Galatians 2

11 If we do not forgive a sinner after he has repented, but instead harbor resentment against him, then we are giving Satan a double opportunity. First, the sinner is likely to become discouraged and leave the church altogether; thus he will end up in Satan’s kingdom. Second, we ourselves will be guilty of sin, because we have refused to forgive the sinner; whenever we refuse to forgive a repentant brother, we sin against him. And Satan will surely seize the opportunity afforded by our sin to defeat us. He is always seeking for ways to get into our hearts and cause us to turn against our brother. In this way he can cause division in the church.

Members of the church, having freely and fully forgiven one another, must stand united together in Christ. Mutual forgiveness and the unity that comes from it are the chief means we have of blocking Satan’s schemes for dividing the church.

In the church two things are essential: love (or unity) and purity (or truth). These two things must always remain in balance. If in order to preserve the church’s purity we become too harsh, then where is our love? On the other hand, if because of our loving and tender heart we overlook or ignore the sins of others, where is our purity? Rather, we must always strive to preserve both our love and our purity together (see Hebrews 12:14 and comment).

12-13 Troas was an important city situated north of Ephesus on the west coast of present-day Turkey, about halfway between Ephesus and Macedonia. In Troas, Paul found another “open door” of opportunity for preaching the Gospel, which the Lord had opened up for him (see 1 Corinthians 16:9). But all the while Paul was preaching in Troas, he was also waiting for his colleague Titus⁸ to return from Corinth. Paul had sent Titus to Corinth some time earlier to deliver a severe letter to the Corinthian church, and now Paul was eager to hear how the Corinthians had received his letter. But Titus did not return as quickly as Paul had hoped. Because of this, Paul had no peace of mind about the Corinthians; and so he decided to leave Troas and travel on to the province of Macedonia⁹ in northern Greece in order to look for Titus.

14 Here in this verse, Paul suddenly interrupts his story to give thanks to God. Why? Because Paul did find Titus in Macedonia and found out from him that the Corinthians had received his severe letter with the right attitude (see 2 Corinthians 7:6-7). The Corinthians were filled with sorrow for having opposed Paul earlier. The devil’s scheme to create a division between Paul and the Corinthians had been thwarted. Paul had been victorious over Satan once again. Indeed, Paul’s life was like a triumphal procession. But Paul’s victories were always in Christ; apart from Christ there can be no victory (John 15:5).

Through the victorious lives of the apostles, the fragrance of the knowledge of him (Christ) spread everywhere.

15-16 Christians who share the Gospel of Christ with others are like an aroma; they are the aroma of Christ. To those who are being saved through faith in Christ, the “aroma” of Christ is the fragrance of life. To those who are perishing on account of their lack of faith, the aroma of Christ is the smell of death, because all those without faith will be condemned and receive the sentence of death (see John 3:36; 1 Corinthians 1:18).

Each Christian needs to ask himself: Does my life have the aroma of Christ? Or does it have only the smell of sin and selfishness?

And who is equal to such a task? asks Paul (verse 16). That is, who has sufficient strength and wisdom for such a great responsibility as that of being an apostle? In a real sense, apostles hold in their hands the life and death of those who hear their words. What a great responsibility!

And so, who is equal to such a task? Paul gives the answer in 2 Corinthians 3:5: … our competence comes from God. Those whose competence comes from God will be equal to the task of carrying the “aroma of Christ” throughout the world.

17 Just as happens today, there were many people in Paul’s time who preached the Gospel for their own advantage. They tried to get rich from their preaching. They sought to gain honor from men. They sought to turn men into their own disciples instead of making them disciples of Christ. They were false apostles.

But true apostles are not like that. True apostles do not appoint themselves. Rather, they are men sent from God (see Galatians 1:1). They always speak in Christ; they always speak before God—that is, with the knowledge that God is listening; and they always speak with sincerity. This is how Paul and the other true apostles always conducted themselves (see 2 Corinthians 1:12; 4:2).