Paul and the Matrushka

1 Corinthians 3:21 So then, no more boasting about mere mortals! For everything belongs to you, 3:22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future. Everything belongs to you, 3:23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

This passage has always left me hanging. Like many of Paul’s instructions, this is hard for me to understand. I wonder, what does ‘all things belong to us, us to Christ, and Christ to God” have to do with boasting about mere mortals? What is the connection?

It would seem that understanding this one truth should prevent us from engaging in this one error.

Example: Don’t drink Clorox, because it will erode your insides and eventually kill you. Be kind to others because Christ is kind to you. Forgive others because you are forgiven. Don’t drink too much because you will become an alcoholic…you get the picture.

But don’t boast in men, because we all belong to God? It’s hard for me.

He says, no more boasting about mere mortals. What kind of boasting were they doing? What did it sound like?

“I belong to Paul!” “I belong to Apollos!”, etc. Maybe what they were doing was claiming ownership of certain of God’s blessings (in this case teachers and leaders) and disclaiming others.

Maybe they were saying: "Only certain of God’s possessions are my possessions." And that is an impossibility. If everything eventually belongs to Christ and Christ belongs to God, none can be “disowned” by us.

It is like having a favorite child. Having a favorite child is like saying "this one is more mine than that one." It’s not only unhealthy for relationships; it’s a flat out lie. All your children are your children, no matter what attitude you adopt.

Think of a Matrushka Doll. Like the one pictured above. Imagine that God is the big one, Christ is the next one, you are the third one, and the others represent "all things". When they are all placed inside one another, it makes a unified, whole, object. All things belong inside you, you belong inside Christ, Christ belongs inside God. Nice.

But if you decide that one of the "all things" is not yours and attempt to leave it out, the picture isn't quite so nice. You've created an unhealthy, negative, even impossible set of relationships.

The notion that you can own part of what God gives and not all of it is a conceit and boasting. It is a way of claiming a status higher than God Himself.

The notion that you can own part of what God gives and not all of it is a fantasy. It's all in your mind!