All are Yours 1 Corinthians 3:22

As Paul the apostle continued to discuss the “wisdom of men” versus the “wisdom of God”, he told the Corinthian church members to “let no man glory in men” because “all things” were theirs, and in chapter three and verse twenty-two of First Corinthians, Paul reiterated how no matter from what the source the Corinthians received their information “all are yours” where we read:

Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life,

or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

The verse begins, “Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life,...” Paul began with the word, “Whether” which means “if” “Paul” whose name means “small or little” and was “the most famous of the apostles and wrote a good part of the New Testament, the fourteen Pauline epistles”, “or Apollos” whose name means “given by Apollo” and was “a learned Jew from Alexandria and mighty in the scriptures who became a Christian and a teacher of Christianity”, “or Cephas” whose name means “stone” and was “another name for the apostle Peter”, “or the world” which refers to “the circle of the earth aggregate of goods, endowments, riches, advantages and pleasures”, “or life” which means “the state of one who is possessed of vitality or is animate ”. Paul began a list of sources through which the message of the “gospel” came to the Corinthians.

The verse continues “...or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;”. Paul added the words, “or death” which means “that separation (whether natural or violent) of the soul and the body by which the life on earth is ended”, “or things present” or “things that are in place, among, put in, impending and close at hand”, “or things to come” which refers to “things intended, had in mind or think toward”; “all” or “each, every, the whole, everyone and everything” “are yours” which refers to the Corinthian church members. Paul continued his list by adding events and times through which the message of the “gospel” came to the church members, and concluded his accounting by repeating “all things” were theirs.

When we consider these words from Paul, we see how the source of the “gospel” was not nearly as important as the message of the “good news” concerning Jesus Christ. “Paul, Apollos and Cephas or Peter” may have been used by God to share the message, but also “the world” itself, “life, death, things present or things to come” may have been used as well. The agent and conduit through which God shares concerning His Son Jesus is not to receive the “glory” for it, but rather God who made certain the Corinthian church members would know the message. Let us rejoice in God Almighty and Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord for the “good news” of the “gospel” that has been provided to us through many means as God desired to share it.

Next time Paul tells the Corinthians “and you are Christ's”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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