This is a saying of Jesus that no Gospel records. Paul quotes it as something everybody already knew, which means it circulated widely before anyone wrote it down.
Notice the setting. Paul is saying goodbye to the Ephesian elders and pointing at his own hands. He worked. He supported himself and others. The saying is attached to labour, not to sentiment.
More blessed to give than to receive. It is quoted at fundraisers, and it was said about a working life that produced enough to hand some of it away.
The claim is also strange on its face. Receiving is pleasant. Giving costs. Yet anyone who has done both at any scale tends to agree, and cannot always explain why.
Perhaps because receiving confirms you are supplied, while giving confirms you are part of the supply. One is a relief. The other changes what you understand yourself to be for.
