Fragrance of Christ in You

FROM: APRIL 1, 2020

TOPIC: "Fragrance of Christ in You" 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 Someone said:“Wherever the disciples went, men knew Jesus better; Wherever they arrived THE MASTERS CHARMING CHARACTER became more evident (visible, manifested). Men became aware of A SUBTLE AROMA that permeated the air and that attracted them to the Man of Nazareth.” My blessed Jesus!

I. Paul shows us here THAT HE WAS NOT DEFEATED!

A. Wherever he went serving Christ, there was victory!

1. From the heart, Paul says: (Vs. 14) "But thanks be to God, who ALWAYS leads us in triumphal in Christ..." He speaks of the triumph of Jesus in his death. The triumphant Christ conquered and took Paul and made him his servant, his slave!

2. Paul joyfully considers himself as of one of the prisoners of Christ, led in triumph for the glory of Christ.

3. What Paul preached was LIKE THE PERFUME OF THE INCENSE (AROMA), blown by the wind everywhere!

4. Let us see Jesus marching as the defeater of the world and leading the Apostle in His parade! And the glorious thing is that you are also in that parade of triumph of Jesus on the Cross!

5. EVERY PLACE WHERE THE LORD GOES, THROUGH HIS SERVANTS, THERE IS VICTORY!

6. The smell of the knowledge of Christ was spread everywhere by Paul. "...and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him." This is with every believer!

7. Paul does not think that Jesus suffered a defeat by dying in his war against Satan, but that the Lord has achieved a victory by rising and that PAUL SHARES IT AND ALSO YOU AND ME!

B. (Vs. 15) "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing..." For God we are PLEASANT FRAGRANCE OF CHRIST.

1. Paul observes that the preaching of the gospel has a double effect, it means one thing among THOSE WHO ARE SAVED and another very different among THOSE WHO ARE LOST.

2. For those who accept Him as their Lord and Savior, the faith in Him is a pledge (a guarantee) of a glorious future! For the others, who reject Him, their disbelief and rejection a harbinger (a future fact) of condemnation!

3. But in both cases God is glorified, because for Him we are: ODOR OF GRACE in one case (for those who earn salvation) and ODOR OF JUSTICE in the other case (for those who are lost condemned).

4. When we are told that for us who believe can be the aroma of Christ for God, that will mean that we can live in such a way that with our conduct and testimony we remind God the Father of what Jesus was in His life in the flesh. It is as if, "when God contemplates us day to day, he sees Jesus in us", and thus we remind the Father of that Blessed Life that was voluntarily given to him as an offering and sacrifice, as a pleasant aroma (Meyer).

5. You are a pleasant odor of Christ to God!

C. (Vs. 16) For the saved we are: "...fragrance of life for life...", but for those who perish we are: "...smell of death for death."

1. THE REFRESHING FRAGRANCE OF LIFE ITSELF! We bring life to those who believe. And we bring THE DEADLY SMELL OF CONDEMNATION to those who refuse to believe Christ!

2. This double effect is beautifully illustrated in an incident in the Old Testament: When God’s ark was taken by the Philistines and, in one case caused death and destruction while standing among them (1 Samuel 5:1-12). But in the second case, when returned to the house of Obed-Edom, it brought blessing and prosperity for him and his house (2 Samuel 6:11). In this aspect we can be compared to the ark, we are the smell of death for death to some and to others, the smell of life for life!

3. Paul thinks and says: (Vs. 16) "And who is equal to such a task?" Who is qualified?

4. Let us be careful in our lives of what we pretend to know, say and discuss. He who is able to learn directly from God will have a whole life to enrich it in the knowledge of God, THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT! We are to some, smell of death for death, and others, smell of life for life, but who is sufficient? Only with the power and help of the Holy Spirit is this possible!

5. As Paul contemplates the immense responsibility of preaching the message, which has such enormous consequences, he cries: "AND FOR THESE THINGS, WHO IS QUALIFIED?"

D. (Vs. 17) "We are." "Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God, with sincerity, like men sent from God."

1. For these things, who is qualified? We are, because we are not like the majority who illegally traffic the Word of God! The false teachers mixed law and grace.

2. Paul carried the Word with sincerity, transparency, he was sincere and frank. There were no tricks, everything was wide open. Someone said, "Paul’s phrases were as good as the bottom of the box as they were on top of it!"

3. His service was "like on behalf of God", all he said was "on behalf of God", GOD WAS THE SOURCE OF HIS MESSAGE!

4. Before God, the apostle served the Lord! AWARE THAT GOD WAS ALWAYS, CONTEMPLATING HIM! Hallelujah! Paul had a high sense of responsibility towards God and realized that NOTHING COULD BE HIDDEN BEFORE GOD'S SIGHT!

5. We speak in Christ, in the name of Christ, with the authority of Christ and as spokesmen for Christ. And you, DO YOU HAVE THE FRAGRANCE OF CHRIST IN YOU? Amen.