A GREAT REMINDER
1 CORINTHIANS 4:6-7 NKJV
6 Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. 7 For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
Paul has been in the process of correcting the church in Corinth in a very straightforward manner. Unlike his letters to the Ephesians and Colossians, he is not starting with doctrinal teaching. No, he is going for straight-up correction to a church that was experiencing problems.
Because this was a church filled with young, immature believers, they had divided off into groups that identified with their favorite preacher. And Paul was having none of it. He was not about to let this church elevate him or any other minister to a place where they should not be.
He encourages the church to not think about ministers above what is written. Paul was not diminishing his role and calling as an apostle. Nor was he relinquishing any of his apostolic authority. What he was doing was helping the church see that it is God who puts people in positions. Ministers can sow seed or water what has been sown, but it is God who causes growth.
And then Paul comes to a verse I have referred to frequently. What do we have that we did not receive? What a great statement. Paul knows that he did not call and equip himself to be a minister to the Gentiles. He received that calling from God. And he received everything necessary to fulfill that calling.
Paul knew that the only reason he was effective in reaching the Gentile world was because of what he had received from God. Yes, he was faithful. Yes, he was persistent. But the gifts and callings were given and received, not self-generated.
And because Paul had received God’s grace to start churches, preach and see miracles, he knew bragging about it was not an intelligent move. You don’t brag about what has been given to you. Freely given. God’s grace is never about what is earned.
APPLICATION:
Paul was all about the Lord, and that needs to be our focus as well. I have attended Minister’s conferences where everyone bragged on one another. I kept waiting for someone to acknowledge that we would not have anything unless the Lord had been gracious to us. It really makes no sense to brag about our gifts and talents since we received them, we did not generate them.
This verse seven has been a verse I go back to on a frequent basis. It’s a great reminder that I have absolutely no reason to brag. What do I have that I did not receive? The answer is nothing. A humbling truth and a great reminder.