Being the Aroma of Christ (Part 1 of 2)

0:00Sometimes within a conflict and misunderstanding, you can just smell the smoke of hell rising from it. Like the smell you get from a jacket that you've worn the evening before to a bonfire on an autumn night. The smell is pervasive and it is inescapable. Welcome to and care of the truth with Jonathan Griffith, I'm Steve Hiller, and anyone who's been at a bonfire. It resonates with what you're talking about there, Jonathan. We know that lingering smell. But you're saying, man, within a conflict or a misunderstanding, we can, in a sense, smell the fires of hell in that way. That's a bold statement. I think as we grow in spiritual maturity and walk with the Lord through the years, we become sensitive to the fact that the Lord has an enemy and the Bible tells us about him. His name is Satan, and he's active in seeking to disrupt the work of the Lord and undermine the servants of the Lord. Sometimes you see a situation and you just recognize that there is within it evidence of the enemy's work.

1:06In spiritual maturity, we need to recognize that. We need to be soberly aware of it. We need to be not intimidated, but we need to be prayerful. Here in 2 Corinthians chapter 2, we're going to be talking about another aroma, the aroma of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that's a much more pleasant aroma. And it overwhelms the aroma of the work of the evil one. But we need to be aware of both, and we need to walk fearfully and prayerfully before the Lord as we seek to serve him. Well, let's continue to look at that today as you just heard. We're in 2 Corinthians chapter 2, beginning a message called, being the aroma of Christ. Here is Jonathan. Well, we all know that an aroma is a powerful thing. A scent can instantly take you back to a special place or remind you of a special person. And a particular fragrance can carry profound meaning. And significance, I was somewhat amused the other week to come across the advertising slogan

2:08that Old Spice has now adopted at least in some of their global markets. Old Spice, deodorants, and colognes to my mind belong to a former era of men's toiletries. I sort of place those as belonging to the 1960s and 70s, probably. I think Old Spice is totally aware that this is their reputation. And so the following slogan has been adopted, and here it is, if your grandfather hadn't worn it, you wouldn't exist. I thought that was really quite good. I think they did a good job of leaning in to some negative publicity that they might have had, and they leveraged a certain kind of perception, at least for the sake of humor. And I think they've managed to extract some sales from that. I mentioned that in the office, and one of our teams said, oh yes, my dad wore Old Spice. We gave him a bottle every Christmas. Thanks so much for the memory. So there you have it,

3:14a powerful association meaning significance from a scent. At the heart of our passage, Paul makes a very intriguing statement. I'm sure you noticed it, as we read it, in verse 15, he affirms that we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are perishing. Paul is aware, and Paul is convinced that through his life and ministry, the scent of Christ is being spread abroad. People are receiving in and through him and his ministry, something real and something true and something substantial of Jesus Christ himself. But it's interesting that the context here is that of pain. Paul is talking in this section of the difficulties and the afflictions that he faces in his ministry.

4:14Notice it there in verse 4 and 5. Notice it in our context. He says, for I wrote you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, then verse 5, now if anyone has caused pain. Paul's ministry, as we know already, involves pain and affliction and a kind of, if you like, brokenness. But through it, people smell the gospel aroma of Christ. Now that insight is at the heart of our passage and its significance for us today. That connection between brokenness and aroma, that's very interesting just to think about for a moment. Most things that smell good or bad released their scent most potently when they're damaged. Have you noticed that? The fruit, the flower, the herb. We have time in Rosemary in our garden and they give all the degree of scent. They give

5:17of some scent in their natural state, but pick them and crush them between your fingers and what happens. It's a totally different thing, isn't it? The smell becomes overpowering. We have a scent diffuser in our house one we bought in England on the way back. We picked it up in Heathrow Airport, I remember, on our last trip. It smells nice, wafting from the bottle into the living room, but if we were to take the bottle and smash it on the floor, I mean, I'm not planning to do that, but if we were to take it and smash it on the floor, the scent would fill the whole house, and I suspect it would never depart. Ministry, through pain and affliction, serving Christ in brokenness, it releases a gospel aroma. That's what Paul wants us to see in this passage. That's what the Lord has for us today in His word, and for some among us, I have no doubt this will be a

6:19timely word because this is actually your present experience. And if it is, I trust that this will therefore be a word of true encouragement. Although Paul had evangelized the Corinthians and had brought them much gospel good, he was often treated with disdain, and his ministry was often rebuffed by the people whom he had served. Here in 2 Corinthians 2, Paul makes reference to a particularly painful experience that he had on his most recent visit to Corinth. We don't know the details, but it seems that perhaps one individual in particular was maybe the ringleader of others, and in some way attacked Paul and caused him personal grief. It's referenced there at the start of verse 5. Now, if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure, not to put it too severely, to all of you. Now, we don't know the details of this, of course, and that's fine. Paul's point in these verses is not to wallow in the situation or to rehash it

7:24endlessly, but to show us how it is that gospel ministry and gospel work can continue and move forward in and through those who suffer pain in the midst of it and in and through ministries that are marked by hardship. And of course, this is not some niche consideration or some highly specialized discussion. The truth is that most ministries, the ministries of churches, individuals, missions, really anywhere where the gospel is moving forward, those ministries will be marked by difficulty, sadness, disappointment, and loss at least from time to time. I doubt actually that there is anyone here in this gathering today who has been involved in any measure of Christian ministry who would be able to stand up and say, you know, hand on hard,

8:27that it's always been smooth for you serving. It's always been easy. It's never been painful. You know, I have yet to meet a Christian disciple, a minister of the gospel, a servant of Jesus Christ who would actually be able to say that with any honesty. We can't say it because in a sinful world as we serve a crucified Lord, there will be difficulty and there will be all position and the New Testament never allows us to think it will be anything but that. But what does ministry then look like when it is marked by pain? And how is it that the Lord uses ministry through hardship to release the aroma of the gospel and to move forward the work of the kingdom? Two lessons here from our passage, and the first is this, through ministry marked by pain and pressure, the Lord lavishes sinners with grace. He lavishes sinners with grace. Paul begins with his own

9:32personal example. He's reflecting on this interpersonal herd of whatever kind it is, and then the way in which he has responded to it, verse five again. Now, if anyone has caused pain, he's caused it not to me, but in some measure not to put it too severely to all of you, for such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough. So you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. Now, it's so clear that what Paul is doing here is he is modeling, and he is living out the gospel before the Corinthian Christians, and in the midst of this painful situation. He is, if we want to put it another way, and to lean into his imagery, he is releasing the aroma of Jesus Christ. The individual and those who followed him, yeah, they've caused difficulty. It's been been some kind of opposition, some kind of rebellion. We don't know what's happened.

10:36Clearly, Paul has raised the issue he had to in his last letter. He called for a response of integrity from the church. There has been a punishment by the majority, verse six. Paul had written to the church and urged them to do this, and he wanted to see if they would be willing to step forward in obedience and actually take the steps necessary, verse nine. Praise God, they have indeed been obedient. Action has been taken to address whatever the sin was, but what is significant now is what Paul wants to happen next, and what he is modeling in his own life. And it is quite simply the extension of abundance, grace. What should the Corinthians do now, verse seven, they should turn and forgive and comfort him so that this man is not overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. And Paul's gracious heart, his heart of forgiveness, it comes out so clearly

11:38in verse eight. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. This is the gospel at work. This is the kindness of God in Christ on full display. You're listening to and care of the truth, which Jonathan Griffiths, and a message called being the aroma of Christ. Now we're going to pause here, but we'll get back to this message from 2 Corinthians chapter two in just a moment. In care of the truth is a listener supported program, we're able to be on the station because of your generosity. And as you give a gift of any amount this month, we want to send you a book that Jonathan has chosen. It's called Weakness is the Way written by author, theologian, and Bible teacher, J.I. Packer. He reflects on his experience of weakness, and he teaches us the importance of them, bracing our frailty to help us look to Christ as our strength. To give a gift of any amount, request your copy of Weakness is the Way. Call us at 1-833-99-truth, or come to our website

12:40and care of the truth.org. Back to the message. Here's Jonathan. For him, this is the gospel at work. This is the kindness of God in Christ on full display. Again, just remember this is someone who's hurt, Paul. This is someone who's caused grief, caused pain, someone who is generated for him, an anguish of heart. But seeing that there is true repentance, Paul's heart overflows in compassion and grace for the individual. So, Paul's modeling the gospel of grace that he preaches. He's living it out. His life and his

13:40ministry embody the gospel and bring the reality of the gospel to those to whom he ministers. He releases the aroma of Christ. It's interesting and significant to see as well. Paul's wider motivation, his deeper motivation for doing this. Notice with me verse 10, anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ so that we would not be outwitted by Satan for we are not ignorant of his designs. See, Paul is conscious here that he is living in the midst of a spiritual war zone. I mean, if you and I were living in a frontier city in Ukraine during the time of a Russian bombardment, if we were living in a frontline city during the First World War, somewhere in northern France, if we were living in London during the Blitz in the Second World War, you know,

14:40as we heard the bombs explode and the shots fired in our windows rattled, we would be unable to forget, wouldn't we, that we were indeed living in a war zone. My mother was born in the UK during the Second World War and she remembers hiding under the dining room table during the Blitz. Her earliest memories included the awareness of being in a war zone. You couldn't escape it. And the rationing and the blacked out windows and all the rest, that just added to the constant reminder of where you were. Now, the fact of the matter is that you and I live in the midst of a spiritual war zone, make no mistake about it, please. But it is easy in the course of everyday life and Christian discipleship and indeed church ministry to forget that this is so. But the gospel is going forward. Sinners are being saved from the clutches of hell, the name of Jesus Christ is being proclaimed for his glory. And here's what we know. We know that Satan hates everything about it.

15:44One of Satan's great devices and one of his favorite strategies is to cause division within churches to multiply, hurt, to spread sinister gossip, to sow discord and suspicion and vitriol. Satan just loves to see broken relationships and shattered fellowship between believers. And so one of the reasons that Paul has extended forgiveness to this person so emphatically, one of the reasons that he's telling the Corinthians about it is that he might undermine the design and the plan of Satan. Paul sees in this person's very unpleasant behavior in the sin that he is committed, in the wrong that he has done, he sees actually the hand of Satan. One Christian leader of a former generation in Britain used to speak of being able to smell the sulfur in a situation. I've mentioned that before. I thought it was a rather nice turn of phrase into helpful image. You see, that's the other

16:44kind of aroma that can emanate from a person or a situation. We know about the aroma of Christ, but Satan, he has his own smell too. Sometimes within a conflict, a misunderstanding, a sinister action, a work of division, you can just smell the smoke of hell rising from it. Like the smell you get from a jacket that you've worn the evening before to a bonfire on an autumn night. The smell is pervasive and it is inescapable. And sometimes in a spiritual situation, it is possible just to smell the sulfur. Perhaps you've experienced that I suspect some have and you know exactly what I mean. You can sniff it. But Paul is wise and he's sensitive to the spiritual dynamics and he is careful not to be outwitted by Satan and not to allow Satan to have the upper hand. Paul is not

17:45ignorant of the way in which Satan operates and the means that he delights to use to divide the people of God, to undermine the ministry of the gospel and to destroy the Church of Jesus Christ. And so Paul arrests the activity of Satan by extending gospel forgiveness to the one who is wronged him. He arrests the work of Satan by pursuing restoration and reconciliation and warmth of fellowship, pursuing unity of purpose once more within the Church of God at Corinth. He stops the pervasive influence of the foul smell of the enemy by being instead the aroma of Christ within the situation. By being the conduit through which God's grace is experienced and received. So that's the first thing that the Lord is doing in and through a ministry marked by pain and pressure. He is pouring out his lavish grace. Next, through ministry marked by pain and pressure, the Lord is leading his

18:48servants in triumph. He leads his servants in triumph. Not only did Paul face the pain of interpersonal tension and opposition, he also constantly navigated practical disruption and difficulty in carrying out his mission as he traveled around the Mediterranean rim. Sometimes that difficulty was due to shipwreck, sometimes to riots, sometimes to political opposition, but it was rarely easy for him. Always pressure. And we see that once again here in verse 12 of our passage. When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was open for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia. Paul came to Troas in his journey to preach the gospel of Christ and there was a great wide open door for him to do that. So in a sense, it would have seemed very reasonable for him to stay there and pursue ministry in Troas for a time. But something was wrong, verse 13. His spirit

19:55was not at rest. He had hoped to reconvene with Titus there, but Titus had not yet arrived. Now, Paul had sent Titus to Corinth with this painful letter and he was waiting for Titus to return to bring word of how the Corinthians had responded to it. He was preoccupied heavy of heart with the situation. There was an open door for ministry in Troas, but he couldn't do it. His heart was too heavy to disturb. He needed that update from Corinth. So Paul set aside what he was going to do there and he moved on. Now, Paul could have said at this point, this is a disaster. I had a great opportunity for ministry. I had a willing audience to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, but Titus wasn't there. I needed the update. My heart was heavy. I couldn't carry on. All my plans are now in tatters and I'm a bit of a wreck. But that's clearly not how Paul played it. That's not what he concluded, because in verse 14, he's going to go on and say that God has an amazing capacity to do

20:59wonderful things in and through his gospel servants wherever they are and whatever the circumstances may be. It's just a brief mention of a change of travel plans, but it is actually quite significant. Paul is just very conscious that wherever the Lord places him, he has the capacity to be used of God to bring the good news of the gospel to proclaim Christ to speak his word. And I mentioned that, and I highlight that, because I suspect there will be those among us here who feel like there has been a change of plans that you did not anticipate, maybe a grief or a sadness or a disappointment that has disrupted what you thought it was you were going to do for the Lord. He has taken you out of one context and he's placed you in another. Perhaps the Lord has removed you from one ministry and opened the door to another ministry. And it just feels like one mistake after another, one misstep after another, one loss upon loss, disappointment upon disappointment.

22:04Jonathan Griffiths here on Encour the Truth with a message called Being the Aroma of Christ and will continue next time. If you ever mess a broadcast in our series, come and listen online at Encour the Truth.org. Well, if you're a regular listener to the program, you know Encour the Truth is a listener supported. So we depend on your financial generosity to bring you Jonathan's teaching each day. And as you give a gift of any amount, we want to send you a book written by J.I. Packer. It's called Weakness is the Way. And Jonathan, who is J.I. Packer? And why would he be qualified to write on this? Well, Steve J.I. Packer's one of the foremost theologians of the Christian Church really of the last century, his British born, but served for many years at Regent College in Vancouver and author of many books, which have sold very widely because they've been so helpful. Perhaps his most famous book is one entitled Knowing God that he wrote earlier in his career. And many of our listeners will have read Knowing God. And we've made it available on the program before now. But this book Weakness is the Way is one of J.I. Packer's

23:06last books. And within it, he explores actually the theme of Weakness in Second Corinthians. So it's very relevant to our teaching series this month. But he draws on his own experience as well. Many won't know this, but J.I. Packer suffered a pretty serious head injury when he was a child at school. And that impacted really his whole life story and the way he viewed himself and the way he saw God at work in his life. And he writes this book near the end of his life. It's one of his last books reflecting on physical decline in older age and thinking back to physical Weakness in his youth as well. And looking back with the benefit of all those years, he sees how God used his Weakness to display his own strength and to use him for ministry and for the encouragement of so many. And I think this book is going to be a real encouragement to so many whether you are facing Weakness in your youth or in middle age or in old age. You need to know and I need to know that God can use us in our Weakness to display his strength. And I think that'll be a real help.

24:08Well, we want to send you a copy of this book Weakness is the Way is our way of saying thank you for financially supporting and carry the truth this month. Give online at encaradotruth.org or call 1-833-998-7884. That's 1-833-99 truth or again the website is encaradotruth.org. You can also write to us at encaradotruth P.O. Box 5513, Ottawa, Ontario, K2C-3M1, or in the U.S. and encaradotruth 215 North Arlington Heights Road, Suite 102, Arlington Heights, Illinois, 600-004. For producer Mark Brutter at our Bible teacher, Jonathan Griffith, some Steve Hiller, thanks for listening and I hope you'll join us next time.