My brother gifted me some lumber from his backyard. So, I’m building a shed in my backyard. But my yard is way crooked. To level the foundation, I used many concrete blocks and a laser level. The laser created a fixed reference by which to adjust the height of each block until all blocks were true to the laser.

With the church at Corinth, we could say things have gotten a bit crooked. But when Paul planted the church, he put in place a fixed reference (a true line). That fixed reference wasn’t created by Paul; it was revealed by God. The gospel message of God acting in Christ to save sinners—that is their fixed reference.

Paul writes so that their lives become truer to the gospel. Likewise, this letter exists to make our lives truer to the gospel—in our confession and in our conduct. It shows us how to embrace Christ’s apostles and embody Christ’s sufferings while trusting God’s power in weakness. That will bear itself out once again, as Paul continues his defense in 2:12. Let’s start there and read to 3:6. Hear the word of the Lord…

¹² When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, ¹³ my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia. ¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. ¹⁵ For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, ¹⁶ to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. ¹ Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? ² You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. ³ And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. ⁴ Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. ⁵ Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, ⁶ who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Our passage has three basic parts. Verses 12-13 set the stage with God opening a door for gospel work. Verses 14-17 then compare God’s work in Christ to a “triumphal procession,” closing with a note on Paul’s sufficiency. Finally, verses 1-6 compare the church to a “letter of recommendation,” closing again with a note on Paul’s sufficiency. So, if it helps to have some handles as we navigate this text—an open door, a triumphal procession, and a letter of recommendation. That’s the outline.

An Open Door

First, an open door. In verses 12-13, Paul continues a topic he started in 1:15-16. Some have questioned Paul’s integrity, since he didn’t stick to Plan B—a double visit to Corinth. But, as we learned, there was more to that story. He paid them an emergency visit and they rejected him. It was a “painful visit.” And to spare them more pain he went on to Ephesus. He decided to write instead. He wrote with tears and anguish of heart.

After Ephesus, he moved on to Troas “to preach the gospel of Christ.” He says, “A door was opened for me in the Lord.” Paul likes to illustrate the gospel’s advance with an open door. But notice: he isn’t doing the opening; God is. In Acts 14:27, Paul and Barnabas report how the Lord “opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.” In Colossians 4:3, he asks the church to pray “that God would open to us a door for the word.” So it will always be. God is the chief missionary. He’s in charge of the mission. When the gospel advances, it happens by God’s doing. Paul is just following him.

At the same time, why does Paul mention the open door? To show the extent of his concern for the Corinthians—that even amid gospel work, he carried a great burden for them. “My spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there.” Titus was the one by whom he sent the painful letter. Paul was waiting to hear some news, news that eventually Paul tells us in 7:5. But he’s describing a point in time when he hadn’t yet heard anything. So, he heads to Macedonia—which, according to 1 Corinthians 16:5, was part of the original plan. When it says, “I took leave of them,” it’s showing that he did this out in the open. He didn’t sneak away from the work. He spoke with Christians in Troas about why he needed to get to Macedonia.

Now, Paul’s role as an apostle differs from our role. We’re not appointed as foundational teachers in the church. Also, some things God told Paul by special revelation; so, they’re more descriptive for him than prescriptive for us.

But other things are worth noting for our Christian life. One is to notice how exciting work didn’t mean existing work went neglected. God opens a door in Troas. The gospel is marching onward: “Hurray!” People are getting saved; and Paul gives himself to that work. He preaches Christ. At the same time, he’s concerned for the church in Corinth. His spirit isn’t at rest. Ministry isn’t about building personal platforms; it’s about the people. It’s more than counting conversions and church plants; and some of you aspiring to be pastors or missionaries need to remember that.

One of Paul’s greatest burdens was that the people were maturing in Christ. Later, in 11:28, when Paul lists his many afflictions, the final (seemingly climactic?) burden sounds like this: “apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.” He was burdened for their growth in Christ.

Something else we learn is that gospel work and great burdens often go together. Can’t you hear it? “Even though a door was opened…my spirit was not at rest.” He’s preaching Christ and he’s heavy-hearted. Later he describes his ministry as “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” If you feel tensions like that, you’re in good company. Suffering doesn’t mean something’s wrong necessarily. Maybe you’re doing everything right; and the burdens you carry are because your life is becoming truer to the gospel.

Gospel work and great burdens often go together. Our lives will be truer to the Gospel when we remember that. After all, we follow in the footsteps of our Lord, who for the joy set before him endured a cross. His loving pursuit of our good in God led to great suffering and sacrifice. In this way, we should imitate Paul as he was imitating Christ.

A Triumphal Procession

Of course, this way of living caused some to mock the Apostle Paul. They viewed him as a weak, afflicted man. He was suffering all the time. Yet, as we turn to verses 14-17, notice that Paul turns his sufferings into an occasion for thanksgiving. “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession.” Which brings us to our next image—a triumphal procession. It’s a unique metaphor—appearing only twice in Scripture, here and in Colossians 2:15.

Paul borrows from a well-known Roman custom. When Roman generals won the battle, Rome would plan lavish parades to honor the victor—a triumphal procession. The streets filled with people and pomp. The victorious general would enter Rome, riding high in a chariot. He was decorated with embroidered cloth. Soldiers carried the spoils of war—gold, jewels, weapons. Others painted pictures of battle scenes with their enemies humiliated. Trumpets sounded. Incense offered to the gods wafted through the air. Then came the conquered prisoners—they were led down the street in chains and would suffer death to bring glory to the Roman general.

Hardly anybody questions this cultural backdrop. But careful Christians have been divided on how Paul applies it. Just compare a few English translations, and you’ll notice the differences. For instance, the NIV has “[God] who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession.” Meaning, Paul likens himself to a defeated captive in the parade. He once was God’s enemy. But now he’s been conquered by Christ; and Christ is leading Paul—the now defeated slave—to a death that will bring glory to God.[i]

Certainly, that reading has some things going for it. How does Paul describe his ministry in 1 Corinthians 4:9? “God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death.” It’s also true that God is leading Paul into his suffering. We saw that in 1:4 and 9. More than that, it’s possible that Paul views himself as a sacrifice offered to God, even as he spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ to others.

But there are some questions this reading doesn’t answer very well for me. One is that Paul uses the same metaphor in Colossians 2:15; but there he identifies the captives as Satan and his cohort. Why would Paul use the same metaphor but this time put himself with the captives who are doomed? Also, identifying Paul with the captives requires he switch metaphors mid-sentence. The “fragrance” suddenly has nothing to do with the triumphal procession. Instead, it’s likened to the fragrance of an Old Testament sacrifice. But what if the fragrance continues the metaphor of the triumphal procession?

That leads us to option two, which comes out in the NASB: “[God] who always leads us in triumph in Christ.” Meaning, Paul sees himself not among the captives but among those celebrating Christ’s victory. In fact, the two participles “leading us in triumphal procession” and “spreading the fragrance” are grammatically parallel. They seem to be parts of the same metaphor. Read in this way, Paul likens himself to one of the incense bearers in the parade. Paul pictures his ministry as one where he spreads a knowledge of that victory to others through his gospel ministry.[ii]

Now, that reading doesn’t detract at all from Paul’s sufferings. It just sets them in the context of Jesus’ victory. Yes, he’s still suffering terribly. Yes, gospel ministry comes with great burdens. Yes, the world looks on Paul and sees nothing but weakness and humiliation. But no matter where he goes—Troas, Macedonia, Corinth. No matter what he suffers, the aroma of Christ rises to God and spreads among the crowds. Paul’s sufferings don’t hinder the news of Christ’s victory; they spread it further.

Of course, not everybody finds that fragrance of Christ to be so sweet. Paul says, “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.” You can imagine the different groups of people in a Roman triumphal procession. For those liberated in war, the incense was a sweet reminder of their freedom. But for those captives who were being led away to death, the incense must have been repulsive. It was only reminding them of their immanent doom.

Same with the gospel. For some, the message of Christ and him crucified is a sweet aroma. They know that in and through Jesus’ death, God has liberated from sin and secured their victory. But for others, they hear of a man crucified in humiliation, and they find that message repulsive, silly, weak. Their own spiritual death is only leading to more death. Massive eternal realities hang in the balance.

We like drawing lines in the sand. Sometimes it’s humorous—like choosing sides in sports or going on about Star Wars versus Star Trek. Other times the lines involve something more serious—like social action or political consequences. But none of these temporal divides compares to the eternal divide presented by the gospel of Jesus. How do you know whether you’re being saved or whether you’re perishing, whether you’re on your way to eternal life or eternal death? It all comes down to what you think of Jesus. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” But if you don’t, you’re already perishing. There’s no neutrality when it comes to the gospel of Jesus.

This was the nature of Paul’s ministry—cosmic, eternal realities are at stake. “Who is sufficient for these things?” He’ll answer that question more explicitly in 3:5. But here it’s implied: Paul is saying, “We are” (i.e., Paul and his associates are). God made them sufficient—sufficient in the sense of qualified, competent. “For,” he explains, “we’re not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word (i.e., men who do it for money, personal gain).” The church at Corinth should’ve known this. Later in 11:7, Paul explains how he preached the gospel to them free of charge. Yet he suffers greatly on their behalf. He wasn’t in it for money, for the fame.

No, “but as men of sincerity,” he says, “as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.” God commissioned him. He’s not in this to please people. Ultimately, he answers to God. And he speaks from his incredible union in Christ. So, whether it’s his character, his sufferings, or his message—he does it all in Christ. People can’t help but catch wafts of the aroma of Christ crucified and risen.

The example of Paul’s ministry certainly challenges what our culture often values in ministry. We tend to elevate leaders with charisma. People flock to those with polished speaking abilities. Growth is more about numbers than maturity. Observing this phenomenon, Carl Trueman once coined the term “Big Eva”—“the rise of big conference platforms and the promotion of [“celebrity pastors”]…that supplanted or subverted the role of local congregations…in shaping church policy.” “At the height of Big Eva’s influence, [Trueman] once asked a class of students who was the most influential pastor in their lives. Almost none mentioned his or her actual [pastor], defaulting instead to naming the headline acts at the big evangelical conferences.”

But Big Eva has run its course and given way to what Trueman calls “Gig Eva.” “In Gig Eva, anyone with the time to spend living online can become a celebrity without having proved himself beforehand in any real service to any church.” “Its advocates validate their personal authenticity by their constant iconoclasm, their decrying of anything that stands in their way, and their priority of disembodied, cost-free online engagement over the more expensive demands of service—and accountability—to real people in real time, in church and in homes.”[iii]

By contrast, consider the costly demands of Paul’s service to real people in real time. Consider the afflictions that mark his ministry and how he embodies Christ’s sacrificial love. Consider how everything he does revolves around Christ and him crucified. He continues upholding Christ, even when that means others divide around him. Let us learn from the example of Paul’s ministry, so that our values become truer to those reflected in the message of the cross. The world will keep tempting you with paths that look more glamorous, powerful, exciting, macho. But the true victory procession is with those who follow their crucified Lord and lay down their lives for others.

A Letter of Recommendation

Paul’s final image is a letter of recommendation. He asks in verse 1, “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again?” Notice that word “again.” His point isn’t that self-recommendation is bad. Read the rest of the letter: 4:2, “we recommend ourselves to everyone’s conscience;” 6:4, “we recommend ourselves in every way.” The point here is that he shouldn’t be having to cover this again. They know him. He lived with them.

Nor should he have to appeal to additional human credentials. That’s the next question: “Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you?” Again, a letter of recommendation wasn’t bad. It was common for others to establish mutual trust with letters. 3 John is basically a letter of recommendation for Demetrius. What’s wrong is that they’ve lost touch with the letter that matters most.

Listen again to the way he puts it. Verse 2, “You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”

Notice several things about this letter. For starters, it’s a living, breathing letter. The people of the church in Corinth—they are the letter. Also, they’re written on Paul’s heart. They have his deepest affection and commitment.[iv] It’s also a public letter. There’s no secret to what God has done among them. Everybody can “read” the way God has transformed them. And verse 3 shows the letter’s author: “you are a letter from Christ.” Christ wrote it; Paul was just the delivery boy. And the means Christ uses to “write” this living letter is the Holy Spirit transforming hearts.

We know from Exodus that God wrote the law on tablets of stone. We also know from Exodus that apart from the work of God’s Spirit, the law changed nobody. The people needed a new and better covenant, where the Spirit would come and change people from the inside. Jeremiah 31:31-34, “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel…I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.” By the Spirit, Jesus has done that in the lives of these believers. Jesus sealed the new covenant in his blood; and the Spirit applied the new covenant to these Christians as Paul preached the gospel. Therefore, Paul is legit. They are Paul’s letter of recommendation, written by Christ himself. You don’t get a better recommendation than that.

That’s why Paul says, “Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.” What sets Paul’s self-recommendation apart? God is constantly his boast, his strength, his source, his help. He didn’t qualify himself—God did it. He says, “God made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

Be careful with that last bit—“the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” The contrast is not bookish doctrine versus “Spirit-led” ministry. It’s also not contrasting a literal versus allegorical approach to Scripture. Rather, the contrast is between ministry under the old covenant and ministry under the new covenant. Verse 7 tells us what he means by “letter”: “Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face…” What’s he talking about? The Law of Moses—also known as the old covenant.

Now, he’ll go on to say that the old covenant had a glory to it. There was nothing wrong with the Law. Paul says elsewhere that the Law is good and holy. But the Law as bare command—as mere letter carved on stone—could not save us. Instead, it had a ministry of condemnation, a ministry of holding up a mirror to sin and telling us what we deserve—death, curse, punishment. In that sense, the letter kills, the Law kills.

But God has made Paul a minister of a new covenant; and in that new covenant, the Spirit gives life. How does that happen? He gives life by applying the finished work of Christ to us. Christ died in our place. We’re no longer beneath the law’s condemnation; Christ bore that punishment in our place. And, positively speaking, the Spirit makes us alive to the things of God. He writes the Law on our hearts so that we find it good and beautiful; and as we walk in God’s word, we live as he created us to live. He’s in us and we’re in him; and we enjoy freedom in his presence.

God made Paul sufficient to minister that new covenant. In the end, the church in Corinth—all they needed to do was look around and see the new covenant realities at play in their lives; and they would remember that Paul is legit. The Spirit’s work among them is more than enough proof. They are his letter from Christ.

What does that mean for us? For the Corinthians, it meant they better square up with Paul. The same could be said for us—if Christ vouches for Paul, we better not ignore what he’s written. It’s wrong when progressive Christianity tries to reduce Christian doctrine to the words of Jesus over Paul. All that Paul writes on the pages of our New Testament has Christ’s backing. From justification by faith to submission; from election to sexual ethics; from resurrection to spiritual gifts—whatever Paul wrote, we must receive his words as authoritative instruction for Christ’s new covenant community.

But speaking of that new covenant community, has your heart been made new? Becoming a Christian is not merely switching to a new moral code. Christianity is not just another set of moral teachings. It’s not even a matter of knowing what’s right and wrong. If the history of Israel proves anything, people can know right and wrong and still not have the want to do it. The old covenant made demands but never produced the obedience. By contrast, the new covenant effectively produces the obedience. Christianity involves the transformation of our person at the deepest level.

God must write his law on your heart. He has to make you love it from the heart, treasure his glory, enjoy his word, long for his character to be formed in you. In short, you must be born again. Being right empowers doing right. What about you? Do you find God’s commands burdensome instead of a delight? Are you striving to just “do better” but finding no want, no motivation outside of “Because mom and dad said so,” “Because these are the rules”? Beloved, true change only comes with a new heart; and that new heart is promised in the new covenant to all united to Jesus. So, ask the Lord for a new heart. Ask him to write his law on your heart and make you new from within.

For those of you who know Christ, give thanks for the new covenant in Christ? As people of the new covenant, you are liberated from Satan’s domain, forgiven by God, cleansed from guilt, bonded in covenant with God, made a new creation, circumcised in heart, sealed for heaven, raised in Christ, hidden with Christ, adopted as children, filled by the Spirit, taught by your Father, consecrated to serve, built as a new temple, citizens of a better country, raised in spirit to be raised in body, and promised an inheritance in an unshakable kingdom that will never fade or fail. Give thanks, brothers and sisters!

Give thanks that somebody spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ to you. In verse 14, Paul thanked God for the spread of the gospel. When was the last time you thanked God for spreading the gospel to you? For the Corinthians, he used Paul. Who did God use in your life? Was it mom or dad? A spouse? A sibling? A friend? A roommate in college? Was it a coworker who cared enough to ask the harder questions? Maybe you picked up a book like Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis, and God used his words to compel you to put your faith in Christ. However he brought you the good news, we owe the Lord our thanks. He opens a door for the word. He leads the triumphal procession. He works by the Spirit. And he makes his ministers sufficient.

And speaking of that sufficiency, how has God equipped you? Certainly, we are not apostles. But we have the same message—the same message that turned a bunch of pagans in Corinth into a letter from Christ, the same message God used to bring you out of corruption and into covenant with himself. Might God work in a similar way through you? In what ways might God use you to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ to others? Whether it’s a family member, friend, classmate, coworker—we all have different spheres of influence. What would it look like for you to bring them the good news of the new covenant in Christ?

When people are around you, do they smell the aroma of Christ? Is he so much a part of who you are they can’t help but notice? In what ways might your life need to be further aligned with Christ, so that does happen? Remember, results will vary. Some will find that message repulsive. But for others, it will be the aroma from life to life.

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[i] Scott J. Hafemann, 2 Corinthians, NIVAC (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 107-112.

[ii] See the extensive treatment in George Guthrie, 2 Corinthians, BECNT (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2015), 156-173, who responds to Hafemann and others.

[iii] Carl Trueman, “Goodbye ‘Big Eva,’ Hello ‘Gig Eva,” First Things (October 23, 2025), accessed at https://firstthings.com/goodbye-big-eva-hello-gig-eva/.

[iv] Guthrie, 2 Corinthians, 288.