1 Corinthians 3:22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; I. THE BROAD FUTURE IS OURS. We are apt to wish to pry into it, but grace forbids us to indulge impertinent and foolish curiosity. My text is a crystal ball, which doth not tell thee facts and minutiae, but what it is far better for thee to know, if thou be Christ's — viz., that all future things are vested in thy name. Let that content thee. 1. We have no reason to expect that the rest of our life will be more unhappy than the years which are passed already. Life to us has its sorrows, but goodness and mercy have followed us hitherto, and they shall with equal certainty follow us all the days of our life. You who are contending against sin may anticipate the joy of conquest. You who are planning how you can serve God on a wider scale, and in a wiser manner, may expect the joy of His guidance. 2. Still, without any foolish forebodings, you may expect troubles. Changes in circumstances may arise, poverty may supplant wealth, and slander injure fame, or if not, thy friends must die. Then, sooner or later, bodily infirmities must set in. And there must come temptations and inward conflicts, in all which we shall have need to possess our souls in patience, lest we be overcome of evil. And certainly to us all there must come the valley of death-shade; "for it is appointed unto men once to die." 3. Passing on a little further, in the Word of God we have dark hints as to the grand events of the future, which concern the Church and the world. All things that shall happen, be they ever so counter to your wishes, will, nevertheless, come up, like Blucher at Waterloo, at the exact moment when they shall help on the grand old cause. 4. Amongst the things to come, there is heaven — the heaven of the separate spirit, and the perfect heaven, when soul and body in one man shall sit down at the right hand of God — all this is ours. II. THE BRIGHT ETERNAL FUTURE IS OURS. 1. Notice that the text is not "all may be yours." According to some a Christian may have a hope of heaven, but he can never have a certainty of it. 2. Notice, too, that the text is not — "Things to come shall be yours." But how can they be ours till they have come? Because we have a title to them; and though, like nobles who are under age, we come not into our estates until we have reached our majority, yet those estates are as much ours as if we possessed them at this moment. When one of our English kings demanded of his barons where were their title deeds to their lands, a hundred swords flashed from the scabbards, as every man swore to maintain his right by his good sword. We take no sword from its scabbard, but we point to Christ, for He is both our God and our right, and we are persuaded that as our Surety and Representative, He will preserve our inheritance for us. 3. Notice, again, that in the text there is no exception — "Things to come; all are yours." Whatever may be the future glory of the saints, it all belongs to them. And as there is no exception of things, so there is no exception of persons. Not "All belongs to a few of you, and only a portion to others." 4. The text speaks without a grain of contingency as to the things to come. It does not say heaven is ours if there be a heaven; but the blessings are spoken of as though they must come. Our future glory is ordained by Divine decree. It is hastened on by every event of Providence; it is prepared by the ascension and session of our Lord; in measure, beatified saints are already partakers of it, and we may rest assured that by no means shall we be defrauded of it. III. EXAMINE WELL YOUR TITLE DEEDS TO SEE WHETHER THEY BELONG TO YOU. Are you Christ's? Do you trust Him? Do you love Him and serve Him? If so, your title is clear, and all future things are yours. Rejoice even now in your inheritance. Conclusion: 1. All these things are yours; then — (1) Prepare for them. 2) Gratefully bless God for them. 2. If thou hast no title for these things to come, be amazed and confounded, for it will be an awful thing for heaven to come and thou no entrance into it. God grant that thou mayest lay hold on Christ by an act of faith; thus and thus only the blessings of Christ shall become yours. (C. H. Spurgeon.) Parallel Verses KJV: Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; |
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