1 Corinthians 3:23

And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's. YE ARE CHRIST'S - not Paul's or Apollos', etc. (Matthew 23:8; ). Not merely a section, but ye all are Christ's (). CHRIST IS GOD'S (). God is the ultimate end of all, even of Christ, His co-equal Son (; Philippians 2:6)....

23._Christ is God’s _This subjection relates to Christ’s humanity, for by taking upon him our flesh, he assumed “the form” and condition “of a servant,” that he might make himself obedient to his Father in all things. (Philippians 2:7.) And assuredly, that we may cleave to God through him, it is necessary that he have God as his _head _(1 Corinthians 11:3.) We must observe, however, with what intention Paul has added this. For he admonishes us, that the sum of our felicity consists in this, (204) that we are united to God who is the chief good, and this is accomplished when we are gathered together under the _head _that our heavenly Father has set over us. In the same sense Christ said to his disciples, “Ye ought to rejoice, because

18-23 To have a high opinion of our own wisdom, is but to flatter ourselves; and self-flattery is the next step to self-deceit. The wisdom that wordly men esteem, is foolishness with God. How justly does he despise, and how easily can he baffle and confound it! The thoughts of the wisest men in the world, have vanity, weakness, and folly in them. All this should teach us to be humble, and make us willing to be taught of God, so as not to be led away, by pretences to human wisdom and skill, from the simple truths revealed by Christ. Mankind are very apt to oppose the design of the mercies of God. Observe the spiritual riches of a true believer; "All are yours," even ministers and ordinances. Nay, the world itself is yours. Saints have as much of it as Infinite Wisdom sees fit for them, and they have it with the Divine blessing. Life is yours, that you may have a season and opportunity to...

Verse 1 Corinthians 3:23. _AND YE ARE CHRIST'S_] You are called by his name; you have embraced his doctrine; you depend on him for your salvation; he is your foundation stone; he has gathered you out of the world, and acknowledges you as his people and followers. υμειςδεχριστου, _ye are of Christ_; all the light and life which ye enjoy ye have received _through_ and _from_ him, and he has bought you with his blood. _AND CHRIST_ IS _GOD'S._] χριστος δε θεου, _And Christ is of_ _God_. Christ, the _Messiah_, is the gift of God's eternal love and mercy to mankind; _for God so loved the world that he gave his only_ _begotten Son, that they who believe in him should not perish, but_ _have everlasting life_. Christ in his _human nature_ is as much the property of God as any other hum

AND YE ARE CHRIST’S - You belong to him; and should not, therefore, feel that you are devoted to any earthly leader, whether Paul, Apollos, or Peter. As you belong to Christ by redemption, and by solemn dedication to his service, so you should feel that you are his alone. You are his property - his people - his friends. You should regard yourselves as such, and feel that you all belong to the same family, and should not, therefore, be split up into contending factions and parties. CHRIST IS GOD’S - Christ is the Mediator between God and man. He came to do the will of God. He was and is still devoted to the service of his Father. God has a proprietorship in all that he does, since Christ lived, and acted, and reigns to promote the glory of his Father. The argument here seems to be this, “You belong to Christ; and he to God. You are bound therefore, not to devote yourselves to a man, whoev...

EXPOSITION 1 CORINTHIANS 3:1 _The carnal conceit of the spiritually immature._ 1 CORINTHIANS 3:1 I… COULD NOT SPEAK UNTO YOU AS UNTO SPIRITUAL. Though softened by the word brethren, there was a crushing irony of reproof in these words: "You thought yourselves quite above the need of my simple teaching. You were looking down on me from the whole height of your inferiority. The elementary character of my doctrine was after all the necessary consequence of your own incapacity for anything more profound." AS UNTO CARNAL. The true reading here is _sarkinois, _fleshen, not _sarkikois, _fleshly, or carnal; the later and severer word is perhaps first used in...

AND YE ARE CHRIST'S,.... This is the ground and foundation of all things being theirs, and shows in what way they come by them, and what gives them their claim and property: they are Christ's, he has an interest in them, and they in him; they are his, not only by creation, as all men are, but by the Father's special gift of them to him, as his spouse and bride, his children, his sheep, his portion, and his jewels; they are his through the purchase of his own blood, and by a voluntary surrender of themselves unto him, under the influence of his Spirit and grace; they are his by their profession of him; they avouch themselves to be the Lord's and call themselves by his name; and they are his by his possession of them, and dwelling in their hearts by faith; and all they have are his. Their worst things are his; their sins are accounted to him, and laid on him by imputation, and have been bo...

1. _And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ._ Their spiritual part had not grown strong, their old carnal nature still had the preponderance, as Paul was obliged to address that which was the bigger half of them. 1 Corinthians 3:2. _I have fed you with milk,_ That is a blessing. 1 Corinthians 3:2. _And not with meat:_ That is not a blessing. It is a great privilege to be fed even with the simple doctrines of grace, with the milk of the gospel; but it is a higher boon to have such a spiritual constitution as to be able to eat the strong meat of the Word....

CHAPTER 3 _ 1. The Carnal state of the Corinthians. (1 Corinthians 3:1)._ 2. The Workmen and their Work. (1 Corinthians 3:10). 3. The Church the Temple of God. (1 Corinthians 3:16). 4. Warning against Deception and Glorying in Men. (1 Corinthians 3:18). Their condition is next uncovered. They did not depend on the Spirit of God and did not enjoy the hidden wisdom and walk in it. They were carnal, mere babes in Christ, in the sense that their growth, their spiritual development had been arrested. Carnal (fleshly) is not equivalent to “natural.” The belie

IT IS A FALSE WISDOM THAT PITS ONE LEADER AGAINST ANOTHER: ALL ARE YOURS. Paul warns against the self-deception which causes a man to overrate his own judgment. Better renounce his worldly wisdom, which God counts foolishness that he may become really wise. As Scripture says, God grips fast the wise in their cleverness (Job 5:13), and He knows the emptiness of their thoughts (Psalms 94:11, Paul substitutes the wise for men). So let none boast that he takes any man for his leader, pluming himself on his discernment. Indeed it is to rate one's own dignity too low. For all things belong to the Christian. Christians do not belong to one leader, but all leaders belong to them. The world, too, is theirs, this physical universe with all its throng of sentient beings, life and death, the present, the future. But they are Ch