1 Corinthians 12:3

Wherefore. make known unto you, that no man speaking in the Spirit of God saith, Jesus is anathema; and no man can say, Jesus is Lord, but in the Holy Spirit.

'Wherefore. make known unto you' -'For this reason. must impress upon you.' (NEB)

Because of their past in the worship of idols, the Corinthians knew that other "claimed" inspired utterances insisted. 'Dumb idols were often made to speak by priests concealed in or behind them, who made use of speaking-tubes which led to the parted lips of the idol. Hence, converts from paganism needed to be reminded that idols were indeed dumb..' (McGarvey pp. 120-121)

'There were those who gave out messages from the gods in Corinth. They had their sacred shrines in Greece. Egypt had its Oasis of Siwa, Greece its Delphi and Corinth...They all claim to speak from "God". They sounded impressive...What's the criterion by which oracles are to be judged? How can you tell who speaks the truth? I'm bewildered at times, how can. be sure? And Paul says: "How do they view Jesus Christ your Lord?"' (McGuiggan pp. 166-167)

The people of God have always battled "competitive" claims given by other religions. (2 Timothy 3:8; Deuteronomy 13:1; Deuteronomy 18:20; 1 Kings 2:21 ff; Acts 13:6)

'no man speaking in the Spirit of God' -'speaking under the influence of the Spirit of God.' (NEB); 'if you are moved by God's Spirit, you don't say, Jesus is cursed.' (Beck)

'In one undeniable truth, Paul cuts away, immediately. the bulk of all the trash of Corinth..Do the messages you hear genuinely exalt and promote the Lordship of Jesus Christ?..God never led any man to denounce Jesus or his word.' (McGuiggan p. 167)

'Jesus is anathema' -'accursed' (NASV); 'Something delivered up to divine wrath, dedicated to destruction and brought under. curse..the accursed thing.' (Fee p. 580)

Points to Note:

1. Paul himself, before he became. Christian had tried to get Christians to say something like this. (Acts 26:11; 1 Timothy 1:13)

2. Corinthian Christians probably faced this view of Jesus from the local Jewish synagogue. (Acts 13:45; Acts 18:6 'they resisted and blasphemed.')

3. False teachers among them, might have adopted this view of Jesus. (2 Corinthians 11:13; 1 Corinthians 15:12)

'and no man can say, Jesus is Lord, but in the Holy Spirit.' -'And no one, miraculously (as in this context) or otherwise. magnified the Lordship of Jesus without getting his material, ultimately, from the Spirit.' (McGuiggan p. 167)

'Paul is not discussing the physical impossibility of. man saying, "Jesus is Lord" unless he is inspired; Matthew 7:21 shows that cannot be his meaning. Rather, he is saying that anyone who exalts Jesus Christ while claiming to be exercising. spiritual gift is genuine.' (Willis p. 418)

Points to Note:

1. Jesus Himself had said that the Spirit would glorify Him. (John 16:13)

2. 'Ecstasy or enthusiasm is no criterion of spirituality: attention must be paid to the words spoken.' (F.F. Bruce p. 118)

'No man, however cultured and admired, can be rightfully called spiritual or godly who speaks evil of Jesus Christ.' (Erdman p. 121)

'This verse reminds me of Deuteronomy 13:1 in which passage Moses said that one's doctrine is more important than the physical signs which the prophet might perform.' (Willis p. 417)

3. Modern Applications: To say that 'Jesus is Lord' means that one believes that Jesus has the ultimate say (Matthew 28:18) and that His word is final for any and all topics that His word touches upon. Such. conviction would lead one to obey all that Jesus taught. (John 14:15) And avoid adding or subtracting from what Jesus taught. (2 John 1:9; 1 Corinthians 11:23) Those that truly believe that Jesus is Lord today, accept such facts as: (1) Baptism is necessary for salvation. (Mark 16:16) (2) Jesus is the only way to God. (John 14:6) (3) Hell is real and it is also eternal. (Matthew 25:46) (4) God must come before everything. (Matthew 6:33) (5). Christian can end up lost. (Matthew 13:20) (6) The OT is the inspired Word of God (Matthew 22:31) (7) Man does exist apart from the body. (Matthew 10:28) (8) Jesus is God. (John 5:18; John 5:23) (9) The writings of the apostles would contain all truth. (John 14:26; John 16:13), i.e. the NT is the inspired word of God.

Therefore, the Holy Spirit has never moved "any man" to teach error. ALL INSPIRED TEACHING, WILL AGREE WITH AND COMPLEMENT INSPIRED TEACHING GIVEN IN THE PAST! (Matthew 5:18; Acts 17:1; Acts 17:11; Luke 24:25-27;44)

4. The Spirit would glorify Christ:

'There are those today who speak endlessly of the Spirit of God. And, even then, it isn't the Spirit of God so much as it is the Spirit of God in them, at work in them. doing marvellous things in them...In the NT those who received the Holy Spirit went about speaking of Jesus Christ and not the Spirit..' (McGuiggan p. 167)

5. Christians Cannot Afford To Be Gullible:

(Acts 17:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:21). Other tests for "claims of inspiration" also are given. (1 Timothy 4:1; 1 Timothy 6:3; 1 John 4:1; Galatians 1:6)

THE SAME GOD GIVES ALL THE GIFTS: