The emphatic phrase So with yourselves introduces the point of Paul’s argument. The following words are literally “if you are zealots of spirits.” Paul is certainly not being ironic here. This word is related to the verb translated “make … your aim” in verse 1. The literal “spirits” is here used to mean “spiritual gifts.” So this sentence may be rendered as “you strive eagerly to get the gifts of the Spirit” or “you strive … to get the abilities that the Spirit gives.”

The rest of the verse is literally “towards the upbuilding of the church seek, in order that you may abound.” Good News Bible expands this slightly with the words “of those,” which refer back to “the gifts of the Spirit.” Translators should follow Good News Bible‘s example here.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• Since you yourselves strive eagerly to get the abilities that the Spirit gives, you must try above everything else to make the greater use of those abilities that help to build up the Christian community.

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .