 For I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you. 2 For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? 3 And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. 4 For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.
Forgive the Sinner 5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ,11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. Triumph in Christ 12 When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, 13 my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia. 14 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. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. Meditation The resurrection of Jesus from the grave assures victory for all who trust in His work, a sweet smell of God’s sovereignty no matter what situation He has put us in. Paul anchors his apostolic agenda in the metaphor of the aroma of Christ rooted in the “triumphal procession” of Roman military parades (14). Roman military returning from victory marched through streets with abundant garlands of flowers, carried with incense burning. The conclusion of the procession was the execution of captives, so the smell of incense and flowers was the smell of victory for the Romans but the smell of death to their enemies. Paul defends his decision to not return to Corinth (1-4) and demands the church apply the gospel through forgiving and comforting a repentant sinner (5-11) before he doubles down on the implication of traveling in Christ’s triumphal procession (12-17). The perceived problems of our plans pale in comparison to our participation in the resurrection reality of Christ’s victory march. The fragrance of Christ’s victory is the fragrance of life or death, your perspective is dependent on your position in Christ. To believers, the smell of victory is sweet. To those who reject Jesus and the power of His work, the smell is death. Our plans change, but the objective reality of Christ’s victory remains the same. This means servants of Christ follow the providence of Christ knowing we are commissioned by Christ (17). When the parade of His providence does not go where we expect, Christians continue walking in victory. Richly Dwelling -Do you have trouble trusting the victory march of God’s parade of providence when your plans change? Why or why not? -Rather than embracing your commissioning from Christ as His disciple, dutifully serving at His delight and pleasure, where does your attitude default to? -The victory of Jesus leads us to celebration, a sweet aroma, no matter what our situation. HOW can you celebrate where God has you by embracing the sweet smell of Christ’s victory in service to Him? Be specific. Key Verse 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life… Comments are closed.
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