It is strange to read of believers boasting or taking pride. Such an action does not seem to accord with the humility and gentleness of Christ. When Paul talks about boasting elsewhere in Scripture (2 Corinthians 10:13–18; Romans 15:17–20) he is generally celebrating the fact that he was able to perform a commission given to him by God.1 As such, when Paul encourages a believer to take pride in himself, it appears as if he is encouraging believers not to claim credit for God’s work in their lives, but to praise God for what he has done in them and through them by his Spirit.2
4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.