2 Corinthians 2:12 - Meaning and Application

After finishing his directions about the man who had been put out of the church, the apostle makes a long side note. He begins to describe his travels and labors for the spread of the gospel, and also how deeply he cared about the Corinthians’ condition. He says he had no rest in his spirit when he did not find Titus at Troas, as he had expected (2 Corinthians 2:13), because Titus would have given him a fuller report about them. Later, when Paul reached Macedonia, he was comforted by Titus’ coming and by the news Titus brought about them (2 Corinthians 7:5-7). So we can read from this verse, 2 Corinthians 2:12, through 2 Corinthians 7:5 as a kind of parenthesis.

Paul was tireless in his work. He traveled from place to place to preach the gospel. He came to Troas from Philippi by sea (Acts 20:6), and from there he went on to Macedonia. That meant he could not stop at Corinth as he had planned (2 Corinthians 1:16). Even though his plans for where to work were interrupted, he did not grow weary in the work itself.

He also had good success in his labor. A great door was opened to him by the Lord (2 Corinthians 2:12). Everywhere he went, he had much to do, and God gave him good fruit for his efforts. God made the knowledge of Christ known through him in every place. Paul had the chance to speak freely, and God opened the hearts of the hearers, just as he opened Lydia’s heart (Acts 16:14). Paul speaks of this as something that brought thanks to God and joy to his own soul: “Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ.”

Several things are worth noting here. A believer’s triumph is always in Christ. In ourselves we are weak and have no real joy or victory, but in Christ we can rejoice and triumph. True believers always have reason to triumph in Christ, because they are more than conquerors through him who loved them (Romans 8:37). It is God who causes them to triumph in Christ. He gives the victory, and he gives the heart to rejoice in it. So all praise and glory belong to him. The good success of the gospel is a strong reason for a Christian to be glad.

Even when the gospel did not lead some hearers to salvation, Paul and his fellow workers still found comfort in their labor (2 Corinthians 2:15-17). Here we should notice the different results of the gospel in different people. Its success is not the same for all, because some are saved by it, while others perish under it. This should not surprise us, since the gospel itself has different effects.

For some, it is a smell of death leading to death. Those who are willingly ignorant and stubborn dislike the gospel, like people who hate a bad smell. As a result, they become more blind and hardened by it. It stirs up their sinful desires and makes their spirits worse. They reject the gospel, and that rejection leads to their ruin, even to spiritual and eternal death.

For others, the gospel is a smell of life leading to life. To humble and gracious souls, the preaching of the word is most pleasing and helpful. It is sweeter than honey to the taste and more pleasant than the finest fragrance to the senses, but it is far more useful than either. It gave them new life at first, when they were dead in sin, and it keeps making them more alive. In the end, it will lead to eternal life.

This made a deep impression on Paul’s mind, and it should do the same to us: “Who is sufficient for these things?” (2 Corinthians 2:16). Who is fit to be used in such important work? Who is able to do a task so difficult, one that needs so much wisdom and effort? The work is great, and our strength is small. In ourselves, we have no strength at all. All our sufficiency comes from God. If people truly thought about how much depends on preaching the gospel, and how hard the work of ministry is, they would be very careful before taking it up, and very careful to do it well.

Paul also found comfort in this serious thought. Faithful ministers will be accepted by God, whatever their outward success may be. “We are, if faithful, to God a sweet fragrance of Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:15), both among those who are saved and among those who perish. God accepts sincere motives and honest efforts, even when many people are not helped by them. Ministers will be accepted and rewarded, not according to their success, but according to their faithfulness. Even if Israel is not gathered, the servant may still be honored in the Lord’s eyes (Isaiah 49:5).

Paul also took comfort because his conscience testified that he had been faithful (2 Corinthians 2:17). Many were corrupting the word of God, but his conscience witnessed to his integrity. He did not mix his own ideas with Christ’s teaching and commands. He would not add to or take away from the word of God. He faithfully handed on the gospel as he had received it from the Lord, and he had no selfish or worldly aim to serve. His goal was to please God, remembering that God’s eye was always on him. So he spoke and acted as in God’s presence, and therefore with sincerity. Whatever we do in religion is not from God, and does not reach God, unless it is done sincerely, as in his sight.