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1. The Exaltation of the Grace of God – "But thanks be to God …"
   
   
1. In the preceding verses, Paul describes himself as facing various discouragements in ministry.
2. He was in Troas apparently believing that Titus would join him at any time to give a report concerning the Corinthians’ response to his letter.
3. He failed to show and his anxieties got the better of him – cp. v. 13.
4. So, he left an "open door" of ministry to go to Macedonia in hope of connecting with the Corinthians.
5. He was rewarded through connecting with Titus – cp. 2 Corinthians 7:5-7
6. I believe that it was this good news of their repentance that evoked from Paul the exaltation of the grace of God in this expression of gratitude for His powerful and sovereign intervention
7. It is as if God had conquered the Corinthian’s through the use of Paul and that difficult letter he had fretted over – cp. 2 Corinthians 7:8-10
   
   
2. The Exhibition of the Glory of God – "… Who always leads us in triumph in Christ."
   
   
1. In an attempt to adequately capture the magnitude of God’s glory, Paul makes reference to a "Triumph"
2. A "triumph" was an elaborate celebration of a victory by a well-deserving general – wherein he is honored and glorified as a hero and rewarded for his exploits by means of a parade through the streets of Rome.
1. The procession consisted of a huge procession.
2. Included in this procession were:
1. The city magistrates
2. Trumpeters
3. Spoils taken from the enemy
4. White oxen intended for sacrifice
5. The captives headed by the king of the conquered country
6. Officials of the victorious army
7. The general himself
3. Through Christ, God had vanquished His enemies – cp. Romans 5:10; Colossians 2:15
4. Paul, pictures himself as one of Christ’s captives, and the ministry is viewed as a "triumph" as the Lord is exalted as the hero and conquering Son – cp. Ephesians 4:8
   
   

1. The Agenda of the Master – "and manifests through us the … knowledge of Him in every place"
   
   
1. By placing us in the "Triumph" procession, he essentially uses us as a means by which He "manifests" His great glory and grace.
2. In our redemption, we are objects of His grace by which others are able to see the excellencies of God – cp. 1 Peter 2:9; Acts 26:18
3. It is the "knowledge of Him" that is "manifest[ed] through us" – cp. Ephesians 1:17-20
4. This disclosure of the "knowledge of Him" is to occur "in every place" – the essential commission of missions.
   
   
2. The Attraction to the Master – "… the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him …"
   
   
1. This knowledge of Him is "the sweet aroma" that usually attended the "Triumph" – as priests would burn incense and individuals would throw flowers in the way to be trampled by the procession.
2. As such there was an emission of a "sweet aroma" that is descriptive of the testimony that we possess for Christ.
3. How does our testimony smell? – Would it attract someone to the Master? Or, possibly repel them?
4. Thus, the knowledge of Christ as preached from our lips and practiced in our lives becomes a "sweet aroma" that attracts sinners to the Master.
   
   

1. The Regeneration of Those Who Believe
   
   
1. Not only do our lives affect what others think of the Person of Christ, our participation in the Gospel a "fragrance of Christ to God."
2. The importance of this fact is that the aroma that we have given off will at the end of the processional waft to the very nostrils of our Master.
3. Along the way it will also be smelled by those who will behold our lives – "among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing."
4. When we are consistently rejoicing in the role of prisoner and the fragrance we exude is of Christ, then people will either be drawn to Christ or repelled.
5. Those who a drawn it is "an aroma from life to life" – emphasizing the certainty of salvation for those who pay attention to the Gospel and believe.
   
   
2. The Reprobation of Those Who Reject
   
   
1. However, when people are exposed to the power and glory of Christ as seen in the great processional and "smelled" in the life of the believer and then refuse to repent, the aroma of the Gospel results in "death unto death"
2. There is nothing that can be pointed to in the universe than a bad heart closing itself against the knowledge of Christ.
3. As soon as the Gospel is preached, those who heard it but rebel and amassing for themselves a worse punishment.
4. "who is adequate for these things?" – only those who have become the prisoners of Christ and have joined the "triumph" thereby displaying the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Christ!

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