Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 179:713 (Jan 2022)
Article: From The Editor
Author: Glenn R. Kreider

From The Editor

Glenn R. Kreider

Paul asked the church in Corinth: “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (1 Cor 4:7). This is a rebuke of their arrogance and propensity toward what today would be called tribalism (see 3:1–9). Rather than elevating himself or Apollos, Paul says all of God’s servants are necessary for the completion of the task of establishing and building the church. Apollos and Paul are on the same team, with different roles. By extension, every member of the body of Christ is essential to the health of the body; there is no hierarchy of value.

Furthermore, none of us is self-existing or self-sufficient. We were created by God and depend on him for everything we have and are. All our gifts and abilities are granted to us by an omni-benevolent Creator. There is no ground for boasting, no ground for self-reliance, no ground for claiming credit for what we have been given.

Paul’s words to the first-century church are as important and relevant today as ever. May we be thankful to our great God for the many blessings he has given us and the blessings that come to us through one another.