New Living Translation
1 Corinthians 3:21
21So don’t boast about following a particular human leader. For everything belongs to you—
1 Corinthians 3:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
- New International Version (NIV)So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours,
- English Standard Version (ESV)So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours,
- New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours:
Context of 1 Corinthians 3:21
19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, “He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.” 20And again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise; he knows they are worthless.” So don’t boast about following a particular human leader. For everything belongs to you— 22whether Paul or Apollos or Peter, or the world, or life and death, or the present and the future. Everything belongs to you, 23and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
Read all of 1 Corinthians 31 Corinthians 3:21 word by word
Ὥστε μηδεὶς καυχάσθω ἐν ἀνθρώποις· πάντα γὰρ ὑμῶν ἐστιν,Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 3:21
- 1 Corinthians 3:4When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?
- 1 Corinthians 1:12Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.”
- 1 Corinthians 4:6Dear brothers and sisters, I have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I’ve been saying. If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the Scriptures, you won’t be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another.
- Jeremiah 9:23This is what the Lord says: “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches.
- Romans 4:13Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith.
- Romans 8:28And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
- 2 Corinthians 4:5You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake.
- Revelation 21:7All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 3:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Let no man glory in men - Let none suppose that he has any cause of exultation in any thing but God. All are yours; he that has God for his portion has every thing that can make him happy and glorious: all are his.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Therefore - Paul here proceeds to apply the principles which he had stated above. Since all were ministers or servants of God; since God was the source of all good influences; since, whatever might be the pretensions to wisdom among people, it was all foolishness in the sight of God, the inference was clear, that no man should glory in man. They were all alike poor, frail, ignorant, erring, dependent beings. And hence, also, as all wisdom came from God…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-23Verses 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…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-23As God's privileged children, they can now claim everything—the world, life, death, the present, and the future (see Romans 8:38–39). Therefore, claiming a specific human leader is unnecessary.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. let no man glory in men--resuming the subject from 1Co 3:4; compare 1Co 1:12, 31, where the true object of glorying is stated: "He that glorieth, let him glory in THE Lord." Also 1Co 4:6, "That no one of you be puffed up for one against another." For all things--not only all men. For you to glory thus in men, is lowering yourselves from your high position as heirs of all things. All men (including your teachers) belong to Christ, and therefore to you…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Corinthians 3:21
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries