Earnestly Desire The Gift Of Prophecy (1 Corinthians 14:1)

This is not an exhaustive teaching on prophecy or even 1 Corinthians 14, but a brief exhortation given at our Light House Church gathering on March 22, 2026. It has been expanded slightly for written form.

Christian Love Leads To Greater Order And Sacrificial Service

In chapters 11-14 Paul wrote to the Corinthian Church instructions for healthy worship gatherings because they were becoming disorderly and unhelpful. When love for God and others is clouded by selfish ambitions, disorder follows. So with regard to spiritual gifts, Paul urged the church, starting in 14:1: “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.”

Paul begins with the call to “pursue love”.

We must remember that spiritual gifts mean nothing and accomplish nothing if not motivated by love. In order for the gift to do any good at all, the gifts must be exercised in love. Paul wrote in 13:2: And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

Love drives us to serve, even as love drove the Father to send the Son and the Son to go to the cross for us. Like Christ, love leads us to sacrificial service. When we have this kind of love, the love of God manifest through us by his Spirit, the desire of our heart will be to have more of the the Holy Spirit’s activity working through us for the good of others.

This heart posture only comes from an abiding personal relationship with the Lord, where God pours his love into our hearts and it overflows towards others (John 15).

What are spiritual gifts?

In 12:7, Paul explained the purpose of spiritual gifts. He writes, “To each [Christian] is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

Spiritual gifts are a manifestation of God’s Spirit in and through his people for the building up of the body, for the common good. Spiritual gifts are given to every Christian since the Spirit of God indwells every follower of Jesus, and they are given so that when believers gather, the church would be built up into maturity in Christ.

Earnestly Desire The Gift Of Prophecy

But Paul teaches that this is not a passive thing. It’s active. Earnest desire for something never leads to aloof thought life or behavior. Rather, earnest desire stirs prayerful and thoughtful activity along with intentional practice in that particular area of desire. This may require learning about the gifts, consistent prayer for them, and increased practice of the gifts whenever possible.

But of all the gifts, Paul says that we should most earnestly desire the gift of prophecy. 

Paul helps us understand what prophecy is in verse 3:…the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.

Three things to note here: 

1) Prophecy is a speaking gift. 2) Prophecy is for others upbuilding, encouragement, and consolation (comfort) in the Lord. 3) Prophecy is primarily for the church. 

So, prophecy is the building up of the body of Christ through timely and encouraging words for both groups and individuals. It is something about God or who we are in God revealed by the Holy Spirit for the group or an individual then disclosed aloud.

Verse 29 and 30 gives some more insight:

29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged,

Paul has good order in mind here, but he also hints at the nature of prophecy. It is a revelation, something revealed by God. This revelation leads to prophecy. 

This revelation is what makes this exercise a “spiritual gift” and not just a biblical teaching. Biblical teaching can include prophetic words, and prophetic words will certainly be biblically grounded, but prophecy differs from teaching because it is birthed by a revelation from the Holy Spirit for the building up of the body in a particular time and place. That is, when the Holy Spirit provides fitting insight and truth (perhaps a word or picture) into peoples situations and lives and you speak it out, you are prophesying according to Paul’s terms here. This is not from the natural man, but is spiritual in that it is revealed by our God who is actively building the church through his people. Did you know that God has specific things he wants to highlight for you and your community at particular times and his chosen method is to use his people to communicate these things. God manifests himself through his people in words of prophecy and other spiritual gifts. This is truly incredible.

So, prophecy is not just biblical instruction. It must be grounded in Scripture and will often point to a biblical truth, but it is more than the teaching of Scripture (also a spiritual gift). Prophecy does less explaining a particular Scripture and more massaging a relevant truth into the hearts of God’s people. 

New Testament prophecy is not on par with Scripture. Unlike Scripture, it must be tested and weighed by the hearer. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21: “Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.”

This implies the fallible nature of these words because they come through a human conduit who can misapply and misunderstand even things that the Holy Spirit may reveal to us (e.g. Acts 21:10–11).

What Does Earnest Desire Look Like Practically?

So in order to walk in this gift, to eagerly desire this gift in particular, I believe that we must be intentionally open and ready when we gather with believers to being a conduit of God’s love.

This means we must prepare our hearts so that we will not just come ready to consume when we gather with the body, but come ready for loving service, attune to what the Holy Spirit may want to do or say in our times of fellowship.  Again, this looks like 1) asking the Lord to work through us 2) waiting on him and listening for what he might want to say 3) and being obedient when he puts something on our hearts for the body to speak what he has revealed.

I want to exhort you, church, to eagerly desire the spiritual gifts out of love for one another, especially that we might open our mouths and speak encouraging and upbuilding words to one another about our Lord and the incredibly Good News he has sealed for his people in every time and every season.  

Remember, this heart posture only comes from an abiding personal relationship with the Lord, where he pours his love into our hearts and it overflows towards others (John 15). So, when we are together one on one or in smaller groups, or wherever you might gather with other believers, seek the Holy Spirit for a gift to give another, to point one another to Jesus and build them up in the Lord. And don’t forget to practice this in small ways every day with your spouse and your kids.

All Bible references from English Standard Version.