Title: How It Really Is

Scripture: I Corinthians 3: 21-23

Date: November 29, 2015

Place: SGBC, New Jersey

I Corinthians 3: 21: Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; 22: Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 23: And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

Let’s understand why our text begins with the word “therefore.”  Paul is dealing with the divisions among the saints at Corinth. At the beginning of the letter, the Holy Spirit  moved Paul to remind all God’s true saints:

I Corinthians 1: 5: In every thing ye are enriched [by God]….8: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 3: 16…ye are the temple of God, and…the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17: If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are….19: For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. 20: And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.

I Corinthians 3: 21: Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;

Believer, all things are yours. Everything in this world and in the world to come is designed by God for the good of his people.  Everything belongs to his people.  Believer, all things are yours.

MINISTERS

God’s true preachers are yours—I Corinthians 3: 22: Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas,--all are yours.

All true preachers are the gift of Christ Jesus to his church for her edification—

1 Corinthians 3: 5: Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

Not all preachers are placed in the same office or given the same gifts.

Ephesians 4: 11: And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

Christ may use some of his preachers to minister to larger numbers of people, some to less. But all preachers are given by Christ to serve the same purpose:

Ephesians 4: 12: For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Therefore, God’s servants are one in exalting Christ and promoting the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

I Corinthians 3: 8: Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one:…9: For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.

Brethren, never compare God’s preachers—never exalt one over the other. It does not matter how large a congregation they minister to.  It does not matter where they minister.  It does not matter how great or small their gifts. The one thing that matters is that they preach Christ and him crucified, giving God all the glory in the salvation of sinners.

THE WORLD

The world is yours—1 Cor 3: 22:…or the world,

Everything taking place in this world right now is being worked together for God’s glory and the good of his people.

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.

We see this most in the crucifixion of our Savior.

Acts 4: 26: The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. 27: For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, 28: For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

What was the result?  God was glorified—his righteousness declared. Christ was exalted—our triumphant glorious Redeemer.  All God’s helpless, elect children were made the righteousness of God in him.

While we are in this world, God will send us trials. God may make us to hunger.  But like he taught the children in the wilderness, it is “that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” (Deut 8: 3)

The Spirit of God teaches every believer to:

1 John 2:15: Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Yet, believer, everything taking place in this world—even the whole world itself—is yours.

LIFE

Then he tells us that life is yours. (1 Cor 3: 22)  No matter what God brings to pass in this world, remember this:

1 John 5: 11: And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12: He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life….20: And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

Our Redeemer said:

John 10:10: The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Nothing shall separate us from Christ our Life! Christ laid down his life, Christ took our sin away and Christ gave us eternal righteousness that we might have eternal life in him.

As far as all life in this earth—life is yours.  The life of the greatest men of this world—rulers, law makers, CEO’s, believers, unbelievers—they are all given life by God, and he sustains their life, for the edification of his church.  And your life in this earth is yours—so remember the words of our Lord Jesus:

Luke 12: 22: And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. 23  The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. 24  Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?

If we could truly grasp the fact that life is ours, we would spend far less time worrying and far more time seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

DEATH

This may come as a surprise to some but God says death is yours. (1 Cor 3: 22)

Pastor Maurice Montgomery passed from this life last Wednesday afternoon.  Oh, but he just truly began to live! Now he has no sin, only immortality; no hindrances, only perfect worship of Christ; now he is beholding Christ as he is and knowing him as he is known.

Death is our friend because of Christ’s finished work:

I Corinthians 15: 56: The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

The Lord Jesus Christ satisfied the law of God for his people. He put away the sin of all whom he represented. So Christ put away death’s only power.  Christ "abolished death and brought life and immortality to light by the gospel." (2 Tim. 1:10). Believer, Christ’s death is your death.  Now, every believer has victory over death.

I Corinthians 15:  57: But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

THINGS PRESENT AND THINGS TO COME

Things present and things to come are yours. (1 Cor 3: 22)

While in this house of clay—presently—we may possess very little. But we have a rich inheritance to come. If you were sailing across the sea and you had very little money while on your trip—yet you knew—when I get to the other side I will be heir to the largest fortune the world has ever known—wouldn’t you be content though you had very little, while on your trip across the sea?

Romans 8: 16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

2 Corinthians 4:17: For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. 18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 18: 1: For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Our contentment in things present is the same as our content in things to come. It is Christ!

Hebrews 13: 5: Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Money will leave you; possessions will leave you; friends will leave you; even our dearest loved ones. “But he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

If things present be sorrowful, it is to turn us from all else that our joy might be Christ alone.  If things present make us weak, it is remind us Christ is our Strength.  If things present make us behold our utter foolishness, it is to remind us Christ our Wisdom. If things present include sickness, it is to bring us to rejoice that Christ is our Life.

And things to come are yours!  Someone said, “I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow!”

THE REASON THESE THINGS ARE YOURS

Why are all these things yours?—I Corinthians 1: 23: And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

Believer, get this amazing truth down in your heart, “Ye are Christ’s!” Every chosen child of God our Father was the gift of God to Christ in eternity—“ye are Christ’s! ” Ye are Christ’s bride. Ye are Christ’s children. Ye are Christ’s sheep. Ye are Christ’s jewels. Ye are Christ’s by electing grace, by God’s decree, by God’s predestination, by God’s adoption

Ye are Christ’s purchased possession, “ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price.” (1 Cor 6: 19) All God’s saints are Christ’s by the price of his precious blood.  We are Christ’s by his accomplished redemption.  Every believer is Christ’s by the full complete atonement he made at Calvary. We are his purchased possession.

Ye are Christ’s glory—

Isaiah 43: 7: Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

Isaiah 46: 13: I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.

Ye are Christ’s portion—his inheritance.

Deuteronomy 32: 9: For the LORD’S portion is his people…

Now, believer, get this word down in your heart, “And Christ is God’s!” Christ is God’s salvation for his people.  Christ is God’s mercy and grace for his people.  Christ is God’s everlasting covenant to his people. Christ is God’s express image and glory revealed.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

Now, seeing that ye are Christ’s and Christ is God’s then everything about you and me, everything about our brothers and sisters in Christ—belongs to God!

1 Corinthians. 6:19: Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

Here is our double security—here is the end of all strife between brethren—the end of glorying in men--“ye are Christ’s and Christ is God’s.”

I John 4: 17: Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Christ is God’s own beloved Son? You see that brother overtaken in a fault—he is God’s beloved son in Christ. Is Christ the righteousness of God? You see that brother who has offended you, he is the righteousness of God in Christ.  He is Christ’s and Christ is God’s. Is Christ raised to newness of life? Is Christ accepted? Is Christ eternally secure? So is that sister you are odds with, just like you, just like all those who he has brought into inseparable union with him.

Christ declared that whatever we do to his brethren we do unto him. Our text declares it is so because all our brethren are one with Christ.

Matthew 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Christ declared if we dishonor Christ, we dishonor the Father. Our text says it is so because Christ’ is God’s.

John 5: 23:…He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

Therefore, brethren, let no man glory in men. Let us not look upon things with the carnal eye. Let us not to deal with one another according to the flesh.  Rather, let us see things as they really are!

I Corinthians 3: 21:…For all things are yours; 22: Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 23: And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.           

Amen!