1 Corinthians 4:7

Here the apostle improves the foregoing hint to a caution against pride and self-conceit, and sets forth the temptations the Corinthians had to despise him, from the difference of their circumstances.

I. He cautions them against pride and self-conceit by this consideration, that all the distinction made among them was owing to God: Who maketh thee to differ? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Co1 4:7. Here the apostle turns his discourse to the ministers who set themselves at the head of these factions, and did but too much encourage and abet the people in those feuds. What had they to glory in, when all their peculiar gifts were from God? They had received them, and could not glory in them as their own, without wronging God. At the time when they reflected on them to feed their vanity, they should have considered them as so many debts and obligations to divine bounty and grace. But it may be taken as a general maxim: We have no reason to be proud of our attainments, enjoyments, or performances; all that we have, or are, or do, that is good, is owing to the free and rich grace of God. Boasting is for ever excluded. There is nothing we have that we can properly call our own: all is received from God. It is foolish in us therefore, and injurious to him, to boast of it; those who receive all should be proud of nothing, Psa 115:1. Beggars and dependents may glory in their supports; but to glory in themselves is to be proud at once of meanness, impotence, and want. Note, Due attention to our obligations to divine grace would cure us of arrogance and self-conceit.

II. He presses the duty of humility upon them by a very smart irony, or at least reproves them for their pride and self-conceit: "You are full, you are rich, you have reigned as kings without us. You have not only a sufficiency, but an affluence, of spiritual gifts; nay, you can make them the matter of your glory without us, that is, in my absence, and without having any need of me." There is a very elegant gradation from sufficiency to wealth, and thence to royalty, to intimate how much the Corinthians were elated by the abundance of their wisdom and spiritual gifts, which was a humour that prevailed among them while the apostle was away from them, and made them forget what an interest he had in all. See how apt pride is to overrate benefits and overlook the benefactor, to swell upon its possessions and forget from whom they come; nay, it is apt to behold them in a magnifying-glass: "You have reigned as kings," says the apostle, "that is, in your own conceit; and I would to God you did reign, that we also might reign with you. I wish you had as much of the true glory of a Christian church upon you as you arrogate to yourselves. I should come in then for a share of the honour: I should reign with you: I should not be overlooked by you as now I am, but valued and regarded as a minister of Christ, and a very useful instrument among you." Note, Those do not commonly know themselves best who think best of themselves, who have the highest opinion of themselves. The Corinthians might have reigned, and the apostle with them, if they had not been blown up with an imaginary royalty. Note, Pride is a great prejudice to our improvement. He is stopped from growing wiser or better who thinks himself at the height; not only full, but rich, nay, a king.

III. He comes to set forth his own circumstances and those of the other apostles, and compares them with theirs. 1. To set forth the case of the apostles: For I think it hath pleased God to set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death. For we are made a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men. Paul and his fellow-apostles were exposed to great hardships. Never were any men in this world so hunted and worried. They carried their lives in their hands: God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death, Co1 4:9. An allusion is made to some of the bloody spectacles in the Roman amphitheatres, where men were exposed to fight with wild beasts, or to cut one another to pieces, to make diversion for the populace, where the victor did not escape with his life, though he should destroy his adversary, but was only reserved for another combat, and must be devoured or cut in pieces at last; so that such wretched criminals (for they were ordinarily condemned persons that were thus exposed) might very properly be called epithanatioi - persons devoted or appointed to death. They are said to be set forth last, because the meridian gladiators, those who combated one another in the after-part of the day, were most exposed, being obliged to fight naked; so that (as Seneca says, epist. 7) this was perfect butchery, and those exposed to beasts in the morning were treated mercifully in comparison with these. The general meaning is that the apostles were exposed to continual danger of death, and that of the worst kinds, in the faithful discharge of their office. God had set them forth, brought them into view, as the Roman emperors brought their combatants into the arena, the place of show, though not for the same purposes. They did it to please the populace, and humour their own vanity, and sometimes a much worse principle. The apostles were shown to manifest the power of divine grace, to confirm the truth of their mission and doctrine, and to propagate religion in the world. These were ends worthy of God-noble views, fit to animate them to the combat. But they had like difficulties to encounter, and were in a manner as much exposed as these miserable Roman criminals. Note, The office of an apostle was, as an honourable, so a hard and hazardous one: "For we are made a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men, Co1 4:9. A show. We are brought into the theatre, brought out to the public view of the world. Angels and men are witnesses to our persecutions, sufferings, patience, and magnanimity. They all see that we suffer for our fidelity to Christ, and how we suffer; how great and imminent are our dangers, and how bravely we encounter them; how sharp our sufferings, and how patiently we endure them, by the power of divine grace and our Christian principles. Ours is hard work, but honourable; it is hazardous, but glorious. God will have honour from us, religion will be credited by us. The world cannot but see and wonder at our undaunted resolution, our invincible patience and constancy." And how contentedly could they be exposed, both to sufferings and scorn, for the honour of their Master! Note, The faithful ministers and disciples of Christ should contentedly undergo any thing for his sake and honour. 2. He compares his own case with that of the Corinthians: "We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are honourable, but we are despised, Co1 4:10. We are fools for Christ's sake; such in common account, and we are well content to be so accounted. We can pass for fools in the world, and be despised as such, so that the wisdom of God and the honour of the gospel may by this means be secured and displayed." Note, Faithful ministers can bear being despised, so that the wisdom of God and the power of his grace be thereby displayed. "But you are wise in Christ. You have the fame of being wise and learned Christians, and you do not a little value yourselves upon it. We are under disgrace for delivering the plain truths of the gospel, and in as plain a manner: you are in reputation for your eloquence and human wisdom, which among many make you pass for wise men in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. We are suffering for Christ's sake" (so being weak plainly signifies, Co2 12:10), "when you are in easy and flourishing circumstances." Note, All Christians are not alike exposed. Some suffer greater hardships than others who are yet engaged in the same warfare. The standard-bearers in an army are most struck at. So ministers in a time of persecution are commonly the first and greatest sufferers. Or else, "We pass upon the world for persons of but mean endowments, mere striplings in Christianity; but you look upon yourselves, and are looked upon by others, as men, as those of a much more advanced growth and confirmed strength." Note, Those are not always the greatest proficients in Christianity who think thus of themselves, or pass for such upon others. It is but too easy and common for self-love to commit such a mistake. The Corinthians may think themselves, and be esteemed by others, as wiser and stronger men in Christ than the apostles themselves. But O! how gross is the mistake!

IV. He enters into some particularities of their sufferings: Even to this present hour; that is, after all the service we have been doing among you and other churches, we hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place, and labour, working with our own hands, Co1 4:11, Co1 4:12. Nay, they were made as the filth of the world, and the off-scouring of all things, Co1 4:13. They were forced to labour with their own hands to get subsistence, and had so much, and so much greater, business to mind, that they could not attend enough to this, to get a comfortable livelihood, but were exposed to hunger, thirst, and nakedness - many times wanted meat, and drink, and clothes. They were driven about the world, without having any fixed abode, any stated habitation. Poor circumstances indeed, for the prime ministers of our Saviour's kingdom to have no house nor home, and to be destitute of food and raiment! But yet no poorer than his who had not where to lay his head, Luk 9:58. But O glorious charity and devotion, that would carry them through all these hardships! How ardently did they love God, how vehemently did they thirst for the salvation of souls! Theirs was voluntary, it was pleasing poverty. They thought they had a rich amends for all the outward good things they wanted, if they might but serve Christ and save souls. Nay, though they were made the filth of the world, and the off-scouring of all things. They were treated as men not fit to live, perikatharmata. It is reasonably thought by the critics that an allusion is here made to a common custom of many heathen nations, to offer men in sacrifice in a time of pestilence, or other like grievous calamity. These were ordinarily the vilest of men, persons of the lowest rank and worst character. Thus, in the first ages, Christians were counted the source of all public calamities, and were sacrificed to the people's rage, if not to appease their angry deities. And apostles could not meet with better usage. They suffered in their persons and characters as the very worst and vilest men, as the most proper to make such a sacrifice: or else as the very dirt of the world, that was to be swept away: nay, as the off-scouring of all things, the dross, the filings of all things. They were the common-sewer into which all the reproaches of the world were to be poured. To be the off-scouring of any thing is bad, but what is it to be the off-scouring of all things! How much did the apostles resemble their Master, and fill up that which was behind of his afflictions, for his body's sake, which is the church! Col 1:24. They suffered for him, and they suffered after his example. Thus poor and despised was he in his life and ministry. And every one who would be faithful in Christ Jesus must prepare for the same poverty and contempt. Note, Those may be very dear to God, and honourable in his esteem, whom men may think unworthy to live, and use and scorn as the very dirt and refuse of the world. God seeth not as man seeth, Sa1 16:7.

V. We have here the apostles' behaviour under all; and the return they made for this mal-treatment: Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we entreat, Co1 4:12, Co1 4:13. They returned blessings for reproaches, and entreaties and kind exhortations for the rudest slanders and defamation, and were patient under the sharpest persecutions. Note, The disciples of Christ, and especially his ministers, should hold fast their integrity, and keep a good conscience, whatever opposition of hardships they meet with from the world. Whatever they suffer from men, they must follow the example, and fulfil the will and precepts, of their Lord. They must be content, with him and for him, to be despised and abused.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

1Co_4:7

For who maketh thee to differ from another?

and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?

Human differences

Why cannot we write poetry like John Milton, or paint like Raphael? One man seems to be good without an effort; another man says he cannot be good do what he will. We differ intellectually. There is Jedediah Buxton, a common ploughman; give him the size of a wheel, and he would tell you on the spot how many circumvolutions it would make in going round the globe. Of Streleczki, a Polish count, it is said that from the colonial capacities of Australia to the diameter of an extinct crater in one of the Polynesian islands, from the details of an Irish poor taw to the chemical composition of malachite, he was perfectly at home. How different from ourselves! Let us come around this subject determined to find out what we can of its deep and holy meaning. Let me first address myself--

I. To those who may be inclined to despair. They fix their eye upon brilliant examples, and say, How is it that we are not glorious and powerful like these? Now this thing is really not so bad as it looks. There are compensations. You wish to be like the great calculator I have named. Let me tell you that on almost every subject but numbers Jedediah Buxton was little better than an imbecile. His admirers once took him to the opera, and when he came back he said, Wonderful, she took so many steps in so many minutes! Now will you change with him? And as for the Polish count he knew everything, but he built nothing, was brilliant but not solid. You should set one thing over against another. Every daisy has its own little bit of colour. Remember the tortoise and the hare. Instead of dwelling on your defects dwell on your gifts. If you have little you might have had less. If you stammer you might have been dumb. Though you have no wings you have good strong limbs.

II. To those who pride themselves on their gifts and powers. The apostle referred to these, and asks a question of those who are puffed up, which might well make them modest and thoughtful: What hast thou that thou didst not receive? He makes every man a debtor. Strength is from God, so is skill, so is opportunity. But one man has ten thousand a year, and another man can hardly live; what about such contrasts as these? Let me tell you.

1. A man may require a ladder ten thousand steps high before he can see any Providence at all, and another man can see God in the raiment of the lilies and the livelihood of birds.

2. One man may be able to bear the prosperity represented by ten thousand a year, and another might be crushed by the golden load.

3. And wholly apart from all such considerations, it still remains graciously true that a mans life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

III. To those who wonder how it is that one man is saved, and another man is lost.

1. God is far more concerned for the salvation of the human family than it is possible for man to be. He will do all that can be done. Let me leave the awful problem in His good hands.

2. The judgments of God are founded upon the gifts of God. When much is given, much will be required; where little has been given, little will be required.

3. It is not for me to say who will be saved, and who will not. I may not ask, Lord, are there few that be saved? or He will instantly answer: Strive to enter in at the straight gate! He will throw me back on my own obligations, and withdraw me from problems too deep for my immature and presumptuous mind. (J. Parker, D. D.)

Distinguishing grace

Pride is the inherent sin of man, and yet it is of all sins the most foolish. A thousand arguments might be used to show its absurdity; but none of these would be sufficient to quench its vitality. Take for instance the argument of creation. We are the thing formed; shall we say of ourselves that we deserve honour because God hath formed us wondrously? What are we, after all, but as grasshoppers in Gods sight? But surely if this prevail not to clip the pinions of our pride, the Christian man may at least bind its wings with arguments derived from the distinguishing love and peculiar mercies of God. Observe--

I. Wherein God hath made us to differ.

1. Many of us differ from others in Gods providential dealings towards us. Many of Gods beloved children are in the depths of poverty, while some of us who are here have all that heart can wish. Let us gratefully ask, Who maketh us to differ? Perhaps none of us can ever know, until the great day shall reveal it, how much some of Gods servants are tried, and if God hath made our path more pleasant, it is owing only to His grace, and we will not be high-minded, but condescend to men of low estate. The more God has given us the more we are in debt. Why should a man boast because he is deeper in debt than another? But the best way for you to feel this is to go into the hospital; then go round the neighbourhood to the sick who have lain for years upon the same bed, and after that go and visit some of Gods poverty-stricken children.

2. Many differ in regard to Gods gracious dealings.

(1) Ask yourself, Why am I not at this very hour hearing the Word with my outward ear, but rejecting it in my inward heart? Have I made myself to differ? God forbid that such a proud thought should defile our hearts. The only reason is because He hath made thee to differ. Who are more hardened than those to whom we have alluded?

(2) There are some of whose salvation, if it were to be wrought by man, we must indeed utterly despair for their hearts are harder than the most stubborn steel. How is it that my heart is melted, my conscience is tender, and that I know how to pray and to groan before God on account of sin?

(3) But the lowest class of sinners do not mingle with our congregations, but are to be seen in our streets and lanes. How frightful are the sins of drunkenness, of blasphemy, of lasciviousness! Who maketh thee to differ? Some of you have experienced redemption from these very iniquities.

(4) How is it that the minister has not forsaken his profession? How is it that the deacons have not turned aside unto crooked ways? How is it that so many members of this Church have been kept so that the wicked one toucheth them not? Let Abraham be deserted by God, he equivocates and denies his wife. Let Noah be deserted, he becomes a drunkard. Let David be left, and Uriahs wife shall soon show the world that the man after Gods own heart hath still an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. Then give all glory to the only wise God your Saviour who has kept you thus.

(5) Since you and I have joined the Church how many who were once our companions have been damned whilst we have been saved? Oh, why is it you are not already a fiend; who is it that has given you a good hope through grace?

II. Now what shall we say to these things? If God has made you to differ--

1. You should pray, Lord, humble us. Take away pride out of us. O God, forgive us, that we should ever be proud.

2. Why may He not make others to differ toot After the Lord saved me, said one, I never despaired of anybody. Will you ever give up praying for anybody now that you are saved? Let me serve Him more than others. What do ye more than others? (C. H. Spurgeon.)

All blessings come from God

I. I begin with reminding you that every blessing we possess is the gift of God, and that we have nothing which we did not receive from Him. That this is the case with respect to natural endowments will readily be admitted. A quick apprehension, a retentive memory, a lively imagination, and other mental powers are favours which the great Author of our being dispenseth to whom, and in what measure, it pleaseth Him; and never was any man so arrogant as to pretend that he bestowed these qualities upon himself. It is no less evident that the light of Divine revelation is an additional blessing which flows immediately from the same fountain of beneficence. We see every day that earthly things are estimated, not by their use, but by their scarcity; though, in fact, the things that are truly precious, because most necessary, instead of being rare, are scattered abroad with the greatest profusion. Thus doth God dispense temporal benefits: the best, that is the most useful, are universally given out in greatest abundance. And it may justly be affirmed that spiritual blessings are dispensed in the same way. The most comprehensive blessing, the unspeakable gift of Jesus Christ, is of all others the most free and liberal. In like manner the great rules of duty, and the truths that are best adapted to purify our hearts, and reform our practice, are dispersed, as it were, around us in the greatest plenty and variety. This affords a glorious display of the wisdom and goodness of our great Lawgiver and Judge. But, alas! we thwart His merciful intentions. Overlooking what is near, we roam abroad in quest of other things that lie at the remotest distance from us, and have the feeblest influence upon out temper and practice. To correct this false taste, by recalling mens attention to the most simple and practical truths, ought, in my apprehension, to be the principal aim of a gospel minister. Life is short, and souls are precious, and therefore things of eternal consequence ought in all reason to be preferred.

II. To select some practical lessons was the second thing proposed, to which I now proceed.

1. If all the blessings we possess be the gifts of God, the effects of His free and unmerited bounty, then surely we ought to be humble.

2. From the same principle, with equal ease and certainty, we may deduce our obligation to thankfulness and praise.

3. To humility and gratitude I add resignation to the will of God. Surely if no wrong be done us, we have no right to complain. We ought rather to adore that goodness which at first bestowed the gift, gave us the comfortable enjoyment of it, and continued it with us so long.

4. Did we attend to this truth we should not dare to employ any means that are unlawful for improving our circumstances, or acquiring the good things that belong to a present world, and even in using the means that are lawful, we should constantly look up to God for success, and implore His blessing upon our honest endeavours.

5. The importance of enjoying the blessing of God, with all the gifts which His bounty bestows upon us. From this alone ariseth their value, and nothing else can impart to them that sweetness which renders the possession of them truly desirable. (R. Walker.)

The free grace and gifts of God

These are questions which strike at the very root of human pride. They teach us the absolutely dependent condition of every one upon earth. Why some should be rich, others poor; why some should be strong, others weak; some blessed with the highest powers of thought and understanding, and others deprived of reason, of this great gift of God; why some should be endowed with many excellent graces of the soul; why some should be cut off in the very midst of their sins, whilst we have been spared--are difficulties which human reason could never explain. We require something infinitely beyond all human authority to explain these things, and to teach them as truths to be reconciled with the gracious attributes of the Supreme Being--and this want is well supplied. From Scripture we learn, that as God is the Creator of all things, so He has the unquestionable right of disposing and adapting everything according to His own free will, both in the moral and natural world. His holy Word very plainly tells us that He is the sole Author of all good (Joh_3:27; Joh_6:65; Jam_1:17; 1Co_3:7; 2Co_3:5; Php_2:13). There are other passages which teach us that God deals out His mercies according to His own free grace, without regard to any real merit on the part of those, His fallen creatures, who are the objects of His gracious and Fatherly care (Act_17:24-25; Act_17:28; Exo_33:19; Isa_65:1; Mat_20:15; Luk_19:10; Rom_9:16; Rom_11:33; Eph_2:8-9).

1. Of this doctrine of Gods free grace in the distribution of His manifold gifts, the following practical uses may be made. First, we are never to suffer our not being able to understand the counsels of God to perplex our minds, or to prevent us from fulfilling the various duties which He hath given us to perform. We know enough of Gods moral government over us to know this great truth, that whatever comes from Him must be right and good, however unable we may be to explain all His dealings towards the children of men. We are therefore to go on with the work of God, the salvation of our immortal souls, with constancy and holy zeal.

2. We are, secondly, to rest satisfied with what hath been already made known to us, waiting for more perfect knowledge of the ways of God in the world to come. (H. Marriot.)

The inequalities of life

1. That inequalities do exist is one of the most patent and enduring of facts. And we cannot but reflect that it might have been otherwise. The moral law, indeed, could not have been other than it is consistently with the nature of its Author; but we might conceivably have had a world upon which a law of equality might have been stamped as plainly as it is in fact everywhere absent. Nor is grace in this matter the antithesis of nature.

2. The great truth which the apostle suggests is that the author of differences is the infinitely wise and good God. It is not chance; it is not a fatal outcome of inexorable law. We differ from one another--

I. In external circumstances.

1. Of these inequalities, England is, perhaps, beyond any country in Europe, the great example. The contrast presented by the east and west ends of the metropolis is probably not to be found in any other capital; and, considering the small area and vast population of this country, the actual distribution of land and wealth might seem to approach the proportions of a social danger, and to threaten some form of destructive change.

2. There are answers enough to the apostles question. These differences, we are told, are begotten of ancient injustice; they are a legacy of feudalism, or they are traceable to more recent eras of misgovernment; they represent the traditional selfishness of one class and the chronic inertness and degradation of another. Let the truth of all this, here and there, be granted, yet vast differences will still remain, due to the simple fact that God makes one man to differ from another in productive power, and hence there is inevitably a corresponding difference in the amount produced. If to-morrow you could cut up the land into strips, that every Englishman should have his tiny share in it, a fortnight would not pass before the reign of inequality would have begun again. Nature and fact would assert themselves against theory; and property varying in amount concomitantly with each mans productive power, would find its way into the hands of a minority--though, no doubt, a new minority--of the people.

3. What is this, then, but the old story of the Church ever upholding privilege against right, wealth against poverty, the few against the many? What is this but an endeavour to stereotype wrong by making God responsible for it, and by interposing Divine sanctions between it and its correction? And if we point in reply to a future in which inequalities will be for ever redressed, we are fiercely warned that this faith of ours in a future stands in the way of efforts to improve mans present lot. No, you misunderstand us. If property be of a kind to make crime almost the instinct of self-preservation; if the lack of education means no ruling moral principles in the conscience; if human beings are huddled together into dwellings which deny to purity its simplest safeguards, then, most assuredly, the Church of Christ would be false to her Master if she did not, at whatever risks, urge a remedy. Nay, more, whenever Christianity is really believed and acted on, it tends to lessen the general inequalities of life. Its charities throw bridges over the abysses which separate classes; its spirit of self-sacrifice prompts the free abandonment of wealth and station for the sake of others. Yet when all that can be done in this direction has been done, great inequalities must remain, because they are due to inherited differences of personal capacity.

II. In the personal endowments with which our Creator has sent us into the world.

1. Race differs so widely from race, that these differences have been exaggerated into one of the stock arguments against the unity of the human family. But members of the same race often differ from each other scarcely, if at all, less widely. Not seldom does this original inequality traverse, as if with a disdainful irony, the other inequalities of external circumstances which you have inherited from those who have transmitted to you their name and blood.

2. Here we are encountered by the doctrine of heredity. We are told that every quality in the individual has its roots and germs in the ancestral past. Undoubtedly this doctrine rests on a basis of fact; but if you say that most of the differences between man and man can be explained by it, does this do anything more than postpone the larger question which lies behind? Why should a given individual have this particular ancestry? Nay, why should there be anything to be transmitted, or any law of type to govern its transmission? In presence of these questions, science is wisely silent; but religion is not silent. And the answer to them leaves man, as he was of old, in the pre-scientific days, face to face with the Almighty Creator.

III. In the religious advantages and opportunities which have been bestowed on us. Our homes are, in this respect, very different; in some God is practically ignored, in others His will and honour are made a first consideration. The schools to which we have been sent are very different; in some religion is all but forgotten, in others it is the life and soul of the whole system. Our friendships are very different; and there are times in life when, religiously speaking, a friendship may have decisive consequences. Who maketh thee to differ from another? Who stands behind the opportunities of youth, behind the intellectual and moral environments of manhood, behind the subtle predispositions, which from the early days of life exercise a propelling influence in this direction or in that? Who gave his mother to St. Augustine, and his father to John Stuart Mill? These differences come from God; and if we ask why they should exist, we find ourselves face to face with abysmal mysteries, cut of which issues the warning, Is it not lawful for Me to do what I will with Mine own? Is thine eye evil because I am good?

Conclusion:

1. But is not this disappointing? Might we not have hoped that Christ, in whom all are brethren, and who makes all free indeed, would also have made us equal? But let us note that inequality of gift does not imply that God loves less those to whom He gives less. He gives as we can bear His gifts; He withholds, as He bestows, in love. Nay, underlying the great differences there is a much truer equality than we may think. As in a well-ordered state all are equal before the law, so in the Church all are equal before their Maker and Redeemer. We are equal, in that--

(1) We all have before us the solemn moment of death.

(2) We shall all be judged relatively to the gifts and opportunities we have enjoyed.

(3) We must all of us be washed in the precious blood of Christ, and sanctified by the Eternal Spirit.

(4) We are all of us receivers, although some of us may have received five talents, and others one.

2. What hast thou that thou hast not received? Is there nothing? Yes, one thing, only one--sin.

3. The temper in which we should think and act in view of the truth before us has three characteristics.

(1) Disinterestedness. Any gift, possessed by others, and used for the glory of the Giver, should excite in a Christian pure and disinterested pleasure. If He has not given them to us individually, what does that matter, so far as our appreciating them is concerned?

(2) Anxiety. Anxiety for others lest they should misuse Gods bounty; but great anxiety for ourselves, if any of us have reason to think that we have been entrusted with anything considerable. Be not high-minded, but fear.

(3) Self-consecration. It may be little that you can give, give it to God; it may be what men deem much, give it unreservedly. (Canon Liddon.)

A catechism for the proud

1. The Corinthian Church was exceedingly gifted: Alas! its grace was not in proportion to its gifts, and consequently a proud spirit was developed. Parties were formed who gloried in men that other men might glory in them.

2. There is great wisdom in Pauls rebuke. He did not cry down their talents. You very seldom lower a mans opinion of himself by undervaluing his gifts. He remembers the fable of the fox and the sour grapes. Pride is not to be cured by injustice: one devil will not drive out another. Pride often finds fuel for itself in that which was intended to damp its flame. The apostle follows a far more sensible course; he asks where the talent comes from.

3. The questions of the text may well humble us; but to this end we need the assistance of the Holy Ghost, for nothing is more difficult than to overcome our self-conceit. Pride hides itself under numberless disguises. Many take a pride in what they call having no pride about them. When Diogenes trampled on his valuable carpets and said, I trample upon the pride of Plato! Yes, said Plato, and with greater pride. Note--

I. A great and comprehensive truth. Every good gift, &c.

1. Temporal advantages. Men boast of--

(1) Strength and beauty; but these are gifts, not virtues. Some consider the strongest man to be the best, forgetting that horses and elephants can bear greater loads, and lions and tigers can be fiercer in fight. As for beauty, one of its most potent charms lies in its modest unconsciousness. These personal advantages are distributed at the Divine pleasure. The Lord has made one athletic while another is born a cripple, &c.

(2) Position. But what determined the circumstances of our birth? and after all we are all on a level if we trace our pedigrees to their common meeting-place. Some claim to have made their own position; nay, to have made themselves. Yes, and worship their supposed maker. But who gave you your opportunity and the force of character which have brought you to the front?

(3) Talent and knowledge; but to whom do they owe those natural predilections and talents which have been denied to others who have been equally industrious? Whence also has come the health which has enabled the student to persevere in laborious research?

(4) Wealth. Certainly it is to a mans credit that he has not squandered his money in waste and self-indulgence; but still, what has he that he did not receive? His habits and discretions may be traced to training, or to force of mind, or to happy example, and they are, therefore, things received. And then his success, it is not alone due to industry, for sickness or accident might have made him unable to earn his bread. Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God; for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth.

2. Gracious privileges. Those who have been saved by Divine grace differ greatly from what they used to be, and from others still unregenerate. How comes this? It has been by the hearing of the gospel as the means, but we must ascribe it to Divine grace, and not to chance, that we were born where the gospel was preached, and not left under the influence of heathenism. The sovereignty of God is to be seen, again, in the fact that one should be found under a cold, dead ministry, and another should hear a soul-saving preacher. Yet further, there were some who heard the same sermons as you did and were not converted, and you were. How came that about? It is true you did pay more earnest attention, but what led you to do so?

3. Spiritual blessings. Conviction of sin; did that arise spontaneously, or did the Spirit convince you of sin? Repentance towards God--was that wrought in you by the Holy Spirit, or was it the outgrowth of your own free will? You have faith, but faith is the gift of God. Since your conversion you have exhibited some measure of holiness, but was that wrought in you by the Spirit, or is it the fruit of your natural excellence? Who distinguishes thee now? Suppose thou wert left to thyself, couldst thou continue in thy state of grace? And who shall make us to differ in days to come? Are we our own keepers?

II. Its teachings.

1. It is a rebuke to pride. Let any one of us look back to our first estate, and we shall surely be compelled to silence every boast for ever. Think of what we should be if grace left us!

2. An excitement to gratitude. If all I have and am is due to the distinguishing grace of God, then let me bless the Lord in the depths of my soul. This gratitude should take the shape of continual obedience.

3. A reminder of responsibilities. Where much is given much will be required. It is to be deeply regretted that some of those who have the most ability to do good are doing the least.

4. A suggestion of great tenderness in dealing with others. Who maketh thee to differ? You met the other day with a man fast bound with bad habits, and you said, Nothing can be done with such a wreck. I will not waste words upon him. It would be better to drink into the spirit of John Bradford, who, when he saw a condemned malefactor, was wont to say, There goes John Bradford but for the grace of God. I have never despaired of the salvation of any man since the Lord saved me.

5. An encouragement for seekers. Now, you know some eminent Christians; remember that there is nothing good in them but what they have received from God. The Lord can give the like grace to you. Then what have I to do? Simply, according to the text, to be a receiver; and that is the easiest thing in the world. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Pride catechised and condemned

Pride cannot endure honest questioning, and so Paul tried it by the Socratic method, and put it through a catechism. We have here--

I. A question to be answered with ease. When we are asked, Who maketh thee to differ from another? the answer is, God: and if we are asked, What hast thou that thou didst net receive? we reply, We have nothing but our sin. We are the more glad to hear Paul say this, because he was what is nowadays styled a self-made man. Yet though he was not a whit behind the very chief of the apostles, he said, I be nothing. By the grace of God I am what I am. Our question is easy to answer, whether it be applied to natural gifts or to spiritual ones.

II. A question to be answered with shame. If thou didst receive it, &c. When we glory in anything we have received--

1. We rob God of His honour. Every particle of praise we take to ourselves is so much stolen out of the revenues of the King of kings.

2. We leave our truthful position. When I confess myself to be weak, helpless, and ascribe all I have to grace, then I stand in the truth; but if I take the remotest praise to myself, I stand in a lie.

3. We are sure to esteem our Lord less. If Christ goes up self goes down; and if self rises Jesus falls in our esteem.

4. We undervalue our fellow Christians, and that is a great sin. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; but if we over-estimate ourselves we do so.

5. We miss the right course as to our gifts, and forget that they are only lent us to be used for our Master. It is required of stewards that they be found faithful, not that they vaunt themselves and deck themselves in their Masters goods. Some boast--

(1) Because God has placed them in office. What mighty airs some give themselves! Honour to whom honour is due--they have learned by heart, and seen a personal inference in it.

(2) About their experience. This also is vanity. Let the man who does this remember that he has gone nowhere except as the Lords hand has borne him onward. Suppose a garden were proud, and boasted of its fruitfulness!

III. Other questions which these questions suggest.

1. Have I ever given to God His due place in the matter of my salvation?

2. Have I the spirit of humble gratitude?

3. Seeing I have been a receiver, what have I done towards giving out again? They make in the north of England earthenware saving boxes for the children. You can put what you like in, but you cannot get it out until you break the box; and there are persons of that sort among us. Some have died lately, and their estates have been reported in the Probate Court. We ought not to be as a stagnant pond, but like the great lakes of America which receive the mighty rivers and pour them out again, and consequently keep fresh and clear.

4. Since what I have had I have received by Gods grace, might I not receive more? Covet earnestly the best gifts.

5. If all that Christians have they have received, sinner, why should not you receive as well as they? (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Nothing to be proud of

In Ethics for Young People, Professor C. C. Everett tells of a question he asked when a small boy. He says: A lady was talking with me about easily besetting sins. She said that her besetting sin was pride. I looked at her in innocent wonder and exclaimed, Why, what have you to be proud of? I saw at once by her confusion that I had made a very impudent and unlucky speech. We cannot ask this question of others; but if any one who is disposed to be proud should ask himself the question, What have you to be proud of? and answer it truly, it might do him good.

The inflation of pride

Jehan Hering, who was a close observer of ants and their doings, once gave an account of a battle royal which he watched between two of the smallest of the species. It took place on the stem of a leaf; the cause was a scrap of food. The contestants fought until one killed the other. The victor, says Hering, then strutted to and fro in view of the other ants. Napoleon could not have been more sure of his own mighty place in creation. For me, he seemed to say, was this world made. The mite was actually inflated with vanity. An observer watching the throng of human beings passing along our crowded thoroughfares, would often be reminded of Herings ant. So many are the men and women who express in their walk, their manner, their voice, a sense of their own importance. Here is a middle-aged tradesman who has just driven a sharp bargain; there is a schoolboy who ran a winning race last week; yonder is a young man who is pushing his way successfully into business or into fashionable society, and here comes a young girl whose only claim to distinction is a new hat. These are not strong proofs of superiority to the swarming millions of people on the earth. Yet these men and women bear themselves as if, like the ant, each of them thought, This world was made for me! Theodore Hook, viewing a vain member of his college strutting along in cap and gown, approached presently, and timidly demanded, If you please, sir, are you anybody in particular? How many of us, when most secure in our vanity, could stand that probing question? The men and women who have real work in life as a rule forget themselves, and acquire that total lack of self-consciousness which is the basis of the finest manners.

Apostolic warnings

I. To those who fostered the personal worship of the ministers--that is, of themselves.

1. The qualities which are requisite for the higher part of the ministry are--great powers of sympathy; humbleness; wisdom to direct; knowledge of the world; and a knowledge of evil which comes rather from repulsion from it. But those which adapt a man for the merely showy parts are of an inferior order: fluency, self-confidence, tact, a certain histrionic power of conceiving feelings, and expressing them. Now, it was precisely to this class of qualities that Christianity opened a new field in places such as Corinth. Men who had been unknown suddenly found an opportunity for public addresses, activity, and leadership. They became fluent talkers; and the more shallow and self-sufficient they were, the more likely it was that they would become the leaders of a faction. And how did the apostle meet this? By inculcating (verse 7) Christian dependence: Who maketh thee to differ? Christian responsibility: What hast thou that thou didst not receive?

2. This tendency besets us ever. Even at school brilliancy is admired, whilst plodding industry is sneered at. Yet which of these Would St. Paul approve? Which shows fidelity? The dull mediocre talent faithfully used, or the bright talent used only for glitter and display? St. Paul did not sneer at eloquence, &c.; but he said, These are your responsibilities. You are a steward: you have received. Beware that you be found faithful. Woe, if the gifts and manner that have made you acceptable have done no more. In truth, this independence of God is mans fall. Adam tried to be independent; and just as all things are ours if we be Christs, so, if we be not Christs, then our pleasures, gifts, honours are all stolen; we glory as if we had not received.

II. To those who unduly magnified the office.

1. There were men who exercised lordship over the congregations. Place verses 8 and 9 side by side, and think, first of all, of these teachers--admired, flattered, made rich, and then going on to rule as autocrats, so that when a Corinthian entertained his minister, he entertained his oracle, his very religion. And then turn to the apostolic life. If the one be an apostle, what is the other? If one be the high, the Christian life, how can the other be a life to boast of?

2. Remark here the irony. People who look upon Christianity as a mere passive, strengthless thing, must needs be perplexed with passages such as these. But remark how gracefully it turns with Paul from loving though angry irony, to loving earnestness: I would to God ye did reign. Would to God that the time for triumph were come indeed, that these factions might cease, and we be kings together!

3. See here the true doctrine of the apostolical succession. The apostolical office is one thing; the apostolical character is quite another. And just as the true children of Abraham were not his lineal descendants, but the inheritors of his faith, so the true apostolical succession consists not in what these men pride themselves upon--their office, attainments, &c.; but rather in a life of truth, and in the suffering which inevitably comes as the result of being true.

4. Now, therefore, we can understand the passage with which he ends: Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me (verse 16). Only do not misread it. You have here no mere partisan trying to outbid and outvie others. He says that the life he had just described was the one for them to follow. In this--Be ye followers of me, he declares the life of suffering, in the cause of duty, to be higher than the life of popularity and self-indulgence. He says that the dignity of a minister, and the majesty of a man, consists not in Most Reverend, or Most Noble, prefixed to his name; but it lies in being through and through a man, according to the Divine idea; a man whose chief privilege it is to be a minister, a follower of Him who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4:7 Pride in a particular leader results from failure to realize that everything is a gift from God. There is no room for pride; humble gratitude is the only appropriate attitude.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

1Co 4:7. Τίς) who? not thou, not another man; but even supposing thou hast some excellent gift, it is God alone [who maketh thee to differ].—σὲ, thee) This word may be referred both to some one at Corinth and, by changing the figure of speech [σχῆμα referring to μετεσχημάτισα], to Paul: σε, thee, thyself, how great soever thou art: in antithesis to the gifts, which thou mayest or mayest not have received.—διακρίνει, makes to differ) or, peculiarly distinguishes by some difference.—τί δὲ ἔχεις, ὃ οὐκ ἔλαβες, but what hast thou, which thou hast not received?) The meaning is: whatever thou hast, thou hast received it, not from thyself, but from God: or, there are many things, which thou hast not received, and therefore thou hast them not and canst not boast of them: either thou hast, or hast not received; if thou hast not received, thou hast them not: if thou hast received, thou hast nothing but what has been received, without any cause for glorying. He, whom Paul here addresses, is a man; for example, Paul, whose way of thinking the Corinthians ought to take as a pattern. The latter sense renders the meaning of the καὶ, even, which immediately follows, more express, and shows the antanaclasis[34] in thou hast not received: [as if] not receiving.—ὡς μὴ λαβὼν, as if thou hadst not received it) as if thou hast it from thyself.

[34] See App. The same word in the same context twice, but in a different sense.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co_4:7. The words ἵνα μὴ … ἑτέρου are now justified by two considerations(1) No one maketh thee to differ; it is a difference of thine own making, which thou settest between thee and others. (2) What thou possessest thou hast not from thyself, and it is absurd to boast thyself of it as though it were thine own work. Hofmann holds that Paul in his first proposition glances at his own difference from others, and in his second at the gifts of Apollos; but this is neither indicated in the text, nor would it accord with the fact that he and Apollos are to be examples of humility to the readers, but not examples to humble themnamely, by high position and gifts.

σέ] applies to each individual of the preceding ὑμεῖς, not therefore simply to the sectarian teachers (Pott, following Chrysostom and several of the old expositors).

The literal sense of διακρίνει is to be retained. The Vulgate rightly renders: Quis enim te discernit? Comp Act_15:9; Homer, Od. iv. 179; Plato, Soph. p. 253 E, Charm. p. 171 C. This of course refers, in point of fact, to supposed pre-eminence; but Paul will not describe it as pre-eminence (contrary to the common rendering: Who maketh thee to differ for the better?).

τὶ δὲ ἔχεις κ.τ.λ[644]] ΔΈ, like that which follows, heaps question on question. See Hartung, Partikell. I. p. 169. To what Paul is pointing in the general: But what possessest thou, etc., their own conscience told his readers, and it is clear also from the next question, that, namely, of which they boasted, their Christian insight, wisdom, eloquence, and the like. He certainly did not think of himself and the other teachers as the source (ἔλαβες) of the gifts (Semler, Heydenreich, Pott), which would be quite contrary to his humble piety, but: οὐδὲν οἴκοθεν ἔχεις, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ λαβών, Chrysostom. Comp 1Co_3:5, 1Co_12:6, 1Co_15:10.

ΕἸ ΔῈ ΚΑῚ ἜΛ.] again, even if thou hast received, even if thou hast been endowed with gifts, which I will by no means deny. Εἰ καί is not meant to represent the possession of them as problematical (Rückert), but is concessive. Comp 2Co_4:3. See Hermann, a[647] Viger. p. 832; comp Hartung, I. p. 140 f.; Klotz, a[649] Devar. p. 519 f.

ΤΊ ΚΑΥΧᾶΣΑΙ Κ.Τ.Λ[650]] οὐδεὶς ἐπʼ ἀλλοτρίαις παρακαταθήκαις μεγαφρονεῖ, ἐπαγρυπνεῖ δὲ ταύταις, ἵνα φυλάξῃ τῷ δεδωκότι, Theodoret.

[644] .τ.λ. καὶ τὰ λοιπά.

[647] d refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.

[649] d refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.

[650] .τ.λ. καὶ τὰ λοιπά.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co 4:7 . τίς γάρ σε διακρίνει ; “for who marks thee off?” (or “separates thee? discernit , Vg [691] ”) what warrant for thy boasting, “I am of Paul,” etc., for ranging thyself in this coterie or that? “The διάκρισις was self-made” (El [692] ). The other rendering, “Who makes thee to differ?” (to be superior: eximie distinguit , Bg [693] ) sc. “who but God? ” suits the vb [694] διακρίνω , but is hardly relevant. This question stigmatises the partisan conceit of the Cor [695] as presumptuous; those that follow, τί δὲ … εἰ δὲ καὶ … marks it as ungrateful; both ways it is egotistic. τί δὲ ἔχεις κ . τ . λ .: “what moreover hast thou that thou didst not receive?” i.e., from God (1Co 1:4 f., 1Co 1:30 , 1Co 3:5 ; 1Co 3:10 , 1Co 12:6 , etc.). For this pregnant sense of λαμβάνω , cf. Act 20:35 . “But if indeed thou didst receive (it), why glory as one that had not received?” The receiver may boast of the Giver (1Co 1:31 ), not of anything as his own . καὶ lends actuality to the vb [696] ; “ εἰ καὶ , de re quam ita esse ut dicitur significamus” (Hermann); cf. 2Co 4:3 . καυχᾶσαι , a rare form of 2nd sing [697] ind [698] mid [699] ; Wr [700] , p. 90. For ὡς with ptp [701] , of point of view ( perinde ac ), see Bm [702] , p. 307; cf. 1Co 4:3 .

[691] Latin Vulgate Translation.

[692] C. J. Ellicott’s St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians .

[693] Bengel’s Gnomon Novi Testamenti.

[694] verb

[695] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.

[696] verb

[697]ing. singular number.

[698] indicative mood.

[699] middle voice.

[700] Winer-Moulton’s Grammar of N.T. Greek (8th ed., 1877).

[701] participle

[702] A. Buttmann’s Grammar of the N.T. Greek (Eng. Trans., 1873).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co_4:7

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)?

Who maketh thee to differ? This may mean either, Who thinks you are better than others? Your superiority over your brethren is mere self-conceit and inflation. The difference between you is only imaginary. Or, it may mean, Who is the author of this superiority? Admitting you to be as superior to others as you imagine, to whom are you indebted for it? According to the latter explanation the verse contains but one argument against their pride, viz., that all distinguishing advantages are derived from God. According to the former, there are two distinct considerations urged: first, that they had no ground for thinking themselves better than others; and second, if they had any superiority it was due not to themselves, but to God. So that in either case their inflation was absurd and unchristian. It is here assumed that every thing, whether natural or gracious, by which one man is favorably distinguished from another, is due to God; and being thus due to him and not to the possessor, is a cause of gratitude, but not of self-complacency or of self-applause. This is true even of those things which are acquired by great self-denial and exertion. Paul was as much self-formed as any man ever was, and yet he said, By the grace of God I am what I am.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He showeth a good means to bridle pride: first, if thou consider how rightly thou exemptest thyself out of the number of others, seeing thou art a man thyself: again, if thou consider that although thou have something more than other men have, yet thou hast it not but by God’s bountifulness. And what wise man is he that will brag of another’s goodness, and that against God?

There is nothing then in us of nature, that is worthy of commendation: but all that we have, we have it of grace, which the Pelagians and half Pelagians will not confess.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Translate, "Who distinguisheth thee (above another)?" Not thyself, but God.

glory, as if thou hadst not received it--as if it was to thyself, not to God, thou owest the receiving of it.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 7. For who maketh thee to differ] It is likely that the apostle is here addressing himself to some one of those puffed up teachers, who was glorying in his gifts, and in the knowledge he had of the Gospel, c. As if he had said: If thou hast all that knowledge which thou professest to have, didst thou not receive it from myself or some other of my fellow helpers who first preached the Gospel at Corinth? God never spoke to thee to make thee an apostle. Hast thou a particle of light that thou hast not received from our preaching? Why then dost thou glory, boast, and exult, as if God had first spoken by thee, and not by us?

This is the most likely meaning of this verse and a meaning that is suitable to the whole of the context. It has been applied in a more general sense by religious people, and the doctrine they build on it is true in itself, though it does not appear to me to be any part of the apostle's meaning in this place. The doctrine I refer to is this: God is the foundation of all good; no man possesses any good but what he has derived from God. If any man possess that grace which saves him from scandalous enormities, let him consider that he has received it as a mere free gift from God's mercy. Let him not despise his neighbour who has it not; there was a time when he himself did not possess it; and a time may come when the man whom he now affects to despise, and on whose conduct he is unmerciful and severe, may receive it, and probably may make a more evangelical use of it than he is now doing. This caution is necessary to many religious people, who imagine that they have been eternal objects of God's favour, and that others have been eternal objects of his hate, for no reason that they can show for either the one, or the other. He can have little acquaintance with his own heart, who is not aware of the possibility of pride lurking under the exclamation, Why me! when comparing his own gracious state with the unregenerate state of another.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7. For who distinguisheth thee? The meaning is — “Let that man come forward, whosoever he be, that is desirous of distinction, and troubles the Church by his ambition. I will demand of him who it is that makes him superior to others? That is, who it is that has conferred upon him the privilege of being taken out of the rank of the others, and made superior to others?” Now this whole reasoning depends on the order which the Lord has appointed in his Church — that the members of Christ’s body may be united together, and that every one of them may rest satisfied with his own place, his own rank, his own office, and his own honor. If one member is desirous to quit his place, that he may leap over into the place of another, and invade his office, what will become of the entire body? Let us know, then, that the Lord has so placed us in the Church, and has in such a manner assigned to every one his own station, that, being under one head, we may be mutually helpful to each other. Let us know, besides, that we have been endowed with a diversity of gifts, in order that we may serve the Lord with modesty and humility, and may endeavor to promote the glory of him who has conferred upon us everything that we have. This, then, was the best remedy for correcting the ambition of those who were desirous of distinction — to call them back to God, in order that they might acknowledge that it was not according to any one’s pleasure that he was placed in a high or a low station, but that this belonged to God alone; and farther, that God does not confer so much upon any one as to elevate him to the place of the Head, but distributes his gifts in such a manner, that He alone is glorified in all things.

To distinguish here means to render eminent. Augustine, however, does not ineptly make frequent use of this declaration for maintaining, in opposition to the Pelagians, that whatever there is of excellence in mankind, is not implanted in him by nature, so that it could be ascribed either to nature or to descent; and farther, that it is not acquired by free will, so as to bring God under obligation, but flows from his pure and undeserved mercy. For there can be no doubt that Paul here contrasts the grace of God with the merit or worthiness of men.

And what hast thou? This is a confirmation of the preceding statement, for that man cannot on good ground extol himself, who has no superiority above others. For what greater vanity is there than that of boasting without any ground for it? Now, there is no man that has anything of excellency from himself; therefore the man that extols himself is a fool and an idiot. The true foundation of Christian modesty is this — not to be self-complacent, as knowing that we are empty and void of everything good — that, if God has implanted in us anything that is good, we are so much the more debtors to his grace; and in fine, that, as Cyprian says, we must glory in nothing, because there is nothing that is our own.

Why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it? Observe, that there remains no ground for our glorying, inasmuch as it is by

the grace of God that we are what we are, (1 Corinthians 15:10.)

And this is what we had in the first chapter, that Christ is the source of all blessings to us, that we may learn to glory in the Lord, (1 Corinthians 1:30, 31,) and this we do, only when we renounce our own glory. For God does not obtain his due otherwise than by our being emptied, so that it may be seen that everything in us that is worthy of praise is derived.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(7) For . . .—This is the explanation of why such “puffing up” is absurd. Even if one possess some gift or power, he has not attained it by his own excellence or power; it is the free gift of God.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7. For who maketh thee to differ from another] Cf. St Joh_3:27; Jas_1:17. All the gifts they had received were of God, and this fact excluded as a matter of course all boasting or self-satisfaction. The Vulgate translates ‘maketh thee to differ’ by discerno, with the signification given above. This throws a light on the meaning of our English word discern in ch. 1Co_11:29, where see note.

glory] Rather, perhaps, boast. See note on ch. 1Co_5:6.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For who maketh thee to differ from another,.... This question, and the following, are put to the members of this church, who were glorying in, and boasting of the ministers under whom they were converted, and by whom they were baptized, to the neglect and contempt of others; when the apostle would have them consider, and whatever difference was made between them and others, was made, not by man, but God; that whatever good and benefit they had enjoyed under their respective ministers, were in a way of receiving, and from God; and therefore they ought not to glory in themselves, nor in their ministers, but in God, who had distinguished them by his favours: whatever difference is made among men, is of God; it is he that makes them to differ from the rest of the creation; from angels, to whom they are inferior; and from beasts, to whom they are superior; and from one another in their person, size, shape, and countenance, which is a physical, or natural difference. It is God that makes them to differ from one another in things of a civil nature; as kings and subjects, masters and servants, high and low, rich and poor, bond and free, which may be called a political, or civil difference; and there is an ecclesiastical difference which God makes in his own people, who have gifts differing one from another; there are diversities of gifts, administrations, and operations among them, and all from the same spirit: but the grand distinction God has made among men, lies in his special, distinguishing, and everlasting love to some, and not others; in his choice of them in Christ unto everlasting salvation; in the gift of them to Christ in the eternal covenant; in the redemption of them by his blood; in his powerful and prevalent intercession for them; in God's effectual calling of them by his grace; in his resurrection of them from the dead to everlasting life, placing them at Christ's right hand, and their entrance into everlasting glory; when the distinction will be kept up, as in the above instances, throughout the endless ages of eternity; all which is owing, not to anything of man's, but to the free grace, sovereign will, and good pleasure of God.

And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? whatever mercies and blessings men enjoy, they have in a way of receiving, and from God the Father of all mercies: all natural and temporal mercies are received from him; even such as respect the body, the make, form, and shape of it, perfection of limbs, health, strength, food, raiment, preservation of life, continuance in being, with all the comforts of it: and such as relate to the soul, its formation, which is by the father of spirits, its powers and faculties, natural light, reason, and understanding, all its endowments, abilities, all natural parts, and sharpness of wit; so that no man ought to glory in his wisdom, as if it was owing to himself, when it is all of God. All supernatural and spiritual blessings are received from God; such as a justifying righteousness, sanctifying grace, remission of sin, the new name of adoption, strength to perform good works, to bear and suffer reproach and persecution for Christ, and to persevere to the end, with a right and title to eternal glory.

Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it? To glory in any mercy, favour, or blessing received from God, as if it was not received from him, but as owing to human power, care, and industry, betrays wretched vanity, stupid and more than brutish ignorance, horrid ingratitude, abominable pride and wickedness; and is contrary to the grace of God, which teaches men humility and thankfulness. To God alone should all the blessings of nature, providence, and grace be ascribed; he ought to have all the glory of them; and to him, and him only, praise is due for them. That proud Arminian, Grevinchovius (t), in answer to this text, said,

"I make myself to differ; since I could resist God, and divine predetermination, but have not resisted, why may not I glory in it as of my own?''

(t) Contr. Ames. p. 253.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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?

Ver. 7. For who maketh thee] He directeth his speech to those Theologi gloriae, Preachers of praise, as Luther usually calleth such, those vain glorious, self-ascribing pastors at Corinth, that sought to bear away the bell from Paul, and would not stick to answer this demand of his, Quis te discernit? Who makes you to differ? As that insolent Arminian did, Ego meipsum discerno, I make myself to differ. (Greuinchovius.)

And what hast thou, &c.] There are those who would hammer out their own happiness, like the spider, climbing by the thread of her own weaving, with motto accordingly, Mihi soli debeo. I only give to myself.

Why dost thou glory] As great a folly as for the groom to be proud of his master’s horse, the stage player of his borrowed robes, or the mud wall of the sunshine. Of all the good that is in us, we may well say as the young man did of his hatchet, Alas, master, it was but borrowed.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For who maketh ... - This verse contains a reason for what Paul had just said; and the reason is, that all that any of them possessed had been derived from God, and no endowments whatever, which they had, could be laid as the foundation for self-congratulation and boasting. The apostle here doubtless has in his eye the teachers in the church of Corinth, and intends to show them that there was no occasion of pride or to assume pre-eminence. As all that they possessed had been given of God, it could not be the occasion of boasting or self-confidence.

To differ from another - Who has separateD you from another; or who has made you superior to others. This may refer to everything in which one was superior to others, or distinguished from them. The apostle doubtless has reference to those attainments in piety, talents, or knowledge by which one teacher was more eminent than others. But the same question may be applied to native endowments of mind; to opportunities of education; to the arrangements by which one rises in the world; to health; to property; to piety; to eminence and usefulness in the church. It is God who makes one, in any of these respects, to differ from others; and it is especially true in regard to personal piety. Had not God interfered and made a difference, all would have remained alike under sin. The race would have together rejected his mercy; and it is only by his distinguishing love that any are brought to believe and be saved.

And what hast thou - Either talent, piety, of learning.

That thou didst not receive - From God. By whatever means you have obtained it, it has been the gift of God.

Why dost thou glory ... - Why dost thou boast as if it were the result of your own toil, skill or endeavor. This is not designed to discourage human exertion; but to discourage a spirit of vain-glory and boasting. A man who makes the most painful and faithful effort to obtain anything good, will, if successful, trace his success to God. He will still feel that it is God who gave him the disposition, the time, the strength, the success. And he will be grateful that he was enabled to make the effort; not vain, or proud, or boastful, because that he was successful. This passage states a general doctrine, that the reason why one man differs from another is to be traced to God; and that this fact should repress all boasting and glorying, and produce true humility in the minds of Christians. It may be observed, however, that it is as true of intellectual rank, of health, of wealth, of food, of raiment, of liberty, of peace, as it is of religion, that all come from God; and as this fact which is so obvious and well known, does not repress the exertions of people to preserve their health and to obtain property, so it should not repress their exertions to obtain salvation. God governs the world on the same good principles everywhere; and the fact that he is the source of all blessings, should not operate to discourage, but should prompt to human effort. The hope of his aid and blessing is the only ground of encouragement in any undertaking.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

For who distinguisheth, or hath distinguished thee from another? He speaks particularly to those proud, vain preachers: if thou hast greater talents than another man, who hath given them to thee, or to any one, but God, who is the giver, and the author of every gift and perfection? This is not only true of the gift of preaching, but of all gifts and graces; so that St. Augustine makes use of it in several places against the Pelagians, to shew that it is by grace only, that one man is preferred before another, and not by, or for his own merits. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

It is apparent that pride was the reigning sin of many in this church of Corinth; pride, by reason of those parts and gifts wherein they excelled, whether they were natural or acquired habits, or common gifts of the Spirit which were infused: to abate this tumour, the apostle minds them to consider, whence they had these gifts from which they took occasion so to exalt and prefer themselves; whether they were the authors of them to themselves, or did receive them from God.

Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? It became none of them to glory in what they had recieved from another, and were beholden to another for. What the apostle here speaketh concerning natural or spiritual abilities, is applicable to all good things; and the consideration here prompted, is a potent consideration to abate the pride and swelling of a man’s heart upon any account whatsoever; for there is nothing wherein a man differeth or is distinguished from another, or wherein he excelleth another, but it is given him from God; be it riches, honour, natural or spiritual gifts and abilities, they are all received from the gift of God, who gives a man power to get wealth, Deu 8:18; who putteth down one and setteth up another, Psa 75:7; and, as the apostle saith in this Epistle, 1Co 12:7-9, gives the manifestation of the Spirit to every man to profit withal: to one by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge; to another faith; to another the gifts of healing, & c., all by the same Spirit.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7. With their haughty spirit, St. Paul now expostulates. Christian modesty should inspire us, not with pride in our superiorities, but with gratitude to Him who gave them.

Maketh… differ—This question refers not to that difference by which one man is an heir of heaven and another is an heir of hell; for that stupendous difference is made by God to result largely from ourselves. For if even our salvation be of God, certainly our damnation is of ourselves. It refers to those temporal advantages by which one set was proudly swelling over the other.

Didst not receive—Piety does not require us to be unconscious of wealth, or talent, or power. It indeed breathes into us a sweetly humbled gratitude to God, who gives, and an earnest desire to use them with sweeter zest to his glory.

Glory—Implying a self-inflation as repugnant to manly character as it is to Christian piety.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Who maketh thee to differ? literally, Who distinguisheth thee? He means that this glorification and depreciation of rival views and rival teachers sprang from unwarrantable arrogance. It involved a claim to superiority, and a right to sit in judgment, which they did not possess. That thou didst not receive? Even supposing that you have some special gift, it is a gift, not a merit, and therefore it is a boon for which to be thankful, not a pre-eminence of which to boast.

Satan, I know thy power, and thou know"st mine, Neither our own, but given. What folly, then, To try what arms can do! (Milton, "Paradise Lost. )

All is of grace.

Paul"s quick, impulsive mind here flashes out into indignation at the spectacle of partisanship and schism in the Corinthian Church. They who lay great stress upon individual human teachers and ministers are in danger of forgetting, perhaps already have forgotten, two things, viz.

(1) that every minister and teacher has a special blessing for the Church; and

(2) that all such agents are but messengers from the court of heaven, and distributors of the blessings of God.

I WE MAY TAKE CREDIT TO OURSELVES ONLY FOR OUR WANTS AND FOR OUR CAPACITY. Why should any man be proud, when he remembers that he was born a helpless babe; that he was dependent upon the kind services of others for the preservation of life; that he has learned nothing which he was not taught; that he enjoys nothing except through the good offices of his fellow men? And why should any Christian be "puffed up" with spiritual conceit, when he remembers that all he brought to the Scriptures, to the Church, to the Lord, was just his necessities and his capacity to receive spiritual blessings?

II WE ARE INDEBTED FOR ALL THINGS TO HUMAN MINISTRATIONS. When we regard our circumstances, our worldly possessions, our education, our position in life, our family, our friends, this fact is obvious enough. But the same is true of our religious advantages, our spiritual blessings. The Bible was secured to us by human efforts and labours; the gospel was preached to us by human lips; the Church has been to us the fellowship of our human teachers and brethren; our religious knowledge has been conveyed to us by human interpreters; our piety has been inspired by human examples,

III DIVINE MERCY HAS MADE HUMAN MINISTRIES SUBSERVIENT TO OUR SPIRITUAL WANTS. It is not wise or just to discriminate too nicely between human gifts and Divine. The human gifts are Divine gifts bestowed by human hands. It is the privilege of the devout and enlightened mind to look through the seen to the unseen; to recognize in every Christian helper and friend the messenger of God, the minister of Christ. The form, the voice, may be earthly, but there is behind a spiritual presence and a Divine power. It is the Giver of every good gift and every perfect gift who is so near. T.

Our indebtedness to God.

I REFLECT UPON THE FACT. Are apt to forget it altogether. So anomaly is often presented of our quarrelling over "possessions" which do not belong to us, and boasting of that to which we have no title. The air we breathe, the world we dwell upon, our food, clothing, and shelter, our "prosperity" as we fondly call it, these things are lent to us by God. So also our powers yea, our very existence is not of ourselves, but of God. If we were to have taken away from ourselves all that we have received through the free benevolence of God, what would be left? Our salvation, our spiritual joys, our glad prospects, are also of him.

II DUE REMEMBRANCE OF OUR INDEBTEDNESS WILL HELP TO CHECK PRIDE. We are apt to regard things as though we had not received them as though they were our own in some other sense than as received from God. Thus we become proud of our attain merits and belongings, and glory in ourselves as possessors, if not originators, and not in God. For the luxury of boasting we easily delude ourselves. A gracious recollection of the actual state of the case should do something in the way of shaking the throne of conceit and vain glory. Pride is great folly as well as great sin, and when we indulge in it we have to smother our common sense. And of all pride, "spiritual pride" is the most reprehensible and the most absurd.

III DUE REMEMBRANCE OF OUR INDEBTEDNESS MAY INCLINE US TO USE ARIGHT WHAT WE HAVE RECEIVED. Instead of pride, we should feel responsibility. Instead of boasting, we should desire to employ wisely and well the Divine benefaction. The things which we handle, see, and have, are not ours, but God"s. We are stewards, and presently shall have to give an account of our stewardship. We should ask, For what are these things given? What does God wish us to do with them?

IV DUE REMEMBRANCE OF OUR INDEBTEDNESS WILL TEND TO INSPIRE GRATITUDE AND LOVE. He distinguishes us by his bounty. All we receive is of pure benevolence; we have done no work for it, we have not merited it. If only a little had been withheld, we should have lived in misery. Our joy and usefulness are dependent upon Divine gift. We thus get glimpses of the love of God, and, as he has first loved us, we should also love him.

V DUE REMEMBRANCE OF OUR INDEBTEDNESS WILL TEND TO QUICKEN FAITH. How much God has done for us! We have not to trust for that! It has come to pass. And will not the Unchangeable continue to help us and to supply all our need? We have the promises, and the past tells us of no broken promise. Past experience should speak death to present doubt and fear. H.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Who maketh thee to differ - Either in gifts or graces. As if thou hadst not received it - As if thou hadst it originally from thyself.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

As if the apostle had said, "Who is it that maketh one minister to differ from and excel another? Is it not God? If so, then let those ministers that have received the greatest gifts from God, whom the inspiration of the Almighty hath made most wise and understanding, be most humble themselves; and let none take occasion from thence to despise others who have received less.

Learn hence, that ministers of great abilities, eminent for gifts and graces, are in great danger of being puft up themselves, and their people also too prone to glory in them. There is a temptation in good things, yea, in the best things, to pride; the best men on earth may be overheated by what they have received from heaven; and Satan may take occasion even from our raptures in spirit to puff us up with spiritual pride; therefore our apostle puts forth this soul-humbling and pride-mortifying expostulation, What hast thou that thou hast not received? who made thee to differ? There is nothing wherein one minister, or indeed one man, differeth or is distinguished from another, or wherein he excelleth another, but it is given him from God; it is God, and not himself, that makes him to differ. It is a high degree of pride for any man to say, Ego discrevi meipsum, I of myself have made myself to differ.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For who maketh thee to differ? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? but if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it? [God had made them to differ both in natural and in spiritual gifts ( Rom_12:3-8 ). If, then, one had more subtle reasoning faculties than another, what ground had he for boasting, since his superiority was due to the grace of God in bestowing it, and not to himself in acquiring it?]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7. Who maketh thee to differ? Who has imparted to you graces which distinguish you from others? All were imparted to you. If you have nothing that you didst not receive, Why dost thou glory? Some unseemly exaltation, probably over spiritual gifts, is rebuked.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

7. τίς γάρ σε διακρίνει; Literally, ‘for who separates thee?’ Hence comes the idea of distinction in one’s own mind and then in that of another. διακρίνω is opposed to συγκρίνω (combine) in the passage from Aristotle’s Metaphysics mentioned above, ch. 1Co 2:13. The Vulgate translates by discerno here, a rendering which serves to explain the use of discern in the A.V. of ch. 1Co 11:29, where see note. The answer to the question is shewn by the context to be ‘God.’ And since He was the source of all the gifts which distinguished these men from others, all boasting was of course absurd. Cf. Joh 3:27; Jas 1:17. Chrysostom interprets the word of the distinction resulting from praise.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7.] For (reason why this puffing up should be avoided) who separates thee (distinguishes thee from others? meaning, that all such conceits of pre-eminence are unfounded. That pre-eminence, and not merely distinction (Meyer), is meant, is evident from what follows? And (δέ connects interrogative clauses, as Od. α. 225, τίς δαίς, τίς δὲ ὅμιλος ὅδʼ ἔπλετο; and Il. ε. 704, ἔνθα τίνα πρῶτον, τίνα δʼ ὕστατον ἐξενάριξεν; See Hartung, Partikellehre, i. 169) what hast thou which thou receivedst not (‘from God’—not, ‘from me as thy father in the faith’)? but if (which I concede;—στέγαι δὲ εἰ καὶ ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς εἰσιν, ἀλλὰ μὰ Δίʼ οὐχ ἵπποις; Xen. Cyr. vi. 1. 14. Hartung, i. 140) thou receivedst it, &c. He speaks not only to the leaders, but to the members of parties,—who imagined themselves superior to those of other parties,—as if all, for every good thing, were not dependent on God the Giver.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7. τίς γάρ σε διακρίνει; The γάρ introduces a reason why such conceit is out of place; ‘For who sees anything special in you?’ The verb has a variety of meanings (see Act 15:9 and on συνκρίνειν in 2:13), and these meanings are linked by the idea of ‘separate’ in one sense or another: here it means to distinguish favourably from others. ‘Who gives you the right to exalt one and depress another? No one has given you such a right: then do you claim it is an inherent right?’ Tu, qui amplius to accepisse gloriaris, quis to ab eo qui minus accepit separavit, nisi is qui tibi dedit quod alteri non dedit? (Atto).

τί δὲ ἔχεις ὃ οὐκ ἔλαβες. The δέ adds another home-thrust, another searching question. ‘Let us grant that you have some superiority. Is it inherent? You know that you have nothing but what you have received. Your good things were all of them given to you.’ Origen suggests that the question may mean, ‘Why do you pretend to have a gift which you have not received from God?’ But he prefers the usual interpretation. The question is a favourite one with Cyril of Alexandria, who quotes it nine times in his commentary on St John.

εἰ δὲ καὶ ἔλαβες. ‘But if thou didst receive it.’ The καί throws an emphasis on ἔλαβες, and εἰ καί represents the insistence on what is fact (2Co 4:3, 2Co 5:16, 2Co 12:11), while καὶ εἰ represents an assumed possibility; but it is not certain that this distinction always holds good in Paul.

It has been urged that the usual interpretation of ἔλαβες as ‘received from God, the Giver of all good gifts’ is not suitable to the context; and that the Apostle means that such Christian wisdom as the Corinthians possessed was not their own making, but came to them through ministry of their teachers. But, after 3:5-7, 21 (cf. 12:6, 15:10), St Paul would not be likely to make any such claim. The main point is, ‘whatever superiority you may have is not your own product, it was a gift’; and St Paul was much more likely to mean that it was God’s gift, than anything derived from himself and Apollos.

The question which he asks strikes deeper than the immediate purpose of this passage. It is memorable in the history of theology for the revolution which it brought about in the doctrine of Grace. In a.d. 396, in the first work which he wrote as a bishop, Augustine, tells us: “To solve this question we laboured hard in the cause of the freedom of man’s will, but the Grace of God won the day,” and he adds that this text was decisive (Retract. II. i. 1; see also De divers. quaest. ad Simplicianum, i.). Ten years before the challenge of Pelagius, the study of St Paul’s writings, and especially of this verse and of Rom 9:16, had crystallized in his mind the distinctively Augustinian doctrines of man’s total depravity, of irresistible grace, and of absolute predestination.

The fundamental thought here is that the teachers, about whom the Corinthians ‘gloried,’ were but ministers of what was the gift of God. The boasting temper implied forgetfulness of this fact. It treated the teachers as exhibitors of rhetorical skill, and as ministering to the taste of a critical audience, which was entitled to class the teachers according to the preferences of this or that hearer. Ἔλαβες here coincides with ἐπιστεύσατε in 3:5.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vv. 7. “For who maketh thee to differ? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? And if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?”

Here is the standard indicated by the It is written. For one of the fundamental truths of Scripture is that the creature possesses nothing which is not a gift of the Creator.

Sometimes the three questions of this verse have been applied solely to the party chiefs and not to the members of the Church. But the apostle does not distinguish so strictly between the admirers and the admired; for the line of demarcation between teachers and taught was not so exactly drawn then as it was afterwards.

The first question refers to the superiority claimed by each eminent member of a party relatively to those of the other parties. The apostle asks this man, who thinks himself superior to others, to whom he ascribes the honour of the privileged position he has gained. For this meaning of διακρίνειν, to distinguish, comp. 1Co 11:29; Act 15:9. What is the answer expected? Some think it is: nobody. They rely on the fact that the answer to the second question is certainly: nothing. The apostle’s object, on this view, is to deny even the superiority of which this individual boasts. But in this sense should not the apostle have written τί (what is it that?) rather than τίς (who is he that?)? Others think that the answer understood is God: “He that maketh thee differ from others by superiority of gifts, is not thyself, but God.” This sense is certainly better. But thereby the question becomes almost identical with the following one. Is it not better to state the answer thus: “not thyself.” There is thus in the following question a gradation indicated by the δέ. Indeed, this second question bears on the qualities which are matters of pride to the individual, his gifts, lights, eloquence, and the answer is: “absolutely nothing.” The third question implies the conclusion to be drawn from the other two. The καί may be regarded as independent of εἰ: “If really” (Hofmann, Holsten). But it may also form with εἰ a single conjunction in the sense of though: “How, though having received, dost thou boast as if thou hadst not received?” This is the most natural meaning; comp. Edwards.

In this interrogative form thrice repeated, and in the individual apostrophe, thou, the emotion, the indignation even, which fills the apostle, shows itself strongly. He is revolted at the thought of those empty pretensions, so contrary to the humility which faith should inspire. At this point the spectacle of the sin of the Church passes before his view with such liveliness that his discourse all at once takes the form of a long sarcasm. He thinks he sees before him the old Pharisaism raised again in the forms of the Christian life. His burning irony does not take end till 1Co 4:13, where it is extinguished in grief.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.