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. 2 Cor. 2:14
Here Paul paints a picture with which the Corinthian believers are all too familiar. Whenever Caesar’s armies went out to conquer an adversary and were successful, they celebrated their victories by parading captives from the conquered countries through the streets of Rome. This may seem like a rather negative way to portray us as new believers. But Christ’s warfare is different. All of us were captured from the enemy, Satan. And even though our acquiescence was voluntary, it is nevertheless, a significant victory in the spiritual warfare that is raging around us.
And God is parading us around as an in-your-face celebration that Satan witnesses as well. So, remember that Satan too was defeated at the cross and at the Resurrection. In a very real sense, he too is part of the captives, albeit in chains as an unwilling prisoner.
We can look around us and see that Satan is still at work. So, there is an “already, but not yet” aspect to what Paul is talking about. But, in the timeless domain of eternity, Satan lies defeated, and we are being paraded before him as reminders of the totality of his loss.
Here Paul paints a picture with which the Corinthian believers are all too familiar. Whenever Caesar’s armies went out to conquer an adversary and were successful, they celebrated their victories by parading captives from the conquered countries through the streets of Rome. This may seem like a rather negative way to portray us as new believers. But Christ’s warfare is different. All of us were captured from the enemy, Satan. And even though our acquiescence was voluntary, it is nevertheless, a significant victory in the spiritual warfare that is raging around us.
And God is parading us around as an in-your-face celebration that Satan witnesses as well. So, remember that Satan too was defeated at the cross and at the Resurrection. In a very real sense, he too is part of the captives, albeit in chains as an unwilling prisoner.
We can look around us and see that Satan is still at work. So, there is an “already, but not yet” aspect to what Paul is talking about. But, in the timeless domain of eternity, Satan lies defeated, and we are being paraded before him as reminders of the totality of his loss.
