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These are great words; but if they were not so great they would here be out of place. Men are given to boast of their possessions; but the Christian's boast is in this respect larger and grander than any man's beside. Men are wont to glory in belonging to some select society, some great nation, some illustrious king; but the Christian glories in belonging to a greater than the greatest who owes his honour to this world. "All things" are his; and he is "Christ's."

I. OUR PROPERTY IN ALL THINGS. To Christians it may be said - it was said by the inspired apostle:

1. All ministries are yours; the dead and the living, the speaking and the writing, the official and the unrecognized.

(1) The ministry of doctrine and of conversion, such as that of Paul, who planted.

(2) The ministry of eloquence and of edification, such as that of Apollos, who watered.

(3) The ministry of morality and zeal, such as that of Cephas. Each has his gift, and the Church is not for the ministry, but the ministry for the Church.

2. All circumstances are yours.

(1) The world, which is ours by the gift of God and by the redemption of Christ.

(2) Life is yours, in its opportunities and its manifold blessings.

(3) Death is yours - not your master, but your servant and your friend.

3. All times are yours.

(1) The present, in enjoyment, which is more the Christian's than it is the worldling's.

(2) The future, in reversion, which has for him brightness, glory, and joy. The future can deprive the Christian of no real good; it must bring him advantages unnumbered.

II. CHRIST'S PROPERTY IN US. To Christians it may be said, "Ye are Christ's:"

1. By the purchase of his blood. For, "Ye are not your own; ye are bought with a price."

2. By his choice and ours. "I," says he, "have chosen you." And, "We love him because he first loved us."

3. By the inhabiting of his Spirit, whose gracious presence makes us his. It is not a case of mere property, but of spiritual affinity: "The Lord knoweth them that are his."

4. By our grateful and affectionate service. That Christians are his, it is their daily aim to prove, by their delight in his Word, their devotion to his cause, their obedience to his commands. - T.

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KJV: Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;

WEB: Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours,