“Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” (1 Corinthians 12:3, KJV)
When our kids were young, we took them to Disney World and Epcot Center in Orlando Florida. While there, we ran into a friend of ours and his family. He was not a fan of Epcot Center, though I do not know why. Anyway, while we were standing in line to get into Disney World. I happened to mention going to Epcot. Immediately he blurted out, “Epcot! I wouldn’t give you ten cents for Epcot!” I’m not certain now if I said this or not, but the only retort I had would have been, “Why don’t you tell us how you really feal?”
Most often, when people blurt out something in a spontaneous way, it is from the heart. My friend was expressing his genuine feelings about Epcot. Well, at least, I think.
It is true that people can lie and say things that they really do not believe. We call them liars. Other than pathological liars who seemingly cannot tell the truth, or those who use sarcasm for comedic effect, those who lie usually do so for their own means.
In this passage Paul made two bold statements. First, he stated, “no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed.” This is absolutely true since the Spirit of God would never ever prompt one to call Jesus accursed.
However, in the next statement, “no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” raises a question. Could someone say the words, Jesus is Lord, without meaning what he is saying? My opinion is yes. I have this opinion for two reasons. First, I have experienced people who have made professions of faith and called Jesus Lord, only later to say that they were not truly saved at that time.
Second, I also have had people say that Jesus is Lord and yet their lives do not match their profession. This response echoes Jesus’ words, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46, KJV)
Both of these situations indicate the possibility that one who does not have the Spirit can make a statement that is not manifested by the presence of the Spirit, that is comes from the heart. Jesus further spoke of this possibility, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21, KJV).
However, it is true that no one can truly say with conviction that Jesus is Lord except his words are prompted by the indwelling Holy Spirit. In other words, this is a person who truly believes that Jesus is Lord. His or her words are genuine.
This leaves us with one big question. Can you say with confidence that Jesus is Lord? If you do it is because the Holy Spirit dwells in you. Moreover, if you truly make that statement then you have a desire in you to respond to Him as Lord of your life.
Renewing the Heart 