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In 1 Corinthians 1:10-4:21, the Apostle Paul addresses the problem of division in the Corinthian church. He does this in two ways. First, in 1:10-3:21, he attacks the root cause of the division, which is the Corinthians’ misplaced boasting in their leaders rather than in the gospel. Then, in 4:1-21, he defends his own apostleship, which seemed to suffer by comparison with the Corinthians’ misplaced boasting in other leaders. First Corinthians 3:21-23 sums up Paul’s attack and segues into Paul’s defense.

 So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future — all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

My brother-in-law’s family is Jewish. On several occasions, they have invited me and my wife to attend Seder, the Passover dinner that commemorates God’s liberation of Israel from slavery in Egypt. One of the songs we sing during the meal is “Dayenu,” which roughly translates as “It would’ve been enough.” The song walks its singers through Israel’s history, from the Exodus to the building of the temple in Jerusalem. Here’s the first verse:

If God had brought us out of Egypt,

And had not carried out judgments against the Egyptians,

It would’ve been enough.

The point of the song is that God does more than enough for the children of Israel. He brings them out of slavery in Egypt – dayenu – but then he judges their enslavers. He feeds them manna in the desert – dayenu – but then he gives them Sabbath rest. He leads them into the promised land – dayenu – but then builds a temple so that he can dwell in their midst. God does more than enough for his children, but even that is evidently never enough for him. “God gives more grace,” as James 4:6 so eloquently puts it.

Unfortunately, the Corinthians aren’t satisfied with the manna of the gospel. They want it served up on a golden plate of Greek philosophy by a good-looking waiter with a soothing voice. And they fall to arguing whose plate is most golden, whose waiter is best-looking, and which voice is most soothing. No one boasts about a restaurant because of the quality of the service, however. They boast about it because of the quality of the menu. So Paul says, “no more boasting about men!” – and remember, he has just called Christian leaders “servants” or “waiters” (1 Corinthians 3:5).

Instead, he urges the Corinthians to refocus attention on gospel manna: “all things are yours.” Among those things are “the world [and] life [and] death [and] the present [and] the future.” Talk about dayenu! This is super-dayenu!

And why are all these things ours? Because “you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.” God gives us everything we need and then some in Jesus Christ. So, don’t be petty. Everything is yours because you are God’s. Be happy about the former, and stay humble about the latter.