound of this sovereign mercy and grace. Those who have no
heart to receive the truth, but rather hold the truth in unrighteousness. Those who have no heart for the
true glory of the Son of God, that is His essential glory,
which is His sovereign power and absolute salvation, His atonement,
not an attemptment Those who truly have a heart for His atonement,
that love the sound of it, but those dead to that sound, stop
their ears as they did when the apostles preached it. Stop their
ears as they did when the prophets preached it, and cry out away
with that. But verse 16, he says, we are
a saver of life unto the other, a saver of life unto life. To
true sinners awakened by the Spirit of God, true sinners who
have been made to know what they are before a holy God, the sound
of mercy, sovereign mercy is sweet indeed. To true sinners,
the sound of grace that is an absolute sovereign gift bestowed
is grace indeed, yea, amazing grace. To poor, needy sinners,
the gospel of the message of Christ's imputed righteousness
to their account is a savor of life. Words of life. The message
of blood that actually puts away their sin. Not make a down payment,
but actually puts them away without any help from them. Paid all
their debt. Oh, that's sweet. savor indeed. To guilty death row sinners,
a sound of sovereign electing mercy, love and grace is a joyful
sound indeed. A savory thing to the hungry
and thirsty. And he says, who is sufficient
for these things? No man is, but he said in chapter
three, our sufficiencies of God. God makes it sufficient. Though
we have this treasure in earthen vessels, poor fellows trying
to Tell the glory of God, yet God makes it manifest. And he
says in verse 17, in closing, we're not as many, so very many,
which corrupt the Word of God, that is, deal deceitfully with
it, keep it back from the people, twist it, corrupt it, pervert
it, translate it away, don't tell what it's saying. and say
what is not saying, but as of sincerity, that is, sincerely
in it for the glory of God, as of God, sent by God, in the sight
of God. That's who the true preacher
is aware of, not who the people he's preaching to, but he's more
aware of God's ear than the ear of man. He said we speak of Christ. Christ is our message. God demands
it. Sinners need to hear him. And
it's the only message there is. Well, try them. Try them all. Try them all. By this word. Until next Sunday. Good day.