Lessons #411 and 412
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Essential knowledge about spiritual matters (1 Cor 12:1-3)
1 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
The message of the 1 Corinthians 12:1-3 that we stated in our last study is: You should be well informed about spiritual matters to avoid any spiritual deception. We noted in our last study that the apostle has a strong desire for the Corinthians not to be ignorant of matters related to the Holy Spirit or spiritual matters, so he states I do not want you to be ignorant. We also stated that eliminating ignorance about spiritual matters as related to the Holy Spirit enables a believer to avoid any kind of deception regarding the Holy Spirit and His ministry in the church of Christ. It is this fact that the apostle intended to convey to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 12:2 although it does not appear to be the case, but we will argue that unless that is the intention of the apostle then verse 2 is a needless declaration. We stated that the apostle used the form of Greek word translated You know ten times in a question format but in our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:2 he deviated from his pattern of using a question. Instead, he used a positive statement. Why is that? It is with this question we begin our study this morning.
To answer our questions, we should note that the other passage in 1 Corinthians the apostle used a positive statement instead of a question format is when he referenced the first converts in Achaia as we read in 1 Corinthians 16:15:
You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. I urge you, brothers,
This passage helps us to provide a possible explanation for Apostle Paul’s use of a positive statement instead of the question format he used ten other times in 1 Corinthians. The Corinthians might have not known the fact regarding the first converts to Christianity in Achaia (A Roman province that included most of southern and central Greece, with its capital in Corinth), so the apostle provided the information in a manner that does not confidently assume that they know the fact he stated. If this is the case, then the reason the apostle used a positive statement in 1 Corinthians 12:2 You know instead of the question do you not know? is that what he stated to the Corinthians although true may not have been recognized by them. This interpretation is supported by the use of such positive statements in other epistles. Stating to the Galatians a fact they may or may not know, he used a positive statement as we read in Galatians 4:13:
As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you.
The Galatians were certainly aware of the apostle’s condition when he preached the gospel to them but that does not necessarily mean they knew it was because of his health condition that he ended up preaching the gospel to them. In acknowledging the support, he received from the Philippians, the apostle stated a fact that they may or may not be aware concerning the Philippians being the only local church that supported him, as we read in Philippians 4:15:
Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only;
To the Thessalonians, the apostle referenced how he and his team lived while with them for their sake, something they may or may not know. They certainly knew the apostle and his team lived exemplary lives, but they may or may not know that that was also for their sake as the apostle stated in 1 Thessalonians 1:5:
because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.
Thus, it appears that when the apostle wanted to state a fact the recipients may or may not know, he used a positive statement instead of a question. This then explained his use of a positive statement in 1 Corinthians 12:2. He was being cautious in what he was about to state.
Be that as it may, the apostle wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 12:2 You know that when you were pagans. The word “know” is translated from a Greek word (oida) with a range of meanings, but we will briefly consider those that are possible candidates in our context. The word may mean to grasp the meaning of something or to comprehend, that is, “to understand, recognize, come to know, experience” as it is used to describe the response of His disciples to what He said about His coming death and resurrection in John 16:18:
They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
The sentence We don’t understand what he is saying is literally we don’t know what he is saying. The Greek word may mean “to remember, recollect” as Apostle Paul used it to state of him not recollecting baptizing anyone else in Corinth than those he mentioned in the context as we read in 1 Corinthians 1:16:
(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.)
The Greek word may mean “to know” in the sense of having information about someone or something as Apostle Paul used the word to indicate that the Galatians, prior to their salvation, did not know the supreme God in Galatians 4:8:
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:2, the word means “to know” in the sense of being aware or cognizant of a fact or a specific piece of information.
The thing the apostle wanted the Corinthians to be aware of or be cognizant about was their status as unbelievers who did not know the supreme God as in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 12:2 You know that when you were pagans. The word “pagan” is how the NIV and majority of our English versions translated a Greek word (ethnos) that refers to a group of persons united by kinship, culture, and common traditions and so means “nation, people.” It is in the sense of “nation” that the word is used in the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
In the NT, it is used in two ways. First, it is used for those who do not belong to groups professing faith in the God of Israel so means “Gentiles, pagans.” It is in this sense that the word is used by the apostle when he chastised the Corinthians for their attitude towards the sinful conduct of one of their members that even pagans abhor in 1 Corinthians 5:1:
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.
Second, the word is used to describe non-Israelite Christian, as in Romans 16:4:
They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:2, the word is used with the sense “Gentile,” that is, a person from an ethnic group or nation not allied with and trusting in the God of Israel (and later in Jesus as the Messiah). Hence, our English versions used such words as “pagan” or “heathen” or “unbeliever” to translate our Greek word in our passage.
The understanding that our Greek word translated “pagans” in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 12:2 is a reference to a person who does not acknowledge the God of the Bible, or the God revealed through Jesus Christ is necessary because the apostle used the sentence you were. The local church in Corinth no doubt consisted primarily of Gentiles but there were Jews in the local church. This being the case, the apostle was thinking more of those who were Gentiles than those who were Jews because of what he said in the rest of verse 2. That aside, the apostle used an imperfect tense in the Greek to describe what the Gentiles were prior to their salvation. They were those who kept living as those without the benefit of the OT Scripture as would the Jews. The point is that the Corinthians kept living as unbelievers prior to their salvation. Apostle Paul recognized the Gentiles not entirely as immoral but as those who did not seek righteousness with God based on the standard of the Scripture as we read in Romans 9:30:
What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;
It is because Gentiles lived a life that is not in accordance with the Scripture that it was necessary for the Holy Spirit through the apostle to instruct the Ephesians, who like the Corinthians, were mostly Gentiles to avoid living the way they did as unbelievers as we read in Ephesians 4:17:
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
The way of living of Gentiles as unbelievers is described by the Holy Spirit through Apostle Peter as recorded in 1 Peter 4:3:
For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.
Anyway, Apostle Paul wanted the Corinthians to recognize their status as unbelievers as those who lived a life that is inconsistent with God’s word because of what they worshipped.
Recall we stated that a possible reason the apostle used a positive statement You know in 1 Corinthians 12:2 instead of the question form do you not know? he used ten times in the twelve occurrences of the Greek word that means “to know” in 1 Corinthians is that what he stated to the Corinthians although true may not have been recognized by them so there was a sense of caution on his part. This interpretation is supported by the phrase in the NIV of 1 Corinthian 12:2 somehow or other the apostle used. The Greek phrase so translated in the NIV may mean “whenever, when” as Apostle Paul used it to convey to the Romans his plan to visit them in the future as we read in Romans 15:24:
I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.
The Greek phrase may mean “as soon as” as the apostle used it in his promise to the Philippians to send Timothy to them at the appropriate time, according to Philippians 2:23:
I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me.
The Greek phrase may be used as a marker indicating perspective or point of view, with component of cautious statement so may mean “so to speak” or “as if.” The sense of caution involved in the Greek phrase does not necessarily involve using any of these meanings, but it may be translated in a way to reflect caution as the apostle did when he did not want the Corinthians to get the idea that he was trying to frighten them by his letter to them as we read in 2 Corinthians 10:9:
I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters.
The translators of the NIV did not directly translate the Greek phrase in this verse, but the Greek phrase is reflected in the LEB since the sentence of the NIV I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you is translated in the LEB as I do not want to appear as if I were terrifying you. It is in this sense of expressing caution that the Greek phrase is used in 1 Corinthians 12:2 supporting the reason we provided for apostle’s use of you know instead of do you not know?
Be that as it may, Apostle Paul continued to elaborate on the state of the Corinthians as unbelievers in 1 Corinthians 12:2 somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. The Greek of this clause presents a translation challenge since a literal translation is to the mute idols as you were led being led away. Thus, scholars assert that the apostle was ungrammatical because he used a participle where it seems he should use a finite verb. We will deal with the way of handling the participle the apostle used later. Meanwhile we proceed to consider the sentence as it appears in the NIV.
The word expression “were influenced” is translated from a Greek word (agō) that may mean “to bring/take along” as Apostle Paul used it to request Timothy to bring Mark with him as he came to join him as we read in 2 Timothy 4:11:
Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.
The word may mean “to lead/guide morally or spiritually” as it is used negatively for those who mislead the women that are spiritually weak as we read in 2 Timothy 3:6:
They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires,
The expression swayed by all kinds of evil desires is literally led by various kinds of desires. The word may be used positively as in the leading of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:18:
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:2, it is used in the sense of “to be led (directed),” that is, “to willingly undergo an action or course of action (due to the influence of a moral or spiritual influence).” Hence, the apostle reminds the Corinthians that they were used to being led or directed in the past to do something that could not be right.
We used the word “used” because the apostle used an imperfect tense in the Greek that described the action that involved the Corinthians as something that kept taking place in the past but since they were no longer involved in what is described in the verse we are considering; it is fitting to say that they were used to the action associated with them. It is not only that the apostle described that the Corinthians were directed or led to something that is not right, but he did not tell us who did so since he used a passive voice in the Greek. The passive voice means that an agent is responsible for leading the Corinthians presumably in the wrong direction. The Greek word we are considering when used in passive/middle voice in the Greek often implies an agent that could be determined by the context. For example, our Lord Jesus indicated that the disciples would be brought before ruling authorities as we read in Matthew 10:18
On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.
Our Greek word is translated “brought” in this verse. That notwithstanding, the fact is that who will bring the disciples before ruling authorities is not mentioned in the verse, but the context indicates the agents of bringing the disciples before ruling authorities would be humans that persecute believers in Christ. Since leading involved in 1 Corinthians 12:2 requires an agent, it is probably that the Holy Spirit wants us to understand that the Corinthians were led immediately by their priests into error but eventually it is Satan that led them into doing that which is wrong in the matter of worship. We refer to Satan because he would be the counter to God the Holy Spirit that does the correct leading since our Greek word is used in the passive form to describe the leading by the Holy Spirit. Luke tells us that the Lord Jesus during His earthly ministry was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert for Satan to tempt Him as we read in Luke 4:1:
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert,
Apostle Paul, likewise, indicated that the Holy Spirit is one that leads those who are believers in Christ as implied in Romans 8:14:
because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Hence, because the Holy Spirit is the agent that leads believers to honor God, we are correct to assert that eventually Satan was the one through pagan priests that led the Corinthians as unbelievers to act wrongly in the matter of worship.
To convey that the leading of the Corinthians as unbelievers was not correct the apostle added the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 12:2 and led astray to mute idols. The expression “led astray” is translated from a Greek word (apagō) that may to lead or move someone or something from a place, hence means “to lead off, take away” as the word is used in the Lord Jesus’ rebuke of the Jewish authorities for their response towards His healing on the Sabbath as being hypocritical since they would lead their animal from their stall to give them water to drink on the Sabbath as we read in Luke 13:15:
The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?
The word may mean “to lead away” to execution as it is used to describe Jesus being led away to be crucified as we read in Matthew 27:31:
After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:2, it has the sense of “to be deceived/be misled” so to be caused to depart from correct behavior or direction.
Be that as it may, the apostle used a Greek participle for the Greek word that we said means “to be deceived/be misled” in 1 Corinthians 12:2. His use of the participle creates a problem for scholars that, as we stated, they indicate the apostle was ungrammatical. That aside, a Greek participle is subject to various interpretations but in our verse, it seems to me there are two possible interpretations. A first interpretation is that the participle is used to attribute an action to the Corinthians who were led when they were unbelievers. This interpretation is reflected in majority of our English versions as we find, for example, in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 12:2 and led astray. A second interpretation is to take the participle as describing the means by which the Corinthians were led. In other words, they were led by being deceived so that the Greek participle could be translated by means of being deceived. There is no English version that I am aware of that directly reflected this interpretation. The translators of the REB probably adopted this interpretation when they combined the two Greek verbs that mean “being led” and “being deceived” into one verb leading to the translation of you used to be carried away by some impulse or other. Although we cannot be certain of which of these two interpretations the apostle meant since both make sense, but it is probably that the apostle wanted to convey the means by which the Corinthians were led when they were unbelievers. A reason for adopting this second interpretation is that the Greek form the apostle used is one that favors interpreting the Greek participle as reflecting means of being led. Specifically, the guidelines for interpreting a Greek participle as being used to convey means, according to the Greek Grammar by Wallace, apply in our passage. The participle answers the question of how the Corinthians were led in the past. The participle, if removed, removes the point of the main verb of being led. In effect, it is our participle that enables us to recognize that the apostle wanted us to know that the Corinthians as unbelievers were misled or led in the wrong direction in the matter of worship. Furthermore, in keeping with the guideline we referenced, the participle followed the main verb in the Greek. Anyway, we should recognize that what the apostle wanted to emphasize in his use of the participle is the concept of deception that the Corinthians were plagued with as unbelievers.
The deception the Corinthians were involved in, prior to their salvation, was that of idolatry. It is this that is given in the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 12:2 led astray to mute idols. The word “mute” is translated from a Greek word (aphōnos) that may mean “silent, mute” as it pertains to making no sound of animals that otherwise could make sound as the word is used to describe in the prophecy of Isaiah regarding the Messiah as He was being led to crucifixion as the Ethiopian eunuch read as narrated in Acts 8:32:
The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
The word may mean “incapable of conveying meaning as a language normally does” and so means “without conveying meaning” as it is used to describe that every language spoken when uttered may sound to be without meaning to a foreigner to the language although the language makes sense to the speaker as we read in 1 Corinthians 14:10:
Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:2, the word means “mute” in the sense of incapable of vocal utterance. The thing that is incapable of utterance is described with the word idols.
The word “idol” is translated from a Greek word (eidōlon) that in secular Greek means “picture, copy,” “image in the mind,” hence “an idea.” It is not the usual Greek word for cultic (pertaining to religious devotion expressed through established rites) images but when used for images the idea of the word is that of reflection of the deity. The word is used for a work of art in the sense of “an unconscious and immobile copy quite distinct from the living being in question.” Philo (a contemporary of Apostle Paul) used the word commonly for what is unreal or deceptive. In the NT, the word has the meaning of an idol in the sense of formed physical object that is worshipped or an image, representation, in the sense of a representation of an alleged transcendental being that is worshipped. As we stated, the Greeks did not use the word for their deities in Greek literature until after the word is used in the Septuagint to describe pagan gods.
It is interesting that that Apostle Paul described what Gentile unbelievers worshipped in the phrase mute idols. Based on the apostle’s knowledge of the OT Scripture, he probably used the phrase to indicate that idols are incapable of communication as that is one of the descriptions of idols as given in Psalm 115:5:
They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see;
Prophet Isaiah wrote of this inability to communicate by idols in the sense that they do not render any help to those who pray to them as we read in Isaiah 46:7:
They lift it to their shoulders and carry it; they set it up in its place, and there it stands. From that spot it cannot move. Though one cries out to it, it does not answer; it cannot save him from his troubles.
Furthermore, the apostle might have also intended to convey that the idols pagans worship teach deception since they are incapable of speech and humans made them. In effect, the Holy Spirit could have brought in the apostle’s mind the words of Habakkuk 2:18–19:
18“Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? Or an image that teaches lies? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak. 19Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’ Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’ Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it.
In any event, the apostle intended to remind the Corinthians that it is a deception to be involved in idolatry as they were prior to their salvation.
Why did the apostle bring up the subject of deception as he introduced matters related to the Holy Spirit? The apostle did not directly state his reason, but it is because he was concerned that the Corinthians know that there is such a thing as being deceived spiritually. Thus, he wants to warn them against deception that might creep into the church as it related to matters that pertain to the Holy Spirit. Deception is something every believer should guard against. The Lord Jesus warned His disciples about being deceived about Him as we read in Luke 21:8:
He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.
Apostle Paul under the directive of the Holy Spirit warns believers of deception that could come through speech. So, to the Ephesians he warned about being deceived through foolish words or what the NIV described as “empty words” in Ephesians 5:6:
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.
The Holy Spirit through Apostle John warns about the many individuals in the world that are deceivers as we read in 2 John 7:
Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.
Hence, it is fitting that Apostle Paul should be concerned about deception creeping into the local church in Corinth and so of all the local churches as he addressed the Corinthians.
That the apostle was concerned with deception that might creep into the church regarding matters that relate to the Holy Spirit is indicated by his beginning of 1 Corinthians 12:3 with the word Therefore. The word “therefore” is translated from a Greek conjunction (dio) that may mean “therefore, for this reason.” In using this Greek conjunction, the apostle in effect is saying that because there is such thing as being deceived in spiritual matters as the past background of the Corinthians in paganism revealed, it is necessary for him to provide the information that he was about to give in verse 3.
The information Apostle Paul provided in verse 3 concerns how to discern the individual that functions under the Holy Spirit. However, the apostle begins by indicating that he was interested in removing ignorance in matters related to the Holy Spirit by causing the Corinthians to have the knowledge contained in the information he provided. That the apostle was concerned in removing ignorance regarding the matters related to the Holy Spirit is indicated in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 12:3 I tell you. The word “tell” is translated from a Greek word (gnōrizō) that may mean “to make known, reveal” as Apostle Paul used it to indicate that the mystery about Christ, that is, incorporation of Gentiles along with Jews into the body of Christ, was not made known to other generations but was revealed to the apostles and prophets as we read in Ephesians 3:5:
which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.
The word may mean “to present” request to God in prayer as Apostle Paul used it in his instruction to the Philippians to pray about their problems as we read in Philippians 4:6:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:3, it has the sense of “to cause someone to know something.” The thing the apostle wanted to cause the Corinthians to know is what a person who has the Spirit of God in the individual and under His influence will never do.
A person in whom the Spirit of God resides would never speak ill or berate or condemn vehemently Jesus. It is this fact the apostle conveyed in the clause that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed.”
The word “speaking” is translated from a Greek word (laleō) that may mean “to make a sound” by inanimate objects, as it is used for the blood of Jesus Christ that speaks more effectively than that of Abel in Hebrews 12:24:
to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Literal blood does not speak, so the sense here is that blood communicates or makes a sound. Of course, the human author of Hebrews indicates that the death of Christ communicates truth that is more effective than the death of Abel. The word may mean “to speak” with various nuances but let us consider few of these. To speak may mean “to express oneself” as that is the sense of the word in the instruction of 1 Corinthians 14:34:
women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says.
The standard Greek English lexicon of (BDAG) suggests that the sentence They are not allowed to speak may be translated they are not permitted to express themselves. To speak in some context may mean “to preach” as the word is used by Apostle Paul in describing the effort of the Jews to keep him and others from preaching the gospel to the Gentiles as he stated in 1 Thessalonians 2:16:
in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.
Speaking to the Gentiles is not merely chattering with them but presenting the gospel to them so it may mean “to preach.” Thus, our Greek word is used for communication of God’s word but in our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:3, it is used in the sense of “to speak,” that is, to express in speech.
The Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul implies that our speech comes either from the Holy Spirit or from a spirit that is hostile to Jesus Christ. This truth regarding the source of our speech is revealed in the question of Job regarding the source of Bildad’s words as we read in Job 26:4:
Who has helped you utter these words? And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?
The existence of spirits that could be the source of speech that are not favorable to Jesus is conveyed in 1 John 4:1:
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Apostle Paul communicated that there are spirits that are responsible for wrong doctrines as we read in 1 Timothy 4:1:
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
Hence, Apostle Paul recognized that speeches or what comes out of the mouth of a person could be either from the Holy Spirit or spirits that are hostile to God.
That aside, Apostle Paul is concerned that the Corinthians understand that a person who speaks under the influence of the Holy Spirit will never speak ill of Jesus as in the clause of 1 Corinthians 12:3 that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be curse”.
The phrase the Spirit of God is a reference to the Holy Spirit. That the “Spirit of God” is the same as the “Holy Spirit” may be established by comparing two passages of the Scripture. Apostle Paul indicates that believers are temple of God since His Spirit lives in them as we read in 1 Corinthians 3:16:
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
But then he asserted the same truth using the phrase “Holy Spirit” in 1 Corinthians 6:19:
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
Thus, it should be clear that the Spirit of God in 1 Corinthians 12:3 refers to the Holy Spirit as the later part of the verse also confirms in the phrase except by the Holy Spirit.
Anyway, the apostle states that no one that speaks by the Holy Spirit could speak ill of Jesus or berate Him as stated in 1 Corinthians 12:3 that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed”. The sentence Jesus be cursed is literally from the Greek Accursed Jesus. The word “cursed” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (anathema) that is used in the Septuagint to translate a Hebrew word (ḥērěm) that refers to consecrated possession, that is, a thing devoted to the Lord either to be preserved or to be destroyed, that is, cursed. The sense of something devoted to the Lord that is to be preserved is a property, as for example, a field given to Yahweh, according to Leviticus 27:21:
When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will become holy, like a field devoted to the LORD; it will become the property of the priests.
The sense of something that is to be destroyed or that is cursed is the city of Jericho as we read in Joshua 6:17:
The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent.
A thing that is cursed implies that it is hostile to God. In the NT, the Greek word is used negatively to refer either to a thing or a person under the curse or the wrath of God and therefore set apart for destruction so may mean “cursed, accursed.” The word is used primarily in the NT by Apostle Paul in that of the six occurrences of the word, he used it five times. The only passage the word was not used by the apostle is to describe those who placed themselves under oath to kill the apostle as we read in Acts 23:14:
They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.
The sentence of the NIV We have taken a solemn oath is more literally We have bound ourselves under a curse. Apostle Paul used the word to express a wish that was impossible, that of being separated from Christ and benefits of His death on the cross, to convey his concern for the salvation of the Jewish people as we read in Romans 9:3:
For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race,
There is no word “race” used in this passage since the sentence my brothers, those of my own race is literally my fellow countrymen according to the flesh. The apostle used the word twice in his epistles to the Galatians in his pronouncement against those who preach a counterfeit gospel message where the translators of the NIV rendered the word “eternally condemned” although the word was probably used to say that a person should be deprived of God’s favor and be the object of His eternal destruction as we read, for example, in Galatians 1:8:
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
The expression let him be eternally condemned is more literally let him be accursed. In the two usages of the word in 1 Corinthians the word means “cursed, accursed.” Of course, in our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:3, it has the sense of “cursed thing,” that is, the object of cursing or detestation; that which is execrated/abhorred. The point is that no person who has the Holy Spirt and operates under His influence would say anything that belittles Jesus Christ. Consequently, the apostle’s statement is one that can be used to determine if a person is a believer under the control of the Holy Spirit. The criterion the Holy Spirit provided through Apostle Paul is similar to that given through Apostle John as we read in 1 John 4:2–3:
2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
By the way, some scholars quibble about what the apostle said whether what he said is something that happened or something hypothetical. We cannot be sure either way, but we should recognize that because there may be some Jews who come to the meeting of the Corinthians who may not be believers in Christ that it is possible that a Jew that is in the congregation of believers may say aloud in protest of what he hears that Jesus is cursed because the law indicates that any one that is hung on the tree is cursed as we read in Deuteronomy 21:23:
you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
In any event, Apostle Paul provided the Corinthians with a test to determine if a person has the Holy Spirit functioning and lives in the person. But he did not stop here, he gives an additional information that in a sense explains the reason a person operating under the Holy Spirit could not speak ill of Jesus.
An explanation or reason for stating that one who has the Holy Spirit would not speak ill of Jesus Christ is that no one believes in Christ without the work of the Holy Spirit. It is this truth the apostle conveyed in the second clause of 1 Corinthians 12:3 and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. This sentence appears simple until we understand what is meant to confess that Jesus is Lord. You see, this was written to people living in a Roman province where only the emperor is to be called Lord. So, to confess that some other person is Lord is to risk the wrath of the emperor that may lead to death. If a person recognized that to say that Jesus is Lord would lead to the individual’s death and so for a person to be willing to die for such confession is something that can only happen by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Anyway, to understand what it means to confess that Jesus is Lord, we should recognize that the word “Lord” is translated from a Greek word (kyrios) that may mean “owner” in the sense of one who is in charge by virtue of possession. Another meaning of our Greek word refers to one who is in a position of authority and so means “lord, master.” Our Greek word is used severally in the NT to refer to the Lord Jesus. This is the case when the OT is quoted in such a way that it should be clear that Jesus Christ is meant as we find, for example, in quoting from Prophet Isaiah regarding John the Baptist’s ministry in preparing the way for the ministry of Jesus Christ as we read in Matthew 3:3:
This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”
Matthew interpreted the word “Lord” in Isaiah 40:3 that he quoted as a reference to Jesus Christ. But Lord in OT refers to God. Therefore, to address Jesus Christ as Lord is to recognize His deity. This being the case, to confess that Jesus is Lord is to admit that He is God. No one can make this confession without the Holy Spirit aiding the person. Of course, the confession is “Jesus is Lord” is the most fundamental of all Christian statements of faith but no one can make such confession without the Holy Spirit, that is, unless the Holy Spirit works in a person, the individual would not confess that Jesus is God. Anyway, the apostle provided the Corinthians with an indisputable way of discerning if a person is under the influence of the Holy Spirit or not as the person speaks in their meetings. Hence, anyone that denies the deity of Jesus Christ is not saved because the Holy Spirit is not in that person. No one can be saved without the Holy Spirit being in the person as implied in Romans 8:9:
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
Again, no one who belittles/berates Jesus Christ is saved. Anyway, let me end by reminding you of the message of the section of 1 Corinthians 12 that we have considered which is, you should be well informed about spiritual matters to avoid any spiritual deception.