1 Corinthians 3:21-23
Ps Paul Cheng
Dear Bethelites,
Most people may know that there are a few things which can hurt and weaken a church as much as in-fighting and disunity amongst the members. Church division and divisive people have to be avoided at all cost. The remedy is to obey what God has commanded us, and based on 1 Corinthians 3:16-23, there are three commands; (1) let no man defile the church, (2) let no man deceive himself, and (3) let no man glory in men. In our previous pastoral chats, we had considered the first two commands; today we will focus on the last command.
Let no man glory in men
1 Corinthians 3:21, Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
Personal individual loyalty is not an indication that one is closer to God. For example, being close to a particular minister does not mean one is close to God. There is a place for appreciation and thankfulness, and one should love and respect those ministers who are serving God faithfully, but it is totally different when one glorifies another man.
Paul warned the Corinthians that they should not boast about themselves. They should not also boast about other men, and the reason was because... For all things are yours (Verse 21b).
What does that mean for all things are yours? The Corinthians were boasting, “I belong to Paul, or I belong to Apollos, or I belong to Cephas/Peter,” and in a sense, Paul was saying, “What are you talking about? Don’t you realise that you do not belong to them, but they belong to you. They are yours!” Thus, Paul went on to say, Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; (Verse 22, emphasis mine).
Paul, Apollos, Cephas – Who was Paul? One could call him a minister! Who was Apollos? One could call him a teacher! Who was Peter? One could call him an apostle!
What were they - minister, teacher and apostle - working for? For the church! In a similar fashion, what is the pastor working for? For the church! In other words, when does one boast about these people, e.g. minister, teacher, apostle and pastor? Why does one fight over who is better when God has equipped all of them solely for the purpose of the church?
In other words, Paul, Apollos and Peter belonged to the Corinthians, the church. And not just Paul, Apollos and Peter... but also the world.
The world – God created this world for men and gave this world for them to live in. But due to the Fall, this world is now under the dominion of Satan who is the prince of the power of the air. One day, the Lord Jesus will return and establish His millennial kingdom on this earth, and we will rule this world together with Him for a thousand years. Then He will create the new heavens and the new earth where the believers will dwell with Him for all eternity. That is why the believers can sing with this great assurance in their hearts, “This is my Father’s world!”
Life – Paul said, or life (are yours); he was referring primarily to the Corinthians’ spiritual and eternal lives. In Christ, they had this new life which could never be lost. The believer may lose his physical life but never his spiritual and eternal life.
Death – Man’s greatest enemy is death, and Christ had conquered death on the cross and through Him, the believer has conquered death. Unless the believer is raptured, he will have to pass through death. However, he is no longer a victim but a conqueror of death. Death is an instrument to deliver him to Christ; to bring him into the eternal presence of his Saviour. That was why Paul was able to say, For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).
Or things present, or things to come – Everything the believers have experienced in this life and everything they will experience in the future, are yours. Romans 8:28, And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. There is no such thing as being “lucky” or “coincidence”, for everything happens for a sovereign divine purpose. How comforting it is to live in this perspective that our God is in control of all things and has done all these things for us!
Finally, verse 23, And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s. Dear friends, as believers, we do not belong to anyone. Strictly speaking, we do not belong to any organization, institution, movement or denomination. We belong to Christ - the church belongs to Christ. It is Christ’s church! Jesus said, Upon this rock (Christ), I will build my church (Matthew 16:18). If the church belongs to Christ, then instead of being divided, we should be united!
In Christ,
Pastor Paul Cheng