AROMA OF CHRIST

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.” 2 Corinthians 2:14

Over the past four weeks, we have been looking at the Marks of the Church. The first week we looked at Acts 2:42-47 and learned that the early church was:

Ø A Learning Church

Ø A Fellowshipping Church

Ø A Praying Church

Ø A Worshiping Church

Ø A Happening Church

Ø A Sharing Church

Ø A Happy Church

Ø A Worshipping Church

V The early church was devoted to the apostle’s teaching --- they were a learning church.

V They were devoted to fellowship which included the breaking of bread and sharing what they had in common.

V They were a worshipping church with prayer, awe, wonders and signs.

V They were a joyful, attractive and growing church through their witness.

V They were a teaching and learning church that was devoted to fellowship, worship and witness.

The second week we looked at John chapter 4 where Jesus met the woman at the well and he taught her that worship is not about a place but a person. We talked about the early sign of Christianity: the ichthys, the sign of the fish. The Greek letters of word for fish --- Jesus Christ God’s Son Savior. Worship is about a person not a place.

Last week, we looked at Jeremiah 29 and learned that the church is to a living letter of God’s love read by all.

This week, we turn back to our reading in 2 Corinthians. Paul is explaining to the church in Corinth that they are to be the aroma of Christ.

Let us turn to God’s Word. Before we do, let us come to the Lord in prayer. “Lord, God of all grace, let us hear Your Living Words of life this morning. Let them dwell in our hearts. May we become the aroma of Christ for those near us and also to this world. Amen.”

I am going to pass out some tortillas. Would you please break off a piece and hold on to it for the message? Don’t eat it! We are going to use it at the close of the service.

2 Corinthians 2:14-3:3

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of 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, like men sent from God. Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.[i]

Have you ever wondered what “the aroma of Christ” would smell like?

I ran across a new candle called “His Essence” and it claims to give you the fragrance of Christ. Bob and Karen Tosterud have the perfect solution: a candle that not only reminds you of Jesus, but actually smells like Jesus. While other candles offer the aromas of fruit or spices, the Tosteruds have invented a candle that, when lit, emanates with the fragrance of Christ himself — hence the name, “His Essence.” Call it “WWJSL”: What Would Jesus Smell Like? The Tosterund would say, “visit the Holy Land and you can walk where Jesus walked; buy this candle and you can smell like Jesus smelled.” “We see it as a ministry,” says Bob, who along with Karen came up with the idea when they read a passage from Psalm 45, a wedding psalm, which refers to the bridegroom as having robes that are “fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia” (45:8). The Tosteruds interpret this passage as a messianic psalm that describes the olfactory essence of Jesus when he returns. Wondering what a combination of myrrh, aloe and cassia would smell like, the South Dakota couple combined these oil scents and, with the help of a friend who is a candlemaker, began to produce “His Essence” candles as a business and ministry venture. Says Karen, “We wanted people to be able to experience Christ in new ways and to be able to read a Bible and have that scent and the candle as a reminder that he is with us all the time.” To which Bob adds, “You can’t see him and you can’t touch him. This is a situation where you may be able to sense him by smelling. And it provides a really new dimension to one’s experience with Jesus.” [ii] If you’re rolling your eyes right now, just remember that these folks have at least been reading their Bible and want others to as well--which, for them, is really the whole point of the exercise. Regardless of the sense we make out of this scented candle, what comes to your mind when Paul talks about the aroma and fragrance of Christ?

This brought me to ask an early “so what” question. If we’re really wanting to experience Christ in our midst, what should we be sniffing around for? If we really wanted to smell Christ in the midst of our world, what would he smell like. What should we smell like?

Christ is the Smell of Life!

I find it interesting that the sense of smell is a moving experience and one that can be quite profound. Growing up in the Midwest, the smell of freshly cut grass, or the smell of the harvest was a wonderful smell. As you drive through the back roads during the fall harvest, you can actually smell the cut corn stalks, or pea pods or soy pods. I do have to say that the smell of cut grass or combining corn is very different than standing at the ocean and smelling the salty breeze. When I ran my tire stores back in Illinois, we had a warehouse full of tires. Rubber tires put out a distinctive smell. Just the other day, my daughter Jodi had to go to the tire store to get some tires. She came home and said that the smell of the store reminded her of me and of the happy memories she has from going to work with me and playing hide n seek with her siblings in the tires! Back in the day, the smell of tires was the smell of money! The point is that smells can be overpowering!

Imagine, for a moment, what Jesus must have smelled like after a typical day in his life? Jesus walked everywhere, never stopped. He walked all over Judea, Samaria, Galilee, and up into Phoenicia and Syria. He didn’t shower or bathe all that often, and it’s unlikely that he wore any type of deodorant. We know that on the night that Jesus was betrayed that he washed the feet of his disciples. It is probably fair to say Jesus must have smelled. How funny that, according to the makers of His Essence candles, “Jesus didn’t smell like a homeless preacher! He smelled sweet, like myrrh and aloes and cassia.”

Have you ever wondered what the smell of Christ actually was? I know, this is a kind of mind-blowing moment, isn’t it?

A little boy was asked what he thought forgiveness was; he gave a beautiful answer: “It is the odor that flowers breathe when they are trampled on.”[iii]

In the context of this passage, forgiveness is what Paul is trying to teach the church in Corinth. There was a man who insulted Paul and Paul forgave him. Paul is asking the church to forgive this man too. The word forgive is used six times in three verses. Look at this reading for a minute … “If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent—not to put it too severely. 6 The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. 7 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. 9 The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10 If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. (2 Corinthian 2:5-11)

I think the fragrance of forgiveness is one of the most powerful and life-giving fragrances that came from Christ. The Hebrew word for forgive is used 71 times in the Bible and the Greek word for forgive is used 76 times. In fact, every Sunday we pray a prayer that we call the Lord’s Prayer and one of the petitions is “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespasses against us.” (Matthew 6:12) Jesus went on to teach about forgiveness in Matthew 6 --- “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15) And then, Jesus spoke the word forgive from the cross, “Father, forgive them for they know what they do.”

Forgiveness is a wonderful mark of the church. The Greek word for forgiveness is “aphiemi” and it means to send it away. Here is what I want you to do with the piece of your tortilla: think of someone you need to forgive. Think of an offense or grudge that you carry. Let the tortilla carry that. And—when you are ready to forgive…send it away. APHIEMI. Whether you’re ready today to go place it in the basket at the foot of the cross now…or whether you take it home with you—it’s your choice. But during the last song, think about this mark of the church: FORGIVENESS. Think about this: LOVE HELD JESUS ON THE CROSS…as forgiveness was poured out.

When we forgive our selves, when we forgive others, we pour out the same fragrance of Christ. I am sure that aroma of Christ smells like forgiveness.

I’m also sure that there is another fragrance that Christ smells like: LOVE.

It is said that an angel strolled out of heaven one beautiful day and found his way to this old world. He roamed through field and city beholding the varied scenes of nature and art, and just at sunset he plumed his golden wings and said, “I must return to the world of light; shall I not take with me some mementos of my visit here? “How beautiful and fragrant those flowers are! I will pluck of them a choice bouquet.” Passing a country home where he saw through the open door a rosy, little crib into its mother’s face, he said, “The smile of that baby is prettier than these roses; I will take that too.” Just then he looked beyond the cradle and saw a devout mother pouring out her love like the gush of a perpetual fountain, as she stopped to kiss “Good-night” her precious baby. “Oh,” said he, “that mother’s love is the prettiest thing I have seen in all the world; I will take that too!” With these three treasures he winged his way toward the pearly gates, but just before entering he decided to examine his mementos, and to his astonishment the flowers had withered until they were no longer things of beauty, the baby’s smile had changed into a frown, but the mother’s love retained all its pristine beauty and fragrance. He threw aside the withered roses and the departed smile, and, passing through the gates, was welcomed by the hosts of heaven that gathered about him to see what he had. “Here,” said he, “is the only thing I found on earth that would retain its fragrance and beauty all the way to heaven. The sweetest thing in all the world is a mother’s love.”[iv]

The word love is used 733 times in the Bible.

When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was his response was; ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

We can never forget Jesus’ teaching to Nicodemus in the Gospel of John. Nicodemus came to visit Jesus in the middle of the night. Jesus said to him, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

As we study the Scriptures, we find that Christ had two definite aromas: the crushing aromas of FORGIVENESS and LOVE. We saw these two mingled together from the cross. From the cross, Jesus forgave his offenders. What kind of love is found at the cross?

SO WHAT?

Don’t you find this verse really interesting? “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.” 2 Corinthians 2:14

I love to think that we as the church, that we as the SEED—carry the aroma of Christ—to one another, to our families, to our neighbors, to our work places, to the grocery, to the post office, on the freeway—yes, to every single place that we go.

Stop and think about this. We who know Jesus—who carry Christ in our hearts—we are the fragrance of Christ to those we see each day. All of us here will leave and head home in a few minutes. Wherever you go, whether it’s home or to the grocery store, or out to eat—keep in mind that you are the fragrance of Christ’s love and forgiveness…every single place you go.

Here’s a great illustration: This is a diffuser. Last week Ruthie handed it to my wife and said that she couldn’t get it to work, would Jac see if she could fix it. Maybe Ruthie was doing something wrong.

Jac loves to use a diffuser in our home. We have three. One in our bedroom, for killing germs at night. One in the family room and one in my office—both diffusing the scent of freshly peeled tangerines. You know how the diffuser works? You put a few drops (1,2,3,4,5) of an essential oil in the diffuser, along with about a ½ cup of water. Then you plug it in and slowly they to emit a fragrance that fills the air. Do you know that studies show the effectiveness of the diffuser lasts for six hours after the diffuser has run its course—which is about six hours. Think about that! Our diffusing Christ’s love and forgiveness can truly change people’s lives—long after we are gone.

Anyway, Jac brought the diffuser of Ruth’s home last Sunday and tried to get it to work. She went and got another cord and plugged it in. That’s all it took. The cord was dead. There was no electricity going from the outlet to the diffuser. Isn’t that a great lesson? We—being the fragrance of Christ—must be plugged into Christ…in order for us to have the aroma of Christ!

One of our jobs as a church is to bring the fragrance of Christ into the world. This is a mark of the church: the aroma of Christ…not in a scented candle—but IN US…the love and forgiveness of Christ—found at the cross. “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Have you held onto to that tortilla? During the last song, I implore that you will LET IT GO. SEND IT AWAY. APHIEMI. Christ is our perfect example—from the cross, forgiving those who crucified Him.

Forgiveness…a most beautiful aroma.

Let us pray …

The Seed Christian Fellowship

Rancho Cucamonga, California 91701

www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

October 21, 2018

Pastor Dave Peters

[i] The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (2 Co 2:14–3:3). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[ii] www.homileticsonline.org

[iii] Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.

[iv] Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.

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