Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 Corinthians 12:3

"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." — 1 Corinthians 12:3 (ASV)

In saying that they had been “led astray to mute idols,” Paul implies that the Corinthians had experienced the effects of evil spirits in their former pagan worship. In contrast, he now stresses the twofold test of the presence of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life. Negatively, no person by the Spirit can curse Jesus; and positively, only by the Spirit can a person openly testify that Jesus is Lord (v.3). Lord (kyrios; GK 3261) was used in the LXX (Greek translation of the OT) to translate Yahweh (“LORD” in NIV). In this context Paul recognizes the deity of Jesus and of the Holy Spirit in the phrases “Jesus is Lord” and “Spirit of God.”