This evening we turn our attention to 2 Corinthians chapter 2, our passage for consideration for this evening's sermon. 2 Corinthians chapter 2, we'll be reading verses 12 through 17. And what we find here is that Paul, after speaking to the church about the God of comfort, after speaking to the church about the Christian heart, he begins to transition to really the body of his letter. And he begins by picking up the narrative of his ministry. And really, in verse 14, picks up almost a new beginning to the letter by giving thanks to God. Before we read it together, let us ask the Lord to bless His Word for us. Our dear God and Father, we do thank You that we have the great privilege of hearing Your Word. Not only do we own it and have it in our homes as so many countless thousands do around the world, but dear Father, we can hear it proclaimed and explained to us. What a privilege it is that we can do this, dear Father. And yet we recognize that apart from Your Holy Spirit, we will be left blind and in darkness without understanding, without growth of knowledge or faith. And so we ask that You would now be pleased to bless Your Word, bless the reading of it, bless the preaching of it, that each one of us here would have faith that is strengthened and informed with what you have said. That together we would grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. In His name we pray. Amen. 2 Corinthians 2, beginning with verse 12. When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me and 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. But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not like so many peddlers of God's Word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God, we speak in Christ. Congregation of Christ, the Apostle Paul speaks of a triumphal procession in our text. And it comes after generations of war, this triumphal procession. Generations of war. After countless years, it seems, there was finally victory in Jerusalem. A decisive victory. The promised kingdom that had long been hoped for, that had long been anticipated, that God had been proclaiming through His ministers, had finally come. And with it came a new era in world history. The coming of Christ and the victory that He won through the cross. Yet even so, there was great work, a great work to be done, for opposition remained and along with it, there was confusion and fear mingling within the hearts of even the most faithful. And so the great king, he commissioned a triumphal procession. The king along with all of his captives and servants proceeding through what we might know as Asia Minor or more readily Israel and Turkey and Greece processing through the then known world with the good news of the kingdom of heaven. We can read the record of this campaign in the book of Acts. We have a summary of it in our text this evening. Paul calls it a triumphal procession. What was that? We don't often think about the spread of the Gospel in those ways, a triumphal procession. What does Paul have in mind as he picks up this phrase and uses it in our text to explain the work of God? Well, first of all, he means just that. It's the work of God. Second, he tells us that it is accomplished in Christ. Third, he explains how it continues through the church, this triumphal procession. He begins by thanking God in verse 14. And this thanks to God follows on what might be considered to be a rather desperate situation. As Paul is describing in verses 12 and 13, what he faced when he was looking for Timothy. More precisely, he was looking for news of the church of Corinth. He tells us that he came to Troas and God opened for him there a door for the preaching of the gospel. And though that is good news to have fertile soil ready to receive the Word of God, Paul is disturbed within him because he understands that the opposition he faced in Asia and in other cities is likewise threatening to undermine the very kingdom of God and its presence in Corinth. And so he's looking for news of this church, news that was to be brought by Timothy. He didn't find him, so he continued on to Macedonia. Out of this seemingly desperate situation, Paul breaks his train of thought in verse 14 in bringing thanks to God. And very much parallels the idea at the beginning of the letter in verse 3 when he blesses God, gives praise to God, the God of comfort, The God who comforts us in all circumstances. Here, he picks up the same idea in giving thanks and praise to God for being the one who always leads us in triumphal procession, Paul says. Even in the midst of those desperate times, when he's unsettled in heart and weakened possibly in faith, Paul can step back and as we heard this morning, see from God's perspective that God is yet leading. God is yet at work in this triumphal procession. It's God's work. We oftentimes find ourselves resting within our work or resting in another's work, a friend or a pastor. But Paul reminds us here that the work of Christ's kingdom is God's work. In fact, what we find is that woven throughout the pages of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, we have the story of God's work as He responds to the trouble introduced to His creation through sin. We might see Genesis 3 as where God initiates this work, this war, this battle against sin, against the forces of evil and the kingdom of Satan. And that battle continues throughout the pages of Scripture. Continues today. Of course, there are other battles. There are other battles that come to mind for us. The battle against terror. the two world wars of the 20th century, and we can go back to those battles surrounding the Reformation and the battles facing Israel. Yet those battles are all secondary when placed alongside of the battle God is engaged with. The battle He's engaged with was Satan. Well, Paul says that there is triumph This work of God, this war of God as it unfolded through the centuries found finally the decisive victory that was promised, that was looked forward to by so many faithful generations as they heard the Word of God from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through David, through the prophets. The victory that was looked forward to when promise finally came in Jerusalem as Jesus Christ took on flesh and crushed the head of the serpent. This triumphant, triumphal procession proceeds then from that decisive victory of Jerusalem where God's work and His war comes to an expression of victory just as he promised. When Paul describes this victory and all that follows it, he uses the words triumphal procession. Historians who pick up this rather unique phrase believe that it's describing in Paul's context the victory of a Roman emperor who after defeating the nations would have a parade of glory through the city. And behind him would be his captives. And there would be incense burning and various fragrances of sacrifices maybe coming to culmination in the temple. One writer says that Paul has in mind a procession of a Roman Empire in which the conquered enemies were usually led as slaves to death, being spared this death only by an act of grace, an act of the King. This triumphal procession would then be a display of power for all to see. The glory of the victorious King. A display of power and at times grace. If not, certain death for the captives. For God, this work, this victorious work, of course, is accomplished through Jesus Christ, His Son. We see that Jesus Christ came for this very purpose. Paul tells us that this triumphal procession is in Christ. He says later that they speak in Christ. Elsewhere, it comes through Christ. Jesus Christ came so that this triumphal procession would indeed go forth. And when He came and took on flesh and blood, the stakes were immediately high as Herod put out a death sentence for all children of his age. And as he comes to a measure of maturity, what do we find? But he faces Satan in the desert and the battle ensues as Jesus moves forward proclaiming that the kingdom long promised to finally come. In his life, Jesus lived for the very purpose of inaugurating, beginning the kingdom of heaven here among us on earth. And he fought against Satan. He fought against sin. And all through it, he upheld the law so that that victory would indeed be secure, accomplished in the life of Christ, accomplished in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Oh, we might think the enemy, as they saw Jesus being led to the cross, saw their own victory at hand. But we see in Colossians 2 verse 15 that He, in the cross, and through the resurrection, disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them. That is the victory of Jesus Christ. That is the work of God brought to completion through His own Son. Disarming the rulers and authorities, putting them to open shame by triumphing over them. It's that triumph that Paul sees extending in this procession through the nations. In His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus Christ has established, He's inaugurated the kingdom of heaven. It's the reason He came. It's the message He preached. And when He explained it and described it to those of us who were confused at what this kingdom was all about, He said, My kingdom is not of this world. A crucial point to understand if we're to understand its triumphal procession through the nations. For Jesus leads this procession. Jesus, following the analogy of Rome, is the great and mighty victorious emperor with the host of captives in his train, marching through the nations, proclaiming yet today, as he did through Paul and the church, the good news of the kingdom. Though we can't see him, Jesus is leading the procession. And it's rather ironic that he leads this procession through the church. It's ironic that he leads it through the church because Paul in our text describes himself, those ministers of the Gospel with him, and more broadly, even the church as the captives of Christ. The triumphal procession is the work of God. He's accomplished it in Christ and He continues it through the church, the very captives who come behind Him. An ironic truth and profound with meaning. That's what Paul tells us, that in Christ He always leads us in triumphal procession and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. Paul and the church. How can it be that they as captives are the ones through whom the good news of the kingdom is proclaimed? Paul portrays himself in our text and the surrounding context as a prisoner condemned to die in the arena. Pressing the analogy further, one commentator says that he and his fellow ministers are treated with contempt. Looking at 2 Corinthians 4, chapter 6, chapter 11. They go hungry and thirsty. They walk around in rags, receive beatings, belong with the homeless, and are considered to be of the filth of the earth. How can it be that these captives are the very messengers of God Almighty, the great King? Though Paul in his life and in his ministry and so many believers along with him took the form of captives who suffered in this life having nothing, going hungry, Enduring beatings and persecutions. Though they took the form of captives and elsewhere are described as slaves, nevertheless, they held the position as co-heirs of the kingdom. You see, if we understand the kingdom of Jesus Christ as being an earthly, visible kingdom, we would read a text like this and say, where's the procession? Where's the glory? You're telling us a bunch of lies, Paul. There was greater glory under David. There was greater glory under Moses. We've been hoping and longing and praying for what? What can we see? What can we touch? What can we have and enjoy today? You see, if we understand the kingdom of Christ in terms of an earthly, visible kingdom, our faith will fall. And like in Paul's day, there are plenty who will try to attach the kingdom of heaven to the earth. Who will try to identify the things of Christ with the things of the earth. But Jesus said that my kingdom is not of this world. And so we can rightly understand that the riches of His kingdom are likewise not of this world. That the power of His kingdom and the glory of His kingdom are likewise not the things of this world so that there can truly be a triumphal procession of that kingdom and the good news of the Gospel through people who are captives. They took the form of captives. Yet, as captives in Christ, they were co-heirs of the kingdom. It's evident that Paul understood this glorious truth in a profound way. Just over the page, in chapter 4, verse 11, he writes, chapter 4, verse 7, But we have this treasure in jars of clay. This treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed. Perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not abandoned. Struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body. And then picking up in verse 16, Therefore, we do not lose heart, knowing that the treasure is not of this world. We do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. And so, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. You see, this is the kingdom that Paul was proclaiming to the nations. This is the good news and the kingdom that was going on a triumphal procession through the nations with Christ at the head and His church following behind. Captive by Christ, yet redeemed from the world and all that is passing away. Because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of heaven really did come. And there really is an inheritance, be it like an eternal weight of glory, a treasure beyond comparison that can't be seen. but only believed. Because of Christ, His captives are taken out of this world which is passing away and placed into the kingdom of heaven. And it is through the church that this message continues today. It was true in Paul's day. It's through the church that this message continues. And in the centuries that follow, Paul's ministry, God was at work proclaiming the accomplished work of Christ through the church. And it's still proceeding in all of its triumphant glory today, even this evening. Do you believe it? Do you believe that the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven is as brilliant and as profound as it ever has been? Its triumphant procession continues through the ministry of the church and through all of us. And Paul says that this procession is to bring forth the knowledge of God everywhere. The end of verse 14. It proceeds through us this knowledge, this truth everywhere. What began in Israel and proceeded on this procession through Turkey and Greece and into Italy and through Europe it proceeds through us yet today everywhere unto all the nations. That's God's plan. All of His promises haven't yet been fulfilled. He's still working them out through us, the church. Paul says, For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one, a fragrance from death to death. To the other, a fragrance from life to life. Paul views his sufferings. And can't we also see our sufferings? The troubles we face. Can't we see that Christian suffering as it takes place through the church is the divinely orchestrated means by which the knowledge of God is revealed to the world? You see, when we lose the things that the world treasures and values and we can still come and give praise to God for being so gracious and good to us as Paul does in verse 14, we become a fragrance to those around us to step back and wonder, just who are you anyway? One pastor reflects that as Paul moved through the world and the church with him, all who had eyes to see saw in him not only the power, but also the sweetness of God's redeeming love. The mighty victor, not only his might, but his charm. Not only his greatness, but his grace. In fact, some felt that it was a good thing to be subdued as a captive and led in triumph like Paul behind Christ. It was to move in an atmosphere perfumed by the love of Christ. You see, the triumphal procession of the Gospel has an effect upon those who hear it and receive it by faith so that through them, the knowledge of God's grace, mercy, and comfort, the knowledge of God's love becomes to some life. To others, the smell of death. God's Word is at work through His church. It proceeds through us, His church. And the call for us is to not hinder it. To not take that fragrance that should be the smell of life and love of Christ and distort it and twist it. In Ephesians 5 verse 2, a similar analogy is used when Paul says to the church, there, therefore be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. As we walk in love for Christ and love for one another and the good news of the gospel proceeds through us, the church, the greater purposes of God's great victory in Jerusalem are brought beyond us to the waiting nations. What began over 4,000 years ago has been secured by Christ whose triumphal procession continues even today. As with Paul in the early church before, we have been brought into this work, made part of his kingdom. All of it signified and sealed unto us in the supper. Signs and seals that God's triumphant work accomplished by Christ continues to us and through us yet today. So as we share in it together, let us be encouraged. Encouraged that though we face troubles and trials of every kind in this life, whether they be as difficult and demanding as Paul's or whether they be as frustrating and seemingly minor as a disagreement within the home, we too are those following behind Christ, called upon to be a fragrance of life and love to the world. And let us also be reminded, as Paul concludes in our text, we're not sufficient for these things. We don't have the power and the strength within us to extend this procession. The work is God's. It's been accomplished in Christ and it continues through us today. That's His promise. That's His commitment. That's what we take part in in the Supper. Let's pray. Our Father in Heaven, we thank You that You are the mighty King, the triumphant One who in Christ has defeated, even put to shame, those who oppose you. And in Christ have made us captives, even co-heirs of the kingdom of heaven. Dear Father, may these profound truths take root within our hearts and our minds. May we be encouraged by them as necessary corrected by them and may we be enabled to be witnesses of them to one another and the watching world. For the glory of Your name and the good of us as Your church, we pray in Jesus' name, Amen.