2 Corinthians 2 "We Are the Aroma of Christ!"

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In the first four verses Paul refers back to the conflict that he had addressed with the Corinthians during his first visit. Though it was painful, Paul had hoped that the appropriate people would repent and he would not have to address it again if he visited a second time. We see Paul's love for the Corinthians, as he was at times in tears for this situation. The Corinthians had already given him some challenge by their criticism of him, and Paul wanted to come to them in joy not sorrow. 

Forgiveness for the Offender

Paul then refers to the specific incident and person involved. The Corinthians had confronted the person who was in sin, and Paul reminded them not to be too excessive in their discipline of him. The goal was to restore this brother to the church fellowship. He urged them to forgive him, which would assume he was repentant over his behavior. Paul makes sure to remind them he had forgiven the man, just as they had. 

Paul then emphasizes the need to forgive our brother or sister in order to outsmart Satan, who is always looking for a foothold. Unforgiveness is something the devil loves because it breaks the fellowship in the body of Christ. 

To withhold forgiveness from the repentant is to play into the hands of Satan. “There is nothing more dangerous than to give Satan a chance of reducing a sinner to despair. Whenever we fail to comfort those that are moved to a sincere confession of their sin, we play into Satan’s hands.” (Calvin)

Are you allowing the Spirit to make you aware of Satan’s strategy against you right now? What weak point is he trying to exploit? Where is Satan trying to get a foothold into your life? Are you ignorant of his devices? (Guzik)

Ministers of the New Covenant

In verse 12, Paul uses a phrase he uses quite often. He says, "He found the Lord had opened a door for him." There is no indication what he means by the phrase "open door". 

Not every door that appears to be open is an open door. And not every door that appears to be closed is a closed door. Just because a ministry setting looks like it’s going to be hard doesn’t mean that it is a closed door. For the Apostle Paul, an open door was a God-given opportunity to spread the good news about Jesus. Perhaps the most common misunderstanding about open doors is the assumption that an open door won’t be accompanied by opposition — that everything will fall neatly into place. In fact, an open door is an opportunity for the gospel to go out, but it does not entail the absence of hardship. - Kenneth Berding

Apparently though Paul saw an open door he felt it would be wrong for him to "go through it alone" without Timothy. ,

Paul ends with a vision borrowed from the Roman military world. The vision is of a triumphal parade that accompanies a General after a victorious battle. Paul uses this imagery to suggest that we travel along in a parade with Jesus, as our victorious general. Jesus defeated sin, death, and the power of the devil by his death on the cross. 

"Paul wanted the Corinthian Christians to realize that he followed his general, Jesus Christ. Paul can almost see Jesus’ triumphal parade winding its way through the whole Roman Empire, throughout the entire world."   (Guzik)

Then Paul uses a phrase that is quoted fairly often in the church. He says, "We are the aroma of Christ!" 

 “A sweet savour of Christ! It does not consist so much in what we do, but in our manner of doing it; not so much in our words or deeds, as in an indefinable sweetness, tenderness, courtesy, unselfishness, and desire to please others to their edification. It is the breath and fragrance of a life hidden with Christ in God, and deriving its aroma from fellowship with Him. Wrap the habits of your soul in the sweet lavender of your Lord’s character.” (Meyer)

My son recently got a new cologne he was excited about. Luckily we all like the smell of it, because he applies it liberally and even when he leaves the sweet smell lingers. A question we might ask is what kind of smell do we leave when we leave? Is it the aroma of Jesus or something else?