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In this message we will see that we may express Christ by putting Him on (Rom. 13:14) and by triumphing in Him in our ministry (2 Cor. 2:14-16).
Romans 13:14 says, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.” This verse indicates that we need to take Christ as our new garment and put Him on so that we may express Him.
In verse 12 we are told to “put on the weapons of light,” and in verse 14, to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” By placing these two phrases together, we can see that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the weapons of light. Furthermore, the phrase make no provision for the flesh corresponds to 8:12, where Paul says, “We are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh.” The warfare in 13:14 is between the lusts and the Spirit, as in Galatians 5:17. We must put on Christ, who is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17), in order to fight the battle against our lusts. Here the warfare does not concern the devil or the forces of evil in the heavenlies as in Ephesians 6:12; it concerns the lusts against which we must fight by putting on the Lord Jesus Christ as our weapons of light. This kind of warfare is different from that in Romans 7:23, where it is the law of sin in our flesh warring against the good law in our mind; this warfare has nothing to do with the Spirit. But 13:14 shows that by putting on Christ, we fight against the fleshy works of darkness.
We have been baptized into Christ and are already in Christ (6:3; Gal. 3:27). Why then must we still put on Christ? To put on Christ actually means to live by Christ (2:20) and to live out Christ (Phil. 1:21). Although we are in Christ, we need to live by Christ and to live out Christ practically. We need to have a daily living that is by Christ and that expresses Christ. We need to put on the Lord Jesus Christ as our second garment (Psa. 45:13-14) to live Him as our subjective righteousness and magnify Him.
The expression of Christ in our daily life is our weapon for fighting against the flesh. Since the battle in Romans 13:14 is not against the devil or spiritual wickedness but against the flesh with all of its lusts, we need to live by Christ. The more we live by Christ, the more He becomes our weapons against the lusts of the flesh.
By wearing Him as our garment, we make no provision for the flesh; that is, we have no intention to provide anything for our lustful flesh. The Greek word translated “provision” in verse 14 means “arrangement.” This word has the same root as the Greek word for “take forethought” in 12:17. To take forethought includes the meaning “to provide.” To make no provision for the flesh is to not take any forethought for the flesh or provide the flesh with anything that will support it and make it convenient for it to fulfill its lusts.
We should not supply the flesh with anything. This indicates that the flesh continues to exist. Regardless of how spiritual we become, the flesh can still be revived. The flesh is hungry and desires food, but we must starve it to death, making no provision that will allow it to fulfill its lusts. The present human society is dark and evil, containing numerous provisions for the flesh. The enemy has used them to provide food for the hungry flesh. We need to keep away from them. When we wear Christ as our expression, we give no ground to our flesh.
Second Corinthians 2:14-16 reveals that we may express Christ by triumphing in Him in our ministry. In verse 14 Paul says, “Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in the Christ and manifests the savor of the knowledge of Him through us in every place.” Concerning this verse, Conybeare says, “The verb here used...means to lead a man as a captive in a triumphal procession; the full phrase means to lead captive in a triumph over the enemies of Christ....God is celebrating His triumph over His enemies; Paul (who had been so great an opponent of the gospel) is a captive following in the train of the triumphal procession, yet (at the same time, by a characteristic change of metaphor) an incense-bearer, scattering incense (which was always done on these occasions) as the procession moves on. Some of the conquered enemies were put to death when the procession reached the Capitol; to them the smell of the incense was ‘an odor of death unto death’; to the rest who were spared, ‘an odor of life unto life.’” The same metaphor is used in Colossians 2:15. God always leads the apostles in such a triumphant way for their ministry.
The word us in 2 Corinthians 2:14 refers to the conquered captives in the train of Christ’s triumph, celebrating and participating in Christ’s triumph. Here the apostle spoke about his and his co-workers’ ministry. He likened their ministry to a celebration of Christ’s victory. Their move in their ministry for Christ was like a triumphal procession going from one place to another under God’s leading. He and his co-workers were Christ’s captives, bearing the fragrant incense of Christ, for His triumphant glory. They had been conquered by Christ and had become His captives in the train of His triumph, scattering the fragrance of Christ from place to place. The apostles’ move as captives of Christ in their ministry for Him is God’s celebration of Christ’s victory over His enemies.
In verse 14 Paul indicates that he was a captive of Christ. He fought against Christ, the heavenly General, but eventually he was defeated, subdued, and captured, and thereby became a captive of Christ. Saul of Tarsus was a strong, ambitious young man who fought against Christ, against God’s economy, and against the churches. But while he was fighting, he was defeated and subdued by Christ on the way to Damascus. At that time, the Lord Jesus told him not to kick against the goads, that is, not to fight against Him (Acts 26:14). A goad on a plow is a sharp-pointed stick used to subdue and prod an ox yoked to the plow. While Saul was kicking against the goads, the Lord was laughing at him in the heavens (Psa. 2:4). After Saul of Tarsus was captured, he was placed in Christ’s triumphal procession. The first three captives in this procession were Peter, John, and James. As one of the captives in a train of defeated foes, Paul was being led in Christ’s triumphal procession. God led him from city to city as a captive to celebrate the victory of Christ. Saul was a rebel against Christ, but he became an apostle by being captured by Christ. He went from city to city to preach Christ as one in the train of vanquished foes.
On the one hand, we have been freed by Christ; we are released people, who now have our freedom and liberty. On the other hand, however, we have been captured by Christ. Every person freed by Christ is a captive of Christ under His power and authority. For Christ to be transfused into us, we must be captives. Today people treasure their liberty, freedom, and human rights, and no one wants to be considered a captive. We, however, are the captives of Christ.
The ministers of the new covenant were captives in a triumphant procession for the celebration of Christ’s victory (2 Cor. 2:14a). The proper ministry of the New Testament is a triumphal procession celebrating Christ’s victory. The ministry of the New Testament is to testify of Christ as the Winner and the Victor. As Paul was marching in Christ’s triumphal procession, he could praise the Lord for His victory and in this way testify of Him. The apostles’ move in the ministry was like a triumphal celebration from one place to another under God’s leading. Wherever that procession moved, they celebrated the victory of Christ and witnessed of Christ’s triumph over them. Likewise, as captives of Christ, we also witness of Him today. We were defeated by Him, captured by Him, and subdued by Him, becoming submissive captives who say Amen to His victory and praise Him. Gospel preachers must consider themselves as captives in the procession celebrating Christ’s victory. Whenever they preach the gospel, they should go as captives in a procession.
Jesus defeated us, conquered us, subdued us, and captured us. Therefore, now we are dependent upon Him. We take Him as our everything. This is the procession of His triumph. We may not realize that we have been captured, subdued, possessed, and gained by Christ, the Victor, and that now we are captives in the train of His victorious procession. However, if we have an inward realization concerning this matter, it will make us a different kind of person. We will always be conscious of the fact that we have been captured by Christ, subdued by Him, and gained by Him. In relation to ourselves, therefore, we are nothing. A captive is one who is now absolutely for the one who has conquered him. He knows that now he is among those marching in the train of the victorious procession of the one who has captured him.
If we are conscious of the fact that we are a captive in the train of Christ’s triumphal procession, then we would not be able to exchange words with others. How could a captive in Christ’s triumphal procession exchange words? As a captive of Christ, we have nothing to say and nothing to do. We all need to realize in a practical way that we are captives in Christ’s procession. Such a realization will certainly change us.
On the one hand, through His death and resurrection Christ has vanquished and captured us. On the other hand, in our experience Christ must conquer us, subdue us, and capture us. In 2 Corinthians 2:14 we are told that God “always leads us in triumph.” Here the triumph is not our triumph but Christ’s triumph. God always leads us as captives in the triumph of Christ. Truthfully speaking, many of us must admit that instead of our being captives to Christ, Christ is a captive to us. In our experience who is the captive? Who is celebrating the victory? Who is defeated? Many of us need to admit that much of the time, Christ our Savior has been defeated and captured by us, becoming our captive in the train of the celebration of our fleshly victory. In many things we are not subdued or conquered by Christ. It may be that our will, the human will, the self-will, has never been conquered. On the one hand, we believers are slaves to Christ; on the other hand, we may be still opponents, enemies, to Christ because our will has not been subdued or conquered. We should also consider whether or not our desire has been conquered by Christ. Even in seeking spiritual things, we may still be an enemy of Christ. While we are seeking spiritual things, we may still be opponents to Christ because we seek spiritual things in our way according to ourselves, according to our desire. We may be seeking the Lord according to our will. We all must realize that we first need to be conquered and defeated, praying from the depths of our being, “Lord, defeat me. Be merciful to me and never let me have the victory. O Lord, how dangerous and how pitiful it would be if You would allow me to have the victory. Lord, keep me defeated.”
Day by day there are many struggles, not between us and the world, or us and sins, but between us and the Lord. We should not focus on the world or sins but take care of the battle between us and the Lord. If we would only be willing to be defeated by the Lord, all the world and sins would be under our feet. We are defeated by the world or besetting sins because we are defeating Christ in our daily living. We need to concentrate our prayer on being conquered by Him: “Lord, make me Your captive. Never let me win. Defeat me all the time.”
Many things of the self, including selfish will, selfish desire, and selfish thoughts, may be within us. Consequently, day by day Christ has been defeated by us. We may not know how many rebellious elements are within us. Hence, we have to be defeated, conquered, subdued, and eventually carried away as a captive in the triumphal procession of Christ’s victory. We need to tell ourselves and tell the Lord that we are willing to be a captive of Christ.
If only a small number of people would be willing to be captives of Christ in His triumphal procession, the entire earth would be greatly affected. Many seek for gifts of power, but what the church and the world need is not gifted persons but captured persons. Today what the church needs is not spiritual giants but little captives. In this universe and on this earth God is celebrating the triumph of His Son, Christ. Are you willing to be just a little captive in this celebration? If you are willing, then wherever you go, person after person will be captured. Just as you are a captive, they also will become captives of Christ. We may consider the apostle Paul as a great preacher, but he considered himself as a captive. God leads us as captives in the triumph of Christ, celebrating His victory. We all must be willing to be Christ’s captives. We all need to bow our knees and say to Him, “Lord, I am willing to be Your captive.”
In verse 14 Paul also likens himself and his co-workers to incense-bearers scattering the savor of the knowledge of Christ in His triumphant ministry as in a triumphal procession. The apostles are such incense-bearers in their ministry of Christ as well as captives in the train of His triumph. Concerning the phrase the savor of the knowledge, Vincent says, “According to the Greek usage, savor and knowledge are in apposition, so that the knowledge of Christ is symbolized as an odor communicating its nature and efficacy through the apostle’s work.” The apostles’ excellent knowledge of Christ became a sweet savor. On the one hand, the apostles were captives; on the other hand, they were those bearing incense, the fragrance of Christ. As the apostles marched in Christ’s procession, they bore the fragrance of Christ as incense. The apostles, being permeated with Christ, became a fragrance of Christ to God. They were not merely a sweet savor produced by Christ, but Christ Himself was the savor being exhaled in their life and work to God.
The more a person is exposed to the fragrance of incense, the more this fragrance will permeate him. If the fragrance of incense is imparted to him, wherever he goes, he will carry with him the fragrance of the incense. Hence, the scattering of the incense of Christ is actually a matter of the divine dispensing.
The transcendent power of Christ’s resurrection in us enables us to endure the sufferings that others cannot bear and to live a life that others cannot live, thereby manifesting the fragrance of Christ. Through the power of His resurrection Christ leads us in joyful triumph in His victory procession and manifests the savor of the knowledge of Him through us. If in our daily living we enjoy Christ, depend on Christ, fellowship with Christ, and are filled with Christ, then we can say that for us to live is Christ (Phil. 1:21a). People will sense a special flavor in us — the fragrance of Christ. This is not being a moralist or a virtuous man; this is Christ as our life living Himself out from us, leading us in triumph, and manifesting His fragrance.
One aspect of our living Christ is our spiritual service, which is an outward action that issues from touching the inward feeling of Christ. This action is Christ’s coming out of us. Because the Spirit is the realization of Christ, when the Spirit touches us, it is Christ who is touching us, and when the Spirit motivates us, it is Christ who is motivating us. Then anyone who contacts us will sense the fragrance of Christ in us. We will be able to give people a flavor that is spiritual and heavenly. When we listen to someone’s preaching, we may not sense the flavor of Christ in him. This is because in his living he is disconnected from Christ, and there is a barrier between him and Christ. He has not yet dealt with certain matters before God, and his spirit has lost contact with Christ. We sense his eloquence, but we cannot sense the Lord’s presence with him, and neither can we touch spiritual reality. Whatever we do in our service should have Christ and even be Christ.
In Philippians 3:8 Paul says that he counted everything as refuse for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. In 2 Corinthians 2:14 he speaks of the savor of the knowledge of Christ. The excellent knowledge of Christ is a fragrance, an aroma. This means that we who have been conquered and captured and brought into the triumphal procession to celebrate Christ’s victory speak to others the excellent knowledge of Christ. Whatever we speak, that is the excellent knowledge of Christ. We know Christ by our experience and enjoyment of Him. As we march in the triumphal procession, we speak to others about the Christ whom we know. What we say concerning Him is a sweet-smelling savor.
In his preaching of the gospel, Paul was spreading abroad the fragrance of Christ. Likewise, whenever we speak Christ, this speaking is the spreading of the sweet fragrance of Christ. Paul also says that this is a sweet fragrance to God. This means that when we speak Christ to others, in our speaking the fragrance of Christ ascends to God for His enjoyment. Whenever we speak Christ to others, we need to realize that our speaking is the spreading of the sweet fragrance of Christ. While we are speaking, God is enjoying this fragrance. When we speak forth the riches of Christ in the meetings, we are spreading Christ as a sweet fragrance. God enjoys this fragrance in our speaking forth Christ.
We need to speak Christ with our spiritual knowledge. The apostles were a fragrance of Christ to God because they were saturated and permeated by Christ and with Christ. Because they were permeated in this way, they became the fragrance of Christ to God. When they spoke to others, the Christ with whom they were constituted spread Himself out from their being and came forth as a sweet fragrance to God for His enjoyment. We may say that they were permeated with Christ as the divine perfume. Wherever they went, God could manifest through them a sweet fragrance of Christ.
This should also be our experience today. While we are speaking Christ, He should come forth as a sweet fragrance out of our being. This is a matter of the divine dispensing. Through the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity, we can mature in life and triumph in our ministry. We all can have a triumphant ministry. When we open our mouths to speak for Christ, we will be triumphant. We can allow Christ to spread His sweet fragrance to God for His enjoyment. All this takes place by God’s dispensing, by the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity into our being.
According to 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, God firmly attaches us unto Christ, has anointed us, sealed us, and given the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. Based upon this, God manifests the fragrance of Christ through us for others’ salvation (2:14-15). The saving power is the fragrance of Christ going out from us. This fragrance is actually the living Spirit. When unbelievers breathe in this fragrance, they receive Christ. When we go out to visit people for the preaching of the gospel, they should be able to breathe in the fragrance of Christ.
The real gospel preaching is the scattering of the incense. Jesus is the incense scattered among His captives. If we do not learn to enjoy the indwelling Christ, there is no incense in the church life. When we learn to enjoy Him as the One indwelling us, we scatter the sweet savor to others. This sweet smell is something of the sweet nature and essence of Jesus Himself.
In verse 15 Paul goes on to say, “For we are a fragrance of Christ to God in those who are being saved and in those who are perishing.” The manifestation of the savor of the knowledge of Christ has a twofold effect, a twofold result: either it results in life unto life, or it results in death unto death (v. 16). To some, to those who are God’s chosen ones, this fragrance will be life; however, to others this fragrance will be death. This refers to the different effects of the apostles’ ministry upon different persons. It is a matter of life and death! This is the triumph and effect of the ministry, which is the constitution of Christ within us.
If we manifest the savor of the knowledge of Christ, wherever we are, we will bring either life or death. Wherever we go, people will either receive life or suffer death. Either they will go to Christ or will be devoured by Satan. No matter who a person may be, if he contacts us, it will be either life or death to him. This is a very significant matter.
Christ as the General won the victory over all His enemies and has had a triumphal procession to celebrate His great victory. In this procession we are the captives of Christ by His victory and ones who manifest the savor of the knowledge of Him. As we triumph in Christ in our ministry, God manifests the savor of the knowledge of Christ as a fragrance to God — in those who are being saved a savor out of life unto life and in those who are perishing a savor out of death unto death. This is our expressing Christ as His fragrance.
