1-е до коринтян 3:21

let no man glory in men--resuming the subject from Co1 3:4; compare Co1 1:12, Co1 1:31, where the true object of glorying is stated: "He that glorieth, let him glory in THE LORD." Also Co1 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, by your union with Him; He makes them and all things work together for your good (Rom 8:28). Ye are not for the sake of them, but they for the sake of you (Co2 4:5, Co2 4:15). They belong to you, not you to them.

Here the apostle founds an exhortation against over-valuing their teachers on what he had just said, and on the consideration that they had an equal interest in all their ministers: Therefore let no man glory in men (Co1 3:21) - forget that their ministers are men, or pay that deference to them that is due only to God, set them at the head of parties, have them in immoderate esteem and admiration, and servilely and implicitly follow their directions and submit to their dictates, and especially in contradiction to God and the truths taught by his Holy Spirit. Mankind are very apt to make the mercies of God cross their intentions. The ministry is a very useful and very gracious institution, and faithful ministers are a great blessing to any people; yet the folly and weakness of people may do much mischief by what is in itself a blessing. They may fall into factions, side with particular ministers, and set them at their head, glory in their leaders, and be carried by them they know not whither. The only way to avoid this mischief is to have a modest opinion of ourselves, a due sense of the common weakness of human understanding, and an entire deference to the wisdom of God speaking in his word. Ministers are not to be set up in competition with one another. All faithful ministers are serving one Lord and pursuing one purpose. They were appointed of Christ, for the common benefit of the church: "Paul, and Apollos, and Cephas, are all yours. One is not to be set up against another, but all are to be valued and used for your own spiritual benefit." Upon this occasion also he gives in an inventory of the church's possessions, the spiritual riches of a true believer: "All is yours - ministers of all ranks, ordinary and extraordinary. Nay the world itself is yours." Not that sai…

3:21-23 As the privileged children of God, they may now lay claim to everything—the world, and life and death, and the present and the future (see Rom 8:38-39). So there is no point in claiming a particular human leader as their own.