Who smells like Christ to you?

有谁向你散发基督的馨香呢？

For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved. 2 Corinthians 2:15

因为我们在上帝面前，……在得救的人身上，……都有基督馨香之气。-哥林多后书2章15节

Hot and dusty, Bob dismounted from the bus he had ridden to a city far from home. He was tired from a long day of travel and grateful that he would be able to have dinner with friends of friends who lived in the area. They welcomed him in, and he immediately felt a sense of peace. He felt at home, comfortable, safe, and valued.

伯明风尘仆仆地从闷热的公车下来，总算抵达这个离家甚远的城市。虽然一整天他饱受舟车劳顿之苦，但心里却很感恩，因他的朋友有认识的人住在这里，使他当天就有地方可以吃顿晚餐。他们热情的款待，除去了伯明心中的不安，觉得好像回到家那般舒适、安心并被接纳。

Later, wondering why he had felt such peace in an unfamiliar place, Bob found an answer in 2 Corinthians. The apostle Paul describes people who follow God as having the “pleasing aroma of Christ.” “That’s exactly it!” Bob said to himself. His hosts had “smelled like” Christ.

随后，伯明思忖何以能在不熟悉的环境中，感受到这股平安，他在哥林多后书找到了答案。使徒保罗将跟随上帝的人，描述为散发“基督馨香之气”的人。伯明心想：没错！那些接待他的人发出了像基督一样的馨香。

When Paul says that God leads His people in Christ’s “triumphal procession” spreading the fragrance of His truth, he’s referring to a practice in the ancient world. Victorious armies would burn incense as they marched through the streets. For their supporters, the smell brought joy. In the same way, Paul says the people of God carry a pleasing fragrance to those who believe. It isn’t something we create on our own but something God gives as He leads us in spreading the knowledge of Him.

使徒保罗说上帝要率领祂的子民“在基督里夸胜”，并散发祂真理的香气，在这里他所指的是罗马时代的一种惯例。当时争战得胜的军队会在街上焚香、游行，对他们的支持者而言，这香气带给他们喜悦。保罗乃藉此讲述，对相信上帝的人而言，上帝的子民也散发出让人愉悦的香气。那不是我们靠自己创造出来的香气，而是当上帝带领我们传扬祂的信息时，祂所赐的馨香之气。

Bob is my dad, and that trip to a faraway town took place more than forty years ago, but he’s never forgotten it. He’s still telling the story of the people who smelled like Christ.

伯明就是我的父亲。那趟前往遥远城镇的旅程发生在四十多年前，但他从未忘怀。至今他仍经常提到这件事，怀念那群散发基督馨香的人。

Heavenly Father, thank You for leading Your people in triumph and spreading the fragrance of Your truth through us.

亲爱的天父，感谢祢率领祢的子民得胜，并藉着我们散发祢真理的香气。

2 Corinthians 2:14-17    NIV

2 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God. 

哥林多后书 2:14-17

2 感谢神，常率领我们在基督里夸胜，并借着我们在各处显扬那因认识基督而有的香气。 15 因为我们在神面前，无论在得救的人身上或灭亡的人身上，都有基督馨香之气。 16 在这等人，就做了死的香气叫他死；在那等人，就做了活的香气叫他活。这事谁能当得起呢？ 17 我们不像那许多人，为利混乱神的道，乃是由于诚实，由于神，在神面前凭着基督讲道。

INSIGHT

灵粮透视

The phrase “pleasing aroma” or “aroma pleasing” occurs thirty-nine times in the Old Testament—once in Genesis when Noah made a sacrifice to the Lord after the flood (8:21) and three times in Exodus (dealing with the consecration of the priests in chapter 29). The remainder are found in Leviticus and Numbers, most of which provide details about the various sacrifices or offerings the Israelite people were to bring God, such as burnt (Leviticus 1:13), grain (2:9), fellowship (4:31), drink (Numbers 15:10), sin (v. 24), and food (29:6). All of these offerings and sacrifices, when given in the prescribed way, were an “aroma pleasing to the  Lord” (Leviticus 3:5). Two of these sacrifices were required: the sin offering and trespass offering, which were to atone for sin.

在旧约中，“馨香之气”或各种“馨香”的祭出现过许多次。其中一次是在创世记，当挪亚在洪水之后向耶和华献上祭物时，圣经描述那是“馨香之气”（8章21节）。在出埃及记第29章讲到祭司献祭时，三次提到“馨香的火祭”。在利未记和民数记中也出现多次，大多讲到以色列人向上帝献各种祭物或供物的细节，比如燔祭（利未记1章13节）、素祭（利未记2章9节；民数记29章6节）和奠祭（民数记15章10节）都是“馨香的火祭”；平安祭（利未记4章31节）和赎罪祭（民数记15章24节）都是“馨香的祭”。这些按规定献上的供物和祭物，都是献与上帝为“馨香的火祭”（利未记3章5节）。在这些献祭中，赎罪祭和赎愆祭是必要的，二者都用来赎罪。

In the New Testament this phrase appears only once, here in today’s passage: “We are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing” (2 Corinthians 2:15). No longer are sacrifices necessary, for Jesus paid the sacrifice for our sins. When we follow Him, God is pleased with us because of what Christ did on our behalf.

在新约圣经中，“馨香之气”出现过两次，其中一次在今天阅读的哥林多后书2章15节：“因为我们在上帝面前，无论在得救的人身上，或灭亡的人身上，都有基督馨香之气。”如今我们已无需献祭，因耶稣已为我们的罪作了挽回祭。当我们跟随耶稣时，上帝就因基督为我们所成就的事而悦纳我们。

整理：于姊妹