“Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.”
My Notes
What Does 1 Corinthians 12:3 Mean?
Paul provides the foundational test of spiritual speech: no one speaking by God's Spirit calls Jesus accursed (anathema), and no one can genuinely say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit and the confession of Christ's lordship are inseparable. The content of your speech reveals the source of your inspiration.
The phrase "Jesus is accursed" (Iesous anathema) may reflect actual phenomena in Corinthian worship: ecstatic speakers, possibly under demonic influence, cursing Jesus while claiming spiritual experience. Paul draws the bright line: if the speech dishonors Christ, it's not from the Spirit. Period.
The positive test — "Jesus is Lord" (Kurios Iesous) — is the earliest Christian confession. Saying it meaningfully (not just reciting words) requires the Holy Spirit's work. The Spirit enables genuine confession; no one arrives at the lordship of Jesus through human reasoning alone.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How does 'what does it say about Jesus?' serve as a universal test for spiritual experiences?
- 2.What spiritual phenomena have you encountered that passed or failed this test?
- 3.If genuinely confessing 'Jesus is Lord' requires the Spirit, what does your confession reveal about the Spirit's presence?
- 4.How does this test simplify the evaluation of complex spiritual experiences?
Devotional
The test is simple: what does the spirit say about Jesus? If it says he's cursed — it's not from God, no matter how impressive the spiritual display. If it says he's Lord — and means it — it's from the Holy Spirit.
Paul gives the Corinthians (who were confused about spiritual gifts) the most basic possible diagnostic: check the content. The Spirit of God will always direct attention, devotion, and confession toward Jesus as Lord. Any spiritual experience that diminishes Jesus, dishonors Jesus, or curses Jesus — regardless of how supernatural it feels — is not from God.
The simplicity of the test is its genius. In a church overflowing with spiritual phenomena — tongues, prophecy, ecstatic experiences — the confusion was real: how do we know what's from God? Paul doesn't propose a complex evaluation process. He asks one question: what did it say about Jesus? Accursed or Lord? That's the entire test.
The positive side — no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit — elevates the simplest confession to the highest validation. You don't need to speak in tongues to prove the Spirit's work in you. You need to confess that Jesus is Lord. And if you confess it genuinely — not from social pressure or cultural expectation but from genuine, heart-level conviction — that confession is itself the evidence of the Spirit's presence.
The most basic Christian confession (Jesus is Lord) requires the most powerful spiritual agent (the Holy Spirit) to produce. The simplest words carry the deepest spiritual validation.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Wherefore I give you to understand,.... Or "I make known unto you"; what I am about to say are certain truths, and to be…
Wherefore I give you to understand - I make known to you. The force of this expression is, “I give you this rule to…
No man speaking by the Spirit of God - It was granted on all hands that there could be no religion without Divine…
The apostle comes now to treat of spiritual gifts, which abounded in the church of Corinth, but were greatly abused.…
Wherefore The connection of thought is as follows. When you were heathen you were carried hither and thither by the…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture