same office, so it is no less preposterous in the members of the church that all should covet the same gifts. It is the design of the apostle to suppress, on the one hand, all discontent and envy, and on the other, all pride and arrogance. God distrib- utes his gifts as he j^leases ; all are necessary, and the recipi- ents of them are mutually dependent.
31. But covet earnestly the best gifts : and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
All cannot have every gift, hut covet earnestly the better ones. To covet (^TyXow) is earnestly to desire, with the impli- cation of corresponding effort to obtain. The extraordinary gifts of the Spirit were bestowed according to his own good pleasure. But so also are his saving benefits. Yet both may be, and should be sought in the use of the appointed means. The best gifts ; literally, the better gifts, by which is meant, as appears from 14, 5, those which were the more useful. The Corinthians had a very different standard of excellence ; and coveted most the gifts which were the most attractive, although the least useful. And yet (or, moreover) I sheio you an excel- lent way. The expression is not in itself comparative, more excellent ; but simply a way according to excellence, i. e. an excellent w^ay. Whether it is excellent compared to some- thing else, or most excellent, depends on the context. Here no comparison is implied. The idea is not that he intends to show them a way that is better than seeking gifts, but a way par excellence to obtain those gifts. The other view is indeed adopted by Calvin and others, but it supposes the preceding imperative {covet ye) to be merely concessive, and is contrary to 14, 1, where the command to seek the more useful gifts is repeated. The sense is, ' Seek the better gifts, and moreover I show you an excellent way to do it.'