"By me," he declares, "He wafts abroad through every land the knowledge of Jesus, the incense of His triumphal march." 

To the people of Paul's day, the triumphal march of the returning victorious general into the Imperial City was one of the most glorious spectacles ever to be imagined. Apart from the coronation of the Emperor himself, it was the most spectacular and magnificent of earthly pageants. The conqueror in whose honor it was given was an illustrious commander who had defeated an enemy or won a province. 

The whole population turned out to review the march, to feast their eyes upon the victorious general and to cheer. The route traveled by the pageant-march led through the heart of Rome to the capitol where the conqueror was received and honored by the emperor himself. As the people watched in breathless excitement, they viewed the procession: 

• First, the fruits of the conquest - the captives who had been taken in the campaign - being dragged along, chained to the chariot wheels. Along with these was the spoil which had been wrested from the foe.
• Second, the mighty general himself, mounted aloft in his chariot car, the center of attraction and acclaim. Following him were the marching legions who had shared his triumph.
• Third, the incense bearers marching in the procession, filling the air with clouds of fragrant odor.
  

And the hostile princes and rulers He stripped off of Himself and boldly displayed them as His conquests, when by the Cross, He triumphed over them (Col. 2:15) 

He has captured the spoils (Eph. 4:8). 

He paralyzed him that held the dominion of death (Heb. 2:14). 

When He ascended on high … He led a train of vanquished foes (Eph. 4:8). 

Christmas Evans, the mighty Welsh revivalist, exultingly declared in one of his sermons: 

Not only did He silence the cannon on the spiritual Gilbraltar, but He took fortifications and all! He not only silenced the horrible and destructive battlements of the powerful enemy, but He threw down the towers and razed the castles and took away the key to the dungeon. Hallelujah! 

There is a prodigality of wealth for us in the imagery that Paul employs. 

In the first place, as Paul looked upon Christ's triumphal procession, he saw himself there as one of the captives. He is a part of the spoils of Christ's victory on the Cross. As the chained captives were the exhibits of the power of conquering Rome, so Paul was a living exhibition of the power of the Cross. 

"I'm not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ," he wrote to the Romans, "for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth." Paul had experienced this power in his own life. The greatest enemy of the Cross had now become Christ's captive. One day, the Conqueror of Calvary had met him. There had been a terrible conflict, but Paul had fallen to the earth, vanquished, on the Damascus Highway. Ever since that day, he had been chained to the chariot wheels of his victor - not with chains of iron, but with the chords of eternal love and thankfulness. He wasn't only a captive, but a willing bondslave (Rom. 1:1). 

This is copyrighted material from James Stewart's book Come O Breath!, available from Revival Literature, PO Box 6068, Asheville, NC 28816.