"But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way." The Apostle Paul begins a response to the Corinthians' question about Spiritual gifts in corporate worship in I Corinthians 12. Paul identifies varieties of Spiritual gifts and varieties of Spiritual service. (We render the word "Spiritual" with a capital "S" to indicate that the source of the gift or service is God the Holy Spirit and not the individual who may be perceived to be "spiritual" because he or she is exercising the gift.) Paul explains that these manifestations (gifts and services) of the Holy Spirit are given for the common good. He makes an analogy of God's people, the Church, being similar in function to a human body.
"Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it" (vs. 27). There are many parts to the human body; some body parts perform a higher function than other body parts; yet all parts of the human body are required for the body to function properly. It is the same for the dispensation of Spiritual gifts and services to the collective body of Christ. Therefore, we should earnestly desire Spiritual gifts and especially the higher gifts that do more to build up the body of Christ. And while it is desirable to seek the higher gifts, a still more excellent way is to use those gifts in love as explained in I Corinthians 13 so that the body of Christ is built up as explained in I Corinthians 14.
