But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
The verse urges believers to desire the best gifts while pointing them to a more excellent way, with varied gifts given by the Spirit for service in one body whose head is Jesus Christ. God himself has set different workings in the church — apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues — and not every person fills every place, for gifts are distributed rather than identical and are ranked by importance. The best gifts to be longed for intensely are faith, hope, and charity, because they bring hearts into harmony with the purposes of God and give breadth and nobility. The more excellent way pointed to is explained in chapter 13 and is love, which is to govern how members value gifts and serve one another. All members are needed and none is unnecessary, so no one is to hold self-sufficiency or measure one gift by another, but each part is to fit and work with the other parts until the church grows together into a strong and united temple in the Lord.
Gifts in One Body
The verse calls believers to desire the best gifts while pointing them to a more excellent way, with varied gifts given by the Spirit for service in one body whose head is Jesus Christ. God himself has placed different workings in the church — apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues — and not every person fills every place, so the gifts are distributed rather than identical. They are ranked by importance, not by the order in which they appeared, and believers are urged to seek the best gifts.
These gifts of the Spirit were placed in the church for its edification and instruction to the end of time, showing how the promise to send the Holy Spirit as Comforter and guide to lead into all truth is fulfilled to the church. All members are needed and none is unnecessary, so no member is to hold self-sufficiency or say to another, I have no need of thee. Among members there is to be no crowding, no judging, and no measuring of one gift by another, but respect for each other's different part, with all gifts exercised together. The church becomes a strong consistent power when each part fits and works with the other parts, growing together into a holy temple in the Lord.
The chapter shows simple organization and church order ordained for the unity and perfection of the church. One holding office stands as leader, adviser, counselor, helper in carrying burdens, and leader in thanksgiving, but is not appointed to order and command fellow laborers, for the Lord is over His heritage and will lead His people. Those carrying responsibilities are to treat those who labor with them with the same consideration they would wish to receive, for position gives no kingly authority, and meekness makes the worker Christlike.
Meaning of Best Gifts
The best gifts to be longed for intensely are faith, hope, and charity, because they bring hearts into harmony with the purposes of God and give breadth and nobility. When obtained they are to be used so that influence draws others nearer to Christ and imparts the richest blessings to others, and cherishing them increases Christlikeness in love, self-denial, generosity, and compassion, requires giving up things that would be made stumbling blocks, and makes experience wholesome and helpful. Coveting earnestly the best gifts does not mean seeking to be first, but means striving earnestly for power to follow Christ's example so as to be heralds of His gospel, which is true religion, walking straight forward in holy light despite temptations and suspicion and evil surmising. The best gifts to covet earnestly include patient, cheerful contentment and courage to follow the path of duty even when that path separates from friends.
Believers are to eagerly desire the best gifts offered in Christ for preparation for the future life and for fitness for usefulness in this life. To every person God has given a sphere of usefulness, to be used by improving opportunities, privileges, and capabilities to gain deeper experience and glorify God, becoming partakers of the divine nature, repressing evil inclination, and escaping corruption through lust. Those who serve do not think highly of themselves but earnestly desire the best gifts and succeed through usefulness, keeping growing in attainments and pressing toward victory, with heaven cooperating with those who persist in humble, active service and continual progress.
The gifts of the church should be valued and active in the church, and when they are revived they encourage the fainting soul and correct and reprove those who err. The verse upholds preaching about spiritual gifts and calls the church to seek them, so affirming the verse publicly while teaching against the gifts privately is inconsistent and wrong and requires humble confession.
Living the Excellent Way
The more excellent way pointed to is explained in chapter 13 and is love, and the direction to seek the greater gifts is to be believed and obeyed, with the church valuing spiritual gifts while letting love govern how members serve one another. When faith, hope, and charity are obtained they are to be used so that influence draws others nearer to Christ and imparts the richest blessings to others. Cherishing them brings hearts into harmony with the purposes of God and gives breadth and nobility, increasing Christlikeness in love, self-denial, generosity, and compassion. This requires giving up things that would be made stumbling blocks, and makes experience wholesome and helpful. Practical care and hospitality help bind believers' hearts together as love governs service.
Those who come together for counsel are to speak good words that help and strengthen their brethren and unite with one another in service. They are to jealously guard one another's interests with the same unceasing tenderness the Lord has toward His people even though mistakes are made, instead of standing apart in self-confidence watching for opportunity to criticize and condemn. Chapters 12 and 13 are placed for consideration and should be committed to memory, written in the mind and heart, studied and digested rather than ignored by professed people of God brought together in church capacity. Those brought together in church capacity will thereby be united understandingly and intelligently, for the figure of the members which compose the body represents the church of God and the relation its members should sustain to one another.
Chapters 12 and 13 are to be studied and applied together for continuous humbling of individual self, beginning with self-examination and taking self critically in hand. The very first step is denying self and taking up his own cross of self-denial and self-humiliation and self-sacrifice, not laying his cross on somebody else to carry. Obeying this instruction opposes division into factions and calls for a witness shaped by love.
The verse urges believers to desire the best gifts while pointing them to a more excellent way, with varied gifts given by the Spirit for service in one body whose head is Jesus Christ. God himself has set different workings in the church — apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues — and not every person fills every place, for gifts are distributed rather than identical and are ranked by importance. The best gifts to be longed for intensely are faith, hope, and charity, because they bring hearts into harmony with the purposes of God and give breadth and nobility. The more excellent way pointed to is explained in chapter 13 and is love, which is to govern how members value gifts and serve one another. All members are needed and none is unnecessary, so no one is to hold self-sufficiency or measure one gift by another, but each part is to fit and work with the other parts until the church grows together into a strong and united temple in the Lord.
Gifts in One Body
The verse calls believers to desire the best gifts while pointing them to a more excellent way, with varied gifts given by the Spirit for service in one body whose head is Jesus Christ. God himself has placed different workings in the church — apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues — and not every person fills every place, so the gifts are distributed rather than identical. They are ranked by importance, not by the order in which they appeared, and believers are urged to seek the best gifts.
These gifts of the Spirit were placed in the church for its edification and instruction to the end of time, showing how the promise to send the Holy Spirit as Comforter and guide to lead into all truth is fulfilled to the church. All members are needed and none is unnecessary, so no member is to hold self-sufficiency or say to another, I have no need of thee. Among members there is to be no crowding, no judging, and no measuring of one gift by another, but respect for each other's different part, with all gifts exercised together. The church becomes a strong consistent power when each part fits and works with the other parts, growing together into a holy temple in the Lord.
The chapter shows simple organization and church order ordained for the unity and perfection of the church. One holding office stands as leader, adviser, counselor, helper in carrying burdens, and leader in thanksgiving, but is not appointed to order and command fellow laborers, for the Lord is over His heritage and will lead His people. Those carrying responsibilities are to treat those who labor with them with the same consideration they would wish to receive, for position gives no kingly authority, and meekness makes the worker Christlike.
Meaning of Best Gifts
The best gifts to be longed for intensely are faith, hope, and charity, because they bring hearts into harmony with the purposes of God and give breadth and nobility. When obtained they are to be used so that influence draws others nearer to Christ and imparts the richest blessings to others, and cherishing them increases Christlikeness in love, self-denial, generosity, and compassion, requires giving up things that would be made stumbling blocks, and makes experience wholesome and helpful. Coveting earnestly the best gifts does not mean seeking to be first, but means striving earnestly for power to follow Christ's example so as to be heralds of His gospel, which is true religion, walking straight forward in holy light despite temptations and suspicion and evil surmising. The best gifts to covet earnestly include patient, cheerful contentment and courage to follow the path of duty even when that path separates from friends.
Believers are to eagerly desire the best gifts offered in Christ for preparation for the future life and for fitness for usefulness in this life. To every person God has given a sphere of usefulness, to be used by improving opportunities, privileges, and capabilities to gain deeper experience and glorify God, becoming partakers of the divine nature, repressing evil inclination, and escaping corruption through lust. Those who serve do not think highly of themselves but earnestly desire the best gifts and succeed through usefulness, keeping growing in attainments and pressing toward victory, with heaven cooperating with those who persist in humble, active service and continual progress.
The gifts of the church should be valued and active in the church, and when they are revived they encourage the fainting soul and correct and reprove those who err. The verse upholds preaching about spiritual gifts and calls the church to seek them, so affirming the verse publicly while teaching against the gifts privately is inconsistent and wrong and requires humble confession.
Living the Excellent Way
The more excellent way pointed to is explained in chapter 13 and is love, and the direction to seek the greater gifts is to be believed and obeyed, with the church valuing spiritual gifts while letting love govern how members serve one another.
When faith, hope, and charity are obtained they are to be used so that influence draws others nearer to Christ and imparts the richest blessings to others.
Cherishing them brings hearts into harmony with the purposes of God and gives breadth and nobility, increasing Christlikeness in love, self-denial, generosity, and compassion.
This requires giving up things that would be made stumbling blocks, and makes experience wholesome and helpful.
Practical care and hospitality help bind believers' hearts together as love governs service.
Those who come together for counsel are to speak good words that help and strengthen their brethren and unite with one another in service.
They are to jealously guard one another's interests with the same unceasing tenderness the Lord has toward His people even though mistakes are made, instead of standing apart in self-confidence watching for opportunity to criticize and condemn.
Chapters 12 and 13 are placed for consideration and should be committed to memory, written in the mind and heart, studied and digested rather than ignored by professed people of God brought together in church capacity.
Those brought together in church capacity will thereby be united understandingly and intelligently, for the figure of the members which compose the body represents the church of God and the relation its members should sustain to one another.
Chapters 12 and 13 are to be studied and applied together for continuous humbling of individual self, beginning with self-examination and taking self critically in hand.
The very first step is denying self and taking up his own cross of self-denial and self-humiliation and self-sacrifice, not laying his cross on somebody else to carry.
Obeying this instruction opposes division into factions and calls for a witness shaped by love.