God gave the Corinthian church many spiritual gifts. Two of these were the ability to speak well and the ability to understand spiritual truth. These gifts likely included special messages and insights from the Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 1:7). The church at Corinth took pride in these abilities.
Speech and knowledge appear often in this letter. Paul acknowledges the many spiritual gifts God gave the church in Corinth. Later, he corrects their misunderstandings about these gifts (see 1 Corinthians 1:18–2:5; 3:18–20; 12:1–14:40).