The Properties and Effects of Gospel Truth (2 Cor. 2:14–3:3)

The word of the Gospel: aa) testifies of itself, spreads forth as a fragrance (2 Cor. 2:14–17, 3:1–3); bb) it is not ours, but from God, and glorious,—more glorious than the Old Testament (2 Cor. 3:4–11); cc) it is bright and illuminating (2 Cor. 3:12–18); dd) it acts irresistibly, when the god of this age has not blinded anyone’s reason, except present it to conscience in pure form without any mixture (2 Cor. 4:1–6). In all these points the Apostle speaks of himself and in general of the Apostles, inasmuch as they were organs of the Gospel, but what he says is evidently to be applied only to the Gospel itself, not to those who proclaim it.

The Apostle says: we,—proclaimers of the Gospel,—are the fragrance of Christ, which for some is life and for others is death (2 Cor. 2:14–16). In this nothing depends on us, for we do not add anything of our own to the Gospel; it acts this way of itself (2 Cor. 2:17). Therefore, we do not bring letters of recommendation anywhere, and from those we enlighten, we do not take them so as to present ourselves somewhere else with them; but the Gospel itself recommends us and the converted themselves replace letters of recommendation. They see what our Gospel has accomplished and assure themselves of its truth (2 Cor. 4:1–3). Such thoughts are hidden in the words of the Apostle, although at first glance they are not evident. In presenting them, we do not think we are doing violence to the word, but merely wish, as much as we are able, to enter into the spirit of the apostolic testimony.

2 Cor. 2:14. But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

Thanks be to God! This he cried out after he had considered in his mind what his letter had accomplished in Corinth, as Saint Titus had reported to him. The sinners had repented, all shortcomings had been corrected, all doubts had been dispersed, and all had shown complete readiness to follow the Apostle’s word. His word proved completely victorious, and he could justly recognize himself as a victor conducting a triumphal procession after some famous victory. Therefore, he cried out: “Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession!” — “Leads in triumphal procession” — θριαμβευοντι — arranges a triumph for us, sets us on the triumphal chariot. “Always” leads in triumphal procession—the Lord always does this for us, so that when everything seems to rise against us and everything we have done seems to be falling apart, He again restores everything to its power and returns full glory to His truth. And now in Corinth everything seemed to be falling apart,—in Asia I was burdened beyond my strength, in Troas I had no rest, in Macedonia it was no better; and when Titus came and told me what was in Corinth, I cannot but see and confess before all the triumphant power of God, accompanying our word, whether spoken or written. That is why “we praise God in all things, for He, ruling us wisely, leads us here and there, making it known to all and spreading through us the knowledge of godliness” (Theodoret).

The Apostle says that God makes the Apostles conquerors; it is really the word of the Gospel of truth that is victorious, and glory of the victory falls upon them only as organs of this word. That is why he further says that God makes them victorious “in Christ”, and specifically by the fact that they everywhere present “the fragrance of the knowledge of him”, that is, they everywhere spread the fragrance of knowledge of God and Christ the Lord, the Saviour,—calling this knowledge a fragrance because of its sweetness and because of the willing, joyful, and pleased reception of it by all those capable of it. “Having pointed out the Giver of victories, he further tells the cause of these victories, adding: ‘in Christ’, that is, through Christ and the preaching about Him. ‘Fragrance of knowledge’—he calls the knowledge of Christ. We, he says, are like the royal censer, because we go everywhere, carrying with us heavenly myrrh, from which spiritual fragrance emanates. He said this to show the power of preaching” (Saint Chrysostom). This fragrance is victorious. As the bride in the Song of Songs, so souls that have heard the word of the Gospel of Christ the Saviour could cry out: “Your love is more fragrant than all perfumes… We run after you in the fragrance of your perfumes” (Song 1:2, 3). They run after the Lord, as crowds of people after the triumphal chariot of victors. Is this not the similarity that gave the Apostle occasion to use this very metaphor: “fragrance of knowledge”?

2 Cor. 2:15. We are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

“We,” he says, “are the fragrance of Christ.” If one perfumes any material or garment with some fragrance, wherever you take it, it spreads its aroma everywhere, and no other smell is heard from it anymore, although it has its natural smell. So the Apostles, filled with the knowledge of Christ, wherever they appeared, appeared knowing nothing but the Lord Jesus Christ. Their word was only about Him, they manifested power only in His name, they sanctified believers with His name, they gave commandments from His face, they built churches to His glory, and everything that proceeded from them was about Christ, for Christ, from Christ. Thus openly they were the fragrance of Christ! And this was true both for those being saved and for those perishing.

“Those being saved”—these are those who believed, were sanctified by the mysteries, were born again to new life of grace and began to walk in this renewal of life. “Those perishing”—these are those who turned away from the word of the Gospel and were hostile both to it, to the One proclaimed, and to the proclaimers. To both of these they were the fragrance of Christ. Both understood clearly, persuasively, and tangibly that there is no other salvation except in the Lord Jesus Christ; both understood well the power of this Gospel word; but some accepted it and were saved, while others turned away from it and remained in their destruction. In the fact that there are those being saved and those perishing, there is nothing fatalistic, although in experience one can see how some irresistibly strive to destruction despite all care for their salvation, while others hold firm to the path of salvation despite unfavorable circumstances around them. Without God there is no salvation; and He wishes all to be saved, but compels no one. Therefore if there are those perishing, it is because they do not wish to be saved. Although we are not able to explain why some do not wish to, nevertheless it is certain that the ultimate cause lies in their will.

2 Cor. 2:16. To the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. And who is sufficient for these things?

“We present the fragrance of Christ to all, but not all who perceive it acquire salvation. For a painful eye finds light dangerous and hostile; yet the sun does not cause harm. It is said that the vulture flees from the fragrance of myrrh; yet myrrh remains myrrh, although the vulture flees from it. So the saving preaching brings salvation to believers, but brings destruction to unbelievers” (Theodoret). There are foods which one person receives with pleasure, while another cannot even bear the smell of them, and when he perceives it, he experiences a tremor throughout his whole body. The nature of the foods is one and the same; the fact that they act so oppositely on these two depends on accidental dispositions of their organism. Christ the Lord is the essential life for all of us; and the Gospel about Him by its very nature contains life-giving principles for all; yet according to accidental moral dispositions, for some it is life, for others death. “But whether someone is saved or perishes,—Gospel preaching always retains its dignity. As light, even when it blinds those weak in vision, remains light, though it blinds; or as honey, though it may seem bitter to the sick, does not cease to be sweet in its essence,—so too the Gospel of Christ always has its characteristic fragrance, even though those who do not believe this Gospel perish; for the Gospel does not destroy them, but their own hardness of heart does. And the destruction of the wicked yet more displays the fragrance of preaching. Thus, the power of the Gospel is manifested not only in the salvation of the good, but also in the destruction of the wicked, for the sun precisely blinds the eyes of the weak because it shines very brightly. So also the Saviour, although ‘lies… for the fall and rising of many’ (Lk. 2:34), nevertheless does not cease to be the Saviour even when countless multitudes fall. Therefore, the Gospel is always the saving fragrance; but, perceiving this fragrance, some are saved while others perish,—yet in such a way that if anyone perishes, he is the cause of his own destruction” (Saint Chrysostom).

“And who is sufficient for these things?” By saying that the saving word of the Gospel is for some a fragrance to death and for others a fragrance to life, the Apostle naturally arouses in all the question: how is this? Presupposing this question as if already posed to himself, he answers it: “Who is sufficient for these things?” Who can explain how this happens? God desires one good and grants one good; Christ the Lord is our Saviour and Life, and the Gospel of salvation in Him is a life-giving word. Whence comes destruction? Only from us. But how can it come from us? Only if we were to mix our own reasonings with the Gospel and therefore preach it impurely. But this, he says, cannot be said of us, as is evident from the following verse. Thus, why the Gospel word produces such opposite effects remains incomprehensible. Who is sufficient (able) to understand and explain this?

This understanding of these words and their connection with what follows appears most direct if we keep in mind the twofold action of the Gospel. And if we view the previous discourse as one in which the Apostle merely hinted in passing that the Gospel is also a fragrance to death, while his chief aim was to present the life-giving and victorious nature of the Gospel word; then in the words: “Who is sufficient for these things?” the Apostle clearly wished to disclaim all honor of participation in this victory and to attribute it all to God. That the Gospel word goes through the world like a conqueror on a solemn chariot, this is not from us; no one among men could accomplish this. It is victorious by itself through God’s power, hidden within it, or accompanying it and giving it universal efficacy. Thus Saint Chrysostom: “Since the Apostle said so much that is great and extraordinary, claiming universal triumph for himself, he again tries to moderate what was said, attributing all to God. He speaks as it were: all this is Christ’s, and there is nothing of ours. False apostles boast in preaching as their own; on the contrary, the true Apostle considers it praise of himself that he calls nothing his own. Therefore he says: ‘Who is sufficient for these things?’ From which itself it follows: if we ourselves are not sufficient for this, then everything that happens to us and through us is the work of grace.”

In this case, the following words will then have this sense: everything in the Gospel is the work of God, the work of grace; there is nothing of ours here and there cannot be. All our concern is directed to ensuring that nothing of our own is mixed into the Gospel word, but that it be transmitted pure, as received, giving it the ability to act unobstructed with all the fullness of power inherent to it.

2 Cor. 2:17. For we are not like many, adulterating the word of God, but as of sincerity, but as from God, before God, in Christ we speak.

“Adulterating the word of God” — καπηλευοντες — huckstering the word of God. Hucksters, to gain more profit, water down wine, and so that this mixture does not lose the color and taste of wine, they add something else to it and thus sell what appears to be genuine wine, but it is no longer genuine: it has lost its power and works harm to health. Similar to them are those who mix their own reasonings with the pure Gospel word. Even if such reasonings were not false, but were added as explanations of the matter according to the principles of reason,—even then, by expanding and diluting the word unnecessarily, they weaken it and rob it of the power and healing properties inherent to it in its whole, unmixed state. If falsehood is mixed in, then everything is perverted and the Gospel words become bad news. The Apostle says: we do not do any such thing—not only no falsehood, but no reasoning of our own do we add to the Gospel word, transmitting it in its natural purity,—as we received it from God,—as those conscious that we speak before the eyes of God Himself, we speak in Christ, by His power, by His protection, to His glory, or as one fulfilling His work. Saint Chrysostom says to this: “Although, says the Apostle, we proclaim much that is great and extraordinary, yet we claim nothing for ourselves; on the contrary, we attribute everything to Christ. We do not wish to imitate the false apostles, who claim much for themselves, for this would be like the huckster who adulterates wine or sells for money what ought to be given freely. Indeed, it seems to me that the Apostle here cleverly ridicules the covetousness of the false apostles and hints at what I said before, namely that they preach the Divine with an admixture of their own. Rebuking the same vice, Isaiah too says: ‘Your merchants mix wine with water’ (Is 1:22). Although this is said of wine, it would not be wrong to apply it also to doctrine. We do not act so, says he; but what we ourselves believed, that we offer to others too, and we teach pure doctrine without any mixture. Therefore he added also: ‘but as of sincerity, but as from God, before God, in Christ we speak,’ that is, we do not preach so as to deceive you, as if we were giving you something of our own or bringing in and mixing something from ourselves,—‘but as from God,’ that is, we do not speak as though we ourselves were giving you something, but we affirm that we have all received from God; for the expression: ‘as from God’ means not to boast of anything as our own, but to attribute everything to God. ‘In Christ we speak,’ that is, we speak all things not from our wisdom, but enlightened by the power of Christ.‘And Theodoret in this place points to the chief thought that the Apostles transmitted the Gospel word as it is, in its natural purity:’The Apostle makes it known that he himself presents teachings inspired by God’s grace, while his opponents huckster the word of God, turning it into fable by mixing their own thoughts with grace, as those do who mix pure wine with water.”

Let us present the opinions of other interpreters on certain expressions: “as of sincerity” — εξ ειλικρινειας — from sincerity, without deceit,—“from a pure and guileless heart (with childlike simplicity)” (Theophylact). “But as from God”—“as from God we have received and by God have been taught” (Oecumenius),—so also we speak. “Before God”—“the Apostle said this to show the integrity and boldness of his heart. Our heart, he says, is so pure in this matter that we dare to present it to God’s eye and judgment” (Theophylact). “In Christ”—“that is, we speak being instructed and taught by Christ. Behold what truth and purity, according to the testimony of the Apostle, the Gospel word handed down to us has!” (Oecumenius).

Thus, if our Gospel word is effective and victorious, all of this belongs to the Gospel itself and to God’s power accompanying it, not to us. We only strive to transmit it in all its purity and freedom from any reasonings and our own considerations.

2 Cor. 3:1. Are we beginning again to recommend ourselves to you? Or do we need, as some, letters of recommendation to you, or from you?

The Apostle speaks in accordance with the custom and usage of letters of recommendation. Wishing to be well received in some place, one takes a letter of recommendation from a known person and with it appears in that place; then, having accomplished his business there—commercial, and sometimes also teaching—he takes a letter of approval from the inhabitants of that place so as to find a like reception in another place. The holy Apostles appeared nowhere with such letters, but with the Gospel word alone and with the power of the Holy Spirit and Christ accompanying them. This replaced for them every letter of recommendation. The power of the Gospel word and the signs accompanying it assured all that they were truly God’s messengers. From this assurance was born faith; through faith the whole Gospel was accepted; after this followed sanctification and renewal by grace and the impartation of special gifts. From that moment, it was not external assurance any longer that ruled, but internal assurance of the heavenly dignity of the Gospel; and this not only for those who received the Gospel and were renewed by its power, but for all outsiders. Outsiders saw spiritual renewal in some locality, were amazed, and themselves came to the conviction that the Gospel they had accepted was heavenly, Divine, and worthy of reverential attention and faith. Thus, this renewal in one place served as a letter of recommendation for the Apostles in all other places.

Such a course of the Gospel’s success is what Saint Paul now recalls to the Corinthians in several expressions. He said above that they mix nothing with their Gospel word, but, transmitting it in its natural purity, leave it to act as is proper to it. Now he reminds them: remember, we came to you with the Gospel word alone, and it itself made you what you now are. By its power you are what you are. You know this; and behold, for you the nearest assurance that the Gospel word is self-acting and all-victorious, as I said above! This is a letter of recommendation for us both before you and before all others. — But Saint Paul expresses this in the form of a correction, as if saying: but what are we? — As if we were again beginning to recommend ourselves to you, as to those unknown, as if entering into relations with you for the first time? — There is no need for us to recommend ourselves to you or to present ourselves, as is customary, with letters of recommendation from others to you and from you to others. All such things you replace yourselves; you yourselves are our recommendation both before you and before others. — “Recommend” — συνιστανειν — to present someone to someone, or to recommend.

“Blessed Theodoret writes in this sense: ‘Are we beginning again to recommend ourselves?’ This is not for us to say, but for you, who know perfectly well what concerns us (and concerning the Gospel work among you).” Oecumenius conveys the Apostle’s speech thus: “Let no one say that we are laying all this out wishing to recommend ourselves to you or to present ourselves to you? — No; do we need, like certain others, letters of recommendation to you or from you? — Not at all; you are our letter of recommendation.”

2 Cor. 3:2. You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men.

You are our letter of recommendation, an open letter, which all people know and read,—they see your faith and good life according to faith, they find out, or directly know, where such a change came from in you, and, having found out or knowing that all this was produced in you by our Gospel, they begin to reverence it, seek an opportunity to hear it, so as themselves to taste its fruits. Such a disposition, spread through you everywhere, is better than any letter of recommendation for us. How this letter is written, the Apostle explains further in verse 3, saying that you are a letter of Christ, written by the Holy Spirit; and what he says here: “written in our hearts,” by this the Apostle only wishes to say: all read you as our letter, but you are not strangers to us, any more than we are to you,—we carry you in our hearts. So that no one should say: behold, you are a letter of recommendation for us, and you have thrown this letter open,—let whoever wishes read it,—the Apostle says to this: let them read you openly, but we value you no less than anyone values a letter of recommendation. One wraps his letter and preserves it carefully in his bosom, but we carry you in our heart, you are written there. Where needed, we ourselves read it to others, and from us people know about you no less than from seeing you yourselves.

Saint Chrysostom says: “Here the Apostle expresses not only his love for them, but also testifies to their virtuous life, that is, that they can prove before all the dignity of their teacher by their virtues. For this is what his words mean: ‘You are our letter.’ What your written letters would do, in which you would approve and praise us, you accomplish through your life according to faith, which all see and hear about. For the virtues of disciples serve as the best adornment for their teacher and approve him better than any letter. ‘Written in our hearts,’ because we carry you with us everywhere and keep you in our hearts. As if he said: you serve us as approval before others, and we always have you in our heart and proclaim your virtues to all. Therefore, we have no need for letters of approval from you to others; you serve as our approval. If we need to recommend ourselves before others, we will put you forth in the stead of a letter of approval. He said this also in the first letter: ‘For you are the seal of my apostleship’ (1 Cor. 9:2).”

Blessed Theodoret writes: “We have no need of letters,—the very deeds testify about us and we have an animate letter which speaks for us and to all—this is your faith, celebrated everywhere, on land and on sea,—because we, having delivered you from delusion, led you to the light of the knowledge of God.”

2 Cor. 3:3. It is manifest that you are a letter of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh, that is, on hearts.

There he said only that the Corinthians are their letter, which all read partly through what they see in them, partly through what the very founders of faith in them themselves say about them, carrying them everywhere in their heart written there. Now he explains what kind of letter it is, how such a letter is written and where. This is what is chief in the Apostle’s discourse, for his aim is one—to say how high and self-evidently the Gospel word is, through which the Corinthians became what they are.

“It is manifest”—you appear before all, it is plainly evident to all who know you that you are “a letter of Christ”, a letter written by Christ Himself and about Christ, that is, a letter testifying to salvation in Christ, or written in the spirit and according to the matter of the economy of salvation in Christ Jesus. On you is seen by all how the work of salvation begins, how it is established, how it ripens, how it is colored (gifts of the Holy Spirit) and how it is crowned; you are a vivid law of life in Christ Jesus. Saint Chrysostom says: “Elevating them to higher understanding, he calls them a letter of Christ, as having within them written God’s law (concerning Christ Jesus). What God was pleased to reveal to all (through our Gospel), all this, he says, is written in your hearts.” Theodoret writes: “And why do I say: ‘our’? You are a letter of the Saviour Himself, utterances of His own preaching.” Oecumenius and Theophylact interpret: you are a letter of Christ, “because His law and His commandments remain in you and are kept by you.”

“Ministered by us.” Christ wrote you by the Holy Spirit; “and we are only servants of the writing” (Theodoret). “We prepared you to receive these letters. As Moses prepared the stones and tablets, so we prepared your souls” (Saint Chrysostom). “Thus, we through preaching were only servants of your faith and your knowledge of the work of salvation” (Oecumenius and Theophylact). But the faith itself and the knowledge itself and all else by which salvation is worked was written in your hearts not by us. Apart from us, although we served you by word and action, the Holy Spirit wrote all that in you.

“Written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God.” He means to say that your writing was accomplished not externally, but internally, not by an external means, but by an internal one. Usually one writes on paper with ink. One wishing to know what is written reads it, understands, and receives: thus it passes to him inwardly—into consciousness, and is there understood by the mind, felt by the heart, and becomes a motive for desires and active energy. With you, he says, it was not so: the Spirit of God directly penetrated your hearts and there depicted the truths of salvation, transforming you and issuing forth into action. Together with the Gospel word,—which is spirited and spirit-bearing,—the Spirit of God passes to the inner man and arouses him to attention. One who heeds, receiving through words representation after representation, finally perceives what the matter is and what is required. Upon perceiving this, not without the help of grace, he is faced with the necessity to decide whether he consents or does not consent. The Spirit of grace draws back at this point: the decision belongs to freedom. But when assent is inwardly expressed, it is secured in the essence of the soul by grace, and all that was heard passes from the mind, where it was gathered by attention, into the heart and is imprinted there in a vital manner. This is first—initial writing. In it is the program of the new life, whose requirements issue from here, but are not all at once understood and accepted. Christianity is not a theory, but a life. One who pronounces assent to receive it takes upon himself the obligation to live according to it. These requirements of life immediately enter into consciousness and are accepted by conscience as a law. But with all this, this is a new process of internal spiritual life. The Spirit of grace helps to clearly picture all that is required and again withdraws, so that freedom itself would freely express assent to this. When this assent is expressed, the Spirit of grace stamps in the conscience and in the heart all understood as a condition of Christian life: and behold, the tablets of the law of life in Christ Jesus, vivid and written! This is second writing. Third writing continues unbroken throughout all of life. None of this is done without Divine mysteries: the first writing is completed by holy baptism; the second—by holy chrismation, and during the Apostles—by the laying on of hands; the third—throughout life by the repeatedly performed mysteries of repentance and communion.

Thus, one believes, is born again, enters into a new life, and leads this life,—all by the action of the Spirit of God. If all this is precisely the letter of Christ, then it is of itself evident why it is thought to be written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God.

“Not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh, that is, on hearts.”

From letters of recommendation, the Apostle passed to living writing, imprinted on the Corinthians through the Gospel, and this led to writing by the Spirit in hearts, in distinction from writing, though by God’s finger, but externally, on tablets of stone. Thus all this section on the excellence of the New Testament revelation is constituted in Saint Paul, as a chain is linked, link joined to link.

Moses prepared stone tablets. God Himself wrote the commandments of His law on them with His finger. This is a great symbol depicting the moral order of the Old Testament. The tablets are outside the person under the law. Reading them, he understood what was required, and, since under the law there lay a debt of blood for non-fulfillment, he was compelled to fulfill it. But this came from outside, and lay upon him as an external yoke. In Christianity, the law of life in Christ Jesus is written by the Spirit of the living God in the inner man, in the heart itself, the very source of life, and, issuing from there and embracing consciousness and freedom, fills all the fountains of life and appears outwardly in deeds as a natural manifestation of what has been established and ripened within. Behold the great and essential difference between Christian law-writing and Old Testament law-writing. There the law was read on tablets, entered into consciousness, and lay on the conscience; here it issues from the heart together with consciousness and conscience, and directly arouses and disposes to deeds, which are done willingly, not as there, from under a yoke.

“On tablets of flesh, that is, on hearts”—Theophylact and Oecumenius transpose thus: on tablets of flesh, that is, on tablets of the heart, or in the heart. The heart is the tablet of the Law when it is completely saturated with the commandments, or with the will of God alone, so that it shows neither sympathy nor inclination toward anything except the commandments, or except that upon which God’s will is sealed. Then the heart unites with the conscience inseparably, is unified with it, and the conscience becomes the clear and exact determiner of the law of life in Christ Jesus, both in general and in particulars. The Apostle presents the matter in ideal perfection, which is nonetheless attainable. For the heart to reach such perfection, we need much labor and effort. This state is contemporary with purity of heart. That is why the prophet prayed: “‘Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Ps. 50:12). A right spirit is renewed together with, or through the purity of the heart. The right spirit within us is precisely the Spirit of the living God writing on the tablets of the heart the law of life in Christ Jesus. — All God’s saints had this goal in view and by the measure of achieving it measured the degrees of their ascent to perfection.