But thanks be
to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the
fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 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. Who is sufficient for
these things?
II Corinthians 2:14-16
You remember how
from the beginning of their exodus from Egypt the presence of God with the
people of Israel was manifested by a strange cloud which hovered over them and
led the way. In the darkness of the night the cloud
became a pillar of fire. When they arrived at
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord
filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter
the tent of meeting, because the cloud abode upon it, and the glory of the Lord
filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys,
whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel
would go onward; but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not go onward
till the day that it was taken up. For throughout all
their journeys the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire
was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of
Time and again that
cloud made its appearance in the dealings of God with
And when the
priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so
that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the
glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
I Kings 8:10-11
In Isaiah's call we
see it again.
In the year
that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a
throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the
temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six
wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with
two he flew. And one called to another and said:
"Holy,
holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is
full of his glory."
And the
foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of
him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
Isaiah 6:1-4
We see it again on
the Mount of Transfiguration.
And after six
days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother,
and led them up a high mountain apart. And he
was transfigured before them, and his face shone like
the sun; and his garments became white as light. And
behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus,
"Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish,
I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for
Elijah." He was still speaking,
when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice
from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him." When the disciples heard this,
they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe. But
Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and
have no fear."
Matthew 17:1-7
We see it again at
the Ascension.
And
when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was
lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of
Act 1:9-11
We see it again in
Revelation.
After this I
looked, and the temple of the tent of witness in
heaven was opened, and out of the temple came the
seven angels with the seven plagues, robed in pure
bright linen, and their breasts girded with golden girdles. And
one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels
seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives
for ever and ever; and the temple was filled with
smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no
one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of
the seven angels were ended.
Revelation 15:5-8
And we will see it
with these eyes at the hour of Christ's return.
The cloud
represents the atmosphere of the holy, living, burning presence of God. And while it is only visible as a cloud at certain times,
it is often present in the invisible. There are times
when the atmosphere of an assembly of believers, or the atmosphere of a room
where you may be praying, or even a street down which you may be walking is
thick with the presence of God.
The disciples only
saw the cloud on the Mount of Transfiguration and when Jesus ascended. But the atmosphere of God's presence was in and around
Jesus from the day of his baptism.
Jesus was himself
the tabernacle filled with the cloud. Jesus was the
temple thick with the presence of God. And it was this
atmosphere of God's holy, merciful presence pervading this ordinary,
down-to-earth man, which drew the multitudes, attracted troubled sinners,
awakened hope for healing in the crippled, the sick, and the blind. Jesus didn't need any gimmicks to attract people. The aroma of God rose from his very body and rode on the sound of
his voice.
The words that I speak to you,
they are spirit and they are life.
And
that aroma had the effect of attracting the broken ones and
repelling the proud.
But there were
times when the cloud of the presence of God was withdrawn from the temple. It had become a habitation of people whose hearts were no
longer fixed on God but on things unclean. So now the
atmosphere of the temple, in spite of all its
beautiful appointments and solemn rites, was the atmosphere of death.
The cloud of God
was replaced, you could say, with the cloud of Satan. There
was a heaviness, an uncleanness, a spirit of covetousness and lust and deceit
and blasphemous pride. Troubled sinners got no help
there any more. It was difficult to pray within those walls. It's not unfair to say that the scribes and Pharisees of
Jesus' day carried that cloud around with them ... the cloud of religious
flesh, spiritual death, which inspired in those who came under it a spirit of
fear, suspicion, despair and cynical pride.
Notice that once
the temple became corrupt it carried an atmosphere far more negative and
death-dealing than any tavern or brothel. And once a
person has been exposed to the mercy of God he or she
carries around in their life either an atmosphere of divine mercy or an
atmosphere of spiritual death. Which is to say that
once we have come under that cloud of the divine presence we can never again be neutral pagans. From this point on our lives are lived either under the
cloud of God or the cloud of spiritual death. And the
cloud we live under is the atmosphere we spread.
For instance, it is so easy for professing
Christians who seem to be correct in every respect to bring an atmosphere which
is doctrinally sound but spiritually death-dealing. We
say the right things. We profess faith in Jesus. We say, "Praise the Lord." We
mouth magnificent prayers. And yet the atmosphere
that goes forth from us is not the atmosphere of the
living God... his peace, his forgiveness, his healing, his mercy.... but the
atmosphere of self.
Leslie Faber, a
psychiatrist, wrote a book called THE WAYS OF THE WILL.
In the last chapter he describes how schizophrenics have a way of
filling the room with their presence. Even when they
aren't talking they seem to have such a charged
atmosphere about them that the room is filled with it. Faber
goes on to say that psychiatrists who spend most of their time with
schizophrenic patients soon acquire the same traits. What
Faber says about schizophrenics could be said of many Christians.
We fill the room. We somehow make people know we're
there... ...sometimes without a word. We give off the
aroma of self – contagious deceits that seem to intimidate everyone into withdrawing
behind a mask. We so often exude an atmosphere of
criticism, discouragement, condemnation, fear. And all
the while we think we're playing the Elijah role – making straight the way of
the Lord, shaking people up.
Then one day it
dawns on us that nothing we touch seems to receive any life. We
look back over our trail and see discouragement and death and confusion and
division in the Body everywhere we've been. When we
become aware of this happening in our lives it's time for us to ask ourselves
which cloud we are under. What kind of smoke fills the
temple of our hearts? The atmosphere in which we dwell
will be the atmosphere we spread. Am I dwelling under
the cloud of God? Am I really living in the atmosphere
of his mercy?
But thanks be to God,
who in Christ always leads us in triumph and through us spreads the fragrance
of the knowledge of him everywhere. 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. Who is sufficient for these things?
2 Corinthians 2:14-16.
We are the aroma of
Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.
What is that
aroma? That atmosphere?
It is the aroma of
a life offered up. When the smoke fills the temple
it's the smoke of an offering mingling with the cloud of God.
Whether it's a burnt offering or incense, it's something given to God. When the aroma of the nard filled the house
it was the aroma of Mary's life offered in all purity to God the Son.
The aroma of Christ
is the atmosphere of giving, just as the aroma of Satan is the atmosphere of
taking, stealing, cheating.
We are the aroma of
Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing
when we are daily abandoning our lives to the worship of the Lamb, presenting
our bodies as a living sacrifice, our minds to the cloud of God’s presence, and
giving ourselves to the doing of his mercy as the smoke of the incense gives
itself to heaven.
When we do this,
people around us begin to experience God whether they realize it or not. They have come under the cloud of his presence in several
ways....
Aroma of Reality
When we daily abandon ourselves to Jesus Christ, we
become the aroma of reality. In the presence of this
aroma people feel free to come out from behind their masks and be what they
are.
There is
nothing covered that shall not be revealed, or hidden
that will not be known.
Matthew 10:26
People came to
Jesus as they were. And if we are living before Jesus
without affectation or pretense people near us will feel free to come out from
behind their masks.
Aroma of
Kingdom Welcome
When we daily
abandon ourselves to Jesus we become the aroma of
kingdom welcome .... a joyful call to repentance. In the presence of Jesus, Zacchaeus
was glad to repent of his old life. The prodigal was
glad to rise up and go to his father.
The woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears was weeping for joy. If we’re the aroma of Christ, somehow God-hungry people
around us are encouraged to turn and come into the Kingdom. They’re
glad to sell what they have and buy the field with the treasure.
Aroma of Forgiveness
When we daily abandon ourselves to Jesus we become the
aroma of forgiveness. Those who long for it can almost
smell God's forgiveness. They are drawn to it. Guilty consciences draw near for peace. Sick
minds come near for healing. Victims of depression and
despair find hope.
We are the broken
bread and the poured-out wine. We are the sacrament,
the mercy of God for those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Aroma of
Peace
When we daily
abandon ourselves to the worship of the Lamb we become the aroma of peace.
On the
evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the
disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said
to them, "Peace be with you." When he had
said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then
the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus
said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you."
And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them,
"Receive the Holy Spirit...."
John 20:19-22
And that peace isn’t just the absence of conflict. It’s alive. It’s an atmosphere. It’s palpable. It spreads life
over the troubled waters and calms them like a mother's hand quiets the brow of
a sick child.
Blessed are
the peacemakers.
If we are living
under the cloud of God we will never have to advertise
what we have to offer. That cloud will so fill us that
the atmosphere of God's mercy will be wherever we are.
May the Lamb of God
help us to so live our daily lives to the worship of his name that we may ever
be under the cloud of his presence and convey his reality to all who draw near.
But thanks be
to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us
spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 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. Who is sufficient for
these things?