Spread His Fragrance

The Bible reads thus in 2 Cor. 2:12-17 NIV, "Now when I went to Troas to preach the

gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia. 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. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who
are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? 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. (emphasis mine)"
We will look critically at verse 14 as it is the central reference for this message. We will also examine this verse under four headings with one key term per heading. Always - It is instructive to note that the first thing Paul does in the verse is to give thanks to God before mentioning His actions. This keyword help us to understand that irrespective of time, season, weather, mood, temperature or any other factor that is subject to change, these actions of God will forever remain a constant. In other words 'always' means 'at all times' and not 'sometimes', not 'rarely', not 'frequently', not 'occasionally', not 'seldom' etc. This means that at all times; God leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him through us everywhere we go. Two things readily come to mind here, one, Jesus' victory over sin and death is once and for all (Romans 6:10) and two, his triumph over principalities and power is complete and eternal (Col. 2:15). Triumphal Procession - The essence of a triumphal procession is to celebrate a great victory or a massive conquest. What we are celebrating is the fact that Jesus reigns and rules supreme over every principality and power and since we are made in His image then we also reign in the same manner (1 John 5:4-5, Romans 8:3739, Col. 2:13-15, Eph. 1:19-22, Eph. 2:6). It is important to note here that God establishes the fact that we have the victory first before giving us a divine assignment. In other words, He explicitly tells us that there is nothing to fear or be afraid of, so we should go all out to conquer the world for Him and work to expand His kingdom here on the earth. Whenever we have to do the work that God has assigned us then we must do it with all the boldness and confidence we

can muster as we already have the victory even before the battle. Everywhere - This word simply tells us that no location is to be left unaffected as every available space must be touched and influenced by God through us believers. The bottom line here is this: if your Christianity is confined to the four walls of church then you are NOT an asset to the kingdom but a big liability. If you are not working to expand the kingdom of God here on the earth, then you are not just a liability but an expendable liability. One of the characteristics of a true believer in Christ is that he or she must be known for impact and influence. Fragrance of the knowledge of Him - A closer look at the parable of the sower will tell us in clear terms that the seed being referred to is the word or the message about the kingdom (Matthew 13:3-8, 18-23). The 'word' is explicitly called the 'truth' (John 17:17) and it has the ability to make one holy and pure. Following the theory of equivalence, it means that the word or the message about the kingdom is the truth. The Bible also clearly says that knowing the truth sets one free (John 8:32), this means knowing the word (message about the kingdom) liberates from any form of bondage. So when we talk about the fragrance of the knowledge of him, we are actually referring to the knowledge of the truth, which is the word or the message of the kingdom. The summary of the matter is that everyone around us needs to know this truth and the way they will get to know is when we tell them about it. That is our core responsibility as true believers. That brings me to this important question: 'Are you an asset or a liability to the kingdom?' As New Testament believers, we are ministers of a new covenant and kingdom business should certainly be our priority. If you do not make it a point of duty to share the knowledge of Christ with someone how will that person know the truth and receive liberation in the process? (Romans 10:13-15). We all have been commissioned for this work of preaching the gospel wherever we find ourselves, as that is the way to reach out to as many people as possible with the truth about Jesus the Son of God who lives forever. "He said to them, 'Go into the world and

preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned'"(Mark 16:15-16 NIV). It is not our primary
responsibility to believe on behalf of others, all we just have to do is preach the good news to them and trust the Spirit to convict them of their guilt (John 16:8).

How do you spread his fragrance? By obeying His voice as He leads and speaks (Romans 8:14) The Spirit of God is able to direct our hearts and order our steps to reach out to as many people as are ripe for harvesting. Many a Christian has testified to hearing the voice of the Spirit specifically instructing them to talk to someone about Jesus. The simple truth is that it does not get any simpler than this. This is not to say that we always have to wait for the Holy Spirit to specifically instruct us before we preach as we have already been instructed to do so (Mark 16:15). By not being conformed (Romans 12:2) If you are not different from everyone else, no one will come to you to find out what makes you tick. When you stand for God wherever He sends you it becomes impossible for people not to notice the difference and when they do notice, it is only natural for them to want to find out the reason, therein lies your opportunity to spread His fragrance.

Authors note: This message was first preached at the Parish Youth Chapel, Church of the Pentecost (Anglican Communion), 21 Road, Festac Town, Lagos on Sunday, 24th June 2012 at both the 7am and 10am services as a Youth Week 2012 theme exposition, in my capacity as Coordinator.