1 Corinthians 12:31—If coveting is wrong, why does Paul encourage coveting the best gifts?

Problem: One of the Ten Commandments says, “You shall not covet” (Ex. 20:17). Yet Paul encourages the Christian church at Corinth to “covet earnestly the best gifts” (1 Cor. 12:31, kjv).

Solution: “Covet” is used here in the good sense of “earnestly desire” (nkjv), rather than in the bad sense of an unlawful craving of what does not belong to us.

This excerpt is from When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1992). © 2014 Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Click here to purchase this book.