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Response
Second Corinthians 2:15 states, “For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” To comprehend the meaning behind the apostle Paul’s statement that Christians embody the “aroma of Christ,” we need to examine the verses surrounding this expression: “But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and employs us to disseminate the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To one, we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?” (verses 14–16).
For Jewish individuals, the apostle Paul’s comparison of “the pleasing aroma of Christ” would evoke an immediate connection. In the Old Testament, the fragrance of burnt offerings was described as “an aroma pleasing to the Lord” (Genesis 8:20-21; Leviticus 23:18; Numbers 28:27). For the Gentiles, this phrase would evoke the aroma of incense being burnt as an offering to the gods. However, Paul had a more precise image in mind.
The apostle was addressing the Corinthians about recent occurrences in his evangelistic ministry. Despite all the challenges and setbacks he had encountered while journeying from city to city to spread the gospel, Paul could reflect on God’s goodness with gratitude. The apostle then likened this evangelistic ministry to the triumphal military processions that were prevalent in the Roman world at that time.
Paul’s analogy would have been easily grasped by his audience, with the apostle and his fellow workers depicted as triumphant soldiers in a victory parade. During these Roman military processions, prisoners of war would be paraded through the streets as symbols of the conquering general’s victory.Lands of flowers were carried, and incense was burned to the gods. The aromatic perfumes wafted in the air as spectators and those in the procession breathed in their fragrance. At the parade’s finale, many prisoners would be put to death. Thus, the aromas were pleasing and life-giving to the victors, but they were the smell of death to those who had been defeated.
In Paul’s analogy, he separates humanity into two groups: those on the path of salvation and those on the road to destruction. The aroma spread everywhere by the ministry of evangelism was the knowledge of God as victor. Christians who spread the gospel are members of God’s victorious army led by Jesus Christ. Believers are like the aroma or fragrance spread during the victory processions. Both the victors and those perishing smell the aroma; however, it has a different meaning for the two groups. For the victorious army and its peoples, the aroma would relate to the joy of triumph. But for the prisoners of war, the fragrance would be associated with defeat, slavery, and death.
This brilliant metaphor contrasts Christian and non-Christian responses to hearing the gospel. To non-Christians, those on the road to destruction, believers who preach the gospel spread the smell of death, as it were. To Christians, those on the path to salvation, they produce the fragrance of life.
Overwhelmed by the extreme importance of this ministry of spreading the gospel, Paul exclaimed, “And who is equal to such a task?” The implication is that no one is worthy. Paul was astounded that God would appoint humans to share in this task. Later, in 2 Corinthians 3:5–6, Paul affirms that our ability rests solely on God: “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
