There is never enough time to say all I want to on Sunday mornings. I gave an explanation of this text this morning, but here is another and I believe it is powerful. Please consider it.
2 Corinthians 2:14-16 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?
No doubt the Roman audience that read what Paul wrote would have thought of the elaborate celebration of victory for the conquering
Roman general parading through the streets of Rome. The verb he uses here is interesting to me (students of the Word this is why we take the time to do word studies). Normally, the verb is used
intransitively with the meaning “to celebrate a victory by means of a triumph.” That is how many if not most commentators see this text. But in the rare cases when the verb is used transitively, it means to lead
captives in a triumphal procession. This is the meaning here most likely. While that may seem harsh, let me explain and I think you can see not only the logic, but the beauty of the metaphor.
Paul does not picture himself
as a garlanded, victorious general nor as a foot soldier in God’s army who
shares in the glory of Christ’s triumph. Rather, he pictures himself as a conquered prisoner being put on display. He was previously God’s
enemy but is now defeated (Rom 5:10; see Phil 3:18) and being led to death in a
display that reveals the majesty and power of God and effectively proclaims the
gospel.
Picture the scene that Paul is painting. It is a major celebration (often they could last for three days). A military victory has been won and the spoils of war are paraded before the people. There were platforms that were rolled through the parade with the captives on board. Those that were once mighty and feared are now laughed at and on their way to near certain death.
With that in mind how could Paul see himself like this (or how could I for that matter)?
1. Do you realize that before we are conquered by Christ (saved) we are enemies of Christ? That is the way Paul sees it in Romans 5:10. Paul tried to destroy the Church before Christ conquered him (1 Cor. 15:9; Gal. 1:13). While many of us never tried to destroy the church as Paul did, we have warred against the Kingdom of God through our actions. Keep in mind part of the idea here is that the ultimate authority, ruler, despot, general, or any other title of grander you can think of is Christ.
2. One of the problems that Paul was dealing with was the perception that those in Corinth had of him in regards to his suffering. While the world sees power as those that are wealthy, strong, and victorious in battle; Paul did not fit this picture. Paul suffered humiliation and pain everywhere he went. Did that mean he was the true messenger of God? Of course not, if anything Paul says it proves his commitment to the Gospel. An overall these of this letter is that God's power is seen through our weaknesses. A lesson we can learn from this is, we must be much more concerned with how God sees us than how the world sees us.
3. Paul often calls himself a slave of Christ. That is not a word or an image we like to consider, however it is the one he uses. Yet this slave of Christ was not conquered with military might, but with love. That is the major difference between the ways of the world and ways of Christ.
Paul could say the old man is dead and Christ has given him new life. Martin Luther said: “God creates out of nothing. Therefore until a man is nothing, God can make nothing out of him.”
Having said that there is more to the story. God is gracious and gives us not what we deserve. The captured slaves in the metaphor are being lead to their deaths. At the end of the parade there would be an arena in which the captives would fight wild animals for the enjoyment of the crowd. However, some of the captured would be spared to show the grace of the emperor. Paul knows that Christ is going to rescue him from the fire of Hell. While he may see himself as a conquered slave, this slave shows the mercy of Christ. Thus, Paul is not sad, but he is rejoicing for all to see. This conquering of Christ does not lead to his demise, but to his ultimate victory.
Paul is presenting a beautiful paradox we all should consider. Without being conquered by Christ, we cannot join in the celebration of His victory. Through our righteous suffering for Christ, we are are glorified with the One that suffered for us. Praise be to God that He allows us to be His conquered ones. We serve a mighty and gracious God.
(If you want a fuller explanation read, D. E. Garland or Ben Witherington III sometime, those boys are really smart.)
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