“Smelly Dads” II Corinthians 2:12 – 3:18
All Dads (& ALL PEOPLE) have a CERTAIN AROMA.
12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, 13 I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia. 14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
We smell like we KNOW HIM or we DON’T.
Which crowd finds our aroma PLEASING?
16 To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.
- I Cor. 1:18 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.
People will sniff RIGHT THROUGH to our SINCERITY.
We PASS IT ON to ALL IN OUR INFLUENCE.
3 1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
People will smell like THE ENVIRONMENT we PROVIDE THEM
Our smell depends on our SPIRITUAL “HYGIENE.”
4 Such confidence we have through Christ before God. 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6 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.
We will smell like THE ENVIRONMENT we DWELL IN.
Daily “hygienic” disciplines
We can smell BETTER THAN EVER… FOREVER!
7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
Let’s not stink TO HIGH HEAVEN.
Let’s smell like HEAVEN ON HIGH!”
We can smell like RELIGION or RELATIONSHIP!
12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
The smell of INCREASING GLORY for us and THOSE AROUND US!
“Ministers of the New Covenant & Glory of the New Covenant”… DADS! We are called to be New Covenant Dads… Dwelling in the aroma of The Spirit… Picking up the scent of The Spirit… AND BRINGING IT HOME!