In 1 Corinthians 12:3 Paul says “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.” John writes something similar in 1 John 4:1-3, which reads, “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.” Both Paul and John emphasize the importance of the Holy Spirit in recognizing and confessing the truth about Jesus and his lordship.
But what exactly do these scriptures mean? Does the Holy Spirit miraculously work on some people’s hearts to bring about this confession? If so, why doesn’t He miraculously work to change everyone’s hearts so that all will confess the same truth? What exactly is the role of the Holy Spirit as it pertains to the Christian’s confession about Jesus?
No One Can Say “Jesus is Lord” Except in the Holy Spirit
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:1-3
As discussed in the previous part of this study, the Corinthians had become so consumed by their spiritual gifts that they had forgotten to use those spiritual gifts in the way they were intended to be used. That is, they were not governing the use of their spiritual gifts with Christ-imitating love.
As Paul addresses this problem, he begins by reminding them of something very important. Being led by the Spirit must not be confused with simply being led by something.
You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.
1 Corinthians 12:2
Before the Corinthians became Christians, how is it that they had been led into paganism? We don’t know. Perhaps it was just an emotional pull in their heart. Maybe it was just how they were raised. Maybe they had been wrapped up in a cultural movement. We simply don’t know. But Paul’s point is clear. Whatever it is that led them into paganism, it clearly was not the Holy Spirit. People are led to believe certain things in many different ways, and not all of them are good. That is why Paul gave the Corinthians a test.
Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:3
Just as the Holy Spirit had not been the one who had led the Corinthians into paganism, so also, when anyone says “Jesus is accursed”, it clearly was not the Holy Spirit leading them to say that.
Who is Paul talking about here? Who in Corinth was saying “Jesus is accursed,” and why were they saying it? Most likely, Paul was referring to the same people he referred to back in chapter 1, who rejected the word of the cross as foolishness.
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:18
The idea that Jesus became the anointed Lord of the world, not by conquering his enemies, but by dying at their hands, is a concept that many struggled to accept. To them, the word about the cross sounded foolish. Or as Paul put it,
We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1 Corinthians 1:23-24
Why is it that some are able to see the wisdom of the cross, while others dismiss the cross as foolishness? According to Paul, the only way a person can wrap their mind around the wisdom of the cross is by the Spirit of God.
For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except by the Spirit of God. Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself judged by no one. For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:11-16
There are many clarifying observations which can be drawn from these verses. First, notice once again the close connection between a person’s “thoughts” and their “spirit.”
- “Who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person which is in him?”
- “No one comprehends the thoughts of God except by the Spirit of God”
- “Human wisdom” is contrasted with what is “taught by the Spirit”
- Those who are not “spiritually discerned” are not able to “understand” the things of the “Spirit” of God
- The only way we can “understand the mind of the Lord” is if we “have the mind of Christ.”
Paul identifies the “spiritual” person as one who discerns, and understands the mind of Christ. As we learn to think like Christ, we accept the things of the Spirit of God.
Secondly, we can see that for Paul, following the Spirit of God is a choice. We must choose to accept the “words” which are “taught by the Spirit” rather than accept the “words taught by human wisdom.” We can only accept the wisdom of the cross as we choose to accept the God-breathed words of God’s Spirit.
With this idea in mind, Paul’s statement a few pages later in chapter 12 makes a lot of sense. The only way a person can confess that “Jesus is Lord” is to learn to think like God. We do this when we choose to accept His words, and we choose to mimic the mind which we see in Christ on the cross. So long as we dismiss the suffering as foolishness we will never be able to confess that Jesus is Lord. As long as we think of suffering as a curse to be avoided, we will be led to the conclusion that Jesus is accursed.
Instead of retaliating against and defeating his enemies, Jesus conquered them by dying for them. We must learn to think about suffering and personal sacrifice the same way the Spirit of God does. Without that, we will never truly be able to confess that Jesus is Lord.
By This You Know the Spirit of God
John teaches that we should discern the Spirit of God by giving a very similar test.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
1 John 4:1-3
The people to whom John was writing were in danger of being confused, or worse, completely led astray by false prophets. The problem with a false prophet is that you cannot tell a false one from a true one, at least not at first sight. They seem devout. They seem sincere. They seem reasonable. They claim to be speaking a word from God. But John knew that not every teacher claiming to be from God actually teaches God’s words.
How can we tell the difference? How do we discern if a teacher’s ideas accurately reflect the mind of God or not? How do we “test the spirits”?
According to John, you must listen to their teachings very closely. Such people are not likely to come out and claim they are “anti-Christ,” but gradually their fatal flaw will be revealed. That is, when push comes to shove, they do not really believe that “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.” Just as Paul’s opponents could not wrap their minds around the wisdom of the cross, so John’s opponents could not accept that Jesus’s death on the cross was actual, real, fleshly suffering and death. They could not accept that letting your flesh suffer was actually good news.
When they talked about Jesus, it was not the real Jesus, but a version of Jesus they made up for themselves – one that didn’t actually require the self-denial of the flesh. The Spirit of God, however, recognizes and embraces Jesus’s fleshly incarnation. Even though false prophets may sound convincing at first, they ultimately oppose Jesus as they oppose his fleshly suffering. The “spirit” they teach is described as “anti-Christ.”
The Significance of Confession
To confess that Jesus, who came, suffered, and died, in the flesh, is now the “Lord” is one of the most basic statements of the Christian faith (Rom. 10:9; Phil. 2:11). This confession is not simply about uttering the right words about Jesus, but really buying into the truth that the crucified Jesus really is the Lord. It is not enough to simply confess that we like a whole lot of things about Jesus. We must confess the real Jesus. The crucified Jesus.
Accepting the real Jesus is not easy. It requires that we accept the particular words, the words of God (1 Thess. 1:5; 2:13). It requires that we accept the mind of Christ, who suffered on the cross. We can only confess that Jesus is Lord by the Spirit of God.
The Christian Exile 