II Corinthians 2:14
“The Savour
of His Knowledge”
2 Corinthians 2:14-16 says, “Now thanks
be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in
Christ, and maketh manifest the savour
of His knowledge by us in every place For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that
perish. To the one we are the savour of death unto
death; and to the other the savour of life unto life.
And who is sufficient for these things?”
There is always something to thank God
for through His Son Jesus Christ. In all things give thanks. Because all good
things come from God and because God makes all things good in the 69 of law and
grace through Christ we can thank God. In talking about giving thanks to Christ
what is mentioned here is the, “triumph in Christ.”
Colossians 2:15, “And having
spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of
them openly, triumphing over them in it.” Times may change, cultures may
change, what is considered politically correct may change, but one thing will
never change Jesus Christ and the triumph that will always be in Christ, the
triumph over sin and the triumph over those who would oppose freedom and
liberty; the freedom and liberty of religion and speech and life and the
pursuit of happiness; and most importantly the freedom and liberty to live for
Christ, to do what is right, to pursue righteousness, to make righteousness and
selfless decisions. This freedom is God given and cannot be taken away by any
principality or power. There is always triumph in Christ. To make a spoil of
principalities and powers is to respect authority and yet never compromise on
truth or righteousness or liberty. To
spoil means to put off. To stand for freedom and liberty, the freedom of truth,
is to stand for the way of a man with a maid and the way of an eagle in the
air. Paul triumphed in Christ. He preached the Gospel of Christ when the
religious leaders of
Now notice the great result of
triumphing in Christ, “and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place.” The truth
cannot be stolen or stamped out. The truth will always be spread in this world.
O Earth, Earth, Earth hear the Word of the LORD. You cannot steal the name of
God.
2 Corinthians 2:14-15 says, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth
us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place. For we are
unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are
saved, and in them that perish.” I may never be the suffering servant that the
apostle Paul was or I may never be half as diligent in my labours
for Christ but O, just by being thankful for the victory in Jesus and the
triumph in Christ, the triumph over sin through the resurrection of Christ, the
triumph over death, just by being thankful to Christ for His promises how it
will result in the savour of the knowledge of Jesus
being spread in this world.
Now to talk about the knowledge of
Christ being spread is one thing but what does the savour
of the knowledge of Christ mean exactly? There is the knowledge of Christ. And
there is the savour of His knowledge. In
understanding the savour of the knowledge of God 2
Corinthians 2:15-16 says, “For we are unto God a sweet savour
of Christ in them that are saved, and in them that perish. To the one we are
the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life.”
The savour
of the knowledge of God is very different for a saved person than it is for a
lost person. The word savour is a word that refers to
the smell that is emitted when a body is bunt. In the Bible both in the Old and
in the New Testament the word savour is used in
referring to the burnt offerings of lambs given unto to God.
Exodus 29:18 says, “And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt
offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an
offering made by fire unto the LORD.” Ephesians 5:2, “And walk in
love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering
and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.”
The word savour
means smell. When a body is burnt it has a very distinct smell. The smell of a
rotting corpse is a horrible vile smell. The smell of an animal smells much
different than that of a human. The smell of a human corpse rotting or burnt is
much worse and sickening than that of an animal. When you consider this truth
what should be thought about is the sinfulness of man. Not all things have a
vile smell like corpses do. For exampel
as flowers and herbs and trees from whence cometh perfumes. This teaches
us about the sinfulness of man. Trees have not sinned, flowers have not sinned,
even animals have sinned. It is man that has sinned.
Yes the grace is there in God’s creation and in the beauty of nature but the
sinfulness is because of man. Thus we know a savour
can be something putrid and abhorrant and grotesquely
vile or a savour can be something like a vial of
perfume which rises before the throne of God.
Song of Solomon 1:3-4 says, “Because of the savour of thy good ointments Thy name is as ointment poured
forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. Draw me, we will run after thee.” Take a
bottle of perfume and inhale the fragrance. Take a pinch of spices and taste
it. Such a shard of savour
does a thousand perhaps even a million things all at once. It is like a filling
of the Spirit. It is like the work of God throughout a 2000 year period of time
done in a person’s life in an instant. A savour,
a smell goes forth and fills everything around it when it is a strong savour. To be the sweet savour
unto God means that others know you are a Christian. You do not hide you faith.
To never deny your faith in Christ is to never hide it. That’s all it takes.
The Bible is the savour of the knowledge of God. And
such a savour is twofold to those that are Christians
it increases their life, strengthens them, refreshes them, fills them with the
Spirit, enourages them, motivates them to live for
Christ, enables them to enjoy the day of small things. To a lost person such a savour is as the smell of a
rotting and burning corpse they turn away from it. They abhor it because they
are dead in their sins. They hate it
because they do not want to see the truth of their own sinfulness or repent of
their sins. That which should be the savour
of life unto them because the savour of death unto
them.
The word savour
has a multifarious aspect to it. It s like trying to take all
the knowledge of God and explain it in just few words instead of a few million
words. Consider what the Apostle Paul said about this in 2 Corinthians
2:14-16, “For we are unto God as a sweet savour
of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are
the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these
things.” The apostle Paul was a savour of
Christ. In other words He lived for Jesus not just 1 day out of His life, but
all His life from the time he was saved until the day He died. His entire life
became like the smell of a perfume rising out of a bottle and filling a room so
that all therein inhaled it. This is what it means to be a savour
of Christ. To be a savour unto Christ is like the
difference between a person waring cologne or having a bad and
rotten odour. When that person
passes by your going to smell them either way. When you do, that savour be it good or be it
foul will have a tremendous impact on the way you respond and treat that
person. To be a savour of Christ unto God is to have
the favour God in your life in a very special way.
God will take his time with you. God will give you more grace than He gives
other men. God will give you greater opportunities to live for Him to know Him
to walk with Him and to have the fullness of life. The day of small things is
the day of being a savour of Christ unto God. It is
the song of the turtle and of being faithful in the little things.
The way to have a testimony, like the apostle
Paul’s testimony, a testimony which tremendously effects both Christians and
the lost of the world is very easy. 2 Corinthians 2:17 says, “For we are not as many, which corrupt
the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.” Just speak the truth. Just use the Bible truthfully. Don’t be a
false teacher. Teach things that are true. Do not give into compromise. Do not
give in to temptation. Be faithful in your service to Christ and you will be a savour unto God. Zechariah 10:1
says, “Ask ye of the LORD
rain in the time of the latter rain.” 2 Corinthians 2:17 says, “For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of
sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.” We are unto God a sweet savour of Christ.
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Copyright; 2013 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved