Verse 3
Wherefore, I make known unto you, that no man speaking in the Spirit of God saith, Jesus is anathema; and no man can say, Jesus is Lord, but in the Holy Spirit.
The genuine test of true spirituality turns upon the attitude of the soul toward the Lord Jesus Christ. It is astounding that some of the tongue speakers in Corinth had (presumably) blasphemed the name of the Lord himself, "anathema" meaning accursed! If this seems astonishing, then let it be compared with certain "charismatics" of our own times who deny many of the fundamental doctrines of Christianity "in the name of Christ"! As Russell pointed out, Paul did not refer to those alone who actually used the words "Jesus is anathema," but to all those who practice "what amounts to the same thing."[7] To deny or renounce Christ's teaching would be the equivalent error.
Jesus is Lord ... The sure mark of spirituality is the soul's confession of Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9), coupled with the exhibition of a life in harmony with such a profession.
The immaturity of the Corinthian church is evident in the fact of their seeking some shortcut to spiritual excellence. This is precisely the motivation, it would seem, of many in various ages who have aspired to miraculous manifestations, thinking that in these they achieved genuine spirituality. It should be noted in this connection that Corinth was the most carnal of all the churches mentioned in the New Testament; and it was precisely there that "a church had mostly gone to tongues."[8]
[7] John William Russell, Compact Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1964), p. 423.
[8] A. B. Bruce, St. Paul's Conception of Christianity (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1898), p. 247.
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