1st Corinthians 4:7-8 (5 of 28)
Series: The Epistle of 1 Corinthians
Harley Howard
7 For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
And what do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? As I said before; the Corinthians were using these gifted men as a means to make themselves look better than each other. They rallied around these men as a means to make themselves appear more spiritual than the others. All it did was make them more carnal than they already were. Paul recognized that fact and showed them that he and the other men of God were nothing more than unworthy servants of the lowest sort and not worthy of any following.
Paul knowing that the Corinthians were divided over him and others addresses the issue of a proper understanding that whatever they had spiritually did not come from them as a source, but was given to them of God. For who regards you as superior and how did you come to that conclusion? Who was it, (not what) that elevated you, separated you, and made you different from each other? Their foolish boastings produced an arrogance towards each other which made them believe that they were better than each other and that they possessed some kind of special kind of calling or separation from others, which either came from their rallying around the preachers or their own pride or both. The instigators of this rebellion made these folks believe that there was something that was so unique about them that it made them distinct from others. Paul's questions to them about this strikes at the very heart of the madness of it all and challenges them to understand that everything they have came from God and not of themselves. The first question is an important one indeed: What was it about them that made them so unique from each other? ...
Series: The Epistle of 1 Corinthians
Harley Howard
7 For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
And what do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? As I said before; the Corinthians were using these gifted men as a means to make themselves look better than each other. They rallied around these men as a means to make themselves appear more spiritual than the others. All it did was make them more carnal than they already were. Paul recognized that fact and showed them that he and the other men of God were nothing more than unworthy servants of the lowest sort and not worthy of any following.
Paul knowing that the Corinthians were divided over him and others addresses the issue of a proper understanding that whatever they had spiritually did not come from them as a source, but was given to them of God. For who regards you as superior and how did you come to that conclusion? Who was it, (not what) that elevated you, separated you, and made you different from each other? Their foolish boastings produced an arrogance towards each other which made them believe that they were better than each other and that they possessed some kind of special kind of calling or separation from others, which either came from their rallying around the preachers or their own pride or both. The instigators of this rebellion made these folks believe that there was something that was so unique about them that it made them distinct from others. Paul's questions to them about this strikes at the very heart of the madness of it all and challenges them to understand that everything they have came from God and not of themselves. The first question is an important one indeed: What was it about them that made them so unique from each other? ...
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