Paul reminds the Corinthians that believers are each God’s temple. He lives within each of us through His Holy Spirit. So if we harm ourselves or if others harm us, God will punish these harms in the judgment. The world’s ways are foolish and deceptive. Worldly wisdom has led the Corinthians to boast in which teacher they follow, whether Paul, Apollos, or Peter. This is a pointless, wasteful way to live. We will inherit the world already if we overcome it as Christ overcame. All good things will be given to us in Christ’s kingdom if we suffer as Christ suffered, who was rewarded with authority over the earth for His obedience.
In 1 Corinthians 3:18-231 Corinthians 3:18-23 commentary, commentary Paul reemphasizes that the Corinthians should focus on pleasing Christ by following His ways; this is wisdom, while following the ways of the world is foolishness.
Continuing with his admonition for believers to follow Christ rather than men, Paul says Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise (v. 18).
Now Paul contrasts wise in this age against being foolish according to this age. By this age Paul means according to the standards of this present world. We can see that this is the case from verse 19 where Paul explains, For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God, thus equating this age with this world.
As Paul asserted at the beginning of this chapter, the Corinthians were living as “men of flesh” rather than as “spiritual men.” They were, accordingly, “infants in Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11 Corinthians 3:1 commentary). To live as “men of flesh” is to live according to the wisdom of this world and to be wise in this age. Paul will assert in this section that God will use what the world considers foolish to prove what is actually wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:211 Corinthians 1:21 commentary).
To the world, the message of the gospel that Paul preached was foolishness. This is because in the eyes of the world everything about Paul’s message is backward. The goal of the world is to extract as much as possible from others. The goal of living as a servant of Christ is to serve others in love, seeking their best even at our own expense. To be wise in this age is to know how to manipulate others in order to benefit ourselves.
Jesus spoke of this in the parable of the unrighteous manager. Speaking of using reciprocity (doing something for someone else in order to get a return benefit), Jesus says:
“And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light.” (Luke 16:8Luke 16:8 commentary)
Jesus follows this by exhorting His disciples to be spiritually shrewd by serving others now, in this life, in order to gain eternal rewards in the next. This is how to be shrewd as a son “of light.”
Paul is saying the same thing in this chapter. He is asserting that spiritual shrewdness is serving others in obedience to Christ in order to lay up treasure in heaven. The more believers give in this life the more we receive in the next. And, as a bonus, we also gain great spiritual benefit in this life from following the ways of Christ. However, following Christ is accompanied by rejection from this world which often brings material loss.
The ways of Christ are foolish according to the wisdom of the world. That is why Paul told his disciple Timothy that believers should expect persecution if they choose to live a godly life in this world (2 Timothy 3:122 Timothy 3:12 commentary). Paul exhorts believers to embrace this trade off. He next asserts: For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, ‘He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness’ (v. 19).
The reward for serving Christ is immense, sharing in His glory of reigning as the “Son” over the earth is also entering into the “joy” of our Master (Matthew 25:21Matthew 25:21 commentary). And gaining this immense reward also avoids a large downside. The downside includes the fact that God will catch the wise in their craftiness.
This is in part explained by the next verse and again, the Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless (v. 20). In saying and again Paul is telling the readers that verses 19 and 20 make the same basic point. The contrast is stark: sharing in the joy of our Master versus suffering the loss of recognizing that all we did on earth was useless. We saw the same picture earlier when deeds not done in service of Christ were pictured as being burned and lost in the judgment fire of Jesus.
In verse 20, Paul quotes Psalm 94:11Psalm 94:11 commentary which is translated to English from Hebrew as:
“The LORD knows the thoughts of man, That they are a mere breath.” (Psalms 94:11Psalms 94:11 commentary)
The word translated “breath” which is rendered useless in 1 Corinthians 3:201 Corinthians 3:20 commentary is “hebel” in Hebrew. It literally refers to a wisp of vapor. It is a major theme of the book of Ecclesiastes, where Solomon asserted that life is “vanity.” The term “vanity” in that context is also a translation of “hebel”. Ecclesiastes asserts that living life based on reason and experience is like trying to grab and hold a wisp of vapor—it is futile. It is useless. Such living leads only to madness, folly, and wickedness. Ecclesiastes concludes with this statement:
“For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:14Ecclesiastes 12:14 commentary)
The wise of this world may think they are gaining advantage by exploiting others, but they will be thwarted by God. God will see that justice prevails. In the end, all the plotting and scheming will lead to nothing; it will be useless.
The Greek word translated craftiness is “panourgia.” Jesus uses this word in Luke 20:23Luke 20:23 commentary where it is translated “trickery.” Spies of the chief priests asked Jesus whether the Jews should pay taxes to Rome. Their hope was that Jesus would say, “No,” according to popular sentiment. This would allow them to turn Him over to the Roman governor to be crucified as an insurrectionist (Luke 20:20Luke 20:20 commentary).
Just as Jesus thwarted the priests in their craftiness, God will thwart those who are wise in the ways of the world. In 2 Corinthians 11:32 Corinthians 11:3 commentary, commentary Paul uses “panourgia” to refer to the wiles of Satan: “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness [“panourgia”], your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”
It is clear that believers have a binary choice whether to live according to the wisdom of God or the wisdom of this world, which is the craftiness of Satan. God appointed humans to reign over the world, but it appears Satan was given to rule the world when humans fell (John 16:11John 16:11 commentary). Thus, the wisdom of the world reflects Satan’s ethics; Jesus said he was a murderer and liar from the beginning (John 8:44John 8:44 commentary).
Jesus indicated that there would be many religious people who would do some things that appear amazing. However, these are things that will burn in the fire because they are not done by faith, in harmony with God and His ways. They would not be in fellowship with Him. These people will come to the judgment and say “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” (Matthew 7:22Matthew 7:22 commentary). Jesus’s answer is “I never knew you; depart from me you who practice lawlessness.”
We can conclude that these religious people were wise in the ways of the world, and came to the judgment expecting to justify their works. But God judges the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12Hebrews 4:12 commentary). These will also be caught in their craftiness in the judgment.
This is why it makes sense to reject the wisdom of this world as being foolishness. Following the world’s definition of success and “winning” leads to loss and ruin. When Paul describes the wisdom of this world as foolishness before God, his assessment includes both warning and relief. Warning, because arrogance rooted in human reason awaits a rude awakening. Relief, because those who walk humbly before God need not fear the world’s condemnation of their deeds done in faith. God’s perspective sees beyond outward sophistication, peering into the intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12Hebrews 4:12 commentary).
This all elevates Paul’s assertion that everything the world offers as a reward is ultimately useless. But it takes faith to choose a perspective that something the world tells us is highly useful is actually useless. In this letter, Paul is seeking to move the Corinthian believers from a state of being “men of flesh” to being “spiritual men” (1 Corinthians 3:11 Corinthians 3:1 commentary).
Paul then exhorts, So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you (v. 21).
Earlier in this chapter Paul described a struggle where believers were dividing themselves based on allegiance to particular teachers—some championed Paul, others Apollos. In the intervening verses Paul made the point that all believers should be pointed toward Christ, for it is He who will judge our deeds and determine rewards for our time on earth.
Paul now returns to the dispute at hand and says let no one boast in men. Given the realities of the judgment each believer will experience when they stand before Christ, dividing into tribes based on who one follows is useless. To boast in men includes saying “I am of Paul” or “I am of Apollos.” But Paul now uses that instance as an example of a much broader principle. Paul urges that no one should boast in men. That would include any human person, not just Paul or Apollos.
We see an example of what Paul means by boast in 2 Corinthians 10-132 Corinthians 10-13 commentary. There, Paul cites a quite formidable résumé of his qualifications as an apostle of Christ. But he calls this exercise “foolishness” and “boasting.” He expresses his great reluctance to engage in the entire conversation, but says he did so out of necessity in order to meet the Corinthians where they were. We can take from this that building credentials or accumulating awards in this world is of no eternal use. It is like the trophies we collect that someone else throws away when we are dead and gone.
We tend to boast in men because we want to be part of something bigger than ourselves. This is a good and appropriate instinct. But the proper perspective on this is that all things belong to you. We are already part of something bigger than ourselves. Every believer has been granted an inheritance in Christ to share His reign over the entire earth (all things belong to you).
New Testament believers are like Israel in this respect. Israel was granted the Promised Land as an inheritance but in order to possess their inheritance they had to overcome in order to possess the land. Each believer has a share in the inheritance of Christ, but in order to possess that inheritance we must overcome as Jesus overcame (Revelation 3:21Revelation 3:21 commentary).
Paul now adds to the list of people, places, and things the Corinthians might be tempted to follow: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you (v. 22).
Paul and Apollos were introduced as the original men who were the subject of what might be considered a brewing “tribal dispute” in 1 Corinthians 3:41 Corinthians 3:4 commentary. Now Paul adds Cephas. This likely refers to the Apostle Peter. John 1:42John 1:42 commentary includes the account of Jesus renaming Simon son of Jonah “Cephas.” Cephas is an Aramaic word for “stone.” “Petros” is the Greek word for “stone” and translates to English as “Peter.”
Paul’s traveling companion Luke wrote Acts in large part as a comparison of Peter and Paul. A basic takeaway from his account is “Everything Peter did was also done by Paul.” We can infer from the construction of his historical account that a major purpose of Luke’s writings was to affirm and bolster Paul’s apostolic authority, which was often under attack. Luke cites Peter as affirming Paul’s position that Gentiles should not be required to follow Jewish religious laws (Acts 15:10-11Acts 15:10-11 commentary).
Peter affirms Paul’s writings as being scripture in 2 Peter 3:15-162 Peter 3:15-16 commentary. This shows that Peter also understood that the goal is not to produce tribes of followers but to unite people to follow Christ.
Paul also includes the world. The world can refer to the world’s system of reward. John articulates this as follows, using the same Greek term “kosmos” for world that Paul uses in verse 21:
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.” (1 John 2:161 John 2:16 commentary)
We can see that the world values three things: pleasure (“lust of the flesh”), material accumulation (“lust of the eyes”), and affirmation from others (“boastful pride of life”). Scripture tells us that seeking pleasure leads to addiction and loss of mental health (Romans 1:24Romans 1:24 commentary, 2626 commentary, 2828 commentary). Material accumulation leads to losing any meaningful purpose for our lives (Luke 12:18-21Luke 12:18-21 commentary). And pride is the alternative to faith. To walk in the world will be to walk in the ways that lead to our deeds being a mere accumulation of wood, hay, and straw that will combust and be gone at Christ’s judgment seat (1 Corinthians 3:12-141 Corinthians 3:12-14 commentary).
Paul does not want believers to fall into tribes in the world. But he asserts that both the people they would follow (Paul, Apollos, and Cephas) as well as the entire world is already theirs. This infers that those who gain gold, silver, and precious stones at Christ’s judgment will also be those who overcome and reign with Christ; they inherit the earth with Him (Revelation 3:21Revelation 3:21 commentary).
That implies that these who inherit the earth will reign alongside Paul, Apollos, and Cephas (Peter) as servant leaders in the age that is to come. These leaders as well as the world are already granted to every believer. What remains is for each believer to possess their inheritance by living as a faithful witness.
Paul also says that life and death belong to believers. In Christ, death is swallowed up in life through the resurrection power of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:54-551 Corinthians 15:54-55 commentary). He also says that things present or things to come; all things belong to you. This infers that God has already granted a full inheritance to each believer. And just as Israel was required to believe God and cross over the Jordan in faith in order to possess their inheritance, so it is with New Testament believers.
“Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.” (2 John 1:82 John 1:8 commentary)
Here in 2 John 1:82 John 1:8 commentary, commentary we see that rewards can be lost in whole or in part. Also, in Colossians 3:23-24Colossians 3:23-24 commentary, commentary Paul refers to the “reward of the inheritance” as something the Lord rewards to all who do “whatever” they do as unto the Lord.
We also see in Romans 8:17-22Romans 8:17-22 commentary that the “sons of God” who share Christ’s inheritance to reign with Him are eagerly awaited by “the whole creation” (Romans 8:19Romans 8:19 commentary, 2222 commentary). When this team of servant leaders reigns over the earth, the earth will be “set free from its slavery to corruption” (Romans 8:21Romans 8:21 commentary).
Each believer is an owner of all things because each believer is “in Christ.” Each believer belongs to Christ. This reaffirms what Paul stated earlier, that although some believers might (tragically) have nothing to show for their lives, they still belong to Christ. This is because each person who has enough faith to believe is spiritually born anew and placed into Christ as a new creation (John 3:3John 3:3 commentary, 14-1514-15 commentary, 2 Corinthians 5:172 Corinthians 5:17 commentary).
Being born again into God’s family is apart from deeds and is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9Ephesians 2:8-9 commentary, commentaryRomans 5:15Romans 5:15 commentary). That is why in 1 Corinthians 3:151 Corinthians 3:15 commentary we saw that those who have all their deeds consumed in the judgment fire of Jesus will still be “saved, yet so as through fire.”
The phrase Christ belongs to God highlights the perfect union between the Son and His Father. Though equal in essence, Jesus the Son willingly submits to the Father’s plan, exemplifying unity, love, and humility. This union mirrors the oneness to which believers are called. As Jesus prayed, “that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You” (John 17:21John 17:21 commentary). This fellowship forms the model for the church: united by Christ, and in harmony with one another, reflecting the love of God to the world.
Since Christ belongs to God and believers belong to Christ there is therefore nothing to separate us from God. Paul reflects a similar idea in Romans 8Romans 8 commentary, commentary where he asserts:
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39Romans 8:38-39 commentary)
We see in this passage from Romans that the “love of God” is “in Christ Jesus our Lord.” And because of this, nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Jesus Christ is a bridge between God and man. There are no mountains to God. In order to redeem humanity, God had to come to earth and become human. It was through His incarnation as a human being that God redeemed humanity. Jesus took on all the sins of the world (Colossians 2:14Colossians 2:14 commentary). Now, all who trust in Jesus and His death on the cross are delivered from the poisonous venom of sin (John 3:14-15John 3:14-15 commentary).
Because every believer belongs to Christ, every believer is reconciled with God. Paul admonishes the Corinthians to reset their perspective of their identity. Instead of being “mere men” (1 Corinthians 3:31 Corinthians 3:3 commentary) and “men of flesh” (1 Corinthians 3:11 Corinthians 3:1 commentary), he desires they see themselves as joint heirs with Christ. Instead of seeking to follow men and gain the rewards of the world, Paul desires the Corinthian believers to mature in their perspective and see themselves as members of a royal family training to take on great responsibility by being faithful in achieving small responsibility.
Paul wants the Corinthian believers to recognize that they are heirs of God and possessors of all things through Christ. He wants them to behave accordingly, living as servant leaders and stewards of Christ who recognize that the things of this world are a distraction at best and a poor substitution at worst. Paul exhorts believers to follow the commands of Christ and keep their eyes upon Him. All things are summed up in Christ, and every believer should see themselves through the lens of “I belong to Christ.”
Set to dark mode
1 Corinthians 3:18-23 meaning
In 1 Corinthians 3:18-231 Corinthians 3:18-23 commentary, commentary Paul reemphasizes that the Corinthians should focus on pleasing Christ by following His ways; this is wisdom, while following the ways of the world is foolishness.
Continuing with his admonition for believers to follow Christ rather than men, Paul says Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise (v. 18).
Now Paul contrasts wise in this age against being foolish according to this age. By this age Paul means according to the standards of this present world. We can see that this is the case from verse 19 where Paul explains, For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God, thus equating this age with this world.
As Paul asserted at the beginning of this chapter, the Corinthians were living as “men of flesh” rather than as “spiritual men.” They were, accordingly, “infants in Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11 Corinthians 3:1 commentary). To live as “men of flesh” is to live according to the wisdom of this world and to be wise in this age. Paul will assert in this section that God will use what the world considers foolish to prove what is actually wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:211 Corinthians 1:21 commentary).
To the world, the message of the gospel that Paul preached was foolishness. This is because in the eyes of the world everything about Paul’s message is backward. The goal of the world is to extract as much as possible from others. The goal of living as a servant of Christ is to serve others in love, seeking their best even at our own expense. To be wise in this age is to know how to manipulate others in order to benefit ourselves.
Jesus spoke of this in the parable of the unrighteous manager. Speaking of using reciprocity (doing something for someone else in order to get a return benefit), Jesus says:
“And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light.”
(Luke 16:8Luke 16:8 commentary)
Jesus follows this by exhorting His disciples to be spiritually shrewd by serving others now, in this life, in order to gain eternal rewards in the next. This is how to be shrewd as a son “of light.”
Paul is saying the same thing in this chapter. He is asserting that spiritual shrewdness is serving others in obedience to Christ in order to lay up treasure in heaven. The more believers give in this life the more we receive in the next. And, as a bonus, we also gain great spiritual benefit in this life from following the ways of Christ. However, following Christ is accompanied by rejection from this world which often brings material loss.
The ways of Christ are foolish according to the wisdom of the world. That is why Paul told his disciple Timothy that believers should expect persecution if they choose to live a godly life in this world (2 Timothy 3:122 Timothy 3:12 commentary). Paul exhorts believers to embrace this trade off. He next asserts: For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, ‘He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness’ (v. 19).
The reward for serving Christ is immense, sharing in His glory of reigning as the “Son” over the earth is also entering into the “joy” of our Master (Matthew 25:21Matthew 25:21 commentary). And gaining this immense reward also avoids a large downside. The downside includes the fact that God will catch the wise in their craftiness.
This is in part explained by the next verse and again, the Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless (v. 20). In saying and again Paul is telling the readers that verses 19 and 20 make the same basic point. The contrast is stark: sharing in the joy of our Master versus suffering the loss of recognizing that all we did on earth was useless. We saw the same picture earlier when deeds not done in service of Christ were pictured as being burned and lost in the judgment fire of Jesus.
In verse 20, Paul quotes Psalm 94:11Psalm 94:11 commentary which is translated to English from Hebrew as:
“The LORD knows the thoughts of man, That they are a mere breath.”
(Psalms 94:11Psalms 94:11 commentary)
The word translated “breath” which is rendered useless in 1 Corinthians 3:201 Corinthians 3:20 commentary is “hebel” in Hebrew. It literally refers to a wisp of vapor. It is a major theme of the book of Ecclesiastes, where Solomon asserted that life is “vanity.” The term “vanity” in that context is also a translation of “hebel”. Ecclesiastes asserts that living life based on reason and experience is like trying to grab and hold a wisp of vapor—it is futile. It is useless. Such living leads only to madness, folly, and wickedness. Ecclesiastes concludes with this statement:
“For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
(Ecclesiastes 12:14Ecclesiastes 12:14 commentary)
The wise of this world may think they are gaining advantage by exploiting others, but they will be thwarted by God. God will see that justice prevails. In the end, all the plotting and scheming will lead to nothing; it will be useless.
The Greek word translated craftiness is “panourgia.” Jesus uses this word in Luke 20:23Luke 20:23 commentary where it is translated “trickery.” Spies of the chief priests asked Jesus whether the Jews should pay taxes to Rome. Their hope was that Jesus would say, “No,” according to popular sentiment. This would allow them to turn Him over to the Roman governor to be crucified as an insurrectionist (Luke 20:20Luke 20:20 commentary).
Just as Jesus thwarted the priests in their craftiness, God will thwart those who are wise in the ways of the world. In 2 Corinthians 11:32 Corinthians 11:3 commentary, commentary Paul uses “panourgia” to refer to the wiles of Satan: “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness [“panourgia”], your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”
It is clear that believers have a binary choice whether to live according to the wisdom of God or the wisdom of this world, which is the craftiness of Satan. God appointed humans to reign over the world, but it appears Satan was given to rule the world when humans fell (John 16:11John 16:11 commentary). Thus, the wisdom of the world reflects Satan’s ethics; Jesus said he was a murderer and liar from the beginning (John 8:44John 8:44 commentary).
Jesus indicated that there would be many religious people who would do some things that appear amazing. However, these are things that will burn in the fire because they are not done by faith, in harmony with God and His ways. They would not be in fellowship with Him. These people will come to the judgment and say “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” (Matthew 7:22Matthew 7:22 commentary). Jesus’s answer is “I never knew you; depart from me you who practice lawlessness.”
We can conclude that these religious people were wise in the ways of the world, and came to the judgment expecting to justify their works. But God judges the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12Hebrews 4:12 commentary). These will also be caught in their craftiness in the judgment.
We saw in the last section that believers will have their deeds judged with the judgment fire of Jesus (1 Corinthians 3:11-151 Corinthians 3:11-15 commentary). Unbelievers will also have their deeds judged (Romans 2:5-6Romans 2:5-6 commentary, commentary Revelation 20:12Revelation 20:12 commentary). Believers who have their deeds burned up will be “saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:151 Corinthians 3:15 commentary). But unbelievers and all of God’s adversaries will be consumed in judgment fire (Revelation 20:15Revelation 20:15 commentary, commentary Hebrews 10:27Hebrews 10:27 commentary).
This is why it makes sense to reject the wisdom of this world as being foolishness. Following the world’s definition of success and “winning” leads to loss and ruin. When Paul describes the wisdom of this world as foolishness before God, his assessment includes both warning and relief. Warning, because arrogance rooted in human reason awaits a rude awakening. Relief, because those who walk humbly before God need not fear the world’s condemnation of their deeds done in faith. God’s perspective sees beyond outward sophistication, peering into the intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12Hebrews 4:12 commentary).
This all elevates Paul’s assertion that everything the world offers as a reward is ultimately useless. But it takes faith to choose a perspective that something the world tells us is highly useful is actually useless. In this letter, Paul is seeking to move the Corinthian believers from a state of being “men of flesh” to being “spiritual men” (1 Corinthians 3:11 Corinthians 3:1 commentary).
Paul then exhorts, So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you (v. 21).
Earlier in this chapter Paul described a struggle where believers were dividing themselves based on allegiance to particular teachers—some championed Paul, others Apollos. In the intervening verses Paul made the point that all believers should be pointed toward Christ, for it is He who will judge our deeds and determine rewards for our time on earth.
Paul now returns to the dispute at hand and says let no one boast in men. Given the realities of the judgment each believer will experience when they stand before Christ, dividing into tribes based on who one follows is useless. To boast in men includes saying “I am of Paul” or “I am of Apollos.” But Paul now uses that instance as an example of a much broader principle. Paul urges that no one should boast in men. That would include any human person, not just Paul or Apollos.
We see an example of what Paul means by boast in 2 Corinthians 10-132 Corinthians 10-13 commentary. There, Paul cites a quite formidable résumé of his qualifications as an apostle of Christ. But he calls this exercise “foolishness” and “boasting.” He expresses his great reluctance to engage in the entire conversation, but says he did so out of necessity in order to meet the Corinthians where they were. We can take from this that building credentials or accumulating awards in this world is of no eternal use. It is like the trophies we collect that someone else throws away when we are dead and gone.
We tend to boast in men because we want to be part of something bigger than ourselves. This is a good and appropriate instinct. But the proper perspective on this is that all things belong to you. We are already part of something bigger than ourselves. Every believer has been granted an inheritance in Christ to share His reign over the entire earth (all things belong to you).
New Testament believers are like Israel in this respect. Israel was granted the Promised Land as an inheritance but in order to possess their inheritance they had to overcome in order to possess the land. Each believer has a share in the inheritance of Christ, but in order to possess that inheritance we must overcome as Jesus overcame (Revelation 3:21Revelation 3:21 commentary).
Paul now adds to the list of people, places, and things the Corinthians might be tempted to follow: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you (v. 22).
Paul and Apollos were introduced as the original men who were the subject of what might be considered a brewing “tribal dispute” in 1 Corinthians 3:41 Corinthians 3:4 commentary. Now Paul adds Cephas. This likely refers to the Apostle Peter. John 1:42John 1:42 commentary includes the account of Jesus renaming Simon son of Jonah “Cephas.” Cephas is an Aramaic word for “stone.” “Petros” is the Greek word for “stone” and translates to English as “Peter.”
Paul’s traveling companion Luke wrote Acts in large part as a comparison of Peter and Paul. A basic takeaway from his account is “Everything Peter did was also done by Paul.” We can infer from the construction of his historical account that a major purpose of Luke’s writings was to affirm and bolster Paul’s apostolic authority, which was often under attack. Luke cites Peter as affirming Paul’s position that Gentiles should not be required to follow Jewish religious laws (Acts 15:10-11Acts 15:10-11 commentary).
Peter affirms Paul’s writings as being scripture in 2 Peter 3:15-162 Peter 3:15-16 commentary. This shows that Peter also understood that the goal is not to produce tribes of followers but to unite people to follow Christ.
Paul also includes the world. The world can refer to the world’s system of reward. John articulates this as follows, using the same Greek term “kosmos” for world that Paul uses in verse 21:
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”
(1 John 2:161 John 2:16 commentary)
We can see that the world values three things: pleasure (“lust of the flesh”), material accumulation (“lust of the eyes”), and affirmation from others (“boastful pride of life”). Scripture tells us that seeking pleasure leads to addiction and loss of mental health (Romans 1:24Romans 1:24 commentary, 2626 commentary, 2828 commentary). Material accumulation leads to losing any meaningful purpose for our lives (Luke 12:18-21Luke 12:18-21 commentary). And pride is the alternative to faith. To walk in the world will be to walk in the ways that lead to our deeds being a mere accumulation of wood, hay, and straw that will combust and be gone at Christ’s judgment seat (1 Corinthians 3:12-141 Corinthians 3:12-14 commentary).
Paul does not want believers to fall into tribes in the world. But he asserts that both the people they would follow (Paul, Apollos, and Cephas) as well as the entire world is already theirs. This infers that those who gain gold, silver, and precious stones at Christ’s judgment will also be those who overcome and reign with Christ; they inherit the earth with Him (Revelation 3:21Revelation 3:21 commentary).
That implies that these who inherit the earth will reign alongside Paul, Apollos, and Cephas (Peter) as servant leaders in the age that is to come. These leaders as well as the world are already granted to every believer. What remains is for each believer to possess their inheritance by living as a faithful witness.
Paul also says that life and death belong to believers. In Christ, death is swallowed up in life through the resurrection power of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:54-551 Corinthians 15:54-55 commentary). He also says that things present or things to come; all things belong to you. This infers that God has already granted a full inheritance to each believer. And just as Israel was required to believe God and cross over the Jordan in faith in order to possess their inheritance, so it is with New Testament believers.
This idea is supported by passages such as 2 John 1:82 John 1:8 commentary:
“Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.”
(2 John 1:82 John 1:8 commentary)
Here in 2 John 1:82 John 1:8 commentary, commentary we see that rewards can be lost in whole or in part. Also, in Colossians 3:23-24Colossians 3:23-24 commentary, commentary Paul refers to the “reward of the inheritance” as something the Lord rewards to all who do “whatever” they do as unto the Lord.
We also see in Romans 8:17-22Romans 8:17-22 commentary that the “sons of God” who share Christ’s inheritance to reign with Him are eagerly awaited by “the whole creation” (Romans 8:19Romans 8:19 commentary, 2222 commentary). When this team of servant leaders reigns over the earth, the earth will be “set free from its slavery to corruption” (Romans 8:21Romans 8:21 commentary).
Each believer is an owner of all things because each believer is “in Christ.” Each believer belongs to Christ. This reaffirms what Paul stated earlier, that although some believers might (tragically) have nothing to show for their lives, they still belong to Christ. This is because each person who has enough faith to believe is spiritually born anew and placed into Christ as a new creation (John 3:3John 3:3 commentary, 14-1514-15 commentary, 2 Corinthians 5:172 Corinthians 5:17 commentary).
Being born again into God’s family is apart from deeds and is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9Ephesians 2:8-9 commentary, commentary Romans 5:15Romans 5:15 commentary). That is why in 1 Corinthians 3:151 Corinthians 3:15 commentary we saw that those who have all their deeds consumed in the judgment fire of Jesus will still be “saved, yet so as through fire.”
The phrase Christ belongs to God highlights the perfect union between the Son and His Father. Though equal in essence, Jesus the Son willingly submits to the Father’s plan, exemplifying unity, love, and humility. This union mirrors the oneness to which believers are called. As Jesus prayed, “that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You” (John 17:21John 17:21 commentary). This fellowship forms the model for the church: united by Christ, and in harmony with one another, reflecting the love of God to the world.
Since Christ belongs to God and believers belong to Christ there is therefore nothing to separate us from God. Paul reflects a similar idea in Romans 8Romans 8 commentary, commentary where he asserts:
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 8:38-39Romans 8:38-39 commentary)
We see in this passage from Romans that the “love of God” is “in Christ Jesus our Lord.” And because of this, nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Jesus Christ is a bridge between God and man. There are no mountains to God. In order to redeem humanity, God had to come to earth and become human. It was through His incarnation as a human being that God redeemed humanity. Jesus took on all the sins of the world (Colossians 2:14Colossians 2:14 commentary). Now, all who trust in Jesus and His death on the cross are delivered from the poisonous venom of sin (John 3:14-15John 3:14-15 commentary).
Because every believer belongs to Christ, every believer is reconciled with God. Paul admonishes the Corinthians to reset their perspective of their identity. Instead of being “mere men” (1 Corinthians 3:31 Corinthians 3:3 commentary) and “men of flesh” (1 Corinthians 3:11 Corinthians 3:1 commentary), he desires they see themselves as joint heirs with Christ. Instead of seeking to follow men and gain the rewards of the world, Paul desires the Corinthian believers to mature in their perspective and see themselves as members of a royal family training to take on great responsibility by being faithful in achieving small responsibility.
Paul wants the Corinthian believers to recognize that they are heirs of God and possessors of all things through Christ. He wants them to behave accordingly, living as servant leaders and stewards of Christ who recognize that the things of this world are a distraction at best and a poor substitution at worst. Paul exhorts believers to follow the commands of Christ and keep their eyes upon Him. All things are summed up in Christ, and every believer should see themselves through the lens of “I belong to Christ.”