A key theme in the first half of 2 Corinthians chapter 2 is forgiveness and the particular issue there was forgiving and receiving back into the fellowship of the church a brother who had miserably sinned but was genuinely repentant. We immediately think of the terrible sin of King David first with Bathesheba and then the treachery against her faithful husband, Uriah, with orders from the king to fall back in the midst of a battle and leave him to be killed by the enemy. It is incredibly disconcerting to think of such a man as King David, "a man after God's own heart," to have fallen into such grievous and terrible sin. It is beyond our comprehension--only if we forget the warning in 1 Cor. 10:12 "Wherefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. " But the emphasis for us to illumine this passage in our text is all of Psalm 51, the greatest passage in all literature showing the depth of repentance, remorse, forgiveness, and cleansing by our Holy God. Can't you feel the deep emotion as David cries out in desperation to God, "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. . . . Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:1-3, 10
That is genuine repentance. The effects of his terrible sin were not erased and heavy discipline came, but we have the classic example of true repentance. Something similar had taken place in Corinth where there, too, had been a grievous sexual sin affecting many people. But the man had genuinely repented and God had genuinely forgiven him. Now it was up to the church to do the same and that included receiving him back into their fellowship. There is a difference between forgiving someone just because we must forgive all in the sense of not seeking revenge and desiring their good and not nursing a grudge, and the situation where there is genuine repentance. For him they must receive him as a brother. And it's so beautifully stated as to why they must show their love to him: "lest he be swallowed up with sorrow upon sorrow." 2:7 God does care about the intensity of our suffering and our sorrows.
And the second half of the chapter tells us that we are "a fragrance of Christ to God" and to those who are being saved, a fragrance of life to life. And the somber reality is that we are also "an aroma from death to death" "among those who are perishing" because they are unrepentant.
This alludes to the sweet savor offerings of the Old Testament, the ritual connected with the Golden Altar of Incense. Incense is a type of prayer and praise to God. "Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice." Psalm 141:2 The time of prayer and sacrifice was the "ninth hour" (3:00 PM). The lifting up of holy hands was a sign that the believer identified himself with the Sacrificial Lamb being offered on the Altar. At the same time that the odor of the burnt sacrifice was rising to heaven, so also the fragrance of the sweet incense was ascending heavenward. And this takes us to a remarkable verse: ". . . Christ loved us, and gave himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour." Ephesians 5:2
And so we also are a "fragrance of Christ" to others but never forget what the fragrance is and where it comes from! It is Christ's fragrance, not ours. It is "Christ in us, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. . . ." Galatians 2:20 This fragrance of life is the beauty of Christ's holiness, imputed to us, but being made real in our lives by the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. What is the fragrance and beauty that others see? Christ's kindness and compassion and humiility and love and help. The beauty of holiness, the beauty of Christ, the fragrance of the knowledge of God. "And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us." Psalm 90:17
"A glimpse of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ causes in the heart a supreme genuine love for God. This is because the divine light shows the excellent loveliness of God's nature. A love based on this is far, far above anything coming from self-love [and much more than simply gratitude that Christ died for you.] The true love of God which comes from this sight of His beauty causes a spiritual and holy joy in the soul; a joy in God, and exulting in Him. There is no rejoicing in ourselves, but rather in God alone." (Jonathan Edwards, "The Divine Light."c.1742)
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