Our Triumph in Christ

Our Ministry for the Lord (2 Cor 2:14-3:11)

As a Savor to Both Saint and Sinner (2 Cor 2:14-17)

2 Corinthians 2:14–17 NKJV

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

Paul begins this section by offering praise and thanks to God for the “TRIUMPH” we have in Christ! This is an interesting word that would have brought to mind a Roman military triumphal procession.

A “TRIUMPH” was the highest honor the Roman Senate could give a conquering general. For a general to receive this award he would have had to:

Won a decisive victory on foreign soil

Killed at least 5,000 enemies

Brought an end to the war

And gained territory for Rome

In this analogy the LORD JESUS CHRIST is the conquering general over death, hell, and the grave! He has defeated the enemy and rescued lost souls from bondage. You and I are now part of that victorious army following our Commander in Chief. We do not fight FOR victory, but we FIGHT FROM VICTORY!

A second thing we need to take note of this the idea that “through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” (v. 14)

During these Roman victory parades incense and spices would be burned along the route.

Verse 15: This FRAGRANCE has different effects upon the audience. Believers in Christ are an AROMA or a FRAGRANCE TO GOD...this fragrance spreads to “those who are being saved” as well as “those who are perishing.”

As a result this fragrance has a different upon those who are there. Upon the Roman citizens this was a fragrance that represented a great victory. Upon the defeated army this was a fragrance that represented DEFEAT!

Verse 16: The same is true spiritually! The “fragrance of Christ” that is coming from our lives is a blessing and a sweet reminder of eternal life and spiritual victory! But for those who reject the Gospel, this is a fragrance of death and defeat. The Gospel serves as a reminder of freedom for those who embrace it and a reminder of condemnation for those who reject it!

At the end of verse 16...Paul asks a powerful question: “Who is sufficient for these things?” The answer is obvious. None of us are sufficient, in and of ourselves, to be these kind of minsters that diffuse the fragrance of Christ in the world in which we live. The fragrance doesn’t come from us, but from Him!

Verse 17: Sadly verse 17 reminds us that there are those who are trying to replicate this fragrance for their own personal gain and benefit. Paul says they “peddle” the Word of God:

Those that “preach for profit”...they were diluting and compromising the Gospel. This refers to dishonest merchants who would dilute what they were selling and hide bad fruit under good fruit to deceive buyers into thinking they were getting one thing when in reality they were getting another.

Paul rejects this mentality and preaches God’s Word with SINCERITY, remembering that not only does he have an audience with people, but most importantly GOD IS LISTENING!

Our Ministry As a Validation to the Gospel (2 Cor 3:1-3)

2 Corinthians 3:1–3 NKJV

Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

False teachers during this time would take “documentation”...letters of recommendation from others that would potentially allow them to infiltrate the church to peddle this diluted, insincere, incorrect message.

Paul did not carry these “letters of recommendation” from men. He carried something more important! The Corinthian church itself served as an “epistle (letter) written in our hearts, known and read by all men.”

The false teachers had letters written in ink...Paul’s letter was written by the “Spirit of the living God.”

The LAW that these false teachers were promoting for salvation were written on tablets of stone, whereas the message Paul was proclaiming had been written on human hearts.

The false teachers were suggesting that the Law and other things could change people’s destiny, but Paul was proclaiming that only CHRIST can change people’s destiny.

Paul will now deal more about this NEW COVENANT that he has been proclaiming in the next section...

Our Ministry As Ministers of the New Covenant (2 Cor 3:4-11)

Notice 2 Corinthians 3:4-6

2 Corinthians 3:4–6 NKJV

And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Just as none of us are SUFFICIENT to produce the fragrance of Christ on our own, Paul readily confesses that he is insufficient himself. He acknowledges that the deliverance of the message of the New Covenant only comes from the inworking power of God! His bold confidence does not come from his flesh, but from the power of the Word of God he is proclaiming and the enabling Spirit of God that lives in him. He confesses he is completely dependent upon the divine resources available to him...and we are too!

The false teachers were focused on the “letter of the Law” which brings NO HOPE, only death, while the Paul, who was focused on the New Covenant were pointing people to that which gives LIFE—not the letter but the SPIRIT!

Notice now 2 Corinthians 3:7-11

2 Corinthians 3:7–11 NKJV

But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.

As this section closes discussing what Paul calls “the ministry of death.” The ministry of death refers to the Law that was given. The Law reveals our condemnation and separation from the Lord.

In Galatians we find:

the Law cannot justify the lost sinner

the Law cannot give the sinner righteousness

the Law cannot give the sinner the Holy Spirit

the Law cannot give the sinner an inheritance

the Law cannot give the sinner life or freedom

But Paul said even this ministry was glorious in the sense that when Moses went up to receive the Law and spent time in the presence of God that he came off the mountain with a radiant and shining countenance. It was a glorious administration because of WHERE it came from.

So if the ministry that brought death and condemnation was glorious, HOW MUCH MORE GLORIOUS IS THE ADMINSTRATION THAT BROUGHT THE SPIRIT AND RIGHTEOUSNESS! The Old Covenant brought death, whereas the New Covenant brought the LIFE GIVING SPIRIT and RIGHTEOUSNESS! The New Covenant is so glorious, the Old Covenant pales in comparison!

Now we move to...

Our Transformation by the Lord (2 Cor 3:12-18)

The Intimacy of the New Covenant and its Contrast (2 Cor 3:12-16)

2 Corinthians 3:12–16 NKJV

Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech—unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

Not only did the Old Covenant bring death and condemnation it also brought separation. Moses had to hide his face for a time because the glory of the event began to fade. The wonderful news is that the glory of the New Covenant never fades!

Warren Wiersbe says this about this passage of Scripture:

The veil prevented the people from seeing the “finish” of the glory as it faded away. But the veil also prevented them from understanding the “purpose” behind the fading glory. The Law had just been instituted, and the people were not ready to be told that this glorious system was only temporary. The truth that the covenant of Law was a preparation for something greater was not yet made known to them.

When Jews read the OT they have glimpses of God’s glory but without the New Covenant they are old glimpses. Christ reveals God’s glory in ways Moses never could! The glory of Moses and the Old Covenant caused the Jewish people to be blinded by their own religion...they couldn’t see the New because they were so focused on the Old.

As we close notice how we are transformed by...

Becoming Like Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:17-18)

2 Corinthians 3:17–18 NKJV

Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

While the Law brought condemnation and revealed our bondage to sin, the Spirit of the Lord brought liberty. Looking into the perfect Law of Liberty (the Lord Jesus) will enable us to be TRANSFORMED (metamorphosis) into His image from glory to glory.

Tony Evans put it this way:

you don’t actually transform yourself. Notice that Paul says we are “being transformed.” God accomplishes the transformation. But as Moses climbed the mountain to go where he could access God’s glow, we must position ourselves so that the Lord can do his work in us. We are transformed as the Holy Spirit uses our exposure, openness, and obedience to the Word of God (i.e., the mirror, 3:18; see Jas 1:21–25) to grow us from one level of spiritual development to the next