I Corinthians 4:6,7
“Now these things, brothers and sisters, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos on your account, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other.For who considers you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”
This passage has gone right by me. I’ve quickly read through it to get to what I thought were the more important passages. However, it caught me this time. Basically we’ve got christians in Corinth that seem to be separating themselves in pride. They are saying, “I am of Paul” or “I am of Apollos”, then come the ones who see themselves as more spiritual saying, “I am of Christ”.
I arrogantly saw this as not applying to me. I was wrong. I came to Christ at 17. I was a church goer and continued at my church. About two or three years into the faith an acquaintance introduced me to Calvary Chapel. Pastor Chuck was a solid bible teacher. His philosophy was, “line upon line and precept upon precept”. Meaning, if one teaches through the entirety of a book through the entirety of the bible, then all concepts are taught. There is no skipping of parts. A furtherance of the earlier concept is Calvary’s method says that they adhere to “The whole council of God”.
I proudly announced that I went to Calvary, thus I felt better equipped and more knowledgeable. This might be so, but I missed verse 7 of today’s passage. “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” I received all the good that Calvary had to offer. It didn’t come from me. So, why am I boasting as if it came from me? I felt better equipped. That might be so. But humble gratitude should have been my response.
My dad died when I was two. Six years later my mom was remarried and we all moved to California. Being here and having the opportunity to go to Calvary may have been the reason for my dad’s untimely death. Who can know that? I should just be thankful for having been here and having the opportunity to go to Calvary.
Once again I learn the importance of being humble. I first was hit by it a decade ago. I have been so blessed by it ever since. I have learned that God is humble and seeks to present himself to us as such. Jesus came to earth in very humble circumstances. He was raised in a questionable neighborhood. He had little to no possessions. The elites of the day despised him. He was of a lesser class.
Lord, thank You for exposing another blind spot. Help me to apply this and stop being proud.