ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS

MIKE CUNNINGHAM

February 11, 2007

Those of you who have been regularly attending our Worship Service’s know that it’s characteristic of me to often remind you of something you already know; I’m not infallible, nor do I have a corner on all spiritual truth. That’s why I frequently encourage you to search the Scriptures for yourselves to see if what I have been teaching is of God. Well guess what? I now plan on suggesting you may also want to verify the authenticity of my comments concerning what I present as being historical facts.

As I was developing today’s sermon I discovered that last week my research was sloppy. Even though I had the information right under my nose amongst my books at home, I failed to dig deep enough, and I feel as though I short changed you folks. For that I offer an apology. I’m very sorry. I take pride in my sermons. I’m acutely aware of my complete dependence upon the Lord, and I try to do the best I can. Nevertheless, last week I dropped the ball. Hopefully, I’ll make it up this morning.

For a while now I have been teaching that in order for us Twenty First Century Christians to truly understand and become richly blessed today by what the Holy Spirit communicated through those inspired biblical writers in century’s gone by; there are certain passages which we must first factor in the historical context. If we don’t, we will be unable to fully grasp the truths those early Christians learned, and will we be unable to determine how they may or may not apply to us today.

As we saw last week, a good case in point was found in Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 2:12-17 (AMP) ¹² Now when I arrived at Troas [to preach] the good news (the Gospel) of Christ, a door of opportunity was opened for me in the Lord, ¹³ Yet my spirit could not rest (relax, get relief) because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave from them and departed for Macedonia. ¹⁴ But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ’s victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere,

¹⁵ For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which exhales] unto God, [discernible alike] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing: ¹⁶ To the latter it is an aroma [wafted] from death to death [a fatal odor, the smell of doom]; to the former it is an aroma from life to life [a vital fragrance, living and fresh]. And who is qualified (fit and sufficient) for these things? [Who is able for such a ministry? We?]

¹⁷ For we are not, like so many, [like hucksters making a trade of] peddling God’s Word [shortchanging and adulterating the divine message]; but like [men] of sincerity and the purest motive, as [commissioned and sent] by God, we speak [His message] in Christ (the Messiah), in the [very] sight and presence of God.

As I pointed out last week: “Today’s Twenty First century Christians who either read or hear verse fourteen spoken for the very first time, wouldn’t have a clue as to what Paul was speaking about when he described our spiritual forefather’s  as being triumphantly led by Christ as “trophy’s” of His victory. But those Christians of two thousand years ago would immediately know that Paul was alluding to a disgusting spectacle which was called “A Roman Triumph.” Those first followers of Christ would be able to visualize and contrast a very sad fact of their life with the wonderful present state of affairs of normal Christians which Paul was describing in verse fourteen.”[1]

I went on to describe what “A Roman Triumph” was and it was in that that description that I short changed you folks last week. Hopefully I’ll be able to make it up with the following and you will be able to profit from the full richness of what Paul was alluding to in his metaphor.

“In his [Paul’s] mind is the picture of a Roman Triumph and of Christ as a universal conqueror. The highest honor which could be given to a victorious Roman general was a Triumph. To attain it he must satisfy certain conditions. He must have been the actual commander-in-chief in the field. The campaign must have been completely finished, the region pacified and the victorious troops brought home. Five thousand of the enemy at least must have fallen in one engagement. A positive extension of territory must have been gained, and not merely a disaster retrieved or an attack repelled. And the victory must have been won over a foreign foe and not in a civil war.

In a Triumph the procession of the victorious general marched through the streets of Rome to the Capitol in the following order. First came the state officials and the senate followed by the trumpeters. Next were carried the spoils taken from the conquered land. For instance, when Titus conquered Jerusalem [in A.D. 70], the seven-branched candlestick, the golden table of the shew-bread and the golden trumpets were carried through the streets of Rome.

After the trumpeters were pictures of the conquered land and models of conquered citadels and ships. They were followed by a white bull for the sacrifice which would be made. Walking behind were the captive princes, and the leaders and generals in chains, shortly to be flung into prison and in all probability almost immediately to be executed. Next came the lictors bearing their rods, followed by the musicians with their lyres; then the priests swinging their censers with the sweet-smelling incense burning in them.

After that came the general himself. He stood in a chariot drawn by four [white] horses. He was clad in a purple tunic embroidered with golden palm leaves, and over it a purple toga marked out with golden stars. In his hand he held an ivory scepter with the Roman eagle at its top, and over his head a slave held the crown of Jupiter. After him rode his family; and finally came the army wearing all their decorations and shouting “Io triumphs!” their cry of triumph.

As the procession moved through the streets, all decorated and garlanded, amid the cheering crowds, it made a tremendous holiday which might happen only once in a lifetime. That is the picture that is in Paul’s mind. He sees Christ marching in triumph throughout the world, and himself in that conquering train. It is a triumph which, Paul is certain, nothing can stop.[2] Now let’s take a closer look at verses fifteen and sixteen.

2 Corinthians 2:15-16 (AMP) ¹⁵ For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which exhales] unto God, [discernible alike] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing: ¹⁶ To the latter it is an aroma [wafted] from death to death [a fatal odor, the smell of doom]; to the former it is an aroma from life to life [a vital fragrance, living and fresh]. And who is qualified (fit and sufficient) for these things? [Who is able for such a ministry? We?]

Hopefully the following will give us additional insight and enable us to better understand and appreciate what Paul was referencing just as the Corinthian Christians were able to.

Paul was certain of one thing—not [even] all the [armies of the entire] world could defeat Christ. He didn’t live with a pessimistic fear, but with the glorious optimism which knew the unconquerable majesty of Christ.”[3] Paul knew they were engaged in a fierce spiritual war (Ephesians 6:10) in which they would suffer greatly and which he described as being led to death in a Roman Triumphal procession. He also knew that it was through their personal suffering that the Christians Commander-in-Chief revealed His power and His glory.

2 Corinthians 1:8-11 (AMP) ⁸ For we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about the affliction and oppressing distress which befell us in [the province of] Asia, how we were so utterly and unbearably weighed down and crushed that we despaired even of life [itself]. ⁹ Indeed, we felt within ourselves that we had received the [very] sentence of death, but that was to keep us from trusting in and depending on ourselves instead of on God Who raises the dead.

How often you and I forget to remember that apart from Him we can do nothing, (John 15:5) as we set out to accomplish something which we think is going to be a piece of cake? How often are we aware of the fact that it is in Him that we live and move and have our very being, (Acts 17:28) as we go about our daily life? How often has God driven these truths home to you and me by allowing us to go through some terrifying experience? And then, just as we thought it was all over for us, and the end had come, God came to our rescue as He did Paul and the others.

¹⁰ [For it is He] Who rescued and saved us from such a perilous death, and He will still rescue and save us; in and on Him we have set our hope (our joyful and confident expectation) that He will again deliver us [from danger and destruction and draw us to Himself],

What is it that lightens our burden and gives us strength for the present and hope for tomorrow and which even enables us to endure our difficulty with thanksgiving and praises to God? Isn’t it by God, using whatever means pleases Him, reminding you and me of His past faithfulness and His past merciful deliverances? And, isn’t it also by our knowledge of the fact that others are constantly lifting us up with fervent heartfelt petitions to the One we know is capable of granting much more than they ask?

¹¹ While you also cooperate by your prayers for us [helping and laboring together with us]. Thus [the lips of] many persons [turned toward God will eventually] give thanks on our behalf for the grace (the blessing of deliverance) granted us at the request of the many who have prayed. And, as I pointed out a moment ago, whatever we accomplish is not of ourselves but of God.

2 Corinthians 4:7-12 (AMP) ⁷ However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves. ⁸ We are hedged in (pressed) on every side [troubled and oppressed in every way], but not cramped or crushed; we suffer embarrassments and are perplexed and unable to find a way out, but not driven to despair; ⁹ We are pursued (persecuted and hard driven), but not deserted [to stand alone]; we are struck down to the ground, but never struck out and destroyed;

¹⁰ Always carrying about in the body the liability and exposure to the same putting to death that the Lord Jesus suffered, so that the [resurrection] life of Jesus also may be shown forth by and in our bodies. ¹¹ For we who live are constantly [experiencing] being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the [resurrection] life of Jesus also may be evidenced through our flesh which is liable to death. ¹² Thus death is actively at work in us, but [it is in order that our] life [may be actively at work] in you.

2 Corinthians 6:3-9 (AMP) ³ We put no obstruction in anybody’s way [we give no offense in anything], so that no fault may be found and [our] ministry blamed and discredited. ⁴ But we commend ourselves in every way as [true] servants of God: through great endurance, in tribulation and suffering, in hardships and privations, in sore straits and calamities, ⁵ In beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless watching, hunger; ⁶ By innocence and purity, knowledge and spiritual insight, longsuffering and patience, kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in unfeigned love;

⁷ By [speaking] the word of truth, in the power of God, with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand [to attack] and for the left hand [to defend]; ⁸ Amid honor and dishonor; in defaming and evil report and in praise and good report. [We are branded] as deceivers (impostors), and [yet vindicated as] truthful and honest. ⁹ [We are treated] as unknown and ignored [by the world], and [yet we are] well-known and recognized [by God and His people]; as dying, and yet here we are alive; as chastened by suffering and [yet] not killed;

2 Corinthians 12:9 (AMP) ⁹ But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!

Regardless of where he went, Paul envisioned himself as being joyfully led to death by God, moment by moment, in a glorious triumphal procession. It was by means of Paul’s suffering that God revealed the wonderful knowledge of Himself I have been speaking about. And it is through our own sometimes painful trials that God reveals that same knowledge of Himself to folks He has brought into our life, as He did through Paul and the other followers.

2 Corinthians 2:15-16 (ESV) ¹⁵ For we are the [sweet] 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?

Commenting on these verses, Charles Hodge writes: “When we speak of the perfume which the rose or the violet emits and which is characteristic of it. When Paul says, “We are the sweet aroma of Christ,” he means we are the means of spreading the knowledge of Christ. In those days when a man’s garments were perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, he filled every place he entered with the fragrance. So wherever he went, Paul spread abroad the fragrance of the name of Christ, and that was acceptable to God.”[4] It’s my prayerful hope that on “Judgment Day” the same will be said of you and me.

Maclaren adds: “The fact that Jesus Christ, by His cross and Passion, is able to conquer men’s wills, and to bind men’s hearts to him, is the highest proof of His power. It is an entirely unique thing in the history of the world. The passionate attachment which this dead Galilean pheasant is able to evoke in the hearts of people all these century’s after His death, is an unheard of and an unparalleled thing.”

“The bond which binds you and me to Him more than twenty centuries after His death is the very same in quality as, and in degree is often far deeper and stronger than, the bond which united Him to the men that had seen Him. It stands as a unique fact in the history of the world, that from Christ of Nazareth there rays out through all the ages the spiritual power which absolutely takes possession of men, dominates them and turns them into His organs and instruments.”

“With all the Church’s imperfections, the long procession of [Christian men and women, boys and girls] who, for over two thousand years, have been marching through history, acknowledging Christ as their Conqueror, and ascribing all their goodness to Him, is a witness to His power to sway and to satisfy them, the force of whose testimony it is hard to overthrow.”[5]

I’m reminded of the opening words of Sabine Baring-Gould’s classic hymn which proclaim: “Onward, Christian Soldiers marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before! Christ the royal Master, leads against the foe; Forward into battle, see His banner go.”

We don’t know when Christ is going to return for His church. Nobody does, regardless of what some folks would have us believe. It may not be for another two thousand years. But I do know He expects to find each of His people fully engaged in the spiritual battle as they follow Christ their Conqueror to victory.

[2] The Letters to the Corinthians Revised Edition, William Barclay, The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, p. 183-184.

[3] Ibid, p. 184.

[4] Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, Charles Hodge,Wm. B. Eermans, Publishing   Co. Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1950, p.

[5] Expositions of Holy Scripture, Alexander Maclaren, Reprinted 1984 by Baker Book House, Grand  Rapids, Michigan, p. 304-305.