“Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshipping speechless idols. So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.”
1 Corinthians 12:1-3 NLT
With the turning of the page away from issues around the Lord’s Supper, Paul now starts to answer another question from the Corinthians. It’s a shame we no longer have access to the letter the Corinthians must have sent to Paul, a letter that obviously contained a series of questions. The question Paul is now addressing concerns spiritual gifts, and as we read down this chapter, we are so glad that the believers in Corinth provided us with the means to understand more about the Holy Spirit. The NIV translation for verse 1 reads, “Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed”. It is probable that the Corinthian question sought more information about the Gifts of the Spirit, a topic that has sparked discussion and debate ever since. Perhaps there were some manifestations of the Gifts in the Corinthian church that were causing confusion, so Paul acted to set things right.
Paul continued in the next verse to remind the believers about their previous pagan tendencies, as they were “swept along in worshipping speechless idols”. But it was all different now, and they had accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, bringing with it a lifestyle change that was cataclysmic in its impact, both at the time and for all eternity. But in verse 3, we find something puzzling. Who in the Corinthian church would ever want to curse Jesus? Was there someone there who, under the apparent influence of the Holy Spirit, was doing such a thing? We can only explore potential scenarios because Paul didn’t supply any more information. Perhaps there were some religious Jews who denied the fact that Jesus was the Messiah, and who gatecrashed one of the meetings and said such a thing.
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us”
Galatians 3:13.
Then there is Galatians 3:13, which reads, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole’”. Perhaps there was some confusion about this verse, which the Corinthians would know about from Deuteronomy 21:23. But in the sense that Paul was writing about, it looks as though he had to correct something that was going on.
Paul wrote, “No one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit”. We know, of course, that once someone has declared their faith and belief in Jesus, accepting His atoning death, they receive the Holy Spirit. Peter said in his Pentecost sermon, “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). The gift of the Holy Spirit does not necessarily follow baptism, as we read in Acts 10:44, 47, “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. … ‘Surely no-one can stand in the way of their being baptised with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have’”. But we know that all believers have received the Holy Spirit, and through Him they have one or more gifts. Note that each believer has at least one gift.
“Jesus is Lord” can only be said by believers who have the Holy Spirit within them. By saying this, a person declares that Jesus was who He said He was: the Messiah, the Son of God, and the second member of the Trinitarian Godhead. Anyone who does not have the Holy Spirit within them, that is, an unbeliever, cannot say this, understanding what it really means. The idea is that someone who says “Jesus is Lord” sincerely expresses their belief. Nobody can say that—in truth and sincerity—unless they do so in the power of the Holy Spirit.
We pilgrims are Spirit-filled believers, and we can testify to changed lives. Through the Holy Spirit, we have a changed worldview because we have transitioned from the kingdom of the world into the Kingdom of God. As God’s children, we now see what is around us from a spiritual perspective, and we can even become strangely detached from the mayhem that has been caused by sin and evil. We do not escape the problems of living in this world, of course, but we know that it is only for a short time, because one day we will be in Heaven with Jesus. There, we will never stop saying “Jesus is Lord” because that is who He is.
Dear Lord. Thank You for saving us from the consequences of our sins. We declare Your Lordship over all that we do this day and every day. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 