Overflowing Fragrance through Pain

Joshua Ryu

2 Corinthians 2:5-11, 14-17

Introduction: the context of Corinth  

Last week, we began our journey through 2 Corinthians, seeing how God’s overflowing grace is made visible in our lives.

Pastor John reminded us that this letter is deeply personal and emotional. It reveals Paul’s vulnerability and the wounds he carried in his strained relationship with the Corinthian church. That was Paul’s season in 2 Corinthians.

Today, we consider the season the church in Corinth was experiencing—what they were facing and what they needed.

But first, we need to understand this church.

The church in Corinth was founded by the Apostle Paul during his second missionary journey. According to Acts 18, Paul arrived from Athens and remained there for eighteen months.

At that time, Paul was deeply discouraged. In Athens—particularly at Mars Hill—he reasoned with philosophers and religious leaders, engaging their intellectual objections in hopes that sound arguments would open hearts to the gospel.

Athens was celebrated as the cradle of Western philosophy. Paul dismantled competing ideas with clarity and skill. Yet intellectual victories did not produce transformed hearts.

Arguments alone cannot awaken faith. Truth must be carried with the love Christ embodied. Knowledge informs the mind; only grace moves the heart.

Hostility increased, and Paul eventually left for his safety.

In one sense, he came to Corinth weary and vulnerable. It was in that season of loneliness and exhaustion that the Corinthian church was born. That is why his affection for them ran so deep. They strengthened him when he was at his lowest.

Yet Corinth was not easy soil.

Corinth was wealthy and influential, but it was also infamous for sexual immorality. It functioned much like modern cities known for indulgence and vice.

The city housed a temple to Aphrodite with over a thousand temple prostitutes. Sexual acts were integrated into pagan worship. To be “Corinthianized” meant living in open immorality.

This was the city in which Paul proclaimed the gospel—a city marked by moral confusion.

But as he preached, he saw clearly that transformation comes not from knowledge alone but from the mercy of Christ revealed in the gospel.

The gospel renewed both hearers and messengers. Yet sin still seeped into the church. Paul corrected them firmly—at times with firm and even sharp rebuke—contending for the purity of the Gospel so that they might be presented to Christ as a faithful bride.

Through perseverance and love, the church became established in one of the most notorious cities of the ancient world.

This was the dynamic between Paul and the church in Corinth.

But by the time Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, a new and serious challenge had arisen.

Between 1 and 2 Corinthians, Paul made another visit—a painful one. In 2 Corinthians 2:1 he writes, “I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you.”

 Following that visit, Paul wrote what is often called the “severe letter,” written with many tears. Titus delivered it. Though that letter has not survived, we know it addressed serious behavioral issues, rebellion, and challenges to Paul’s authority.

 And as Paul addresses these matters in Chapter 2 of 2 Corinthians, two themes emerge: pain and fragrance.

They seem contradictory, even paradoxical. How can someone carry Christ’s fragrance while walking through deep pain? How can sorrow and sweetness occupy the same life?

We often assume we reflect Christ best when life is stable and easy. But Paul shows that the aroma of Christ is often released in suffering.

As Pastor Jason once said: When something is broken, what is inside flows out. So Paul asks: when you are broken, what flows out of you? Are you releasing the fragrance of Christ—or something rotten?

In Mark 14, a woman breaks an alabaster flask of costly perfume and fills the room with fragrance. Likewise, Paul calls the church to release the fragrance of Christ—even when it costs them.

How?

1. Through Forgiveness, Be the Fragrance of Christ

Verses 6–8

6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.

Church, forgiveness reflects the very heart of Christ.

Paul urges the church in Corinth to forgive and comfort the repentant brother and to reaffirm their love for him. This is not a casual suggestion; it is a pastoral plea. The discipline had accomplished its purpose. The punishment was enough. Now the call is restoration.

When we forgive, we mirror the character of Christ—the One who forgave us at infinite cost. The cross stands as the ultimate testimony that mercy triumphs over judgment.

So the aroma of Christ is most evident when forgiveness triumphs over resentment in our lives.

Here, Paul is not merely offering general advice about conflict resolution. The man who had been disciplined was not a distant offender; he was someone who had directly challenged Paul’s authority and caused deep pain within the church.

Let us look carefully at verse 6: “For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough.”

The phrase “by the majority” implies that not everyone agreed. There was a minority who resisted the discipline. These were likely aligned with the offender—those who had contributed to the pain and questioned Paul’s authority.

This situation was deeply personal. This was not abstract theology. This was not theoretical forgiveness. This was real hurt. Real disunity. Real tears. Real anguish.

That man had disrespected Paul. That man had wounded the church. That man had strained their relationship. Yet Paul says, forgive him.

He is not saying, “Well, the gospel commands forgiveness, so you should do it.” No. He is saying something far deeper. As Christ restored me, as Christ forgave me, we must now extend that same grace.

Notice Paul’s language. He does not stop at “forgive him.” He adds, “comfort him” and “reaffirm your love.” This language is relational. Biblical forgiveness is not cold, distant, or reluctant. Christ does not forgive us from afar. He draws us near. He calls us friends. He makes us sons and daughters.

Forgiveness in the gospel is not merely the cancellation of debt; it is the restoration of communion. Paul is not calling the church to transactional forgiveness. He is calling them to relational restoration.

This is the power of the gospel.

Anyone can retaliate. Anyone can hold a grudge. Anyone can protect their pride. But only those transformed by grace can truly forgive. When forgiveness flows from a transformed heart, we demonstrate that the cross is not merely a doctrine we confess but a reality that has reshaped us. That lived-out grace becomes a compelling testimony. It releases the fragrance of Christ into the room.

And in verse 9, Paul calls them to obedience. This is not optional. Forgiveness is not a suggestion for spiritually mature believers. It is a gospel necessity.

Church, when we forgive, we are not excusing sin. We are proclaiming that Christ’s mercy is greater than sin. We are declaring that the cross is sufficient. We are showing the world what our Savior is truly like— not harsh, not grudging, not cold, but holy, just, and abounding in steadfast love.

Whether young in faith or seasoned in maturity, the call remains the same: forgive as Christ forgave you. We who have been forgiven an infinite debt cannot withhold forgiveness from those who repent. The pattern has been set. As Christ has forgiven us, so we forgive.

And when we do this, the fragrance of Christ fills the room. People may not know how to describe it, but they recognize its beauty. It smells like mercy. It smells like grace. It smells like Jesus. May we be that fragrance.

2. Through the Fragrance of Christ, We Are Called to Be Faithful Messengers of the Gospel

When we forgive, we become the living fragrance of Christ. And a fragrance cannot be contained. It diffuses. It permeates. It reaches beyond its source.

But we must remember: the fragrance is not our personality, our talent, or our ingenuity. It is the outward expression of hearts transformed by the gospel. We extend true forgiveness only because we ourselves have first been forgiven by Christ.

In verse 14, Paul writes that through the Corinthian church, God spreads the knowledge of Christ everywhere. This means the church is not meant merely to admire the aroma of Christ, but to carry it.

In verse 16, Paul deepens the imagery: “To one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.” 

He draws from the image of a Roman triumphal procession—a victory parade honoring a conquering general. Incense would be burned throughout the streets. To the victors, the aroma signaled celebration and life. To the defeated captives, it signaled execution and death. The aroma was the same. The outcome was different.

So it is with the gospel. To those being saved, Christ is life—joy, hope, reconciliation. To those rejecting Him, the same gospel confirms judgment.

This shows that the fragrance is effective either way.

Paul does not describe the aroma as weak or uncertain. It accomplishes something in every case. It awakens life in those being saved. It exposes death in those who reject it. The gospel always accomplishes its purpose—either as mercy received or mercy refused.

Church, this reality produces both humility and boldness. Humility—because eternal destinies are involved, and we are utterly insufficient in ourselves. Yet God chooses to use us. Boldness—because the power does not rest in us. It rests in the risen Christ who leads us in triumph. Our brokenness and shame do not determine the outcome. Christ’s victory over death is the power.

We carry the fragrance in obedience. God determines the effect.

Consider the sun shining on two surfaces. On wax, the sun softens and melts it. On clay, the same sun hardens and solidifies it.

The difference is not in the sun. The same light. The same heat. The same rays. The difference lies in what it touches.

So it is with Christ. The same gospel is preached. The same Savior is lifted up.The same message of repentance and forgiveness is proclaimed. Some hearts soften. They melt in repentance. They awaken to life. Others harden. Resistance deepens. Unbelief solidifies. The difference is not in the fragrance. The difference is in the heart. 

That is why we remain faithful. We cannot control whether hearts are wax or clay. We cannot manufacture life. We cannot force repentance. But we can faithfully carry the fragrance.

The sun will do what the sun does. Christ will accomplish exactly what He intends through our obedience.

Conclusion

Church, we are called to be the aroma of Christ—especially in seasons of pain. Pain does not disqualify us from ministry. Often, it is the very means through which Christ’s fragrance is released. 

When broken, what flows out? May it be forgiveness. May it be grace. May it be Christ.

We carry the fragrance in obedience. God determines the effect. The victory is already His. Let us be faithful to bear His aroma wherever He leads.