The command to earnestly desire the higher gifts
should probably not be understood as a command to individual church members to try and acquire the best spiritual gifts for themselves. This would contradict Paul’s earlier statement that it is the Spirit who gives gifts as he wishes (1 Corinthians 12:11). It would also contradict the whole outlook presented in 1 Corinthians 12:1–31, namely, that all the spiritual gifts are needed in the church and that all members cannot have the same gifts. At any rate it would be impossible for any Corinthian church member to acquire the first
gift, that of apostleship (see 1 Corinthians 12:28).
The command to earnestly desire the higher gifts
probably means, then, that the church as a whole focuses on those gifts that are most important for the upbuilding of the church. Those gifts (and not the gift of tongues) should receive the most time and attention in the church gatherings. In practice this would mean, for example, that a visiting apostle gets the first chance to speak in the worship service.
This interpretation is confirmed by a close reading of 1 Corinthians 14:39. Here the same verb (earnestly desire
) is combined with another verb (do not forbid
). The command given here is that the church must earnestly desire the prophets to prophesy, while also not forbidding people to speak in tongues.
In 1 Corinthians 14:1–40 Paul will return to the instruction he has just given: But earnestly desire the higher gifts
(1 Corinthians 12:31a). For the moment, however, he digresses from the topic of spiritual gifts in order to discuss that which is of foundational importance: love.
Love is the still more excellent way
that Paul will be expounding in 1 Corinthians 13:1–13, one of the most beloved chapters in the Bible. Spiritual gifts fulfil their purpose (that of building up the church) only when they are used within the framework of love.
31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts.And I will show you a still more excellent way.