Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Corinthians 14:12

"So also ye, since ye are zealous of spiritual [gifts], seek that ye may abound unto the edifying of the church." — 1 Corinthians 14:12 (ASV)

Even so ye.—Here follows the practical application of the previous teaching and illustration. The “ye” of 1 Corinthians 14:9 was addressed to them as human beings generally; but here the Apostle returns to the immediate subject at hand, namely, the exaltation of particular spiritual gifts in the Corinthian Church. He passes now from the contrast between prophecy and tongues to give practical instruction (1 Corinthians 14:12–19) as to how they should seek to use the gift of tongues. The word for “spiritual gifts” is, in the Greek, literally spirits, but is evidently meant to imply the gifts, and especially that one under consideration—the gift of tongues.

Seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.—Better, seek, then, to the edifying of the Church, that you may abound. The point cannot be that they were to seek to excel in spiritual gifts, so that they might edify the Church, for the next verse explains how the gift is to be sought so that it may edify others; but the force of the passage here is as given above—they are to seek this gift for the benefit of others, and so they will themselves, by serving others, abound yet more and more (1 Corinthians 8:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:1).