IN THE TRIUMPH OF CHRIST

Posted by Angella Diehl, Webmaster on September 13, 2020 under 2020 |

Bethany Bible Church Sunday Message; September 13, 2020 from 2 Corinthians 2:12-17

Theme: We who believe are continually led in the victorious triumph of Jesus Christ.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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We who are followers of Jesus, in the midst of this dark and fallen world, are very unusual people.

We often feel ourselves overwhelmed by the things around us; and we often fall into despair and discouragement about it all. And yet, the whole time long, we forget that we are—even right now—being led by the Lord Jesus through this world in the midst of His great victory parade.

This is a spiritual truth that was very precious and practical to the apostle Paul. It sustained him in a time of trouble. And he wrote about it in 2 Corinthians.

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As we have been working our way through this great letter, we have seen that Paul had been struggling with a problem. He had to write a very hard letter, just a short while before this one, to the believers in Corinth. In it, he urged them strongly to deal with a sin problem that they had been neglecting. It was a very unpleasant letter to have to write; and it was also probably a very unpleasant letter to have to receive. And even though it had to be written, Paul—as a result of sending it—was very concerned that he had alienated his beloved brothers and sisters in the process; and that they now no longer loved him.

Paul had experienced something that faithful ministers have experienced often—and that we all experience as Christians whenever we seek to be true to God’s word toward one another. We are sometimes called upon to open up the Bible and tell folks something from it that they don’t want to hear—and then, as a result, we become afraid that those folks will never speak to us again. Sometimes, because of of the fear of that, we may even be tempted at times to soften down what God’s word says.

But praise God! The people of Corinth heard what God’s word said through Paul; and they repented. And what’s more, they communicated to Paul through another minister named Titus that they still loved him. Paul was overjoyed at the news! And it became an occasion for him to exalt in the fact that he—along with all sincere followers of Jesus—are continually being led in Christ’s ‘triumph’ parade. In 2 Corinthians 2:12-17, he wrote;

Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia.

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? For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 2:12-17).

And dear brothers and sisters in Christ; we need to be reminded that we—like Paul—are being led in that same triumph in Christ. Even in the midst of the dark and fallen world in which we live, even in those times when we are faced with challenges and difficulties and discouragements, we are nevertheless being led in the glorious victory parade of our Lord Jesus Christ. His victory is a present spiritual reality that will one day be put on vivid display at His return.

What a difference it would be make to our lives—right now—if we would just keep that spiritual truth mind!

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Now; what does Paul mean when he said that God always leads us ‘in triumph in Christ’? Very often, people take those words to mean that we are always living ‘triumphantly’ and ‘victoriously’ because of Jesus. And there’s certainly a sense in which that is very true. But that’s not exactly what Paul is talking about. Paul wasn’t speaking of a state of mind. Rather, he was speaking of a civic event that was well-known in ancient times—especially to people who lived under the influences of the Roman empire.

Whenever a great Roman general or military leader completed a successful campaign—whenever he conquered an enemy people and brought them under subjection to the rule of Rome—he would be honored by the imperial government with a great victory parade. It was called ‘a triumph’. After the conquest, the victorious general would return to Rome—or would enter into the city that had been conquered—and be driven through the streets in a chariot surrounded by musicians and banners and cheers. Many of the ‘captives’ would be paraded with him. Some of them would be the captives of the enemy peoples that he had liberated—marching with the conquering hero in great joy. Some of them would be some of the enemy peoples themselves—paraded along in chains of defeat as a public spectacle.

And all along the streets—and even throughout the parade itself—incense would be burned, and the fragrance would fill the air of the city. To some who had been liberated by the conqueror, the fragrance was the sweet smell of victory and liberation. But to others who had been taken captive by the conqueror, the fragrance was the smell of judgment and impending death.

So; when Paul speaks of our being led ‘in triumph in Christ’, this is the kind of triumph he is talking about. He is not saying that we ourselves are walking around in an attitude of triumph through life—although there is certainly a sense in which that can be true. Rather, he is saying that Jesus Christ has been triumphant, is honored in the heavenly realms by a triumphant parade, and has taken us along as His ‘liberated captives’ to make us a part of His glorious victory celebration. He is the triumphant one who has already conquered! And we are triumphant because we have been taken along with Him in His triumphant celebration.

That may sound strange to you and me today. But it was not at all strange to the people who lived in New Testament times. In fact, ‘the Roman triumph’ is a theme that is hinted at in many places of Paul’s New Testament letters. In Colossians 2:15, for example, Paul speaks of how Jesus has gained the victory for us over the powers of darkness through His cross; saying,

“Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15).

Or in Ephesians 4:8, when speaking of the victory of His resurrection and ascension to the Father, Paul wrote

“When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men” (Ephesians 4:8).

For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men (1 Corinthians 4:9).

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11).

Now; the passage that we are looking at this morning is the beginning of a remarkable section of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. Going from this passage all the way to the end of Chapter 6, Paul exalts with joy over the ways that God is at work through His people in the ministry of the gospel. He gives us lots of wonderful things to think about concerning how you and I right now—even in the midst of all the troubles of this present world—are being used by God to bring glory to Himself and to advance the kingdom of Jesus. It’s a wonderfully encouraging portion of God’s word. We have a lot to look forward to in studying it together.

And it begins with these words from Paul in 2 Corinthians 2:12-17—and the reminder that we who believe are continually led in the victorious triumph of Jesus Christ.

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Now; one of the first things that this passage shows us is that we are being led by the Lord Jesus in His glorious triumph …

1. EVEN IN THE MIDST OF TRIALS.

The fact that we are in Christ’s victory parade—even right now—doesn’t mean that we don’t experience times of trial and difficulty at the same time. The fact that we are led in a glorious triumph is an objective spiritual reality. But our personal experience, in terms of our inward state of being, may not always feel so ‘triumphant’.

Paul had times when he didn’t feel triumphant. He begins this section by describing a trial that he had been going through with respect to the Corinthians. He wrote about his travels in ministry in verses 12 and 13; and said, “Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit …” He had been hoping to make his way from the city of Troas—which was a port city, and a great place to launch-off from to go to Corinth. He had sent Titus to go and find out how the Corinthian believers were doing; and while he waited for Titus, he continued to minister in Troas.

Apparently, the Lord had opened a ‘great door’ in Troas. The people there were hearing the gospel and were being saved. In fact, as we read on in the book of Acts, we find that a very strong church had been started by Paul there. He went back to visit them later. But at the time that the Lord opened a door in Troas, Paul’s heart was overburdened by concern for the Corinthians. How did they respond to the hard letter that he had to write to them? How were they reacting after he had told them hard things from God’s word, and had called them to repent of their disobedience? Did they reject him? Would they still love and welcome him? Should he go to them? Would it be better if he waited? He tells us in verse 13 that he felt no rest in his spirit about the matter, “because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia.”

Even though things were going so well in Troas—even though the Lord had clearly opened up their hearts and the gospel was making progress among them—Paul felt he had to leave them, go across the sea, look for Titus, and get the news from him of how things were going. You already know what a great missionary and evangelist Paul was; so you can just imagine how hard it must have been to leave this ‘open door’ in Troas behind. But he was torn up inside; and he couldn’t go on in the work without knowing how his beloved brothers and sisters in Corinth were.

Now; just to show you how—in spite of the troubles he felt—Paul was nevertheless being led in Christ’s triumph, look on ahead with me to Chapter 7. In verses 5-7, Paul wrote;

For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. Nevertheless, God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more (2 Corinthians 7:3-5).

God was powerfully at work to advance the kingdom of Christ. Not only did Titus bring news from the Corinthian believers of their repentance from sin and their love for Paul, but the ministry Paul began in Troas also prospered in God’s hand. And all of this was happening while Paul was going through a dark time of trial! Jesus Christ had been the victorious Conqueror at the cross; and His victory parade marches on—even when we feel ourselves to be in times of struggle and hardship! What an amazing thing it is to be in Jesus Christ’s triumph!

You and I need to remember this too, dear brothers and sisters. It is our great privilege to be in the victory parade of Jesus as His liberated ones. We are continually being led in triumph as we serve Him—even though it seems at times as if the troubles are overwhelming and distracting. In spite of the seeming troubles and difficulties of the times, God our Father remains sovereign and Jesus Christ His Son remains victorious in and through us! In Chapter 4, Paul wrote;

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh (2 Corinthians 4:7-11).

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So; it was in the midst of thinking back on that deep trial that he was going through—but thinking also of how God proved Himself in the midst of it all—that Paul made that declaration that we find in verse 14; “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ …” This is true even when we are going through times of trial.

And it was then that Paul went on to say something else that God does for us who are in Jesus’ victory parade; and that is that He “through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place” (v. 14). This shows us that as He leads us in this triumph, we are …

2. ALWAYS MAKING HIM KNOWN.

Just as in the ancient triumphs of a victorious Roman conqueror—just as the air back then would be filled with the fragrant incense of victory—the triumph of our Lord Jesus Christ also has a fragrance. It’s a fragrance that God diffuses into the air that makes His victorious Son Jesus Christ known everywhere. But it’s not just that we walk along in the parade while carrying a censer filled with incense. Rather it’s that we ourselves—as Jesus’ redeemed people—are the fragrance of the knowledge of Him in this world! Paul goes on to say in verse 15, “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.”

Everywhere you and I go, dear brothers and sisters in Christ—everywhere in this world that God places us—we are the victory fragrance of Christ that adorns and declares His triumph. By our transformed lives, by our purity of conduct, by our love for Jesus and for one another, by the Holy Spirit working in and through us, by our testimony to this world of the truth of the word of God, by our faithful declaration of the gospel, we are making it known that Jesus Christ has come into this world. Whether we know we are doing so or not—and even whether we intend to do so or not—we are nevertheless a fragrance that declares that Jesus Christ has come into the world, lived a sinless life, died on the cross for sinners, was raised from the dead for our justification, has ascended to the Father in victory, and will come again in power and great glory as the King of kings and Lord of lords. We give off the victory fragrance of Christ just by our being here and being who we are.

And that fragrance is taken in by those who are being saved and those who are perishing. Those who are ‘being saved’ are those who God has graciously called to Himself from this world for salvation—who will hear the message of the gospel, and believe, and be redeemed by the blood of Jesus. Those who are ‘perishing’ are those who will hear the message of the gospel, will reject it, and will suffer eternal loss. And depending on which category one is in, each one reacts to the fragrance differently. Paul says in verse 16, “To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.”

Isn’t it amazing how the same message of the gospel that we proclaim is reacted to so differently by different people? It’s even amazing how we ourselves—as followers of Jesus—are reacted to so differently by the people of this world. But this was something that we were told about long ago, in one of the most familiar passages in all of the Gospel of John:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3:16-21).

We shouldn’t try to hide that fragrance from the world—no more than the fragrance was hid during the Roman triumph. We should boldly let it be sent forth and let the world detect it in us. We should let it put people on the forks of a decision. Will they receive the gospel of Jesus? Or will they reject it?

And I like what one great, old-time preacher once asked; Do you and I willingly and intentionally send forth this fragrance of Jesus in everyday life? Are we willing to send it forth at work? At home? In our neighborhood? At school? In our leisure? In our business dealings? Everywhere? May it be that we do so intentionally more and more; because God has declared that we are the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ “in every place”!

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Now; Paul went on in verse 16 to ask a great question: “And who is sufficient for these things?” Who indeed? Certainly not you and me in and of ourselves. Not even Paul—in and of himself—was sufficient to be the fragrance of Christ’s triumph in this world.

But just a few verses later—in 2 Corinthians 3:5-6—said, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant …” And so, there’s one more way that we are led through this world in Christ’s triumph parade; and that is …

3. WHILE PROCLAIMING GOD’S WORD FAITHFULLY.

In verse 17 of our passage, Paul wrote; “For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.”

Paul used a word from the marketing world. It’s a word that suggests taking the word of God and altering it—or even adulterating it—in order to make it more palatable to sinful ears. It may involve leaving parts of God’s word out that might be an offense. Or it may be a matter of adding things to it that will please those who hear. But we must never do that! We must not try to ‘market’ or ‘peddle’ God’s word to people that way. Apparently, many in Paul’s day were doing so. There even seemed to be some who were doing so to the Corinthians.

Paul and his ministry colleagues would not do that. In fact, this whole passage was written because Paul had told the people of God in Corinth the truth from God’s word that they didn’t want to hear. He said that he spoke God’s word “as of sincerity”—that is in a plain and straightforward way, without any hidden motives or secret agenda. He also said that he spoke God’s word “as from God”—not as someone who had any right to change it or add his own authority to it, but as a faithful steward who delivered the word of God to people exactly as God had given it. As from God, he proclaimed the word of God to the people of God in the sight of God in Christ.

Later on in this letter—in 2 Corinthians 6:3-10—Paul affirmed his sincere preaching of the word in this way:

We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things (2 Corinthians 6:3-10)

Paul preached the true word of God, without alteration, as the real thing. And we should do the very same—and will, if we understand that we are being led in the victory triumph of Jesus Christ and now have nothing to fear in this world.

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In 1 Corinthians 15—at the end of that chapter—Paul makes a wonderful declaration. He tells these Corinthian believers,

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Do you know that, dear brothers and sisters? Do you know that your labor is never in vain in the Lord? And are you steadfast, and immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord as a result? Those words will be true of you and me if we can say—with full understanding of heart—what Paul says in our passage this morning:

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ …

EA