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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. NLT

Someone spoke about ‘our unconscious influence, impregnated with the fragrance of Christ.’ What a beautiful phrase, and an even more wonderful possibility.

I remember being in a cafe in Interlaken, Switzerland, one morning in April 1989. Suddenly a man walked quickly through the place, and as he did so there was a wafting of a powerful fragrance. He must have been wearing a strong cologne and the effect was unmissable! The fragrance seemed to fill the room. The impression he left behind was vividly real. if you had a sense of smell you couldn’t fail to notice him.

Christian witness in the world can be like this. Paul Barnett comments that Paul’s evangelism was ‘effective and noticeable’. He adds that although the word of God is ‘invisible, there is no doubting its effects.’

How remarkable it is that God ‘’uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere’’ (emphasis mine).

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. NIV

We are going to spend a few days in this final paragraph of chapter 2. Before we look at the details, here is a quote from Paul Barnett which will help to give it context:

‘The general picture in verse 14a is of a Roman victory procession, though Paul’s specific point is somewhat uncertain, as witnessed by the variety of suggestions as to the precise meaning. Military leaders were granted a public victory procession (triumphas) through Rome only after winning major battles. The most spectacular procession of the first century was the celebration of the conquest of the Jews when, in AD 71, the Emperor Vespasian and his son Titus rode in chariots through the streets of Rome behind their pathetic prisoners of war. Josephus, the Jewish historian, records this at length, and it is also depicted on the Titus Arch in Rome, where it may still be seen. It is not clear whether Paul sees himself as the conquering general or his captive. A case can be made for both, though the apostle as a captive slave seems more likely.’

You will see that both the ‘New Living Translation’ and the ‘New International Version’ interpret it as the latter, whereas the ‘English Standard Version’, for example, simply reads: ” But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession…” However, as we have already seen, the atmosphere of 2 Corinthians would suggest that Paul appeared more like a captive slave than a winner.

But ‘things are seldom what they seem.’ This man who could be called a loser, really was a winner This was the ‘inner reality’ of his ministry.

But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. NLT

Did Paul eventually meet up with Titus (verse 13), and if so, what happened when he did? For reasons that are not clear, Paul leaves us in suspense. He now engages in a long digression about the apostolic ministry of the new covenant. He does not resume his narrative and tell us what happened in Macedonia until 7:5.

Someone said that when we read the New Testament letters it’s like listening to one half of a telephone conversation. We have to try to piece together what is being said at the other end of the line. Reading between the lines here, we get a sense that Paul had opponents – other preachers who influenced the Corinthians – and who suggested that he was incompetent, always running away from problems, and clearly lacking the power of God. Whereas they were the superstars: charismatic, strong, successful.

A key message of 2 Corinthians, however, is that God’s strength, God’s power is ”made perfect in weakness” (12:9). We follow, and proclaim, a crucified, but risen Saviour and Lord. To be sure, He was crucified in weakness, but He was raised in power and glory. Christian ministry is ‘cruciform’ in shape. It is by way of ‘Good Friday’ that we arrive at ‘Easter Sunday’.

2 Corinthians 2:14a reads like this in the NIV: ”But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession…” The point is that, however it appears, God always leads His people in a victory procession. Paul could say this regardless of recent reversals and problems: rejection in Corinth, expulsion from Ephesus, turmoil in Troas and anxiety in Macedonia. Someone described this as the ‘inner reality’ of Paul’s ministry. If we are led by God, we always move in triumph. But this may not necessarily look like success by worldly standards.

But I had no peace of mind because my dear brother Titus hadn’t yet arrived with a report from you. So I said good-bye and went on to Macedonia to find him. NLT

‘Paul’s personal connectedness was remarkable, especially in view of how seldom he saw some of his friends, and how exalted his thoughts and his position in the church were.’ John Piper

Paul was a ‘team player‘. In the New Testament he mentions the names of numerous individuals he clearly valued. He knew he needed the ministry, the comradeship, the prayers of others. He built partnerships, nurtured teams, working together with others, as well as on his own.

I remember an article written by a well-known evangelist, in which he told, with loving appreciation, how he had been ‘informally mentored’ by an older Christian in his younger years. His mentor was also a well-known Christian leader, and the evangelist described how this much respected man would take him along, in his car, to events where he was speaking. He said much of this ‘informal mentoring’ went on in long conversations, sat in the man’s car at the end of an evening. I imagine how tired the senior Christian in this story must have felt. He carried enormous responsibilities in his work life, and then his ‘free’ time was voluntarily filled with gospel work. But he poured himself out into others. I myself had the privilege of meeting this man and getting to know him just a little. But from my relatively few encounters with him, I could see that he was an encourager and enabler of others.

Who are you building into?