On one of our travelling trips, my son woke up one morning rather unhappy with the smell of his sleeping companion, his teddy. He promptly got out of bed, walked to the bathroom and sprayed his teddy with his father's deodorant. Then he climbed right back into bed, holding his cuddly companion tightly to himself and in a most satisfied tone, exclaimed that now his teddy smelled just like his daddy! So once again, all was well with the world because the fragrance that reminded him of his father was safely snuggled, close to his heart and under his nose.
When I thought about that, I remembered the scripture in 2 Corinthians 2:14, that speaks about the fragrance of the knowledge of God. I must say, as I looked into the verse and began exploring its depths, a ripple of excitement and a deep familiar warmth began to well up inside of me. I was reminded once again that the essence of our Christian faith has everything to do with getting to know and experience the reality of Who God is. You see, according to this scripture, living a life of victory has everything to do with knowing God.
2 Corinthians 2:14, says, "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."
When trouble comes, and if you are alive, you know it does, as children of God, we have spiritually been positioned in Christ. The Bible says that we are one spirit with Him. Since our spirit is alive in His Spirit, we have the ability to hear His voice and we have His written Word that will lead us into victory, one step at a time. According to 2 Corinthians 2:14, being led by the Spirit of God guarantees us being led, step for step into victory, every time, without fail!
Knowing God in His Word
The scripture teaches us in 1 John 1, that Jesus is the Word of life. This means that the Spirit of Christ is alive in His written Word. The same fragrance of the presence of the Holy Spirit we experience when we
know Him and sense Him in our lives is found when we open our hearts to His written Word.
Let me show you what I found to support this when I began to study 2 Timothy 3:16. It says that, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God..."
The word inspiration in the Greek translation is very powerful when you understand what it means! It comes from the Greek word theopneustos. This is a compound word made up of theos, meaning God and Pneuma, which comes from the Greek root word pneu. This communicates a dynamic movement or waft of air. It can be translated to emit a fragrance, or a sound, blown through a wind instrument. Now, when the word pneu becomes the word pneuma, as in this verse, it carries a profound list of meanings, such as, life-force, energy and power. The Jews used this word to describe the great creative, life-force of God that created the world and everything living as well as the power to sustain creation.
Together, these words literally mean, God breathed. It gives a picture of God breathing or emitting His substance into something, like a powerful, life-giving fragrance or sound. So like a musician plays an instrument to create a distinct sound or a perfumer creates a perfume with a distinct fragrance, The Holy Spirit breathed on the people who wrote the scriptures, they became the vessels that expressed the essence of Who God is, His heart and His will and recorded it on paper. The Word of God carries the sound and fragrance of Himself. They were the writers, the instruments or vessels and God Himself, was the musician and perfumer that blew His essence in and through them, into the very words that represent Him.
As we renew our minds to His Word it has the power to produce the powerful force of faith. According to the Bible, it's that faith in God and His Word that always leads us into victory. But don't forget, as we spend time studying and meditating on God's Word, we are in fact, receiving and taking in His very fragrance - the life force and essence of who He is. As a result, no matter what trial we may go through, that very fragrance of the knowledge of God (the essence of Who God is), becomes so evident in us that when people see what we have come through, they are amazed. Instead of seeing someone burnt out, stressed or broken, they see the goodness and kindness and mercy of God. Your peace and inner strength is the fragrance of knowing God and it's very evident! It's spread in and through you, touching everyone you meet.
Knowing God in this way is living as an overcomer. While we are surrendered to living in Him and His Word, we will always carry His fragrance and be led into victory!
