Scents and Spirits: How the Aroma You Carry Determines What the Spiritual Realm Does with You

Spirits do not recognize you by how you look — they recognize you by the scent you carry.

Every spiritual encounter, every act of worship, every dimension of favor and grace operates according to a principle that most believers have never been taught: the principle of spiritual scent. God Himself is attracted to specific aromas. Demonic spirits respond to specific scents. The favor that opens doors, the grace that draws people to you, and the acceptance you receive from God are not primarily visual or verbal — they are aromatic. Understanding this principle unlocks dimensions of spiritual communication and divine favor that change everything.

Teaching Overview

God and all spiritual beings — divine and demonic — communicate and are attracted through the principle of spiritual scent, not through physical appearance or words alone.
The language of sacrifice was the first post-sin language through which humanity could approach God, and God's response to offerings is governed by what He is spiritually attracted to.
Favor, grace, and acceptance are spiritual scents placed on a person by God, not merely declarations — and they determine who and what is attracted to that person.
The anointing has no scent; a person can be heavily anointed yet attract no favor because favor and grace are distinct spiritual aromas.
Cleansing in Christ is the removal of the scent that sin produces — a scent that permits demonic spirits to attach themselves and attract misfortune, attacks, and rejection.

Key Distinctions

	The Anointing	Favor / Grace
What it is	The power of God working through a person to solve problems and minister	A spiritual scent God places on a person that attracts people, opportunities, and divine acceptance
Whether it has a scent	No — the anointing carries no scent	Yes — favor and grace emit a specific spiritual aroma
Effect on others	Does not automatically draw people toward the person	Causes people to be irresistibly attracted, open, and drawn to the person
Can exist without the other	Yes — a person can be heavily anointed with no favor scent	Yes — a person can carry favor without operating in a strong anointing
How it works	Operates through the power dimension of God's Spirit	Operates through the aromatic, relational dimension of spiritual substance
What happens when absent	Problems go unsolved; ministry stalls	People are repelled or indifferent despite ability, beauty, or character

	Acceptance	Respect
How the Bible uses it	God accepts or rejects a person and their offering based on how it is given	God showed "respect" specifically to Abel and his offering — a distinct category of response
What triggers it	Giving the right thing in the right way before God	Offering something that carries the specific aroma God is attracted to
Example in Scripture	God accepted Abel; God rejected Cain	"The Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering" (Genesis 4)
Implication	There are ways to approach God that result in full acceptance	There is a dimension of response from God — beyond mere acceptance — that is provoked by the scent of a right sacrifice

God Is a Spirit Who Responds to Spiritual Substance

God is the creator of all spirits — whether material or immaterial, all things are made of spiritual substance.
Angels are not immaterial; they are material in a form that cannot be perceived by human physical senses, yet their presence can still be felt.
Everything experienced physically originated spiritually — the physical is a manifestation of a prior spiritual reality.

"Everything you do physically is because it originated already spiritually."

The Original Language of Communication with God

Adam and Eve communicated with God in God's own language — a spiritual language that was lost when sin caused them to shift from spiritual to natural perception.
After the fall, the first language God responds to is the language of sacrifice — a spiritual protocol the sons of Adam exercised without being explicitly taught it.
God's response to offerings is not uniform: He may accept, reject, or show respect — and these are distinct categories of divine response.

"There is a way that God can accept you beyond prayer. There are dimensions in which you communicate with God and there are dimensions in which God will respond to you, even if you're wicked."

Spirits Are Attracted to Scents

God invented scents because spirits — both divine and demonic — are attracted to specific aromas.
In heaven, live coals burn on the altar before God, producing smoke that attracts and sustains His presence — smoke in the temple is not incidental but purposeful.
Demonic spirits are attracted to specific scents just as God is; the spirituality behind practices like sage and incense is not wrong in principle — it becomes demonic when it serves evil purposes.

"Spirits are attracted to smells. That is why God invented scents, because spirits are attracted to scents."

The Aroma of Christ and Spiritual Identity

When Christ was crucified, He emitted a spiritual scent — a sacrificial aroma — that caused God to accept those who believe in Him.
Believers are baptized into the aroma of Christ; when God looks at a believer, He is recognizing the scent of Christ, not merely the appearance of the person.
Spirits recognize a person by the scent they carry — physical appearance is secondary; scent is the confirmation.

"When God is looking at you, he's recognizing the scent of Christ. So when he looks at you, he's seeing Jesus. Not because you look like him, but because you smell like him. Because spirits recognize you by the scent that you carry, not just by how you look. The confirmation of how you look is how you smell."

Favor and Grace as Spiritual Scents

Favor is a spiritual scent placed on a person by God through an angel — it causes other people's spirits to be attracted, causing them to want to help, accept, and be drawn to that person without understanding why.
The anointing has no scent — a person can be heavily anointed and yet attract no favor, because favor and grace are distinct spiritual aromas that operate separately from the anointing.
The scent a person carries determines the quality of people and opportunities attracted to them; a demonic scent attracts harmful or exploitative people while repelling those with substance.

"The anointing has no scent. That is why somebody can be highly and heavily anointed and nobody cares. Because they don't have the scent of favor. They don't have the scent of grace. They don't have the scent of elevation."

Impartation as the Transfer of Spiritual Aroma

When an impartation is given, the spiritual aroma that attracts specific angels and grace to the one imparting is transferred to the recipient.
The result is that those angels will deal with the recipient as if they are dealing with the one who imparted — because the angels are responding to a specific scent, not a specific face.
The father's embrace of the prodigal son was a deliberate transfer of the father's aroma, so that the angels who responded to the father would now respond to the son.

"When you do an impartation on somebody, what I'm actually doing is I am taking the aroma that attracts the angels that speak to me, that attracts a specific grace of God on me. And I'm giving it to you so that you can attract the same thing. So those angels will deal with you as if they're dealing with me because they are smelling a specific aroma that is carried by a specific person."

Cleansing in Christ and the Scent of Holiness

Sin produces a spiritual scent on a person that permits demonic spirits to attach themselves — misfortune, spiritual attack, and rejection are often symptoms of this scent.
Being washed and cleansed in Christ is God's process of removing the scent that sin produces, replacing it with the aroma of righteousness.
Holiness carries its own scent — a person who is upright with God emanates a spiritual sense of purity and cleanness that can almost be perceived even physically.

"This is why the Bible talks about us being cleansed and being washed and bathed in Christ is because God is trying to wash away something that sin produces in a man that permits an evil spirit, a demonic spirit to put on you."

The Altar as a Spiritual Signal

An altar is not merely a physical structure — it is a spiritual call, like a smoke signal, that invites a specific spiritual being to come and respond.
Elijah's challenge to the prophets of Baal was specifically designed to prove that Baal could not respond without something being burned — demonstrating that demonic spirits require conditions and sacrifices to manifest, and are neither omniscient nor omnipresent.
God consumed Elijah's offering without fire being lit by human hands — demonstrating that God is always present and will be provoked to move when what He is attracted to is placed before Him in the right way.

"I know what he likes. I know how I will place it on his altar and he will come and he will consume it himself without anything being lit."

Key Definitions

Spiritual Scent — The aromatic, invisible spiritual substance that emanates from a person, offering, or spiritual being, and that determines what spirits, people, and dimensions of God are attracted to or repelled by.

Favor — A spiritual scent placed on a person by an angel of God that causes other people's spirits to be irresistibly attracted, compelling them to help, accept, and prefer that person without knowing why.

The Anointing — The power of God working through a person to minister and solve problems; it carries no scent and therefore does not automatically attract people or open relational doors.

Impartation — The transfer of the spiritual aroma carried by one person to another, so that the angels and grace that respond to the one imparting will now respond to the recipient in the same way.

Altar — A spiritual call — like a smoke signal — that summons a specific spiritual being to come and respond to what has been prepared and placed before it.

Chrysma (the Rubbing Off) — The spiritual principle by which an aroma is transferred from one person to another through physical contact, covering the recipient with the scent that attracts specific angels and dimensions of grace.

Key Takeaways

Spirits communicate and are attracted through scent, not through sight or words alone — Every spiritual encounter, divine or demonic, is governed by the principle of spiritual aroma; understanding this changes how you approach God and how you interpret spiritual activity in your life.
Favor and grace are distinct spiritual scents, separate from the anointing — A person can be powerfully anointed and still attract no favor, because favor is a specific spiritual aroma that draws people and opportunities, and it must be sought and received as its own gift.
The scent you carry determines what and who is attracted to you — Misfortune, wrong relationships, and chronic rejection are not random; they are symptoms of the spiritual scent a person is emitting, which can be either demonic or divine in origin.
Cleansing in Christ is the removal of a sin-produced scent that permits demonic attachment — Being washed in Christ is not merely a legal transaction; it is the spiritual removal of an aroma that was attracting evil and its replacement with the scent of Christ.
God is moved and compelled by the right offering prepared in the right way — Spiritual access and divine response are not arbitrary; they are unlocked when what God is specifically attracted to is placed before Him in the way He has ordained.

Reflection Questions

What does the quality of the people and opportunities currently attracted to your life reveal about the spiritual scent you are carrying?
Have you been pursuing the anointing while neglecting to seek the scent of favor and grace — and how might that distinction explain areas where doors have remained closed despite your gifting?
In what ways have you been trying to communicate with God through the wrong offerings — giving what is convenient or what you decide, rather than what He is specifically attracted to?
What area of your life shows signs of a demonic scent at work — repeated misfortune, chronic rejection, or the wrong kinds of people consistently being drawn to you — and what step will you take to bring that before God for cleansing?
If the father's embrace of the prodigal son was a deliberate transfer of aroma, who in your life has God placed to impart a spiritual scent to you — and are you positioning yourself to receive it?

Scripture References

Genesis 1:1 — "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (KJV)
Genesis 1:3 — "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." (KJV)
Genesis 4:3-5 — "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect." (KJV)
Hebrews 11:3 — "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." (KJV)
John 4:24 — "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." (KJV)
2 Corinthians 12:2 — "I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven." (KJV)
Isaiah 6:6 — "Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar." (KJV)
2 Corinthians 2:15 — "For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish." (KJV)
Luke 15:11-32
Esther 5:1-3
1 Kings 18:20-39
1 Kings 18:28 — "And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them." (KJV)
Isaiah 53:5 — "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." (KJV)
Leviticus 18:21 — "And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD." (KJV)

Golden Nuggets

"Spirits recognize you by the scent that you carry, not just by how you look. The confirmation of how you look is how you smell."

"The anointing has no scent. That is why somebody can be highly and heavily anointed and nobody cares. Because they don't have the scent of favor. They don't have the scent of grace. They don't have the scent of elevation."

"Favor is a scent that another human being's spirit will be attracted to. They just want to help you."

"There is a way that God can accept you beyond prayer. There are dimensions in which you communicate with God and there are dimensions in which God will respond to you, even if you're wicked."

"When God is looking at you, he's recognizing the scent of Christ. So when he looks at you, he's seeing Jesus. Not because you look like him, but because you smell like him."

"God is trying to wash away something that sin produces in a man that permits an evil spirit, a demonic spirit to put on you."

"Everything you do physically is because it originated already spiritually."

"When you do an impartation on somebody, what I'm actually doing is I am taking the aroma that attracts the angels that speak to me, that attracts a specific grace of God on me. And I'm giving it to you so that you can attract the same thing."

"Holiness has a scent."

"God doesn't live in a space. God lives within himself, by himself, for himself. We are the ones who exist within him."

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