For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
Parallel translations
- WEB For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God, in those who are saved, and in those who perish;
- KJV For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
- NKJV For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.
- NASB For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing:
- NLT Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Believers are the sweet aroma of Christ to God among both the saved and the perishing. Their lives and witness carry the fragrance of Christ to all.
Overview
Paul says those who proclaim Christ are a pleasing fragrance to God, regardless of how people respond. The same gospel reaches both those being saved and those perishing. This shows that faithfulness in witness is itself pleasing to God, even when results differ, because the value lies in Christ being made known.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Eph 5:2and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.
- 1 Cor 1:18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
- Ezek 20:41When I bring you from the peoples and gather you from the lands to which you have been scattered, I will accept you as a pleasing aroma. And I will show My holiness through you in the sight of the nations.
- Phil 4:18I have all I need and more, now that I have received your gifts from Epaphroditus. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.
- Gen 8:21When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.
- Exod 29:18Then burn the entire ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.
- 2 Th 2:10and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.
- 2 Cor 4:3–4And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
- Exod 29:25Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar atop the burnt offering as a pleasing aroma before the LORD; it is an offering made by fire to the LORD.
- Isa 49:5–6And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, that Israel might be gathered to Him—for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and My God is My strength—
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
In Christ all God's promises are 'Yes and Amen'; though rich, he became poor to make us rich, and in him God reconciles the world, making us new creations.
How 2 Corinthians 2:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.