Verse By Verse Devotional On 2 Corinthians By Pastor Jack #59

Why the Corinthians Accepted Paul’s Rebuke

2:12-16 "Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord, I had no rest for my spirit, not finding Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I went on to Macedonia. But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?"

Paul has been reflecting on the unrest he felt in his spirit while in Troas due to anxiety over how the Corinthians would react to his letter (v.12-13). Then as a result of receiving a positive report about the Corinthians from Titus, he gives thanks "to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place." His thanks seem to result from Titus’ positive report, and the “being led in triumph” and the “manifesting the sweet aroma of Christ” are his explanation of their positive response. In other words, the reason they responded positively to his letter was because:

1- God always blesses the work He does through His disciples ("God...always leads us in triumph in Christ"). He does not send them out to do their work in vain. Since Paul was doing the will of Christ, he could expect that God would bless His labors. Though weak and frail, God’s people can expect God’s power to shine through their efforts. He will always lead them "in triumph in Christ."

2- The Corinthians took Paul’s exhortation to heart because those who bear the fragrance of Christ will always be received by those who are being saved. Since Paul truly bore the scent of Christ, and since the Corinthians truly had (through the work of the Holy Spirit) a nose for the aroma of Christ, there was a certain inevitability (because of the grace of God at work in them) that they would sense Christ in the words of Paul.

There are several more lessons here:

A- The fact that the Corinthians were cut to the quick by Paul’s severe letter was a result of God’s work in them. God is the One who "grants repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth" (2Tim.2:25).

B- The fact that the Corinthians repented is for Paul proof that they are truly "being saved." Repentance in response to being shown one’s fault is one important way one demonstrates true faith. If one persists in refusing to repent, it casts doubt on the authenticity of his salvation (Matt.18:15-17).

C- You can tell how a person truly thinks about Christ by how he responds to things which manifest His scent. E.g.:
* If someone claims they love Christ but they hate their Christian brother, they are lying about their love for Christ (1John 4:20). If they truly love Christ, they will love His people.
* If a person claims he loves Christ but does not love His word, he is also a liar (1John 2:3-4).
* If a person says he loves Christ but doesn’t care for the Church, his testimony is suspect, for how can you love the bridegroom and not love His bride? How can You love Christ but care nothing for the one He loves? (Of course, often it is not our Christ-aroma that makes it hard to love us, but the stench which our sin gives off which mixes in with — and sometimes drowns out — the aroma of Christ.)

Dear Father, thank You for the way You bless Your servants in their feeble efforts to minister in Your name. Surely if anything good comes from our service it is from You and not from us. in ourselves we are not able to manifest the sweet aroma of Christ. On our own, we are completely unable to walk in triumph. But You are our competence and our adequacy, O Lord. You are our victory, our triumph, our life, our sweet aroma and our joyful song. Fill us with your scent, so that from the rising of the sun till the time that it goes down, the name of the Lord may be praised!