I was very blessed by a comment recently made by one of my uncle's during a Wednesday night prayer meeting. He commented on a verse in 2 Corinthians 2:14. He was explaining how if God is on our side, He is always sure to bless us. It says:
"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place."
That's a wonderful promise. God is deserving of such great thanks. He causeth us to triumph ALWAYS. Everything He does for us works for our ultimate good. But our victory is in Christ, not in ourselves. It is imperative to note -- our victory comes at the expense of giving ourselves to Christ. Our service and dedication to Him is what allows us to have the victory by His grace. Our triumph is also evidence of the Gospel's empowering work and transformation of our lives not only to ourselves but to others. Triumph in Christ manifests (or makes openly known) the power of God and His majesty.
This particular scripture uses the word "savour" to describe how victory through Christ is manifested. Savour refers to a smell, taste, or odor. That is something real we can experience and so can others. Historically, successful generals utilized the burning sweet incense to accentuate their victories on their return from battle which gave citizens evidence of the victory. Here, the scripture denotes our victory in Christ as evidence of the emboldening power we can obtain. This isn't the only instance in which smell, taste, or odor is used to signify how great God is. In fact, in Psalm 34:8, the Psalmist David offers:
"O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."
As humans, we have the privilege of determining for ourselves how magnificent God's plan is for us. The word "taste" here indicates "judge." We have the blessed opportunity to prove in our own lives that God is good and cares for us. It is not something that is strictly faith based. Our lives and His blessings are evidence of His work. The wonder of experiencing this salvation for ourselves is unparalleled.
In the natural, physical world, when we taste something delicious, we have an innate desire for that taste afterwards. Personally, I love steak. I've tasted it on plenty of occasions (including yesterday), and it's something I really enjoy and want more of. It is the same way with God. This verse is indicative of that. We taste and experience the goodness of God and only want more. The following verse in 2 Corinthians 2 gives us another promise:
"For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved."
If we are saved, we are a sweet savour of Christ to the Lord. Our life in Christ doesn't go unnoticed. It is pleasing to God for us to live in a way that demonstrates His son's death was not in vain. We have a blessed, unmatched opportunity to experience individually the greatness of God. When we do, the results are noticed by those around us. Christ's knowledge and power is manifested "by us in every place." Our lives lived pure and holy in the sight of the Lord is pleasing to Him and makes manifest the sweet savour of our Saviour.
Keep encouraged!
