2 Corinthians 2:12-14 - Triumphal Procession

Chad Werkhoven
Jul 21
3 min read

You're not just Christ's follower - you're His captive!

Watch this short explainer video to understand what Paul refers to in 2 Corinthians 2:14

2 Corinthians 2:12-14 (NIV)

12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, 13 I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia. 14 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.

Canons of Dordt

Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election

Point 2 - Limited Atonement

Point 3 - Total Depravity

Article 6: The Saving Power of the Gospel

What, therefore, neither the light of nature nor the law can do, God accomplishes
1. by the power of the Holy Spirit,
2. through the Word or the ministry of reconciliation.
This is the gospel about the Messiah,
1. through which it has pleased God to save believers,
2. in both the Old and the New Testaments.

Summary

It's so easy to put Paul on a pedestal, as if he somehow had been able to maintain a laser like focus on preaching and teaching the gospel despite the continual persecution and challenges he faced. But our opening verse today humanizes Paul a bit. The Lord had opened a door for him to preach the gospel of Christ in Troas, but even so, he still had no peace of mind , because he did not find his brother Titus there as he had hoped.

So Paul said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia. As we read of this here in his letter to the Corinthians, it's not clear whether Paul's anxiety regarding Titus caused him to leave Troas before his work was fully done there or not. But it does sure seem that Paul's more motivated to find Titus than he is to enter the doors the Lord opened for him in Troas.

This gives us a glimpse of Paul in a different light. Instead of his usual confidence in God's providence and sovereignty, we see his own angst as he grapples with his lack of control over the immediate situation. It seems to get the better of him.

In other words, we get a good picture of ourselves in Paul here!

Dig Deeper

Don't for a minute think that God had somehow lost his grip on Paul. Paul begins v14 with the conjunction but, which means the clause that follows is going to supercede what just came before it. Paul's restlessness seemed to lead him away from the doors God had opened, BUT thanks be to God, who always leads us! In other words, God's sovereign control in our lives is not just limited to the times that we're in perfect alignment with him!

But notice how it is that God always leads us. He doesn't lead us as willing followers who are always eager to do exactly what God says. Rather, He leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession. The people who first read this letter would have been very familiar with triumphal processions. The Roman Empire referred to them as a triumphus - a parade in which a victorious general would triumphantly return from a conquest showing off the loot he had won, including thousands of slaves who would now serve the Empire (short video explainer).

This is who and what we are as Christians. Christianity is often portrayed as a tool to enhance and fulfill your spiritual nature, in the way that academics rounds out your intellect and working out builds you physically. This of course is true in a very limited way, but the Canons today remind us that despite having the lights of nature and God's law, we were never able to 'capture' Christianity ourselves in order to use for our own limited purposes.

Instead, it was God who captured us by the power of the Holy Spirit. His grace is stronger than we are! It is Christ who now triumphantly leads us into the Kingdom of God as His slaves. Not slaves who are used and abused for however long they last as they are in the empires of this world, but slaves who find our fulfillment having been redeemed by the very One who captured us.

AAA Prayer (About)

ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who ALWAYS leads us;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will fully live into your identity as a redeemed slave being led in Christ's triumphal procession;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: