"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?" (NKJV)
On the one hand, the gospel is inclusive: the Lord Jesus died that the whole world might be saved. John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." On the other hand, the gospel is exclusive: only those who have submitted to the Father’s plan of salvation will be saved: "that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life."
Paul, in this passage in 2 Corinthians, speaks about these two groups, the one group going from life (this life) to life (life eternal) and the other group going from death (this life without Christ) to death (hell eternal).
To get a sense, first we might look at the word picture that Paul is using here:
"The imagery conveyed in the use of this term is of the Roman general who marched in victory with his entourage, consisting of two groups: Them that are saved, and … them that perish. The former group consisted of those allowed to live as slaves of the Empire. They were being led into a new life. The latter group were the condemned. They were being led to their death. Each group carried a burning incense. The one was a savor of death unto death, the other was a fragrance of life unto life. Calvary was the mighty display of the infinite power of a sovereign God. The human race was divided into two categories: those of life unto life and those of death unto death. The practical lesson here is that the believer is a "savor" of God’s infinite power and unspeakable love wherever he goes. Also, as the believer proclaims this truth, he divides men. This is not a "method" of evangelism, but a proclamation of the triumph of Christ at Calvary." (KJV Bible commentary. 1997, c1994. Thomas Nelson: Nashville)
There is a reality that we as believers need to grasp: the world isn’t going to embrace us. Ever. We’re never going to be popular. We’re never going to be the major culture influence. We are always, as our Lord was always, going to be rejected.
"Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious" (1 Peter 2:4 NKJV).
We cannot, as believers, expect to have better treatment from the world than did our Lord Jesus. We will be rejected because the gospel divides. It always has. It divides those who believe from those who do not. And that division is more than just a belief; it is an entire view of what the gospel actually is and does:
"We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." (1 Corinthians 1:23-24 NKJV).
Notice that the gospel, to the unsaved, is either a stumbling block or foolishness. A stumbling block in that it is emotionally and morally offensive. Foolishness in that it is intellectual offensive. To the unsaved, it is an aroma of death leading to death, a dead religion leading to useless or even offensive practices.
As believers, we should expect that the world will be offended by both our beliefs and our practices. Without knowing, what they are offended by is the presence of the Holy Spirit in our midst, the Holy Spirit that witnesses to their consciences that the gospel is truth and it is life. But because they have rejected that life, the fragrance of the gospel is one of death.
But there will be others to whom we witness and minister to whom the gospel is life and life-giving. To them the presence of the Holy Spirit will be the fragrance of life. This is the dichotomy with which we live and will continue to live. Yet, we aren’t to live in any kind of arrogance at this knowledge. Rather we are to continue living out the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, being loving, kind, good, gentle, faithful, joyful, peaceful, patient, and self-controlled in all situations and with all people until the Lord calls us home.
© 2015 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.
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