Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore I make known to you that no man speaking by God’s Spirit says, “Jesus is accursed.” No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” but by the Holy Spirit.
- KJV 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.
- BSB 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.
- NKJV Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
- NLT 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
No one speaking by God's Spirit curses Jesus, and no one can confess 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit. The confession of Christ's lordship marks the Spirit's true work.
Overview
Paul provides a doctrinal test for genuine spiritual activity: the Holy Spirit always exalts Jesus as Lord and never dishonors him. Authentic spiritual gifts and speech are Christ-centered. This anchors all that follows about the gifts, since the Spirit's purpose is to glorify Christ, and saving confession of his lordship is itself the Spirit's gracious work in the heart.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- 1 Jn 4:2–3By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
- Matt 16:16–17Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
- Rom 10:9that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
- 2 Cor 3:5not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God;
- John 13:13You call me, ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ You say so correctly, for so I am.
- 1 Cor 8:6yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him.
- John 15:26“When the Counselor has come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me.
- Matt 22:43He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying,
- Deut 21:23his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him the same day; for he who is hanged is accursed of God; that you don’t defile your land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance.
- 1 Cor 16:22If any man doesn’t love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. Come, Lord!
- Rom 9:3For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brothers’ sake, my relatives according to the flesh,
- Mark 9:39But Jesus said, “Don’t forbid him, for there is no one who will do a mighty work in my name, and be able quickly to speak evil of me.
- John 16:14–15He will glorify me, for he will take from what is mine, and will declare it to you.
- 2 Cor 11:4For if he who comes preaches another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or if you receive a different spirit, which you did not receive, or a different “good news”, which you did not accept, you put up with that well enough.
- Rev 1:10I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet
- Gal 3:13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree,”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 12:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.