2 Corinthians 2:14

Thanks be unto God. Irrepressible anxiety gives way to exuberant joy when Paul reaches Macedonia and meets Titus. Paul here begins a lengthy exposition on the motives and spiritual power of the gospel minister as exemplified in his own life. This is the theme of his letter through ch. 7:4. No passage in the Scriptures gives so earnest and impassioned a portrayal of the inner experience of a true ambassador for Christ (see ch. 5:20).

Causeth … to triumph. Gr. thriambeuō, “to triumph,” that is, to celebrate a triumph or to lead in a triumphal procession, the sense in which Paul uses this verb in Col. 2:15 and the sense in which it is always used in the papyri. The translation here should probably be “leads … in triumph.” It is not Paul and his co-workers who triumph, rather, they, as captives of the Lord Jesus Christ, are led by Him in triumphal procession as they go through the world proclaiming the gospel, living examples of His triumph over the powers of darkness (Col. 2:15).

Thriambeuō is related to thriambos, a hymn sung in connection with processions celebrating great military victories. The famous Roman triumph was conferred on successful generals by the Roman Senate, in celebration of some outstanding military victory or campaign. A victorious general was welcomed by government officials at the gates of the imperial city, where the triumphal march began. First came the Senators, preceded by a body of magistrates. After the Senators came trumpeters, heralding the approach of the victor. Then followed a long train of carts laden with the spoils of war. Articles of great value, rarity, or beauty were fully exposed to view. There were also white bulls and oxen destined for sacrifice. Here and there incense bearers waved their censers to and fro, perfuming the air. Lions, tigers, elephants, and other strange animals from the captive lands often appeared in the procession. After these came the captive kings, princes, or generals, and a long train of inferior captives, bound and fettered. Next came the great conqueror himself, standing in a splendid chariot. A crown of laurel or gold was upon his head. In one hand he held a branch of laurel, the emblem of victory, and in the other his truncheon or staff of authority. Following him marched many of those who had fought under him—officers, horse soldiers, foot soldiers—each holding aloft a spear adorned with laurel boughs. The procession moved on through the crowded streets, along the Via Sacra, through the Triumphal Arch to the Capitoline hill (see Paul at Rome). There it halted, and some of the captives were executed in cold blood or thrown into prison to await death in the Colosseum. Others, considered worthy of pardon, were set free. Animal sacrifices were offered to the Roman gods, and the triumphal feast began.

Paul envisions Christ as a great conqueror, leading the conquered in a triumphal procession. Paul, his co-workers, and all those won to Christ by them are captives in God’s great triumph. Paul does not speak of himself as the triumphant commander of God’s army, but gives God all the glory. For Paul to be led in triumph as a trophy of divine grace accords with his habitual attitude and feelings (see 1 Cor. 4:9, 10; 2 Cor. 4:10; 11:23; Col. 1:24). He here emphasizes God’s successful use of him as an evangelist. God is leading him and his fellow workers about in triumph. Everywhere the gospel was gaining such victories and triumphs as had been won in the Corinthian church. All true Christians are God’s slaves (see Rom. 6:16), trophies of the Redeemer’s victorious campaign against sin. To see Paul, a captive chained to the chariot of Christ, was to see what Christ could do for reprobate men. God was leading him up and down the world, an example of His conquering power and matchless grace. The grandest of all victories is the victory over sin through the power of Christ. He who conquers the moral and spiritual foes of the soul achieves a far grander triumph than he who conquers an opposing army upon the battlefield (cf. Prov. 16:32).

The savour. That is, fragrance scattered by the incense bearers along the route of the procession. Clouds of incense rose from wayside altars and were wafted from censers and from open temples. The entire city was filled with the smoke of sacrifices and the fragrance of flowers and incense. Paul thinks of himself as an incense bearer in the triumphal procession of Christ.

Knowledge. In the Greek this word stands in apposition to “savour.” Thus the knowledge of Christ becomes the fragrance of which Paul speaks. Through Paul’s ministry and that of his fellow workers, through the righteousness of Christ manifest in the lives of His followers, this spiritual savor is manifested in every place, in the church at Corinth, in fact, throughout Achaia.

In every place. That is, wherever Paul had been. Less than 35 years after the crucifixion the gospel had been extensively preached throughout the Mediterranean world (see Acts 19:10, 26, 27; Rom. 1:8; 15:18, 19).