1CO 12:1 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.

Paul begins this section by addressing another problem which existed in the church at Corinth. It does seem amazing that a group of people who claim to be Christians can act in such a way that Paul would devote the better part of 1Corinthians to dealing with some of these problems, and yet he still calls them brethren.

As I’ve said earlier in this study, Paul never gives up on the Corinthian believers and neither does God. It is as Paul said at the beginning of this letter.

1CO 1:9 "God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful."

And part of His faithfulness is not only redeeming a people for Himself, but also making sure that in their pilgrimage in this world that they will be conformed into the image of the Son to the glory of God.

Jesus Christ does not save us so that we can pursue our own path. He saves us so that we might be with Him forever. And that forever starts the day we humbled ourselves and repented of our sin as we embraced Jesus Christ by faith for our salvation. This too, has been Paul’s message to these Corinthian believers.

1CO 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;
20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

And so, as we come to our text, Paul wants to remind these believers that every area of their lives, including the gifts which the Lord gives to each of His people, are to be used in a way that glorifies Christ and edifies the body.

1CO 12:1 "Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant."

When Paul addresses spiritual gifts in this section he is not talking about talents and skills which we all might possess. This doesn’t mean that these talents and skills are not gifts from God in one sense, but in our text Paul is going to point out how the Spirit of God gives specific gifts, after we come to Christ, so that the church of Jesus Christ can grow effectively, while being comforted and encouraged, as the Lord shows His very presence in the midst of His church through His gifted people.

And so, Paul begins by addressing spiritual gifts. Interestingly enough, the word gifts is not found in verse one. The Greek word Paul uses is one word simply meaning spirituals; now concerning spirituals, is literally what Paul says.

But this is why we always look at the entire context. And the context clearly tells us that Paul is going to address gifts of the Holy Spirit and this is why our translators give us the phrase, spiritual gifts or spiritual things in verse one.

And he says, I do not want you to be ignorant. Again, Paul is not saying that this is the first time they ever heard of spiritual gifts. But what he is saying is that he doesn’t want them to be ignorant or uninformed as to their proper use in the body of Christ.

I’m sure Paul had taught them the proper use of the gifts of the Spirit when he was with them, but during his absence many more came to Christ which means many more came into the church with their pagan baggage and their influence.

And so, in a sense, Paul is writing to remind them of what some of them were taught when he was with them, and what some, who were not previously there, now need to be taught as to the correct use of these gifts.

1CO 12:2 "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."

Now, this seems like an odd thing to say at the beginning of an exhortation to properly exercise the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but it really isn’t.

Paul takes them back in their minds eyes to the time when they were lost in their sin and how they practiced a spirituality which was carnal and demonic. And he says that when you were pagans, or unbelievers, you did those things which came naturally to you, and you were influenced, or led astray by these practices, which included idolatry.

And so, he’s trying to show the contrast in lifestyles and influences as he reminds them that that is what they used to be, but they no longer are what they were. They are now redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and must begin to submit to the new creation they are in Christ.

1CO 6:11 "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

Just as this is true in the way we live for the Lord out in the world on a daily basis, as we demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit, it is also true of the way we use the gifts of the Spirit in the body of Christ.

And if you say that you belong to Christ then you must also submit to Christ and prove yourselves doers, and prove yourselves to have this new life in Christ. This is why he continues in verse 3.

1CO 12:3 "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."

Apparently, there were those in the church at Corinth who were involved in the kind of worship which allowed for those in the congregation to blaspheme the Lord Jesus. Remember, that Paul is addressing worship in the church in this part of the letter as he has just finished with the proper administration of the Lord’s supper.

And he continues by rebuking these people concerning practices which open the door for such blasphemy. What appears to have happened in Corinth, not unlike how it has happened today in many quarters of the church, is that their worship was more motivated by their sensuality than by the truth of God’s word.

What I mean by this is that their former pagan practices, which were certainly carnal and fleshly, were now coming to the forefront as they reverted back to a more emotional approach to worship. Now, there’s nothing wrong with becoming emotional in our worship of God, but our emotions must be governed by the Spirit and His word.

Remember, we worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth. And, so as these Corinthians were worshiping the Lord they began to rely more on their emotions and were led astray by them. Emotions can be very deceiving. Emotions are not meant to control our lives or our worship. They are meant to come under the control of our minds and spirits.

These people in the Corinthian church "had fallen back so deeply into ecstasy and enthusiasm that their judgment was completely warped. As long as it took place in the church and was presented by someone who claimed to be a Christian, any teaching or practice was accepted without question. Content was ignored, even to the extent of disregarding that which was obviously immoral and blasphemous." (John MacArthur)

Now, someone might ask, how could a Christian say that Jesus is cursed? Well, keep in mind that during the first century there were many false teachings which were being promoted regarding who Jesus Christ actually was. Gnosticism was a teaching of the day which looked on the physical aspect of man as something inherently evil.

"It taught that everything physical and natural is evil and that everything supernatural and spiritual was good. When adapted to Christianity it taught that the supernatural Christ only appeared to be the natural Jesus. The human Jesus was an imperfect, evil, and poor representation of the spiritual Son of God. So, while glorifying the divine Christ the Corinthians may have felt perfectly justified in cursing the human Jesus." (John MacArthur)

Charles Hodge in his systematic theology states that the Corinthians held that Jesus and Christ were distinct according to this Gnostic line of thought which was prevalent during the first century. "Jesus was an ordinary man, the son of Joseph and Mary. Christ was a spirit or power which descended on Jesus at his baptism, and became his guide and guardian and enabled him to work miracles." (Hodge)

And so, you can see how this thought could have influenced former pagans who held to the Gnostic belief system of that day. And now they become Christians and bring some of this baggage over to their understanding of who Jesus Christ really was. In their zeal to worship correctly they differentiate between the "man" Jesus and the "spiritual" Savior and could actually curse Jesus, "the man", in the process.

But Scriptures clearly teach that the Son of God took on flesh and now was fully God and fully man. And so, though Jesus Christ now has two distinct natures, that of man and God, He is truly only one person. The Gnostics tried to teach that he was two persons, and therefore divisible into a man who could be cursed, and God or spirit who could be praised.

Paul says, that the Spirit of God always declares that Jesus is God and man and therefore must be worshiped as the person He is; the God/man, Jesus Christ.

1CO 12:3 "Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed,..."

In other words, Paul is saying that the Corinthian believers, for all their excitement and emotionalism which is being substituted for true spiritual worship, is actually carnal and unspiritual, because the Spirit of God would never say such a thing or encourage Christ’s people to say such a thing.

Now, we might wonder how this could apply today in the church. We might think that this could never happen in the church today. We would be wrong. There are many a misguided Christian who would never curse Jesus and yet they would be more than happy of disavowing the truth of our Lord in a moment of ecstasy.

Today, in churches all around the United States, there are worship services where the word of God is not being taught in favor of an emotionalism which encourages people to roll on the ground, bark like dogs, and act in ways which to the world would be nothing short of an epileptic fit.

I’m, of course, referring to the phenomenon which is commonly known as the Holy Laughter movement. Very often when unsuspecting Christians are encouraged to come to the front of the church to receive this "Holy Spirit laughter" they are specifically told not to pray. In fact, they are told to empty their minds of anything so that God can do His work without our minds getting in the way.

In an article from the Christian Sentinel entitled, "Holy Laughter, is it Biblical", the author, Jackie Alnor, recounts an incident which was shown on Trinity Broadcasting Network, of a woman who is flopping up and down for several minutes screaming hysterically. She shouts, "Dear Jesus", and the man orders her not to pray but to submit to the power.......

........ She puts her hands over her face and continues laughing uncontrollably and the man proclaims "There it is! Now you got it." The audience jumps up and down applauding while the man shouts, "The bar is open. The bar is open. Drink deeply! Get drunk on the spirit!"

When the word of God is divorced from our worship of God, anything goes. In fact, what is interesting about the "Holy Laughter movement" is that this phenomenon is not new to some American preachers.

Jimmy Swaggart a number of years ago in a revival experienced a similar phenomenon when someone at one of his meetings began to laugh and writhe on the floor. In that case, he had some leaders take her out and pray that she would be delivered from a demon.

Today, in some circles, you’re seen as being possessed by the Spirit of God in a new work of the Spirit if you partake of such things. But, to blatantly contradict the clear teaching of the Spirit found in the word of God, as it relates to worshipping the Lord, is to ignore what Paul would say on such an issue, that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God would contradict the Spirit of God in such clear cases.

And so, if this sort of anti-biblical behavior goes on Christians cannot claim to be speaking for Christ. At best they are simply being fleshly or carnal in their behavior and in the teachings they profess.

At worst, they are being influenced by demons and the doctrines of demons. They are not possessed by demons, since Christians cannot be demon possessed, but certainly under the influence as they open themselves up to false teaching.

This is why it is so important to be Bereans with our minds and spirits engaged as we trust such teachings against the word of God.

On the other hand, Paul then goes on to say in our text that "no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit." (1CO 12:3)

The phrase, "Jesus is Lord" is probably one of the earliest creeds in the church which characterized the belief that Jesus is God. But, when Paul says that "no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit." he doesn’t mean that an unbeliever cannot also utter such words, though they would be spiritually meaningless.

Lots of people could utter "Jesus is Lord" and not actually be a believer. What Paul means in our text is that those who truly profess that this Jesus is Lord and God and Savior of his life cannot say that unless the Spirit of God had opened his eyes to the truth that without Christ there is no salvation.

This is in keeping with what Jesus asked of his disciples when he asked them what the crowds thought of Him. They answered, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." (MAT 16:14)

MAT 16:15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven."

Peter was able to know who Christ was, not simply because Jesus claimed to be the Messiah or the Christ, but because the Father revealed this to him. And the agent the Father used was the Holy Spirit. This too, Paul has spoken of in this letter to the Corinthians.

1CO 2:9 "However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" -
10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God."

You and I can say that Jesus is Lord because the Spirit of God has opened our eyes and regenerated our spirits to claim this life Jesus offers for ourselves as we receive it by faith.

Simply to parrot the phrase, "Jesus is Lord" does nothing for anyone. In fact, Jesus talks about this attitude of saying how religious people are by doing all sorts of things in the name of Jesus and yet not really knowing Christ personally by faith.

MAT 7:22 "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'
23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"

In our text, Paul is obviously speaking of true born again Christians who name the name of Christ, and he clearly states that it is the Spirit of God who has touched them in such a way that their eyes are open to the truth and they receive the gift of eternal life that is offered from the Lord Jesus Christ, by faith.

But what is also interesting about this statement, "Jesus" is Lord, is that, whereas the Gnostics of Paul’s day could have said that "Christ" is Lord, they could not have in good conscience said, "Jesus" is Lord. Remember, they made a distinction between the man Jesus and the Son of God, Christ. Paul has chosen his words carefully.

But there is something else which is instructive here as it relates to the gifts of the Spirit which Paul is about to teach on. Only God can give such gifts. To declare that Jesus is Lord is to make the clear statement that Jesus Christ is truly God. And so, "only a person controlled by the Holy Spirit can properly proclaim the deity of Jesus Christ." (Robert G. Gromacki)

In fact, the title Lord implies deity. The Greek word that is used in our text is kurios which comes from kuros and means supremacy. This was a word, when used in connection with Jesus Christ, that was meant to declare that Jesus is none other than the One who is supreme in all respects: Creator, Master, God.

And so, when Christians declare that Jesus is Lord they are in essence saying amen to the fact that Jesus is Creator, for example.

HEB 1:1 "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe."

JOH 1:3 "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."

The Lord of heaven and earth is none other than Jesus Christ Himself. But He is also our Master. All authority has been given to Him. These are the last words recorded in Matthew’s gospel as the risen glorious Christ speaks to his disciples.

MAT 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
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,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

For Jesus Christ to be anyone less than God is to deny His true person. Paul makes it abundantly clear that Jesus is God.

COL 2:9 "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,..."

If we say that Jesus is Lord, what are we really saying? Are we simply parroting a truth from God’s word or are we submitting to the truth that Jesus is our Lord and master and God and Savior?

As I’ve said before we cannot accept Jesus Christ as Savior unless we accept Him as Lord, the one who is supreme in the universe and is meant to be supreme in our lives. Can you imagine marrying someone and saying, "I accept you as my mate, but not as my wife or husband?"

That’s a contradiction in terms. We take them for who they are. And in Christ’s case we cannot divide Him up like the Gnostics did and decide we’ll leave out the Lordship of Christ in favor of His Saviorhood, as we just cleave to the gift of eternal life, without also submitting to the one who gave it to us.

As Lord, Jesus Christ is our sovereign Master and ruler. When Thomas, in the upper room, exclaimed, "My Lord and My God", he was saying Jesus is God, but he was also saying that He was the Lord of His life as Jesus is Lord of the universe.

"The term Lord is used about 700 times in the New Testament (Savior, under 10 times.) The Lordship, deity, and sovereignty of Jesus Christ was and is central to the true faith, and such affirmation is the work of the Spirit." (John MacArthur)

But I guess what each of us must consider is this: to what degree is Jesus Christ personally Lord in our lives? If He is Lord of all do we include ourselves in that equation to the degree that the world sees that He is Lord of our lives?

Do we understand what it means to be united to Christ as Lord as well as Savior? We are not our own. If we’ve been delivered from darkness to light are we walking as children of light in such a way that people see Jesus in us?

EPH 5:8 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light
9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)
10 and find out what pleases the Lord."

But there’s another aspect of the Lordship of Jesus Christ that we should delight in every day of our lives. As our Lord, Jesus owns us because He purchased us with His own blood. Satan can never come to you and rock your boat as to who you belong to. We no longer belong to Satan, nor can he claim to have any rights over us.

We are new creations in Christ and we belong to Him. And in the almighty power of God He will never let us go, nor allow the evil one to snatch us out of His hand. Satan has no power to accomplish such a thing. This is our hope and our joy. But in that hope and joy may we show our thanks as we cling tightly to our Lord and Savior and God.

But may we also show our thankfulness in following and obeying our Lord and Master Jesus Christ. May we have eyes to see the magnificence of our Lord and consider how we may please Him in all things as we do His will.

Paul prayed for the saints in Ephesus and prayed in just this way as he encouraged them and us to look to Christ and the hope he offers in ways which encourage us to trust Him and follow Him all our days.

EPH 1:18 "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,
20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way."

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