The anointing, the sealing, and the pledging are all a matter of the divine dispensing. The indwelling Spirit is doing the work of dispensing. As we are anointed with the Spirit, we experience the dispensing of the Spirit into us. Furthermore, the sealing and the pledging, which guarantees, assures, and cheers us, are also related to God’s dispensing.
Through the experience of the dispensing in the anointing, the sealing, and the pledging, we grow in life. We not only receive the element and substance of the divine life, but we also receive the essence of the divine life. Now we are growing through the dispensing of the essence of the Triune God into our being. We do not grow in life through doctrine. Rather, we grow through the divine essence that is being dispensed into us day by day. Only through the divine dispensing do we have real, actual, and practical growth unto maturity.
The anointing, sealing, and pledging of the Holy Spirit in the divine dispensing also lead to the real, actual, and practical constitution of a ministry within us. Concerning this ministry, we all need to practice speaking for the Lord. We should speak not only in the church meetings but also at home. We all need to be prepared, exercised, and trained to speak for the Lord.
In 2:14 Paul says, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in the Christ, and manifests through us the savor of the knowledge of Him in every place.” Here Paul uses the metaphor of a triumphal procession. Often after a general of the Roman army had won a victory, he would march through the capital with his captives in a procession to celebrate his victory. Paul used this metaphor to illustrate how Christ is the victorious general and how Paul and all believers are His captives. Christ is leading a triumphal procession of His captives to celebrate His victory.
The Greek verb rendered “leads us in triumph” as used in 2:14 means “to lead a man as a captive in a triumphal procession; the full phrase means to lead captive in a triumph over the enemies of Christ...God is celebrating His triumph over His enemies; Paul (who had been so great an opponent of the gospel) is a captive following in the train of the triumphal procession, yet (at the same time, by a characteristic change of metaphor) an incense-bearer, scattering incense (which was always done on these occasions) as the procession moves on. Some of the conquered enemies were put to death when the procession reached the Capitol; to them the smell of incense was an odor of death unto death; to the rest who were spared, an odor of life unto life” (Conybeare). God always leads the apostles in such a triumphant way for their ministry. God’s leading is His dispensing of Himself into the apostles. In their ministry God dispenses the virtues of Christ in His Person and work into them in triumph, and their ministry is a procession celebrating Christ’s victory.
In 2:12 through 7:16 Paul speaks about the ministry of himself and his co-workers. He first likens their ministry to a celebration of Christ’s victory. Their move in their ministry for Christ is like a triumphal procession from one place to another under God’s leading. He and his co-workers are Christ’s captives, bearing the fragrant incense of Christ, for His triumphant glory. They have been conquered by Christ and have become His captives in the train of His triumph, scattering the fragrance of Christ from place to place. This is their ministry for Him.
As conquered and captured ones in the train of Christ’s triumph, Paul and his co-workers celebrated and participated in Christ’s triumph. The apostles were such captives; their move as captives of Christ in their ministry for Him was God’s celebration of Christ’s victory over His enemies.
As we have pointed out, as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession, Paul and his co-workers were also incense-bearers, scattering the savor of the knowledge of Christ in His triumphant ministry as in a triumphal procession. The apostles were such incense-bearers in the ministry of Christ as well as captives in the train of His triumph.
In 2:14 Paul speaks of the savor of the knowledge of Christ. “According to the Greek usage, savor and knowledge are in apposition, so that the knowledge of Christ is symbolized as an odor communicating its nature and efficacy through the apostle’s work” (Vincent).