What Do You Have That You Didn’t Receive?

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Scripture • World English Bible

1 Corinthians 4:6–13

WEB

⁶Now these things, brothers, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that in us you might learn not to think beyond the things which are written, that none of you be puffed up against one another.

⁷For who makes you different? And what do you have that you didn’t receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

⁸You are already filled. You have already become rich. You have come to reign without us. Yes, and I wish that you did reign, that we also might reign with you!

⁹For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last of all, like men sentenced to death. For we are made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and men.

¹⁰We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You have honor, but we have dishonor.

¹¹Even to this present hour we hunger, thirst, are naked, are beaten, and have no certain dwelling place.

¹²We toil, working with our own hands. When people curse us, we bless. Being persecuted, we endure.

¹³Being defamed, we entreat. We are made as the filth of the world, the dirt wiped off by all, even until now.

World English Bible (WEB) • Public Domain

Reflection

Paul brings sharp clarity to the Corinthians by turning a question on its head: who made you different, and what do you have that you didn’t receive? He is not denying responsibility or effort, but he is exposing the root of arrogance. When we forget that every gift, every ability, every opportunity is a gift from God, boasting creeps in and unity unravels. Paul uses himself and Apollos as examples so believers learn not to go beyond what is written and to resist being puffed up against one another.

Then Paul drives home the contrast: some in Corinth act as though they are already rich and reigners, while the apostles are displayed as last and suffering. The apostles’ reality—weakness, hunger, labor, insult, and homelessness—stands against the church’s pride. Paul’s irony is not self-pity but a sober reminder that the marks of true faithfulness often look like foolishness and weakness to the watching world. The Christian life is not a ladder of self-made achievements but a stewardship of what has been received by grace. Gifts and positions are entrusted to us so we might bless others and give glory to God, not to build personal honor or cause division.

This teaching brings both comfort and correction. Comfort, because our worth before God is not measured by status, wealth, or public acclaim but by what we have received in Christ; we do not need to strive for standing that God has already given us in him. Correction, because pride distorts how we use God’s gifts: we may hoard encouragement, criticize those who suffer, or create factions around gifted personalities instead of centering on Christ. Finally, hope emerges from Paul’s example of endurance: suffering and being shown up before the world do not disqualify someone from God’s work. God’s purposes often shine most clearly through humility and perseverance.

Practically, Paul asks us to reorient our hearts from entitlement to stewardship, from comparison to gratitude, and from self-exaltation to patient witness. When we remember that what we have is received, we stop boasting and start serving. When we see servants who suffer for the gospel, we are called not to scorn but to support, encourage, and join in their endurance. In this way the church becomes a visible sign that God’s kingdom values are upside down from the world’s—strength in weakness, honor in humility, and reign through faithful service.

Putting Faith Into Action

List three gifts, opportunities, or resources God has given you in the last year (abilities, time, relationships, money). Thank God for each, then choose one way to use a gift this week to help someone in your church or community.
When criticized or insulted, practice the apostolic response: bless in return. Begin with a short prayer for the person and then do one tangible act of service toward them within a week — unless the situation involves abuse or danger, in which case seek safety and wise help first.
Encourage and support those who serve amid hardship. Write a note or send a message of thanks this week to a pastor, missionary, or church worker you know. If possible, give financially or offer practical help (meals, childcare, errands) to relieve their burden.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, remind us daily that everything we have is a gift from you. Strip away our pride and teach us gratitude. Help us to steward our gifts for your glory, to bless those who hurt us, and to stand with those who suffer for the gospel. Give us endurance and a humble spirit so your wisdom, not our status, is evident in the world. Amen.

Memory Verse

1 Corinthians 4:7 — For who makes you different? And what do you have that you didn’t receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? (WEB)

“For who makes you different? And what do you have that you didn’t receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”

Keep Going Continue to Part 12 Spiritual Example and Real Power: Imitate with Humility, Live by the Spirit 1 Corinthians · 1 Corinthians 4:14–21 Read the next devotional →

Bible Context

Read all of 1 Corinthians 4

1 Corinthians 4

World English Bible • WEB

¹So let a man think of us as Christ’s servants and stewards of God’s mysteries.

²Here, moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

³But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by a human court. Yes, I don’t even judge my own self.

⁴For I know nothing against myself. Yet I am not justified by this, but he who judges me is the Lord.

⁵Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.

⁷For who makes you different? And what do you have that you didn’t receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

⁸You are already filled. You have already become rich. You have come to reign without us. Yes, and I wish that you did reign, that we also might reign with you!

⁹For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last of all, like men sentenced to death. For we are made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and men.

¹⁰We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You have honor, but we have dishonor.

¹¹Even to this present hour we hunger, thirst, are naked, are beaten, and have no certain dwelling place.

¹²We toil, working with our own hands. When people curse us, we bless. Being persecuted, we endure.

¹³Being defamed, we entreat. We are made as the filth of the world, the dirt wiped off by all, even until now.

¹⁴I don’t write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.

¹⁵For though you have ten thousand tutors in Christ, you don’t have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the Good News.

¹⁶I beg you therefore, be imitators of me.

¹⁷Because of this I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every assembly.

¹⁸Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you.

¹⁹But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing. And I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power.

²⁰For God’s Kingdom is not in word, but in power.

²¹What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?