“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 Cor. 2:14-16 ESV)
This is a powerful passage. It needs to be explained first of all in terms of Old Testament concepts and then in terms of the cultural world of the New Testament. Without these we may simply think that this passage is about nice smells, something which does not appear to have much significance. However, the power of these things is so great that Paul was led to ask, who is sufficient for these things?
To begin with the two words used in the passage, ‘fragrance’ (osmē) and ‘aroma’ (euōdia) have slightly different nuances. They are often used together, but not always. The Old Testament (LXX – Greek translation of the Hebrew) uses the two words together: a ‘fragrance of aroma’. When used like this it denotes the pleasant and acceptable smell which goes up to God when a pleasing sacrifice is made. “[A]nd burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the LORD. It is a pleasing aroma [= a fragrance of aroma], a food offering to the LORD” (Exod. 29:18 ESV). Whenever the word ‘aroma’ (euōdia) is used it is in the context of sacrifice. When the word ‘fragrance’ (osmē) appears it is sometimes in the context of sacrifice and sometimes simply used to denote a smell of some kind, either good or bad.
“For we are the aroma of Christ to God.” This is a statement about sacrifice. It is first true of Jesus: “and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma” (Eph. 5:2 NAS). In this passage the expression ‘fragrance of aroma’ is used. In other words, when Jesus gave himself up for us and went to the cross to die, he was a sacrifice which gave off a pleasing aroma to God, just as in the sacrifices of the Old Testament. This pleasing aroma is clearly metaphorical, not literal. What this means for believers is that we too are a pleasing aroma to God. This is of course not done by ourselves; we are the aroma of Christ to God.
This sacrifice which pleases God requires a context. The context is found in Paul’s statement: “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession.” The “triumphal procession” is NOT, as I first thought, about believers living lives of triumph. It is, rather, the opposite. When a Roman emperor conquered a people or won a battle, he would hold a triumphal procession in which he led his prisoners, usually in chains, for the public to view. When Paul says that God leads us in triumphal procession, he is saying that as believers we are the ones who are prisoners in chains, having been captured by the emperor Jesus. Elsewhere Paul calls himself “the prisoner of Christ Jesus” (Eph 3:1; 4:1). Just as Jesus became an offering which sent up a pleasing aroma to God when he went to the cross to suffer and die, so too the believer becomes a pleasing aroma to God as he/she is “the prisoner of Christ Jesus”, given over in body and soul to the service of the Lord Jesus. This may well involve humiliation, suffering or death.
It is, then, as this pleasing sacrifice, that believers spread the fragrance of Christ to the world. “But thanks be to God, who … 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.” As Christians are led in triumphal procession as prisoners of Jesus, this is a pleasing sacrifice to God and it is seen by the world – those who are being saved and those who are perishing. The fact that the Christian is a prisoner of Christ and suffers in the footsteps of Jesus is perceived in two different ways: “to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.” Here Paul has switched to a different word – fragrance – which can be a good smell or a bad smell. It may or may not have to do with sacrifice.
For those who are being saved the fragrance is sweet – from life to life. Those who are being saved see in the suffering and obedience of the believer a reflection of the cross of Christ, who is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption (1 Cor 1:30). For those who are being saved the fragrance of obedience and walking with Jesus through trials and the opposition of the unbelieving world is a pleasant smell, which is attractive. The saying, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church” is appropriate here. As Christians are given to suffer for Jesus, many will come to see that a life given over to Jesus is a life worth living and something worth dying for. This is the pleasant smell, the smell of life.
For those who are perishing the fragrance is unpleasant – from death to death. For those who are perishing the cross is foolishness (1 Cor 1:18). They see the suffering of Christians and perceive this as weakness and folly. Why suffer when it is possible to do otherwise. What is the point? Weakness gives opportunity for other people to exploit you. Death looks like death and they cannot see life. It takes the working of the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of those who are perishing so that they can see the glory of the crucified one (1 Cor 2:6-10). But regardless of how people perceive the Christian who is in chains as a prisoner of Christ, that person is certainly the aroma of Christ to God, a pleasing sacrifice.
But, “Who is sufficient for these things?” A calling such as this, to be an acceptable sacrifice to God and to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of God to the world, is something which none of us are sufficient for. It is a humbling thing to even imagine that our God would call us to something such as this. But, although we have no sufficiency in ourselves, as with every aspect of the Christian life, sufficiency is a gift. “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency from God, who has made us sufficient 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 Cor. 3:5-6 ESV).
Thanks be to God.