Twin City church of Christ Blog
“May 31, 2024 - Who Is Sufficient For These Things?”
Categories: 2024 Reading DevotionalsWho Is Sufficient for These Things?
Reading: 2 Corinthians 2:12-17
Having sent the tear-soaked letter to Corinth, Paul is on pins and needles waiting to hear how the church received it. “When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, 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”(2 Cor 2:12-13). Paul is so distressed about this situation that he turns away from an open door for evangelism in Troas. What normally energizes and excites him cannot give him peace.
While he only hints at the answer he gets (he will describe it more fully in 2 Cor 7:5ff), Paul clearly receives good news. “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spread the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere”(2 Cor 2:14). Paul pictures the triumphal marches of the Roman emperors, who would parade through a town with a procession of the prisoners they have gained in the battle. Paul is in this procession as a slave, yet shares in the triumph of Christ and helps him spread his “fragrance.” “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 Cor 2:15-16). The fragrance smells different to different people, just as the gospel looks different depending on the heart of the listener (1 Cor 1:18, 23-24). Some learn Christ and smell life, others death. Yet all of it hinges on the followers of Jesus, who spread this fragrance. What an awesome responsibility! Who is sufficient for these things?
“Who is sufficient for these things?” is Paul’s humble question. Working alongside God in growing his kingdom is a tremendous honor. We do not deserve it nor do we have sufficiency—strength, wisdom, holiness—in ourselves. The closer we come to God’s work, the more our unworthiness shines through. We are insufficient in ourselves, yet “our sufficiency comes from God, who has made us sufficient”(2 Cor 3:5-6).
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One Thing to Think About: Do I consider it an honor to work for Jesus?
One Thing to Pray For: God’s empowerment to accomplish his work
