Bible Strands
1 Corinthians 12:3
Therefore I inform 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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul addresses the Corinthian believers to correct their evaluation of spiritual manifestations, contrasting their former pagan idolatry with their present spiritual condition.
The words — γνωρίζω (gnōrizō) means "I make known," and ἐν πνεύματι θεοῦ (en pneumati theou) translates literally to "in the Spirit of God."
The thread — The text’s claim that the Holy Spirit enables the confession "Jesus is Lord" runs parallel to the Christological test in 1 John 4:2 and the confession in Romans 10:9, while Matthew 16:16 records Peter’s similar acknowledgment.
Why it lands — The text states that no one can say "Jesus is Lord" or "Jesus be cursed" apart from the Holy Spirit, requiring readers to identify the source behind their own verbal confessions.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- 1 John 4:2 By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
- Matthew 16:16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
- Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
- 2 Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
- John 13:13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, because I am.
- John 15:26 When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me.
- 1 Corinthians 8:6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist.
- Matthew 22:43 Jesus said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord’? For he says:
- Deuteronomy 21:23 you must not leave the body on the tree overnight, but you must be sure to bury him that day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
- Mark 9:39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus replied. “For no one who performs a miracle in My name can turn around and speak evil of Me.