The Aroma of Life (2 Cor 2:14-3:6)

What aroma do you give off? Cool like Clint Eastwood or Keanu Reeves? Cute like Anya Taylor-Joy in The Queen's Gambit? Tough and strong like Captain America? Often I feel physically like a slouching older person who can't even stand up straight, or like one who often says the wrong thing in the wrong way. Paul says that God uses him "to spread the aroma of the knowledge of [God] everywhere" (2 Cor 2:14). As a Christian do you spread God's aroma?

Competency in ministry (2:14 - 4:6). [Celebrating and Communicating (2:14-3:6); Led in Triumph; Confident and Competant; Aroma of Life; Opposition]. After not meeting Titus in Troas as he had hoped, Paul breaks off and resumes in 2 Cor 7:5-7 with a long digression to balance a depressing account of his ministry:

1. affliction in Asia (2 Cor 1:8-9), 
2. criticisms of his integrity (2 Cor 1:12, 17-18),
3. the pain experienced in Corinth because of the offender (2 Cor 2:4-5), and 
4. his inability to settle to missionary work in Troas (2 Cor 2:12-13).

To balance this depressing account, Paul strikes a positive note (2:14-4:6):

• God always and everywhere enables him to carry on an effective ministry despite many difficulties (2 Cor 2:14-17).
• He asserts that he doesn't need letters of recommendation, because their very existence constitutes a 'letter' from Christ validating his ministry (2 Cor 3:1-3).
• His competency for ministry comes from God who made him an able minister of the new covenant (2 Cor 3:4-6).
• He compares the greater glory of his ministry under the new covenant with the lesser glory of Moses' ministry under the old covenant (3:7-18). [A wonderful new relationship.]
• He concludes by describing how he conducts his ministry (4:1-6). [The clear shining of a great light.]

Led in triumph (2:14-17). Despite the difficulties of his mission, Paul is able to say, "But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession (2 Cor 2:14a). Leads us in triumph [thriambeuonti hemas] likely means that God, having 'conquered' Paul, now leads him as a 'captive' in his 'triumphal procession.' Paul's imagery is of a triumphal procession of a victorious Roman general leading his army through the streets of Rome up to the Capitoline Hill exhibiting the spoils and captives of war.

"And uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere" (2 Cor 2:14b). During the procession, incense was burnt to the gods and the aroma wafted over the spectators and those in the procession. For the victorious, the aroma was pleasing (2 Cor 2:15, 16b), but for the vanquished, it was far from pleasant (2 Cor 2:16a). The one whom Paul describes as led in triumph as a captive is the same one whom God uses to spread abroad the aroma of the knowledge of him, namely Christ, in whom the knowledge of God's glory is displayed (2 Cor 4:6).

Paul, a pleasing aroma of Christ. "For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing" (2 Cor 2:15). Why? Because, by preaching of the word of God (2 Cor 2:17), he spreads the aroma of the knowledge of Christ. In the Roman victory procession, the incense was offered to the gods, even though it was the people who smelt its aroma. So, while Paul focuses on the response of the people to the proclamation of the gospel, he says that the proclamation of Christ is well pleasing to God: it is "to God the pleasing aroma of Christ." But the smell of incense burnt to the gods in the triumphal procession would have different connotations to different people. For the victorious general, his soldiers and the welcoming crowds, the aroma is the joy of victory. But for the prisoners of war, the aroma is associated with the fate of slavery or death which awaited them. Gospel preaching likewise has different connotations for different people (2 Cor 2:16).

"To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life" [lit. 'to those [who are perishing] an aroma from death to death; to those [who are being saved] an aroma from life to life'] (2 Cor 2:16a). 'For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God' (1 Cor 1:18). With such a heavy responsibility Paul asks, "And who is equal to such a task" (2 Cor 2:16b)? Paul's answer: 'Not that we are competent in ourselves . . . our competence comes from God' (2 Cor 3:5).

"Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit" (2 Cor 2:17a). Due to the heavy burden of responsibility for preaching that he feels, he refuses to tamper with God's word (2 Cor 4:2), or to act like many other open air speakers/orators (1 Cor 1:17; 2:1) who peddle the word of God for profit and prey upon them (2 Cor 11:20), similar to petty traders who adulterate their wine with water or use false weights. Possibly these "peddlers" whom Paul alludes to were already operating in Corinth. To distinguish himself from them, Paul refused financial support from those he was ministering to, though he accepted it from Christians elsewhere (2 Cor 11:7-12; 12:13-15). In contrast to such people, Paul says, "On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God" (2 Cor 2:17b). He describes 4 aspects of his preaching: he speaks:

1. in Christ, as one who belongs to Christ and has been taught by him;
2. before God, as one who is accountable to God (2 Cor 5:10-11);
3. with sincerity, as one whose motives are pure and without dissimulation;
4. sent from God, as one who has been commissioned by God and must faithfully carry out his commission.

Letters of recommendation (2 Cor 3:1-3). Paul says much about the commendation of servants of God (2 Cor 4:2; 5:12; 6:4; 10:12, 18; 12:11). When Apollos came to Corinth he brought a letter of recommendation from the Ephesian Christians (Ac 18:27) and Paul wrote letters of recommendation for many other people (Rom 16:1-2; 1 Cor 16:10-11; 2 Cor 8:22-23; Eph 6:21-22; Col 4:7-8, 10; Phlm 10-12, 17-19). But in their case at least, Paul did not need a letter of recommendation for them or to receive one from them. It is not his disapproval of such letters, but as their founding apostle who planted the church it's proof enough of his apostleship. Thus, he needed no letter of recommendation to prove the authenticity of his apostleship to that church.

Why did Paul raise the question of letters of recommendation? It's likely that the fact that he didn't bring such a letter with him to Corinth had been used as a basis of criticism by someone in the church. Quite likely, it was the offender--the one who caused pain (2 Cor 2:5) and who did wrong (2 Cor 7:12) who, in mounting his personal attack against Paul, criticized the apostle's lack of such a letter. The offender probably also received support at least from the 'false apostles' who had already infiltrated the church and were themselves to oppose Paul so vehemently (chs. 10 - 13).

"Are we beginning to commend ourselves again" (2 Cor 3:1)? Self-commendation in itself was not reprehensible and was even necessary in situations where commendation by a third party was not possible. Elsewhere, Paul does commend himself (2 Cor 4:2; 6:4), but was reluctant to overdo it (2 Cor 5:12; 10:18). Criticism that he didn't bring letters of recommendation forced him to ask, "Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you" (2 Cor 3:1b)? Some came to Corinth with letters of recommendation because they needed them and likely asked them for letters to facilitate the next stage of their mission. They, the false apostles in Corinth, were probably critical of Paul for not doing so. Paul regarded it as absurd that he should be required to bring such letters to them or to ask them for such letters when he's their founding apostle. Paul's question expects an emphatic 'No' as an answer.

"You yourselves are our letter, written on [y]our hearts, known and read by everyone" (2 Cor 3:2) is Paul's defense against criticisms that he didn't bring a letter of recommendation when he came to Corinth. The meaning is of a letter written on Paul's heart, consisting of the knowledge of what God had done in their lives through his preaching of the gospel. '...your hearts' also fits well in the context. Paul says, 'you yourselves are our letter,' and 'you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry' (2 Cor 3:3). It was through Paul's ministry that Christ constituted them a letter of recommendation for him, suggesting that the letter was written on their hearts. So, the existence of believers in Corinth was testimony to the effectiveness and authenticity of Paul's ministry. They were his letter of recommendation, written, he says, on our/your hearts, known and read by everyone.

"You show that you are a letter from Christ" (2 Cor 3:3a). If they are Paul's letter of recommendation, the author of that letter is Christ, for Christ himself produced this letter for him. Certainly, then, his 'letter' of recommendation carries more weight than those written by human authors that 'some people' presented. While Christ was the author of the letter, Paul says it was "the result of our ministry" (2 Cor 3:3b). In a metaphor of letter writing an author and a scribe are envisaged. Paul describes a 'living letter' dictated by Christ, and 'inscribed' in their hearts through his apostolic ministry of gospel proclamation. Paul takes the analogy one step further when he says this scribal work was performed "not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God'' (2 Cor 3:3c). His ministry was empowered by the Spirit of God, and any changes wrought in the lives of his hearers were effected by the Spirit (Rom 15:17-19; 1 Cor 2:4-5).

Paul varies the metaphor saying, "not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts" (2 Cor 3:4d). The law is written in stone at Mount Sinai (Exo 31:18). But the gospel is written on human hearts, alluding to the new covenant (Jer 31:31-34; Eze 36:24-32). This allusion paves the way for Paul to describe himself as a minister of the new covenant (2 Cor 3:4-6) and to compare and contrast the ministry under the old and new covenants (3:7-18).

An exalted view of ministry is implied (3:1-3). Paul and his colleagues were privileged to be the agents by whom 'living letters' from the exalted Christ were inscribed in the hearts of men and women. For this ministry the apostles were entrusted with the precious ink of the Spirit. By the grace of God, what was effected in their hearts through Paul's ministry became a letter authenticating and commending his ministry. Chrysostom comments, 'The virtues of disciples commend the teacher more than any letter.'

Ministers of the new covenant (3:4-6). Paul answers the question 'Who is equal to such a task?' (2 Cor 2:16) by showing that his competence as a minister of the new covenant comes from God. Then he expands on the new covenant (2 Cor 3:3; Jer 31:31) and to contrasting ministries under the old and new covenants (3:7-18).

"Such confidence we have through Christ before God" (2 Cor 3:4) is based on seeing God's work in them through Christ (3:1- 3), for he's seen God transform their lives through Christ who produced 'living letters' in their hearts. Before God (or 'towards God') is the one who leads him in triumph and through him spreads abroad the aroma of the knowledge of God (2:14-17).

Paul's confidence is not self-confidence: "Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God" (2 Cor 3:5). His competence in ministry comes from God, and he answers the question he raised: 'Who is equal to such a task?' (2 Cor 2:16). His denial of self-sufficiency isn't an exaggerated humility, but a sober recognition of the fact that spiritual ministry can be accomplished only by the power of God at work in the minister and released through the preaching of the gospel (Rom 15:17-19; 1 Cor 1:18 -2:5).

"He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant" (2 Cor 3:6a). Paul repeats his answer to the question 'Who is equal to such a task?' (2 Cor 2:16) by stressing that it is God who has made him a competent minister of the new covenant. 

'Minister' ( diakonos ) can mean either an agent acting as an intermediary, or an assistant who acts at the behest of a superior. In his ministry, Paul functioned in both these ways (2 Cor 5:20; 1 Cor 3:5). 

"New covenant" is only in 1 other place in the Lord's Supper tradition which Paul received ['This cup is the new covenant in my blood' (1 Cor 11:25)]. Both Jesus' words of institution and Paul referring to the new covenant show that Jeremiah's prophecy has been fulfilled: 'The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,' declares the LORD' (Jer 31:31-32). Jesus' words which Paul quotes (1 Cor 11:25) and the exposition in Heb 9:15-28 of Jer 31:31 make clear that Christ's death established the new covenant that supersedes and surpasses the old Mosaic covenant, as Paul makes plain (3:7-11).

Paul stresses the ministry of the new covenant is "not of the letter but of the Spirit" (2 Cor 3:6b)--interpreted as a ministry which doesn't focus upon the literal meaning of the OT ('letter'), but on its real underlying intention ('spirit'). But Paul uses 'letter' and 'Spirit' to the law of Moses ['engraved in letters on stone' (2 Cor 3:7)] and the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 3:8)--the primary features of ministry under the old and new covenants.

"...for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Cor 3:6c). How does the letter, the law of Moses, kill? There's nothing wrong with the law - he insists that the law is holy, righteous, good and spiritual (Rom 7:12, 14). But it's powerless to curb human sin (Rom 8:3) or to bring life and be a means to establish righteousness (Gal 3:21). Instead, it pronounces God's judgment on sinners and brings death (Rom 7:10). So a ministry of the letter is a ministry of death. On the other hand...

"...the Spirit gives life" (2 Cor 3:6d) and does what the law could never do, i.e., bring about the fulfilment of its own demands (Rom 8:2-4). The ministry of the Spirit--different from the ministry of the letter--is a ministry of the new covenant where sins are forgiven and remembered no more and God's law is written on people's hearts (Jer 31:31-34; Eze 36:25-27). It's a ministry where people are motivated and enabled by the Spirit to overcome their sinful tendencies and live lives pleasing to God (Rom 7:4, 6), the final outcome of which is eternal life (Gal 6:8).

When Paul contrasts the letter that kills and the Spirit who gives life (2 Cor 3:6), no downgrading of the role of Scripture in Christian life and ministry is involved. The letter that kills refers to the law of Moses in its role of pronouncing judgment upon those who sin. But that same law testifies to the saving gospel of Christ (Rom 3:21; 4:1-25; 10:5-8). 'All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work' (2 Tim 3:16-17).

Reference:

1. Charles Hodge. 1 & 2 Corinthians. A Geneva Series Commentary. The Banner of Truth Trust. 1857, 1859.
2. Colin Kruse. 2 Corinthians. Tyndale NT Commentaries. 1987, 2005.
3. Geoffrey Grogan. 2 Corinthians. The Glories & Responsibilities of Christian Service. 2007.
4. David Garland. 2 Corinthians. The New American Commentary. 1999.
5. Paul Barnett. The Message of 2 Corinthians. 1988.