After founding the church in Corinth, Paul received reports (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:11-12) that the Christians there were dividing into factions, claiming superiority to one another based on which preacher/teacher they preferred. They seemed to think their walk with God was about their superior discernment or taste, rather than about receiving God’s gift of grace. That was why Paul asked them, pointedly, “What do you have that you didn’t receive?” He wanted to underscore the point that, especially (but not exclusively) in the realm of salvation, God helps us more than we ever help ourselves.

• Scholar N. T. Wright summed up Paul’s message to the Corinthians: “The most obvious argument against boasting of the kind that’s been going on is that every gift, talent and skill we possess is a gift from God. You might as well boast about having brown eyes or being left-handed.” Are there any good things in your life that you are tempted to see as your own doing, something God is fortunate to receive from you? What helps you to remember that, ultimately, you have nothing that you didn’t receive from God?