1 Corinthians 4 Devotional

Nothing We Did Not Receive

“For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”1 Corinthians 4:7 (BSB)

Paul tells the Corinthians how to think of him and the other apostles: as servants of Christ and stewards entrusted with God's revealed truths. What a steward needs most is faithfulness (4:1-2). Paul does not rest on their verdict or even on his own clear conscience, because the Lord is his judge. When Christ comes he will bring hidden motives to light, and then each will receive praise from God (4:3-5).

That frees Paul to ask a question that punctures pride: what do you have that was not given to you (4:7)? The Corinthians acted as if they were already rich and reigning. Meanwhile the apostles went hungry, worked with their hands, and answered insults with blessing and slander with gentleness (4:8-13). Paul writes not to shame them but to warn them as a father warns his children in the gospel (4:14-15). You can set aside anxious self-assessment, leave the final verdict with the Lord, and spend your energy being faithful with what he has entrusted to you.

To think about: What gift from God have you been treating as your own achievement, and how might gratitude change the way you use it?