The Aroma of Glory

“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?” -2 Corinthians 2:14-16

It is a divisive smell, the aroma of Christ. What an interesting way for Paul to describe the ministry to which he was called; a calling that is the same for we who are in Christ today. In the days of Paul, a conquering army would hold parades to put on display their spoils of victory – many of those parades were accompanied by the burning of incense to their gods. To the victors, the incense was the smell of victory. To the defeated and captured foe, it was the smell of impending slavery or death.

In the death and resurrection of Christ, there is victory for the believer – victory over the power and the payment of sin; victory over the enemy of our souls, Satan; victory that sets us free to an eternal hope of glory – no longer are we bound to seek only fleeting pleasures that will lead to eternal death. Romans 8 describes beautifully what hope the believer in Christ has. The believer exists on this earth as an ambassador for Jesus, God making His appeal to the world through us (2 Cor 5:18-21). And in every single act we do, we are to give off the aroma of victory in Christ, the aroma of the glory of God in the face of Jesus.

But just as in the parades of Paul’s time, this aroma has a different “smell” to different people. To those who are being saved we are the aroma of life, because through our lives and words (though we are simply jars of clay in which the true Treasure is contained – 2 Cor 4:7) they are enabled to see the greatness of Jesus. At our guidance, they behold His face and are transformed by His mercy and grace (2 Cor 4:6). We are blessed to be a part of this work of God, as the ones who emit the fragrance of the Savior by the way we speak, the way we act, the way we serve – always with the Gospel ready on our lips. However, to those who are perishing, we are the aroma of death. Is it because we are doing something wrong? Is there insufficiency in the message of Christ? No! It is because the veil over their minds has not been lifted, they are not able to see the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus (2 Cor. 4:3-4). Some people see that others are not responding to their best attempts to share the gospel in word and deed, so they decide to change the message to cater to those people. This is wrong! The Word of God promises us that there will be people who smell our aroma and hate it and us, because it reminds them of the thing that they are trying so desperately to oppress, the knowledge of a death sentence against them. It reminds them of their empty pursuit of seeking happiness. So they lash out and hate the ones who give the fragrance. The point? It is a testimony of Christ’s work in us if we are living and preaching the gospel message, and some are being saved while others reject it and us. To be hated is not a sign of failure, to be followed is not a sign of success. Are we pointing people to the glory of God in the face of Jesus in both word and deed? This is the mark of valuable ministry.

“Who is sufficient for these things?” Paul ends that passage with this question. Who is sufficient to bring such an aroma? Who is sufficient to endure its results? Our answer comes a few verses later:

“Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” -2 Corinthians 3:4-6

Our sufficiency, our ability to be the aroma of Christ, comes not from ourselves. For surely we would wilt under the heat of persecution, surely we would boast when things go well. We are insufficient on all sides! But our Father, our Savior, they are all sufficient! And we are blessed to be able to contain such a glorious treasure in our dying frames! Let us go out in their strength spreading a fragrant aroma – the aroma of life, the aroma of death, the aroma of Glory!