"Defeated by Jesus" October 19 Readings: 2 Corinthians 2:14-3:18

Today's Reading - 2 Corinthians 2:14-3:18

Background

2 Corinthians is a powerful book - don't rush through your readings while we are in this book!

In 2 Corinthians 3:1-3, Paul describes his letter of recommendations. Even the early church had its problems with false teachers. Evidently, there were men who went from church to church to teach their particular false doctrines, often carrying with them letters of recommendation to lend credence to his ministry when he would arrive.

Paul had a different idea about what comprises a true letter of recommendation for a servant of God.

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Paul was not concerned about letters of recommendation from other people - it is nice if people think well of you, but ultimately that is not the opinion that matters. True, successful ministry cannot be measured by human approval, statistical analysis, fame, or any other human measure. Paul said that there was only one thing that validated his marriage.

Paul was being challenged in 2 Corinthians by false teachers and false apostles who questioned his authority. His answer is the impact God has had on them through him

Devotional - Defeated by Jesus!

Unfortunately, 2 Corinthians 2:14 is often misunderstood and misapplied because we are not familiar with the background that would have immediately come to the minds of the people of Corinth when they heard these words.

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.

Sounds great, doesn't it? Life in Jesus is one victory after another; a life of triumph over every problem life throws at us. Maybe the televangelists were right after all. It's all about winning, about getting everything you want! Right?

Uh...no. The passage does not say that God always gives us everything we want or causes us to win all the time. It says that he leads us in a "triumphal procession." What on earth is that?

When a Roman general would go off to battle and come home victorious, he would receive a "triumph" when he returned home, a victory parade. He would go on a celebratory procession through the town with crowds cheering him along the way. With him, in the parade, would be representatives of the defeated army, who would be marched through the town to their shame. Often, at the end of the triumph, they were executed.

A triumphal procession is a parade in which the conquering general leads the defeated armies through the city and receives honor and glory for his exploits. 

That leaves only the question, who are we in this scenario? Of course, we'd like to cast ourselves as the conquering general, but that's not what's going on. The conqueror is Jesus Christ, who through his death and resurrection conquered all of humanity's true enemies - death, hell, sin, and Satan.

But here's the key, folks. There was one other group defeated that day - sinful human beings! We had set ourselves against God, rebelling against his authority, but he defeated sin and death so that we could be restored to him.

Who are we in the "triumph?" We are the defeated army! That's right. I was defeated by Jesus. My sin was defeated. My rebellion. My wickedness. I was conquered by Christ. My stubborn and sinful will was subdued and brought under obedience to Christ. I was conquered by his love and now he is parading me through this world to display his glorious victory!

For the rest of my life and all of eternal my greatest joy, my eternal hope, my only glory is that I was defeated, conquered, beaten by Jesus! I was led to death, as the Roman generals often did to their defeated foes. I was crucified with Christ, but that is not the end of the story. But God's grace and power I have been raised to walk a new life in Christ!

Now, as I am paraded through this world, the second half of the verse takes place.

And through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 

As the triumphal procession went through the town, incense was lit to give off an aroma, so that even after the general and his caravan had passed, the aroma would remain and remind people of his glory.

That's what we are in this world! We are not only the defeated army brought under obedience to Christ, but we are the aroma of Christ in this world. Paul never minded mixing a metaphor, and here the defeated army becomes the fragrant incense.

Our job is to go out in this world and smell like Jesus. 

We are to bring the fragrance of Christ into this world, that sweet, pleasing aroma of his love, his mercy, his holiness, his righteousness, his faithfulness, his goodness - every aspect of his character. Having been brought to Christ, we are to spread his fragrance in this world.

Everywhere we go and in everything we do, we are to be the aroma of Christ in this sin-polluted world. We must yield completely to him and represent him well.

Father, I thank you for defeating me. My sinful will stood in rebellion against you, but Christ crushed my sin with his glory and now I belong to you. May I spread the fragrant aroma of Christ in this wicked world. 

Think and Pray

Consider two things today. 1. Who are you impacting and serving in Christ's name? Who is your "letter of recommendation?"
2. Think through the truth that being defeated by Christ, having your will, your ambitions, your selfish and sinful heart conquered by his grace - that is the path to all things good and glorious.