2 Corinthians 2:14-17

Rachel Workman: ¹⁴ But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. ¹⁵ Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. ¹⁶ To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this? A couple of things stood out to me in this letter. I love the phrase of living a life that has a fragrance of Christ. I like to think my life does have a sweet fragrance of Christ in it. I also liked how Paul said there are those who are saved and then those who are perishing. For the unsaved perish everyday but for those of us who are saved everyday is a step closer to salvation and our new life with Christ.
¹⁷ You see, we are not like the many hucksters^[a] who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us.

____________________________________________________________________________________

John Burnett:   But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.¹⁵ For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. ¹⁶ To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? ¹⁷ Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.  When I visualize God wafting my aroma, I cringe to think about what he smells at times.  Other times, in my self-righteousness I think I smell like roses.  Thankfully, not only does He see through Christ colored glasses, He smells me as one with Christ’s aroma.  A Bride with the perfume of Christ.

Verse 17 hits home as Crefflo Dollar has started his fundraising campaign for his new jet airplane.  There are few on TV who speak before God with sincerity.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Allen Michaels:  ¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. ¹⁵ For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. ¹⁶ To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? When Christians preach the gospel, it is good news to some and repulsive news to others. Believers recognize the life-giving fragrance of the message. To nonbelievers, however, it smells foul, like death—their own. ¹⁷ Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God. Some of the preachers in Paul’s day were nothing more than “peddlers” of God’s word, much like the TV Evangelists and Mega Church leaders of today. They just preached without understanding God’s message or cared about what happened to those listening. They weren’t concerned about furthering God’s kingdom—they just wanted money…just like today. Those who truly speak for God have sincerity and integrity, and will never speak for selfish reasons.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Tomorrow's reading for 2 Corinthians 3:1-6

3 Are we beginning to praise ourselves again? Are we like others, who need to bring you letters of recommendation, or who ask you to write such letters on their behalf? Surely not! ² The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our^[a] hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. ³ Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.
⁴ We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. ⁵ It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. ⁶ He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.