“Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.” (2 Corinthians 2:14)
“For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:” (2 Corinthians 2:15)
“To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?” (2 Corinthians 2:16)
Nobody wants to be around someone who smells like they haven’t taken a bath or used personal hygiene; people who go without bathing or using deodorant. It is embarrassing.
As Children of God, we have been washed by God; He has manifested “the savour of his knowledge” in us. However, we must continually bathe ourselves spiritually in the Word of God and in the Presence of God through prayer and meditation. When we are in fellowship with the Lord (as we should be continuously); we will be “a sweet savour of Christ.” Our brethren will not be ashamed of us; and we will be able to have communion one with another in the fear of the Lord.
Also, those who are perishing will be able to smell the Christ in and upon our lives; “To the one we are the savour of death unto death.” Our testimony to a lost world is of the utmost importance to our Lord, because He is glorified when our good works are seen of men.
Therefore, we will not bring a reproach on the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for us. Christ did this to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify us to Himself; to make us a peculiar people, zealous of good works; to make us “a sweet savour of Christ.”
Just as the smell of a fresh-cooked ham draws the family to the kitchen; so does our “sweet savour” draw God’s Elect to us to feast on the fellowship of the brethren; “the savour of life unto life.” They are drawn as we dispense the Word of Life as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
Paul asks, “And who is sufficient for these things?” The answer is – No one. We were all dead in our trespasses; we were all enemies to God. But, “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
He has given us the ability and the power to possess that “sweet savour of Christ”; and to show this savour of His Knowledge “in every place,” to all around us, both the lost and the saved.
I ask the questions again. Are you a “sweet savour”? What scent do you emit? What do you smell like? Do you “manifest the savour of his knowledge”? Are you “unto God a sweet savour of Christ”?
If so – praise God, because our sufficiency is of God and not of ourselves.
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